Welcome!

Welcome to the first blog post at Prairie Bee Gardens!

I figured I would start by telling you a bit about myself, why I decided to start Prairie Bee Gardens, and what it is we actually do here!

I grew up on a grain farm near a small town about 30 minutes from Winnipeg, Manitoba. If you’re from Manitoba, you know our growing season is not overly long, so we try to grow as much as we can in the time we have. I grew up sleeping on the floor of the combine at my grandpa’s feet, always in awe of how a combine could take in a wheat plant, and just a small kernel would come out. My mom used to be a stay at home mom doing a lot of volunteer work around the community and helping out with farming, while my dad worked in the city. I was grateful to always have someone there to explore with me. Since I wasn’t as interested in farming as my brother, my mom and I bonded in the garden. Every year we would plant a huge garden in our yard, usually sticking to the basics like potatoes, beans, peas, carrots and tomatoes. Every once in a while I would convince her to grow something new and exciting just to try it out. One year we tried parsnips, and have not looked back!

If there is one thing you want to try this year, I would highly recommend parsnips! I will get into growing parsnips in a later post, since they can be a bit picky/finicky when growing, but they are so worth it!

When I was ten years old my grandpa passed away and all of a sudden the farm was sort of thrust onto my mom. She obviously knew her way around farm equipment and practices but didn’t quite know where to start. Many of the local farmers and folks at the local grain elevator jumped in to help her get things going, and even with the ups and downs and unknowns, farming is her passion and she wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. My dad retired a few years later to help her run the farm, but we all know who’s in charge around there :) #WomenInAg !

You’re probably thinking “this is a great story about your mom Kylie but what does this have to do with you and gardening?” Well, when my mom took over the farm, she became a lot busier, so my brother and I took over a lot of the yard and house work. This meant that I usually ended up doing the majority of the planning, planting and caring for the garden… when I was 12 years old… so needless to say I’ve had a few years of experience! I would usually try to schedule the planting around farming because I knew mom always loved to help get the garden in the ground. To this day, I still head to my parents house around mothers day and we pick a day to plant the garden together. Planting a garden by yourself is great and all, but doing it with someone you love just gives you a warm fuzzy feeling and is way more fun.

Growing up on a farm with 55 acres of forest definitely makes you an outdoorsy person. My childhood was a whole lot of “Okay, what are we doing outside today?” and I am so grateful that I grew up this way. We spent all day every day outside adventuring, gardening, building, and playing. It gave me such an appreciation for nature. In 10th grade our science teacher had us watch “An Inconvenient Truth with Al Gore” and at that moment I knew exactly what I wanted to do with my life; I was going to save the planet.

I ended up taking Environmental Studies at the University of Manitoba. There I made lifelong friends and learned a lot. The most important thing I learned, take the time to enjoy it! Even though it took me 5 1/2 years to complete a 4 year degree, I wanted to do it on my own time and I wanted to have fun while doing it, because after that, real life happens and it can hit you like a brick wall. During my studies I became quite obsessed with plants, specifically native plants here in Manitoba and just how vital they are to our ecosystems. I ended up with a minor in plant biology, and loved every minute of those classes (the statistics classes… not so much).

It soon became impossible to hike with me since I stop every 5 minutes to look at plants. My fiancé still usually ends up 10 minutes ahead of me on the trail, even in the winter while I look at leaf-less trees trying to figure out what they are or why some fungus is growing on them. If the sign says 3 hour hike, allow for about 5.

After university I was so grateful to land a great job securing, conserving and restoring wetland and upland habitat in southwest Manitoba, where I am currently still working. After moving to Brandon, I soon experienced the harsh reality of apartment living, and within a few months, covid hit. I had never spent so much time inside as I did those first few months. It was painful to say the least. But in the darkest hour, a light emerged in the form of an available community garden plot. My fiancé and I jumped on the chance immediately, and for a cool $15 for the year (including water) no one was complaining.

I had started seeds earlier that month for my parents and a few small pots we had on our balcony (which thankfully faced south). Starting seeds indoors in those cold dark months just brings so much light and excitement that can push you through that last bit of winter and gets you so excited for spring.

We planted the community garden plot in late May and almost nothing came up. The soil in the garden is quite terrible to say the least. It has been depleted of most nutrients and is mostly a silty-sand material, so not great for gardening. We re-seeded everything and ended up with a decent crop, but learned a lot that year; what grew well, what didn’t, and how much of a difference good soil makes.

our spinach was doing pretty well… until a heavy hail storm rained on our parade!

We now live in a house with great garden space and built two 6’x2.5’ raised beds. We are beyond excited to get growing, and as much as I am happy for all the snow and moisture this year, I am eager to get into the garden!

Over the past couple years I thought about how I could turn my love for gardening into a business I can be as passionate about as my mom is towards farming. I thought about running a greenhouse, selling native plants, running a CSA program, and everything in-between. I discovered Gardenary, a business that trains you to become a Garden Coach. The great thing about garden coaching is that you decide what garden coaching means to you. To me it means teaching people to grow their own food efficiently and sustainably, reducing their reliance on expensive produce at the grocery store. To do that I created Prairie Bee Gardens to offer garden consultations, where I can create a custom design for a raised bed kitchen garden, build the beds, and install them while incorporating whatever landscaping features you would like. Whatever your budget, it is our mission to get you growing your best garden ever! Whether you want a small single bed to grow lettuce on your apartment balcony, or an elaborate landscaped set of garden beds, we can make it happen! We will also be hosting online and in-person gardening workshops with various topics to help you grow your best garden!

Whatever level of coaching you desire, we can provide it for you! I am so excited to help you all create the garden of your dreams!

-Kylie