Reading Time: 3 minutes Emergency room nurse Sarah Schultz has hung up her scrubs — and picked up a garden apron and a trowel. “About six years ago, I happened across a flower farm on Instagram — I had never seen a dahlia before,” said Schultz, who lives on a grain operation near Strathmore with husband Jay and their […] Read more
Former nurse finds joy in her blossoming flower business
New enterprise blooms on former grain farm and tree nursery
Reading Time: 3 minutes After grain farming and tree farming, Ron and Debbie Cherdarchuk and son Cory Christopher turned to flower farming. And guess how popular you are these days when you have a landscape full of flowers that you’re willing to share? “The internet, and in particular Pinterest, have created digital envy,” said Cory (who uses Christopher for […] Read more
African growers threaten Dutch flower power
Aalsmeer, Netherlands | Reuters — The Netherlands is fighting to retain its crown as the world’s top auction house for flowers as growers in Africa and elsewhere increasingly sell directly to buyers. The country grew wealthy selling tulip bulbs in the 17th century during the so-called Dutch Golden Age and remains the second largest agricultural […] Read more
Making Alberta beautiful: It’s a blooming good idea
Reading Time: 2 minutes Drought or not, Alberta’s Communities in Bloom must go on and earlier this month, a host of communities was recognized for their efforts to brighten up their towns and villages. Earlier this summer, volunteer judges toured participating Alberta communities to evaluate them on six criteria: tidiness, environmental action, heritage conservation, urban forestry, landscape, and floral […] Read more
Bitter weed a common sight in Alberta
Noxious grassland invader: Tall buttercup
Reading Time: < 1 minute Tall buttercup is often found in Alberta, including in the MD of Lesser Slave River as well as Big Lakes, Yellowhead, Clearwater, and Mountain View counties. This plant contains a bitter, irritating oil that is toxic and can harm grazing livestock, especially cattle. This weed is an invader of wet areas, preferring humus soils, but […] Read more
Wild pollinators earn their keep on the farm
Wild pollinators may boost yields and help crops mature more uniformly, and also are a natural source of pest protection
Reading Time: 3 minutes It’s crop-planning season and that means it’s a good time for making plans to create a wild pollinator habitat near your crops. Having a strong pollinator population can offer a benefit to crops, said Mark Wonneck, an ecologist at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Calgary. Bees are an important part of both alfalfa production and […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
