Seed Starting Workshop

fun was had by all...

Square Foot Gardening

Square Foot Gardening is a type of intensive gardening popularized by Mel Bartholemew. It is based on the idea that the wide rows in conventional home gardening are a waste of time, work, water and space, and that more quality vegetables can be grown in less space with less effort, no chemical additives, and on any type of ground, since the underlying soil is not used in the garden.

for a Canadian Gardening article on basic square foot garden planning click here

Companion Planting

Companion planting in gardening and agriculture is planting of different crops in close physical proximity, on the theory that they will help each other. It is a form of polyculture. Companion planting is used by farmers and gardeners in both industrialized and developing countries. Many of the modern principles of companion planting were present many centuries ago in the cottage garden . Although there is a wealth of information on its historic use, there remains limited available scientific research on the effectiveness for each of these interventions.

For farmers, these techniques are used in Integrated Pest Management , and systems can be set up to allow the farmer to have more yield and/or reduce pesticides. In the developing world, tropical crops are used instead of temperate ones and provide NGOs and other organizations a tool for alleviating poverty.

For gardeners, the combinations of plants also make for a more varied, attractive vegetable garden. It can also be used to mitigate the decline of biodiversity.

for a good list of plant companions - and those that don't get along - click here

an excellent book on companion planting is:

Carrots love tomatoes: secrets of companion planting for successful gardening by Louise Riotte

available at the Ottawa Public Library or your favourite independent bookstore

chance to stock up on seeds

Seedy Saturday - March 1, 2008, 10am - 3pm

at Ron Kolbus Lakeside Centre in Britannia Park.

Admission is FREE!

Seed exchange and sale, opportunities for learning about seeds and organic growing, marketplace (houseplants, organic foods, herbal products and more), and local organic and environmental organizations. Hosted by Seeds of Diversity Canada.

Information: Greta Kryger, www.seeds-organic.com

Organic Gardening: The First Steps

Organic gardeners try to follow a system that will build good soil structure and fertility by duplicating nature=s methods as closely as possible without the use of synthetic fertilizers. Chemical pesticides (poisons) are also avoided.

To describe a very complex system in simple terms - in nature what is fed by the soil returns to the soil. Fauna and flora (organic matter) in varying stages of decay are converted into humus by the never ending work of microorganisms in the soil. Humus, in turn, provides the source of nourishment for all plant life. Thus:

HUMUS is the PRODUCT and the SOURCE of all living material. more