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Let’s Talk Trash: Zero waste your veggie garden

Ready or not, and we’ll assume you’re the former, spring has sprung! All the green thumbs out there have been twitching for some time, and new ones are tentatively joining the ranks as we are all more prone to contemplating local resilience these day

Ready or not, and we’ll assume you’re the former, spring has sprung! All the green thumbs out there have been twitching for some time, and new ones are tentatively joining the ranks as we are all more prone to contemplating local resilience these days. As tempting as it may be to run out to the local store with a squeal of your tires and come home with an instant garden, nature’s way is more plodding, and to be respected.

There are plenty of ways to get a healthy vegetable patch prepared and planted without disregarding the broader picture of the planet’s health. As with most things, reducing and reusing get us a long way down the zero waste path. 

Why not start with seed sharing? Plants produce far more seed than we can ever use, and if we stash them for another year, they are more than likely to lose germination rate. Plants that have thrived in our local climate in previous years are much more likely to be happy than ones from elsewhere – just ensure that the type of seed you are planting is “true” to its parent rather than a random mishmash because of cross-pollination, though that can be a fun gamble, too.

Once you get sprouting, you may also find that you have a greater abundance than you could ever use personally.  That is a great way to make friends with folks in the neighbourhood by leaving seedlings at your curb – possibly with a donation box to fund your efforts.

You might be able to skip the plastic when propagating, too, by diving into your recycling bin – toilet paper rolls (apparently we go through a lot of these), folded newspaper (look up folding techniques), single-serve yogurt containers, and egg cartons are easy to come by. Any pots that do come into your garden can be gifted to others, or rinsed and then recycled both at curbside and local depots – hanging planters are the exception as they usually have components that get stuck in recycling facility machinery.

To get a jump on the season, greenhouses and window ledges are prime real estate in early spring. Windows are a great spot for a mini greenhouse made from large plastic salad containers which can be a paradise for hot-house loving peppers, tomatoes, and eggplants.

If you are keen to finally have your own greenhouse, maybe skip the ones that come new in a box and make your own from materials easily found. Old window panes, bricks, and lumber can usually be pieced together by the average tinkerer and in a few afternoons, voila – an upcycled greenhouse! A coat of colourful paint can bring it all together, and this might even be sourced for free from your basement, garage, or paint recyclers around town who set aside half-filled cans for pickup.

Plastic and gardening are unfortunate bedfellows, but making your own compost at home rather than bringing some home in a plastic bag – one potentially polluted with microplastics from composting facilities – is more close-looped (which is a good thing). Backyard composting can be as simple as setting up a wire bin from one-by-four-inch wire gauge curled into a circle.

For more of a project, head online to LetsTalkTrash.ca for open-sourced plans to convert a freezer into a composter that will accelerate the composting process by keeping in the heat generated as organics break down. Other possibilities to look into are the Bokashi fermentation method and vermiculture, also known as worm composting.

Homemade liquid fertilizers, often referred to as compost teas, will make any garden more nutrient-dense and happy. These can easily be created with water, so-called “weeds” like comfrey and dandelions, seaweed, local manure, worm castings, and, yes, even urine. To keep them from getting too fresh smelling, stirring helps as does hooking up a pump and bubbling it with oxygen. Watered down, this potent stuff can act as a natural pesticide and herbicide. You can either spray a diluted tea onto affected plants in the ground, or dip unplanted ones straight into a bucket of diluted tea for a good dose.

There are other natural methods to deter garden pests, both big and small, that are not wasteful. Planting fragrant herbs and flowers can be a great start, as can certain beneficial plant pairings, a solar-powered predator light for night time, and fencing.

Thinking outside the box-store invites the imagination and reduces waste. May more of us get our green thumbs into the black gold of the earth this year than ever before.

Let’s Talk Trash is qathet Regional District’s waste-reduction education program.