Ladner Community Garden

As we enjoy the holidays with family and friends, the board of directors would like to wish everyone who has been involved with the Ladner Community Garden, a heartfelt happy holidays and Merry Christmas. Without out dedicated volunteers our garden wouldn't have accomplished what it did this year. Even in winter the rock garden looks fabulous with its seed heads feeding the birds and hopefully reseeding for us at the same time. It is now the end of the garden season, this is the time to decide whether you would like to come back in 2013 for another great season, we would love to have you. Thank you to the allotment owners who have dropped off their cheque or cash. Application forms are available at Bryan's Bookstore in Ladner, through director,Sharon Hagel or we can email it to you. Please read over the new garden rules for 2013 before sending in your registration, payment is due January 1, 2013. Application forms & cash/cheques can be dropped off at Krist...

Ladner Seedy Saturday is just around the corner! It happens on February 9, 2013 at the Ladner Baptist Church from 10:am -3:pm. There is lots of parking and easy access for the disabled.  We have some new speakers coming to this fun community event. Tatiana Kouchnareva will be back to talk about growing tomatoes. She will also be selling her tomato seeds at the event.  Andrea Bellamy will also be presenting in the afternoon so mark your calendars. Andrea is the author of 'Sugar Snaps and Strawberries' and will be talking about guerrilla gardening. She will be doing a hands on presentation so it will be lots of fun.  We will also have wonderful seed vendors such as West Coast Seeds and Tatiana Tomatobase . We even have Mojave from  the Planting Seeds Project showing us how to clean seeds and doing an activity with children. Its a family event so bring your children.  Our popular seed exchange will be back. Bring in your unused organic seeds...

Its almost the end of 2012 and with it we close on what I think has been a very successful growing season. Even though we started with a cool spring, the summer came quick and stayed hot and dry, something we aren't used to here on the lower mainland of British Columbia. I don't ever recall watering in the month of September but our dry weather continued until the end of October. We began 2012 with our first Ladner Seedy Saturday. It was a huge success and brought like minded gardeners all under one roof. We shopped and traded seeds, bought plants, listened to great speakers and enjoyed the camaraderie that gardeners evoke when all get together. I can't wait until our second Seedy Saturday on February 9, 2013! The first classes came from Southpointe Academy in March and we started to get the ground ready for planting.   The food bank garden grew very well and we were able to donate almost 300 pounds of food to the local food bank. We had our first plant s...

Ladner Community Garden Newsletter Seed Sow and Grow Upcoming Events and Workshops Tuesday, November 20 7:30 - 9:00 p.m. Evergreen Garden Club  Andrea Bellamy will be our guest speaker. She will be speaking on container gardening with edibles at 7:30pm at Kin House in Ladner . Andrea is the author of the popular gardening book, Sugar Snaps and Strawberries. Guests are free. Friday, November 30 5-8 p.m. Open House at West Coast Seeds A special in-store sales event at the West Coast Seeds retail store in Ladner. Everything in the store is 15% off. Refreshments, music and great Christmas Gift ideas for those gardeners on your list. December 1 and 2 Phoenix Perennials Christmas Hurrah! Phoenix is giving 4 different workshops for Christmas Decorating Do -it- Yourself Christmas Rose Containers Christmas Rose Centrepiece Workshop Christmas Rose Wreath Making Workshop Christmas Rose Outdoor Container Workshop For more informatio...

Its that time again! Ladner Seedy Saturday and Garden Expo is back for a second year. It was so much fun connecting with new gardeners that we just had to do it again. What a great way to start off the gardening season. This year our Seedy Saturday will be held on February 9, 2013 from 10-3 at the Ladner Baptist Church. Lets take a look at who came last year.  Robin Leake from Wild Ginger Designs joined out Seedy Saturday last year. Even though the event was held on a cool January day she had lots of beautiful plants for us to buy. Robin really has an eye for design when it comes to containers. If you have been to the Ladner Village Market, you will have seen her stunning planters.  Last year the pussy willows were so popular. Our friend, Lisa Blair, came to sell her seeds along with these willow branches.  How can you have a Seedy Saturday without seed companies? Stellar Seeds came to our event all the way from Kaslo. Just a heads up for this year...

We are pleased to announce our second Ladner Seedy Saturday and Garden Expo. It will be on February 9, 2013 from 10-3 at the Ladner Baptist Church. If you would like to be a vendor at our event pleas me let me know by commenting below. I will send you a registration form. So what is a Seedy Saturday? Its an annual event held all across the country to bring like minded gardeners together to shop for seeds, plants and garden accessories for the upcoming garden season. We focus on all things organic from seeds to soil and fertilizers. Its an event where you can come to swap open pollinated seeds, especially the heirloom types. I love starting plants from seeds so I have lots of seed to bring to the swap table and hope I will bring home something new to try in my garden. I know what you are thinking, why grow from seed? Did you know how many different plants you can grow? I don't want just the ordinary plants most garden centers offer. I want heirloom types of tomatoes, the o...

Here it is October and it still feels like summer. Last year we didn't have to water our gardens past the end of August but this year we are still watering into October. Crazy weather! You have to wonder if it will ever rain. I am sure if you are anything like me, you are so done with watering. Some of us just want to put the garden to bed and others may go on to planting winter crops. We had a bit of a spontaneous work party yesterday and lots of work was accomplished at the community garden. Jim came down and got us a load of road base to add to the west side of the composting area. Then the composters all got moved on to the base and they are all ready to use. With it already October, I know our allotment holders will be cleaning some of their finished crops out of their gardens. Feel free to add to these compost bins but try and chop up your greens so they decompose faster. It also makes more room for everyone else's plant material. If we run out of room we will have t...

Dear Garden Thief, I am so done with you! I am angry and if you ask others I don't get angry easy. Today I was working in the children's garden getting ready for a class on Wednesday when I couldn't believe my eyes! I wrote this morning about how I had carrots in the children's garden as they are learning about the 100 mile diet this fall. Well, not any more! The least you could have done is taken them home instead of leaving them to shrivel up in the sun. These carrots would have been tasty but I guess they weren't up to your standards. They would have been used in our fall pumpkin soup but now I will have to buy carrots thanks to you. How could you steal from the children? So far the theft has been a few items every couple of days. We know what you drive and you have been seen in the garden on occasion. Does the word 'community' mean you can help yourself? Absolutely not! We are a community garden and if you are in need all you have to do is ask. Taking...

Its been a disheartening week as I hear about the agricultural theft of 5000 pounds of potatoes in a community just a short drive away and more theft of food from the Terra Nova Sharing Farm. Its now happened to the Ladner Community Garden and I must say we are angry. We have had reports of vegetable theft over the last few weeks. Its has been quite discouraging for our new gardeners as they baby their peppers until they are almost ready to harvest only to have them picked by a stranger. At first we figured it was just an isolated incident until a member spotted someone shopping with empty bags in hand. Its only a matter of time before we get a photo of this person but for now, I hope they are enjoying the fruits of our labour. Last night I went to harvest beans for the food bank only to see a measly four beans on the vines. We had only harvested a few pounds the week before and knew more would be ready for this weeks harvest. Luckily I had an allotment holder donate 16 pounds of beets...

Last spring we opened the Ladner Community Garden, the first community garden for Ladner. If you walked by last year the rock garden in the front of the community garden looked like this. Neighbours watched as volunteer and board director, Sharon, hauled rock by rock one at the a time to complete the garden. Did you know that she used reclaimed driveways? Four Delta residents were replacing their driveways and we took their cement as long as it didn't contain any wire or rebar. The concrete was inspected before drop off to ensure it was suitable.  Here it just built and ready for planting. As gardeners there is no shortage of plants. We often came to the garden to see plants waiting for us. Thank you to those who contributed and to the garden centers who helped us out.  Sharon planted the main perennials and shrubs first, them came the colour. It has to be look good all the time according to Sharon and it does. Check out these Nasturtiums that she grew from seed...