The last few years have been challenging at best, incredibly cruel at worst.
First, COVID-19 and the accompanying restrictions, then climate change became a harsh reality with the hottest, driest summer we can remember, worsened by wildfires across the province. Then torrential rainfalls triggered floods and landslides that wiped out all the major highways in central to southern BC and brought transport to a standstill.
News images showed stores with empty shelves as people frantically stockpiled goods that might not be replaced for some time. In the produce section of one, all fruit and vegetables had disappeared, save one bin in the distance, still full of some leafy greens. I really wanted to know what it was that remained untouched.
Now this year, the war in Ukraine further impacts our gas and food prices, which have already been dramatically increasing for some time.
Each of these devastating events fuels a growing awareness of how dependent we are on the long-accepted standards of our food and goods supplies, and of how fragile our way of life is because of this dependency. With this awareness come questions and a deepening interest in making positive changes that will benefit us, our communities and the environment.
Decentralizing food sources such as dairies and supporting local farms and goods suppliers makes a lot of sense for many reasons. Home gardens, once a recreational hobby for many of us, became a valued distraction during COVID and are now viewed as significantly more essential for providing food to offset escalating transportation prices of imported food, or possible shortages brought about by crop failures. Many people are expanding their established gardens to produce more of their own food, while others are turning to gardening for the first time.
Self-sufficiency
In the 1970s, I had started thinking about becoming self-sufficient. I collected books such as How to Make it on the Land and Country Comforts with the idea of living entirely off the land. Lots of land. Raw land. Off the grid. I cringe at the memory. Over the years, my book collection has grown while my personal goals narrowed down to more reasonable, reachable objectives.
I grew up with a home garden. My mother gained interest in gardening in England during the Victory Garden movement in World War II, when homegrown produce became a necessity to mitigate food shortages and rationing.
My own first garden was in Edmonton in 1975. We lived on an acreage separated from a subdivision by a laneway that served as a boundary between the grasping urban sprawl and the weakening rural resistance. As far as the eye could see, to the south was a sea of roofs, to the north, endless fields. I planted a vegetable garden and had visions of tons of fresh produce we’d enjoy all summer and store for winter use. Best laid plans!
Behind the house was our source of water, a well, complete with a bucket and a long rope. Enviously, I watched the neighbours set their sprinklers to water their gardens while I hauled bucket after bucket of water to try to keep at least a few seedlings alive. I knew nothing of mulch. The poor little seedlings didn’t have a chance.
Sadly, my efforts reaped very little reward. Living with no running water for a few years instilled a deep, ongoing appreciation for modern conveniences: taps, hoses, irrigation systems and water timers.
Gardening techniques and ideas have evolved over the years, as we gain new insight into what works well and what is good for the environment. Others remain unchanged. After all, the basics are still the same. Put seeds in the soil, ensure adequate light and water, feed as required and presto! It’s a simple enough, yet magical process, but one which (I have found on many occasions) can be daunting with disappointing results.
Tilling the soil in the spring to make it workable was common practice when I was young. In 1978, John Seymour’s The Self-Sufficient Gardener introduced the “new deep bed method.” Deep beds, which, once established after initial “bastard trenching” needed very little digging and weeding, and were the precursors of our current raised beds.
Now lasagne gardening is becoming increasingly popular, especially by lazy gardeners like myself, because not only does this technique replicate nature, it requires a lot less work. Layers of cardboard, compost, leaves and other suitable materials are simply placed in layers on the ground in the fall, right on top of weeds and grass.
The following spring, holes are cut through to place seedlings. The underlying soil remains fluffy and moist as the layers protect it from becoming compacted, provide slow-release fertilizer, keep weeds at bay and help retain water. Cardboard-loving worms aerate and nurture the soil.
New terms related to horticulture have come about that reflect our growing personal relationship with and concern for the earth: rewilding, supporting biodiversity, sequestering carbon, regenerative gardening, companion planting and developing resilient gardens, to name a few. It all sounds so complicated but, with some basic understanding of natural ecosystems, it is not.
We know we need healthy bees and other pollinators for plants to bear fruit, so we’re careful with what types of fertilizers we use and grow flowers that will attract them. Other insects, both good and bad, have their roles to play in keeping a healthy balance in the garden as well as providing food for wild creatures.
Knowing what plants benefit each other can increase harvests and decrease pests, such as planting marigolds along with tomatoes. Native plants are more tolerant of unstable weather patterns than are introduced species, so including these provides a reliable source of food for wildlife and ourselves.
Minimal digging means minimal amounts of carbon is released into the atmosphere and instead remains in the ground where it belongs. Composted vegetable matter and manure replenish the soil and its ability to support a new harvest. Learning to work with nature instead of against, is not only better for the environment but it is easier on ourselves in the long run.
I asked our local Powell River Garden Club members for their reflections on their first experiences with gardens, and advice they would give new gardeners. Responses highlight how each of us have different backgrounds and gardening styles. And often, gardening is learned at a young age from a parent or grandparent.
Cheryl Rose
Cheryl Rose’s garden attests to her love and devotion of growing things, whether cultivated or wild. When she was a small child, her grandmother took her under her wing to teach her about gardening. Cheryl loved helping her with small things and developed a love of gardening to this day. She says even though her children did not seem to be interested, she realizes that they “must have been absorbing my love for gardening.”
“When they got their own homes, they became passionate about gardening and had awesome gardens,” says Cheryl. “It’s the old saying: apples don’t fall far from the tree.”
Cheryl’s advice for new gardeners: “Preparing the soil before planting is so important. I learned the hard way. I would dig a hole and just shove the plant in. Oops! Not doing so good. Also, don’t get overzealous and plant too early.”
Been there, done that!
Lianne Arnstein
Lianne Arnstein’s experience highlights how parents and grandparents can inspire a love of gardening while creating bonds and lasting memories.
“My parents were both gardeners and my mother particularly had a green thumb; of their four children, only my older brother Jim inherited her green thumb,” explains Lianne. “When he retired to Mayne Island, he became the chief gardener at the Mayne Island Lighthouse Historical Park and helped establish the island’s Japanese Gardens.”
Lianne, on the other hand, says she is a fair-weather gardener.
“When all the elements align favourably, I love to be out there with my cat helping me; it is an exercise in creating joy if only for myself,” she adds. “If you have a child or can borrow one, tell children a story about Ireland and the Potato Famine, and make them dress up in green when planting or digging out potatoes. My teenage grandkids still remember me doing this with them. Make gardening a family affair.”
Lianne has some recommendations for new gardeners: “Amend your soil with manure, seaweed and kitchen compost; just dig it in, do not bother with a compost bin or box. Direct digging works, breaks down quickly and you will have lots of worms in your garden.”
When it comes to watering, Lianne says she has rain barrels but has seldom been forced to actually rely on them.
“Perhaps with climate change this will be necessary so I will be somewhat prepared,” she adds. “I have put watering bags around my fruit trees as watering is the bane of my existence.”
One thing this writer has come to realize is that gardeners devise creative measures to keep their plants alive and to stay sane in the process.
Candace Parker
Knowing the sunny and shady areas of your garden and the type of soil are factors that determine levels of success when planning what and where to plant. Reaching out for advice for where to start helped Candace Parker get an overgrown backyard under control after moving to the qathet region in January 2015.
“My first act was to join the local garden club, since I felt like a very inexperienced gardener (still do!) and I had learned so much from being in a garden club in our former home,” says Candace. “As soon as I joined, I found several experienced gardeners willing to come to our place and give tips on all the challenges. First advice was to get rid of that big and quickly growing willow tree that dominated the sunny part of the backyard. Done!”
Her advisors suggested planting succulents and alpine plants on the north side of the driveway, where it was hard to irrigate and the soil was shallow, which was done.
“We then thought about the large, flag iris-choked pond we had discovered after buying the lot; I was unable to find a pond guru and the task of rehabilitating the pond seemed overwhelming,” adds Candace. “Instead, I hired ‘The Bushman’ (Brian Lee, a neighbour) to fill in the largest part of the pond and create a level area that became a patio of soil and small pebbles. The remaining pond was incorporated into a small water feature.”
The Bushman also repaired a large, broken-down grape arbour without losing any grape plants, which, along with the plum, cherry and pear trees, continue to be productive every year.
“We built three raised beds on the old driveway, to cover an ugly concrete bench and take advantage of the heat in the summer from the blacktop; these became mainly vegetable gardens but included nasturtiums and a few other flowers that found their way there,” says Candace. “During COVID, our first project was to replace an ivy-covered section of the garden with a hugelkultur.”
Stemming from “hugel,” the German word for “mound,” this method entails creating a raised bed from decaying wood and other yard waste, covered with soil that is then planted—an ideal way to clean up your yard without having to find a way to dispose of the waste.
“The second project, last fall, was to finally replace a sunny portion of the lawn with a lasagna garden; I had been wanting to do this since the first garden club meeting when the virtues of layering cardboard, soil, compost, urine (if available), garden waste and straw had been advocated so strongly by The Lazy Gardener by Mara Grey,” says Candace. “My resolve was reinforced by a garden club Zoom presentation from local organic gardener, Erin Innes, who convincingly reinforced the message: use everything to create black gold. A few years earlier, I had obtained bark mulch (almost free) from Powell River Tree Service, which had resulted, to my delight, in beautiful loam in a flower garden. It took about 18 months to decompose, but it was such a gift.”
Candace’s ambition this year is to grow more vegetables and fruits than ever, and to add to her garden’s beauty by planting more shrubs to finish replacing an old fence she tore down. And to build a fence around her lasagne garden to keep out the deer, which is a major consideration here.
Candace’s advice to new gardeners: “Join the garden club, get ideas and inspiration at the Edible Garden and city garden tours when they return, enjoy your time in the garden and don’t get too impatient; it will all improve and produce delightful surprises, and you’ll be continuously inspired. Gardening never stops, so forget that!”
Once gardening is in your blood, it’s there to stay.
Sherry Hawkins
Not all gardens have to take up a lot of space. Many gardeners grow vegetables and berry-producing bushes in containers on patios along with their flowers. In fact, plants can often be started from vegetable scraps that might otherwise be thrown away.
Sherry Hawkins’ garden is testimony to her love of gardening and trying something new. She tells about her experiences growing new plants from store-bought produce.
Last fall, the ends of two of her organic yams had started to sprout, so she cut them off and put them in a little dish of water on her kitchen counter, where they later sprouted some “slips.” By November they had matured; she planted them into five-gallon pots and placed them in front of her south-facing sliding glass doors. Now, in March, the vines are flowing over the sides and onto the floor. Once it’s warm enough, Sherry will move the pot outside on her deck until they are ready to harvest. She took the same steps with a piece of organic ginger that had started to sprout.
“And now I have a ginger plant; this goes to show that if you want to start gardening, you don’t even need to have access to a garden bed,” says Sherry, “If you have a sunny location in your house, you can start growing food in the middle of the winter and get a head start on your spring planting. A similar growing process can be used with carrot tops, celery bottoms and from ‘live’ lettuce you buy at the grocery store.
“If the lettuce roots are still plump and white, you can use most of the outer leaves for your salad and then soak and plant the roots. Make sure you leave the middle green leaves attached. Soon the plant will be growing again, and you can harvest more leaves.”
Sherry says the lettuce she grew this way provided salad greens all winter long.
Advice from the president
My advice to new gardeners is to begin by talking to others about their gardens. Everyone loves to share their successes and failures. You can contact Powell River Garden Club, gardenclubpowellriver@gmail.com, to arrange a visit where you can have all your questions answered, plus receive some valuable advice on how to get started.
Pick up a free copy of the West Coast Seeds catalogue, with its handy planting calendar, from Mother Nature. Invest in some current gardening books; my personal favourites at the moment are Grow Now: How We Can Save Our Health, Communities and Planet—One Garden at a Time by Emily Murphy, and No Guff Vegetable Gardening by Donna Balzer. To learn more about local native species of plants, I recently added Luchiim’s Plants: Traditional Indigenous Foods, Materials and Medicines by Dr. Luschiim Arvid Charlie and Nancy J. Turner to my collection. There is also a wealth of information online.
I highly recommend Linda Gilkeson’s website, an excellent resource for a variety of topics related to gardening on the west coast: lindagilkeson.ca. Her presentations are favourites among many garden clubs, including ours, and provide good strategies for dealing with a changing climate.
There is nothing more rewarding than harvesting your own garden produce for your own use. So many things are very easy to grow, especially in our wonderful climate, albeit with some tweaks to mitigate climate change effects. Why buy garlic from other countries when with minimal effort you can grow it yourself?
Planting some seeds and growing a garden, whether in a pot or a garden bed, will make you feel good, offset escalating food prices and nurture the earth at the same time. Happy gardening!
“Tend your patch of earth as if the world depends on it because it does.” ~ Emily Murphy
Lesley Mosely is president of Powell River Garden Club.
