Conversations with Growing City

I absolutely love watching Dragon's Den, especially when there are amazing new innovations or services that have the potential to make major changes. Back in January of 2013, a company called Growing City made their sales pitch to the dragons. Green Earth Organics member and Growing City employee, Genevieve, agreed to speak with us about this fast growing company and the impact they've had on improving our planet.

Can you tell me a little about what Growing City does?

Of course! Growing City is an Organics and Recycling service provider. In a nutshell, we provide offices, restaurants, hotels, cafés as well as commercial and residential buildings organics and recycling collection services.

How has Growing City evolved since we saw you on Dragon’s Den?

Oh boy! Well, for one, I was hired as the first full-time sales manager in order to manage the influx of requests we got from that first appearance on the show. After that, we were able to hire 2 more staff members for our operations side of things, one driver and one operations manager. And, at the beginning of this year we also added a new vehicle to our fleet. So needless to say, things are going great!

So, break it down for me. What happens to the organic waste after you pick it up?

After we collect your organics, our driving team brings the materials to one of [your city's] approved organics processing facilities. We’ve been working with Enviro-Smart Organics and they’re great! At the facility, our load gets weighed and then dumped into a pile in order to start the composting process. The materials get turned every once in a while and, after a few months, you have nutrient rich soil which is distributed... to farmers who will grow more fruits and vegetables to go into your client’s bins. We literally come back full-circle, so neat!

What is the best way for the average person to get started?

Growing City is currently only just in the Metro Vancouver area, but the company is looking for partners in Alberta and the rest of Canada as well, so that soon everyone can take advantage of composting whether at home or at work.

Absolute best way is to contact us. There are a few ways you can do that:

Send us a request online: http://www.growingcity.com/get-started-free-quote-today

Call us: 1-855-WE-COMPO (932-6676)

Send us an email: info@growingcity.ca

Tweet to us: @GrowingCity

Send us a note on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/yourGrowingCity 

Following is for Metro Vancouver Members:

Does Growing City have any suggestions to help people living in cities or buildings without a compost service?

Yes of course! The City of Vancouver has extended collection to apartment buildings that already have city provided waste hauling services so, if you’re one of those, send them a note to get your green bin. If your building is not eligible for then, that’s where we come in.

Just contact us through the channels noted above, whether or not you’re on strata council, we can help you get them on board!

Metro Vancouver has a ban on organics at their landfills coming into effect January in 2015. How do you think this will affect residents of Vancouver and their neighbors?

From the last meeting we had with Metro Vancouver, this is what will happen in January 2015:

The accepted threshold for organics in a load of garbage will be 5%

The garbage haulers who go over this 5% threshold will be fined 50% of their regular tipping fee (108$ /metric tonne at the moment)

Metro Vancouver will begin giving out fines as of June 2015

Since it will be difficult for haulers to determine which clients are contaminating their loads, the thought is that the fines will be redistributed among all of their clients, unless it can be shown that an organics program is already in place. 

So although this ban will not impact residents directly, the costs will end up coming back to them indirectly. We say, better safe than sorry, call us today so we can get you to start recycling your food scraps.

Gardening in August

August marks the warmest month of the year, but there are still things to plant if you want to stretch out your summer garden. Peas and spinach both will continue to thrive as the weather turns a bit cooler, so get those in the ground now. If you're planning to plant any new trees or shrubbery, this is also the best time to get them started. The warmer months allow for deeper roots to form before the chill sets in and stops their growth.

Save the Bees and Ban “Neoinic” Pesticides

If you’ve been paying vague attention to the news over the last decade, you probably know that we’ve been seeing an alarming decrease in bee populations since the early 2000s. Considering that our produce doesn’t actually grow itself and bees are our primary source of pollination, this is a bit of a concern for future life on our planet. Various governments have thrown cabals of scientists at the problem and, while they spent the usual amount of time arguing with each other, recently we have begun seeing results from various studies.

The most widely agreed upon cause of colony collapse is neonicotinoid pesticide usage.

So, what are “neonic” pesticides and what have they been doing to both humans and bees? They were first developed in the 1990s by Shell and Bayer as a reduced toxicity alternative to current pesticides on the market that would only target pests and not helpful insects. Its base is a compound chemically similar to nicotine, which acts as a natural insecticide. FYI: I honestly don’t understand why people voluntarily smoke poison.

The first pesticide developed by Shell was found not to be photosoluable, meaning that it didn’t break down in sunlight and was not viable for use with human consumables, so it was never released for public use. The second, which has been commercially available since the early 2000s, is water-soluable and will break down slowly when left in the environment. Since then, two other varieties have been developed and virtually all GMO corn grown in the Midwestern USA is treated with one of these types of pesticide. (Yay! They’ve basically been adding nicotine to food!)

So now that we’ve established this pesticide as not the best thing in the world, although better than what we used to use, what is the impact of “neonics” on bee populations? It is true that they aren’t killed. However, when this type of pesticide is applied to plants and a bee lands on them, the bee loses its ability to learn and remember navigation routes from its hive to their pollen sources. Simply put, they can no longer find their way home.

If that wasn’t enough, the bees that do make it back to their hive with infected pollen have unwittingly brought back a slow acting poison. In low doses on plants the pesticide doesn’t kill bees, but when concentrated while making the honey that provides the hive with nourishment, it often becomes lethal. To put it plainly, the bees are making their own food poisonous, which begs the question… what about the honey and produce that the everyday human is eating? With our larger bodies and such small amounts there aren’t the lethal effects seen in bees, but what about the neurological effects that are keeping bees from remembering where their hive is? It would be interesting to find out if those who developed memory disorders have had a wide exposure to this type of pesticide.

The European Union has already banned this class of pesticide, but Canada and the United States have not yet done so. There are initiatives by environmentalists and beekeepers to ban neonicotinoids in the United States and they have even filed a lawsuit against the Enviromental Protection Agency. Until they succeed, and here in Canada, that still puts even the regular garden bee at risk because garden centers regularly spray their plants with pesticides. You could buy a “bee-friendly” plant in the spring that has already been sprayed with the same pesticide that has been harming them!

Help Canada take action by signing the Suzuki Foundation’s “Petition to Ban Bee Killing Pesticides”

Maximize Your Plant Watering

There are a lot of tips out there about the right time of day to water to prevent evaporation, plus not getting water on plant leaves or they’ll attract fungus and mold.  Water at any time and avoid leaves while recycling plastic bottles. Take a regular plastic bottle and poke tiny holes throughout the bottom and the lower half of the bottle. “Plant” the bottle deep enough that only the top opening is visible above the soil. You can fill the bottle at any time of day and the water will seep out into the soil at a depth that will encourage deeper root systems and healthier plants.

Test the pH of your Soil

Some plants do better in more acidic or more alkaline soil. To test what type of soil you have take about ¼ cup of soil each in two shallow dishes. Mix both dishes with distilled water to create mud. Add vinegar to the first dish; if it starts fizzling you have alkaline soil. If there is no reaction, then sprinkle baking powder in the other dish. If it bubbles, it’s acidic. No reaction to either? It is too close to neutral to create a reaction. For more acidity: add sulfur, pine needles, or cottonseed meal. To make it more alkaline: add lime or wood ash.

Garden Space Saver

Lettuce and Cucumber

Create some extra space in your garden and provide shade at the same time. Make a trellis with a large empty wooden frame and some chicken wire or nylon garden mesh. Attach "legs" to one side so it will lean. Underneath the trellis plant anything that would benefit from partial shade. These include lettuce, spinach, chard, greens, and cooking herbs among others. On the other side of the trellis, grow vine plants like green beans, snow peas, or cucumbers. The leaves from the vine plant will provide the shade for the plants under the trellis.

Gardening with Cooking Waste!

Re-purpose used tea leaves

The next time you steam or boil some veggies, don't just dump the water down the drain! Let the water cool down and then use it to water your plants. The nutrients that have boiled off of your veggies provide great food for them and you'll be amazed at how much more lively they look without needing to buy nutrients or add fertilizers. As an added bonus, save the remains from coffee ground and tea bags to sprinkle across the top soil around azaleas, rhododendrons, camelias, gardenias, and blueberries. All these plants prefer slightly acidic soil, so by spreading the leaves and grounds (about 1/4 inch deep) you'll can adjust the pH of the soil to suit them. HGTV

Bee Welcome!

Gorgeous flowers are popping up all over as the weather warms up and have bees to thank for all the wild ones. Bees are one of the most important pollinators we have. In fact, organic farms often plant tons of flowers and bee-friendly plants to help their crops grow. A visit to the University of California at Davis taught me a great deal about which plants worked best to attract pollinators and even increase crop yield by up to triple what you could expect without them.

In order to keep bees around for good, we need to provide pollinator habitats in our own gardens. So long as they have somewhere to gather food for themselves, they’ll continue to work hard and make our planet beautiful. Two ways to help bees out are to either create Bee House or provide bee food.

To make a Bee House for some of our local mason bees, check out these instructions online. It may take an entire season to attract bees to their new home, so don’t be discouraged. Make sure to place your bee house near your bee food garden. Build A Bee Box

The plants found in a bee food garden vary wildly, but one of my personal favourites to plant is sunflowers. They grow huge and are always a beautiful sight from the kitchen window, plus you get fresh grown sunflower seeds at the end of the summer. Daisies, marigolds, buttercups, monkshood, columbine, lavender, sage, and mint are all wonderful for attracting bees and the sage and mint perform double duty in your kitchen.

Colour plays a large part in attracting bees due to the way their eyesight works. Have you ever noticed a bee hovering near you and it just won’t leave? You were probably wearing a colour that was exactly like that bee’s favourite flower and it was wondering why you didn’t have any food for it! For the best results in attracting bees, plant flowers that are blue, violet, white or yellow.

Last, and most importantly, bees need fresh water. How many times have you seen a poor bee struggling to swim in an outdoor pool or other water source? Often these bees drown while just trying to get a drink of water! Don’t worry; there is an easy way to help them out.

Find a shallow dish or planter and fill it with different types of pebbles and rocks. You can find them at any garden store or even start collecting them yourself when you’re digging up the garden for planting. Arrange them so there are higher areas and lower areas in the dish and then fill it about an inch or two deep with fresh water from the hose.

Always leave a little bit of the rocks or pebbles sticking out of the water. This allows the bees to land and drink without getting their wings wet, which would keep them from being able to fly. As water evaporates, having different levels of rocks will allow you to go longer between needing to re-fill the water level.

Enjoy your new bee-friendly garden!

War on Dandelions

Dandelions leaves and flowers are edible, often eaten in salads or converted into wine, and are one of the first flowers to begin attracting pollinators, but they are also considered an ugly weed by most. The trick to getting rid of them is to pull the plants early, before they have had a chance to fully develop their root system. Once they flower, you will likely have to dig deep to pull the plant and if you’ve missed any of the roots, a new plant will grow in its place.

Seedy Saturdays!

Winter is halfway done and it’s time to start thinking about spring planting. Whether you have a whole garden to play in, a plot at the local community garden, or just a small balcony herb garden – you can take advantage of one of many local “Seed Swap” events. 

Originating in 1989 in British Columbia, these grass-roots-organized events are designed to allow gardeners of every type to save seeds from their previous year’s plantings to exchange with each other. This promotes open pollination and the spread of heritage crops within the community.

Look out for your local chapter’s Seedy Saturday or Seedy Sunday to start planning your garden!

Vancouver & Sea to Sky:

• Saturday February 22^nd from 10am-4pm at VanDusen Botanical Garden 
•  Saturday March 1^st from 1pm-3pm at North Shore Neighbourhood House – Inman Rm
•  Saturday April 5^th from 12pm-3pm at Stewart Farm in Surrey

Calgary:

• Saturday March 15^th from 10am-3pm at Hillhurst-Sunnyside Community Centre

Fraser Valley:

• Saturday March 29^th from 10am-2pm at Heritage Park Secondary School

Victoria:

•  Saturday February 15^th from 10am-4pm at the Victoria Confrence Centre
• Saturday March 1^st from 10am-2pm at Haliburton Farm

Rain, Rain, Collect and Save

Every year the average household delegates 50-70% of its water usage to landscaping, irrigation, and other outdoor activities. That can be quite a chunk of the local water supply, not to mention your monthly water bill. There is also a fairly large amount of wasted rain water that hits driveways, roads, and other non-organic surfaces traveling straight into the oceans as run-off. By replacing the water from your hose with rainwater, you can not only reduce your water bill, but also decrease demand on your local water supply and re-use an often ignored resource.

Rain water is one of the purest forms of water available. It has not come into contact with the ground, so it hasn’t picked up minerals or salts from soil or rocks or come in contact with surface pollutants. If using rainwater to wash clothing, you will never need to add water softeners since the amount of calcium is minimal and there is very little soap scum build up. Rain water also has a higher nitrogen content that other water, since it picks up the gas from the air as it falls. This makes rain water perfect for plants that prefer a nitrogen rich diet to thrive.

The easiest way to collect rain water for reuse is in a rain barrel, which will fit right underneath your rain spouts. Rain barrels usually hold around 50 gallons of water and come with a filter kit to collect and remove debris as it pours from the spout. They have a hose attachment near the base for easy use in the garden. There are also free standing barrels that sit in an out of the way section of the garden or patio without a lid. On sunny days, just replace the lid to prevent evaporation.

For those living in apartment buildings, it is just as easy to collect rain water. How many of us have dozen of useless empty containers that we swear we’re going to reuse, but end up just getting stored forever in a cupboard? Pull them out of the cupboard, label them with a sharpie for rain water storage, and get them outside collecting water. As they fill up, just pop the lids back on to keep the water clean and store them in a corner until needed. The nice thing about containers? They stack on top of each other for neat and easy storage.

The third type of recommended rain water collection is called a Rain Garden. These gardens are placed in the path of typical runoff routes and are dug about six inches down from normal lawn level. Rain water collects in the depression for the plants to use, usually perennials and native shrubs, but any type of high water requirement plants are perfect for this sort of garden. By creating a Rain Garden, your lawn will suffer less soil runoff and you'll have a unique stand-a-lone garden to admire.

For those already planning the best way to start their rain water collection, I do recommend taking a quick look at local laws and news regarding the subject. During my research, I discovered that quite a few locations in the United States have laws to prevent home owners from collecting rain water on their own property. Considering their current drought problems in the southwest United States, I hope they ease up on those laws soon.

Late Summer Gardening

For all of you gardeners out there, August is such a rewarding and sometimes overwhelming month in the garden. Crops tend to be overflowing with food to harvest -- the fruition of all your hard work through the previous months -- and there's also the upcoming season to think about. Now's the time to be planning your fall garden, getting cover crops ready and imagining how to keep your plots well through the wet winter. Here are a few things to keep in mind as August comes to a close in your garden.

Beat the Heat
Keep the soil moist to help plants continue to thrive through the hot and dry spells of late summer. A good mulch cover helps keep moisture in the soil and regular watering will do wonders for thirsty plants. Even better, simple irrigation systems like a milk jugs with small holes in the bottom will cut down on your handwatering time while truly nourishing your plants.

Harvest, Harvest, Harvest

Make sure you keep on picking fruits and vegetables at the ideal stage, as overripe fruit can prevent smaller fruits on the same plant from developing properly and attract pests and diseases. Not sure when to pick your produce?

For squash, smaller tastes better -- summer squash and zucchini can get tough and woody when they grow too large, so pick when they're still small and delicate-tasting. Look under the leaves to ensure you find all the fruit! Carrots, too, are better when they're smaller; grab them when they have the diameter of a quarter or less. Let tomatoes ripen on the vine for the best flavour. Potatoes are ready when their tops are brown and have fallen over. Green beans should be picked when they're about as thick as a pencil and cantaloupes are ready when their skin is nettled and they slip easily from the vine.

Harvest any herb plants early in the day after the dew has dried. To save herbs through the winter, dry them in a dehydrator or air dry them on screens or by hanging bundles upside down in a cool, dry place. Store any dried herbs in an airtight container.

Get Ready for Fall
As early summer crops die away, replace them with autumn crops like broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower. Other brassicas, like kale, do well throughout the colder months and can be eaten fresh from the garden even as winter comes in, so make sure you have plenty of room for these cooler-weather crops.

Prune Down
Prune canes like raspberries after harvest. For plants that bear their fruit in June, cut the canes that fruited this year right to the ground. For everbearing plants, prune canes that bore fruit this season in half.

Keep Your Compost Going
If you aren't already composting, now is a great time to get started. That pile of peelings and pits will be great nourishment for your plants next year. Make sure you're not adding any diseased plants or weeds that have ripening seeds on them into your compost. You can also water your compost pile in the summer to speed up its decomposition.

LifeCycles Fruit Tree Project

The LifeCycles Fruit Tree Project links people who have surplus produce in their yards with people who have the willingness and ability to harvest it and then delivers it to people and community groups that do not have access to fresh produce. Volunteers harvest fruit from private trees that would otherwise go to waste. Fresh cherries, plums, apples, pears, and other fruit (or sometimes vegetables) are then distributed through community centres and food banks, and shared among volunteer pickers, tree owners and used in value-added products whose sales help support the Fruit Tree Project.

Background

In the 1800s, Victoria was the legendary fruit-growing centre of B.C. The stately old fruit trees in backyards across the city are the legacy of orchards that once flourished in the region's mild climate and fertile soils. The sad part of the story is that the apple has seen its heyday. With our busier lifestyles, few of us find time to cultivate and harvest apple trees and many of Victoria's old apple trees now drop their annual unwanted loads onto someone's lawn. While the wasps and deer gorge on this homegrown fruit, Victorians bring home bags of shiny Granny Smiths shipped from the Okanagan, the US, or New Zealand. Such market varieties are chosen for durability and good looks rather than flavour, quality, or historical importance. As a result, many varieties that were valued in the past for exceptional texture, taste, good storage ability, or tradition are being lost. With them goes centuries of history and careful selection along with our ability to discern and appreciate subtle nuances of their flavours.

The LifeCycles Fruit Tree Project is a celebration of a simpler time when we fed ourselves from our own orchards and gardens, timed the passage of seasons by the ripening of fruit, and discussed pie recipes over the fence with our neighbours. Up and picking since 1998, the Fruit Tree Project joined LifeCycles in 1999 and since then they've been transforming backyard fruit trees into a valuable source of food for the community.

Volunteers

Thanks to hundreds of volunteers and a couple of ladders, the Fruit Tree Project harvests apples, cherries, pears, and other fruit from privately owned trees that would otherwise go to waste. They then share the harvest among homeowners, volunteers, food banks, and community organizations within Victoria. A unique aspect of this project is that a portion of the harvest is set aside to make value-added products that help defray our costs. Last year, their fantastic volunteers and tree owners made it possible for them to collect and redistribute over 36,000 lbs of fruit that would have otherwise gone to waste.

They're just starting to ramp up for the 2012 fruit-picking season and they invite you to get involved as a Tree Owner, Volunteer, or Business Partner.

If you have a few hours a week to spare between mid-July and the end of October, they are currently recruiting Team Leaders (driver’s license required), Assistant Team Leaders, Fruit Pickers, Tree Assessors, Fruit Redistributors, and Office Volunteers.

New volunteers: Use their online form to sign up.
Returning volunteers: Email them with your preferred role for 2012 at fruittree@lifecyclesproject.ca.
       
Other Ways to Help

If you are a tree owner with fruit to share, please use their online form to register your fruit tree(s) for picking between July 1 and October 31.

Please note: They do their very best to accommodate and meet everyone's needs but are not always able to pick every single tree. They will call homeowners to confirm our arrival time if and when a picking team has been arranged to pick your fruit. Thank you for your patience and support for this important and innovative project!

If you are a local business, they'd love to talk about how you can support their social entreprise by partnering with them. Check out who they've partnered with already and get in touch with your ideas, especially if you'd like to collaborate on creating a new fruit-based product.

Contacts

Fruit Tree Project Harvest Coordinator:
Holland Gidney
fruittree@lifecyclesproject.ca
250-886-9284

Fruit Tree Project Manager & Social Enterprise Coordinator:
Renate Nahser-Ringer
renate@lifecyclesproject.ca
250-383-5800

Vancouver Fruit Tree Project

The Vancouver Fruit Tree Project Society is dedicated to harvesting and sharing neighbourhood fruit.

Volunteers

Volunteers harvest extra fruit from backyard fruit trees and redistribute it to community groups. In the past 12 years they have picked more than 35,000 pounds of fruit and redistributed it to community centres, neighbourhood houses, day cares, and other community groups.

Fruit picking season begins in late July or early August. Email info@vancouverfruittree.com to join their volunteer mailing list and stay in touch.

There are many volunteer positions available, including fruit pickers (families and kids welcome), delivery drivers, bike delivery drivers, fundraisers, social media assistants, and more. Check out the Fruit Project's volunteer page for more information on all the options.

Tree Owners

Fruit tree owners are a key part of the Vancouver Fruit Tree Project. Your trees help feed people in the community. Here’s how it works:

• They bring volunteers, ladders, and picking equipment.
• They provide transportation to deliver the harvest to community groups afterwards.
• You can arrange to be home when the harvest happens, or tell them when they should come.
• You can tell them how many pounds of fruit to leave on your porch after the harvest.
• They are offering VFTP Memberships for $25, and members’ trees will be our priority for scheduled picks. Becoming a member entitles you to have one tree harvested.

The Vancouver Tree Project is becoming more popular every year. The number of people requesting their services has increased, but their funding remains the same. As a charitable organization, they need your assistance. Membership funds and donations keep the organization viable by paying for operational costs. Coordinator’s wages, vehicles, equipment, insurance, and gasoline all add up and they need your assistance to keep up the good work. Becoming a member entitles you to have one tree harvested; if you would like more than one tree harvested, they request an additional $10 for smaller trees and $20 for larger ones. If you are unable to pay, or would like to pay a smaller amount, they still want to hear from you.
    
Other Projects

The Vancouver Fruit Tree Project’s priority is to connect fruit tree owners with volunteers who want to rescue unpicked fruit. They’ll reach out to more than 100 tree owners and 180 volunteers to pick thousands of pounds of fruit this year. But they’re also working on other projects:

• Selling galettes (apple tarts) at the Farmer’s Market.
• Training for people interested in being a pick leader or driver for fruit picks.
• Bike trailer training: learn to drive the big cargo trailer!
• Equipment upgrading and repair project.
• Participating in outreach events like the Main Street Festival and more.

If you are interested in any of these projects or have other ideas that might suit the society, please contact them:

The Vancouver Fruit Tree Project

Phone: 604-689-4446
Web: www.vancouverfruittree.com
Email: info@vancouverfruittree.com

Gardening on the Job

At Green Earth Organics, we're big fans of Nature's Path cereals and granola bars. They are tasty, organic, and they offer delicious gluten-free options too. They are also a local success story: from humble beginnings in Richmond in 1967, they are now a third-generation enterprise with plants in Washington and Wisconsin and grain farms in Saskatchewan.

Now they are making the pages of "Organic Gardening" magazine (organicgardening.com) for their unique workplace gardens.

The full article is available at Corporate Gardens: Out of the Office", but here are a couple of excerpts:

Six years ago, we built a garden for the staff on company property. Located at the back of our head office, it measures about 2,400 square feet. Participation is open to the approximately 100 people who work here. To build it, we brought in a backhoe to remove a bramble and weed patch, installed a culvert, covered a ditch, and installed raised beds filled with fertile soil, compost, and manure—all organic, of course.

Apart from the organic produce each person enjoys, gardening is one of the healthiest exercises known. When we turn compost, till the soil, weed, and water, we benefit: We leave the soil better than we found it; we breathe fresh air and move to the rhythms of gardening; we enjoy community spirit; we watch firsthand the cycle of nature—from seed to mature plant, to harvest and the sharing of bounty. Having a company organic garden is a group effort, though much of the work inevitably falls on a few shoulders. To garden, we have to be willing to roll up our sleeves and get our boots dirty. For me, the company gardens are a natural extension of a love for nature and its wonderful bounties, as well as, in the words of the Persian poet Saadi, "a delight to the eye and a solace for the soul."

"Organic Gardening" also offers advice on how to start your own on-the-job garden, Grow in your Job, including:

Last year, Independent School Management, a private school management consulting firm in Wilmington, Delaware, put in three raised beds and a high trellis for vertical gardening on company land. The staff planted only vegetables that could be handpicked, that didn’t require cooking, and that would produce abundantly—such as tomatoes, peppers, snap peas, small melons, radishes, and greens and herbs, reasoning that employees could easily harvest ripe vegetables and eat them minutes later in the lunchroom.

Seasonal Garden Maintenance

It is not uncommon, within the time constraints we impose on ourselves, to feel overwhelmed by the challenges of maintaining our own yards and gardens efficiently. The relevance of the saying "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" can become quickly apparent. Many of us repeat the same actions in our gardens each year and find that sustainable practices are eluding us.

With a clear understanding of a garden's natural progression throughout the seasons, proactive maintenance can be easily achieved. Working with nature as opposed to against it will ensure many health benefits. Embracing such a philosophy will increase the availability of nutrients and decrease water requirements and the amount of work needed in the long term, while bringing sustainability into your environment.

What a garden needs is appropriate plant material for its environment. Stupendous growth will be achieved by incorporating crucial nutrition and ensuring its availability. Nutrient replenishment that can be done by mulching and amendments. For sustainability, we also want to think about water, especially water retention capabilities, and the amount and intensity of day light, as well as plan for regular maintenance done at appropriate times.

Gardens will dictate the amount of work required, because of the aesthetic desired and the plant materials chosen. There is always something to do in a garden to ensure it will continue to thrive.

Reducing the amount of time needed for regular maintenance can be achieved by having a densely planted garden. A lush garden is aesthetically pleasing. It also offers less open and bare areas, therefore reducing the availability of land for seeds flying by like dandelions and other weeds who would claim an open market on your property.

Consider adding appropriate plant material this spring as well as in the fall to your garden. You may also think about enlarging your existing flower beds and reducing the amount of grass to maintain.

At the same time, increasing the bio diversity will attract a rich amount of beneficial insects and birds who will contribute to the health and growth of your gardens.

Kindest regards,
Roberto Gaudet

mylivingcanvas.com
604-809-9115

My Living Canvas is providing sustainable human powered gardening practices, and pesticides alternative. We are promoting a healthy, sustainable growing environment for you and your community. My Living Canvas believes in enriching the soil with compost which in turn feeds the plants material. Every year we add soil amender to your flower beds and your freshly aerated lawns. This process provides nutrition plants require for a healthy growing season. All the organic matter when breaking down continues to nourish and equalizes the soil PH. Liming is no longer required for lawns. The organic matter in the soil also enhances moisture retention which reduces water consumption.

My Living Canvas is providing all your gardening needs without gasoline powered leaf blowers, lawn mowers or trimmer. We use pesticide alternatives, keeping you and your neighborhood at peace naturally. We are dedicated to having our garden looking at their very best and to provide helpful knowledgeable advice with a highly reliable service.

We also support earth friendly, biological pest control methods for your health benefit as well as your entire yard ecosystem.

Call us so we can schedule an appointment to get your yard looking its healthiest for the 2011 growing season.

Avoiding Synthetic Fertilizers

Over many years of garden observations, we have found the necessity of using of synthetic fertilizer is highly questionable and have found alternative soil stimulating solutions. We also question the necessity of using weed killers. It is a well documented fact that weed killers will suppress more than the unwanted plants (the weeds). They will eliminate the life of an entire thriving eco-system who contributes beneficial work within our yard. They also prove to be detrimental to the health of our children, family, friends, neighbours, and pets.

These chemicals will go washing into our ground water and will end up in our streams and rivers, changing our lives at different levels. Fertilizer runoff is especially noxious in streams as it causes excess weed and algae growth, reducing the available oxygen for fish and other aquatic life.

Most organic gardeners have different techniques and tools that prove to be sustainable. Mulch, mulch, mulch, and mulch, we always say. We believe in feeding the soil rather than the plant; the soil will feed not only the plant but an entire eco-system to sustain healthy life forms.

Human powered equipment promotes healthy, rich soil, filled with organic matter that keeps composting to supply all nutrition required while helping in moisture retention. Natural garden invaders can be deterred by natural alternatives such as natural predators and companion planting. The management of pest becomes easier with a well-planned garden. The plant material chosen will produce a greater bio-diversity and create a sustainable eco-system as well as having you and your neighbour living at peace naturally.

Kindest regards,
Roberto Gaudet

mylivingcanvas.com
604-809-9115

My Living Canvas is providing sustainable human powered gardening practices, and pesticides alternative. We are promoting a healthy, sustainable growing environment for you and your community. My Living Canvas believes in enriching the soil with compost which in turn feeds the plants material. Every year we add soil amender to your flower beds and your freshly aerated lawns. This process provides nutrition plants require for a healthy growing season. All the organic matter when breaking down continues to nourish and equalizes the soil PH. Liming is no longer required for lawns. The organic matter in the soil also enhances moisture retention which reduces water consumption.

My Living Canvas is providing all your gardening needs without gasoline powered leaf blowers, lawn mowers or trimmer. We use pesticide alternatives, keeping you and your neighborhood at peace naturally. We are dedicated to having our garden looking at their very best and to provide helpful knowledgeable advice with a highly reliable service.

We also support earth friendly, biological pest control methods for your health benefit as well as your entire yard ecosystem.

Call us so we can schedule an appointment to get your yard looking its healthiest for the 2011 growing season.

Winter Gardening Projects

Our Vancouver winters are a perfect opportunity to observe and make notes of how your naked garden has sustained itself during the seasons. Notice the amount of soil present: are any roots showing? Are there any plants, shrubs or trees that are struggling, searching for light or simply are not happy in this location? Are there any signs of disease?

Doing some research to find out what plants you have and under which growing condition they grow best will allow you plan your next gardening season.

Do you like the current look your garden offers? Start thinking about changes, extending existing beds, and creating new ones.

Winter pruning will promote tree and shrub health. It is a very good time to guide and establish their shape. Proper pruning promotes good air flow, which will reduce disease causing organism infiltration in the spring. You may also see that an area of grass is dying due to the shade provided by the trees and may a good reason to enlarge an existing flower bed and to thin the tree canopy.

We recommend amending your soil every year. Is there enough soil? The soil is what feeds the plant material and 4-5 inches (7-10 cm) is a good initial amount of soil to provide your plants for a healthy growing season.

Kindest regards,
Roberto Gaudet

mylivingcanvas.com
604-809-9115

My Living Canvas is providing sustainable human powered gardening practices, and pesticides alternative. We are promoting a healthy, sustainable growing environment for you and your community. My Living Canvas believes in enriching the soil with compost which in turn feeds the plants material. Every year we add soil amender to your flower beds and your freshly aerated lawns. This process provides nutrition plants require for a healthy growing season. All the organic matter when breaking down continues to nourish and equalizes the soil PH. Liming is no longer required for lawns. The organic matter in the soil also enhances moisture retention which reduces water consumption.

My Living Canvas is providing all your gardening needs without gasoline powered leaf blowers, lawn mowers or trimmer. We use pesticide alternatives, keeping you and your neighborhood at peace naturally. We are dedicated to having our garden looking at their very best and to provide helpful knowledgeable advice with a highly reliable service.

We also support earth friendly, biological pest control methods for your health benefit as well as your entire yard ecosystem.

Call us so we can schedule an appointment to get your yard looking its healthiest for the 2011 growing season.

Winter Pruning - Organic Gardening Advice from My Living Canvas

There are three main objectives when deciding to prune a tree or shrub: strength, shape, and airflow. Winter offers easy access and a good view of the tree’s “skeleton” and their dormant phase is ideal for pruning and shaping.

Pruning for strength means to prune so that the limbs and branches are strong and stable. Removing weak limbs and small angles will improve the general health of trees and shrubs. This will reduce the chances of it being damaged by winter elements. Pruning for shape will produce an aesthetically pleasing tree or shrub that is balanced and sized correctly for the space it occupies. Trees and shrubs have an overall structure, and some branches will grow into their structure while others will grow too far out and spoil the overall shape. Removing branches that are out of alignment will improve its overall structure.

Trees and shrubs are part of your landscape as a whole and may also need to be pruned to accommodate the need of other items in your yard. Internal branches fill the structure of a tree or shrub and both inhibit airflow and reduce light to the interior of the tree. This creates a perfect environment for disease-causing organisms to take hold.

Pruning trees and shrubs promotes good airflow. Thinning them out is also important because branches that are growing into the tree's internal structure will eventually butt against one another. Their junction can gather moisture and cause decay. There is also a tendency for the limbs to grow together, which is not healthy for trees. Water sprouts or suckers are found in the interior of the tree as well as at the base of the trunk. They grow rapidly and use more of the tree’s energy than they return, so they are better pruned away.

All these problems will be apparent in late winter and can be corrected without tangling with excess growth in spring or summer. Late winter pruning should be completed before the new growth cycle begins.

Kindest regards,

Roberto Gaudet

mylivingcanvas.com

604-809-9115

My Living Canvas is providing sustainable human powered gardening practices, and pesticides alternative. We are promoting a healthy, sustainable growing environment for you and your community. My Living Canvas believes in enriching the soil with compost which in turn feeds the plants material. Every year we add soil amender to your flower beds and your freshly aerated lawns. This process provides nutrition plants require for a healthy growing season. All the organic matter when breaking down continues to nourish and equalizes the soil PH. Liming is no longer required for lawns. The organic matter in the soil also enhances moisture retention which reduces water consumption.

Fall Garden Clean-Up

With colder winters and the rainy season upon our gardens, all non-evergreen plant material is dying off and will soon be ready to be cut back. The extent of fall clean-up required is determined by the kind of garden you grow, the concerns you and/or your neighbour may have in regards to your garden appearance, and the number of perennials versus evergreens.

Doing a big fall clean-up might not be as necessary as once thought. Less is more in your garden. Leaving some perennials and flowers standing offer wild life and habitat for over winterizing insects, perches for birds, food from seeds left behind, as well as enjoyment watching them bring life into our winter gardens. For us, there are forms, textures and colors to contemplate.

In an organically-managed garden, bugs--and lots of them--are welcome; nature will take care of itself. Come spring, migrating birds will come looking for those insects provided by your garden. Some other ways insects are beneficial is by being pollinators, predators and by increasing bio-diversity to your garden.

If perennials stalks must be cut down, you may choose to cut them in about 5” lengths and lay them on the ground of your garden bed. They will serve as mulch with fall leaves and could provide cover for over winterizing butterflies. All this important organic material will enrich your soil and you and your garden will reap the many benefits coming next spring.

The work you will want to do this fall is remove all weeds, especially invasive ones. Divide overgrown plant material, reposition or share with friends. Remove parts of grassy areas and extend your planting areas. Planting of new material or some of your divided plants from your or friends' yards. Spring bulbs are best to plant in the fall.

Some pruning and trimming for shaping and plant separation can also be done at this time. Dead and diseased limbs are not to be added to your compost.

My Living Canvas is providing sustainable human powered gardening practices, with pesticides alternative, keeping you and your neighborhood at peace naturally. Living Canvas believes in feeding the soil rather than feeding the plants. Every year before new growth erupts from the ground we add soil amender to your flower beds and lawn after being aerated. This process provides all the nutrition plants require for a healthy growing season. All the organic matter when breaking down continues to nourish as well as retain moisture in the ground.

Kindest regards,
Roberto Gaudet
My Living Canvas Organic Gardening
(604) 809.9115
mylivingcanvas.com