Ladner Community Garden

2014 was a good year at the Ladner Community Garden. Crops were abundant and with the extended warmth of summer some gardeners were able to harvest two successive crops. We have been spoiled by two hot summers in a row. It makes me rethink my garden plantings for 2015. Will we have the nice weather again? You just never know. Planting to harvest in late September and even October has changed our views on when to plant seeds here on the west coast. Lets take a look at a few of the highlights at the garden in 2014.  We started our year hosting Ladner Seedy Saturday and Garden Expo 2014 and it drew a bigger crowd than ever. Watch for us again on February 21 and 22 in 2015. Seedy Saturday will be held in a new venue this year. It will be held at the historic Harris barn at Kirkland House , 4140 Arthur Drive in Ladner. For more information on this event click here for the story.  Our gardeners grow all sorts of crops but this planting of Amaranth took my breath awa...

The Ladner Seedy Saturday and Garden Expo 2015 is pleased to present our speaker schedule for the event. If you haven't been to Seedy Saturday you won't want to miss it. I am still waiting on topics from some of my speakers and will update as we get closer to the event. Brian Minter spoke at the event last year and brought us up to speed on where the gardening industry was going. Thomas Hobbs needs no introduction. He is well known for his garden design and we are hoping to get a peek into his new garden in the Fraser Valley. His private gardens have been featured in many magazines such as House Beautiful, Better Homes and Gardens and Horticulture. Tom will have us inspired to think out of the box when it comes to designing our gardens. Tom is also the author of Shocking Beauty and the Jewel Box Garden.  If you live locally, you will have met Robyn Leake at our Ladner Village Market in the summer. She is an amazing designer when it comes to containers. Robyn will be spea...

Ladner Seedy Saturday and Garden Expo 2015 is starting to shape up. I have been working on the speaker schedule for this two day event. I am please to say that Thomas Hobbs will be speaking at our event as well as Brian Minter. How could you not want to come to our event? As I complete the speakers schedule I will be sending out vendor registration forms. I already have vendors booked but there are still spaces left. I hope to get a revised poster done near the end of November with a schedule so you can plan your weekend. Tatiana of Tatiana's Tomatobase will be returning with her seeds this year. She says she has lots of new seeds to show everyone. Its time to start planning next years garden. Before we know it the seed catalogues will be arriving. We are very happy to announce that West Coast Seeds will be attending as well with a huge selection of organic seeds for your garden. If you are interesting in learning more about this event, contact me at therivercrest@gmail...

To our allotment holders and gardeners; this week we experienced some extreme weather and our community garden was hit pretty hard. It is your responsibility to make sure that all stakes and supports are firmly screwed down to your bed. If you are unable to do this, please remove the stakes and take them home for the winter.  I went to the community garden the day after the big wind storm and the following photos are what I had to clean up. Each week I am required to do a safety walk as this garden is on public property. Above are empty pots that I rescued from afar. Please take them home. If you own this cute little guy, he needs a warm place for the winter. He had blown out of the garden. Don't feel bad, my scarecrow is now bald having lost his hat and hair to the wind.  All trellises must be stored at home unless its been used. In that case they must be firmly attached to resist 80km winds. Treat your community garden like you do your own. Check on it after...

The committee for Ladner Seedy Saturday and Garden Expo 2015 has been working hard to bring you one of the best events to date. Its been pretty quiet over here on the blog as I tackle new projects so I apologize for my absence. So what can we expect at Ladner Seedy Saturday? As you can see we are now partnering with the Corporation of Delta to host the event. They have been kind enough to let us use the historic Harris barn at Kirkland House on Arthur drive. It couldn't be a better venue. Okay, many don't know this but I lived on this property as a child. I remember running through the hay fields and helping to pick potatoes by hand. Going back to this old homestead makes it surreal for me and full of memories. Yes, I am excited. Lets get back to the event. We have Brian Minter as one of our keynote speakers. He is the guru of gardening and last year he was met with a room of eager gardeners young and old as he talked about how gardening is changing. I have a...

The Ladner Community Garden Society is excited to announce the dates for next years Seedy Saturday and Garden Expo. This year we have partnered with the Corporation of Delta to bring you a new two day event full of garden excitement. If you would like to be a vendor at our event just comment below. We will be sending out vendor registration forms in November. Don't forget to save your seeds for our popular seed swap. Now is the perfect time to collect seeds before fall rains arrive. Stay tuned for more info as we organize this event. We hope to bring you an array of talented garden speakers and vendors.

June is here and all of our gardens are planted. Thanks to all of our allotment gardeners for doing such a fine job getting their seedlings in. The gardens are full of vegetables almost ready to harvest. I know I am having lettuce envy over some of the gardeners. Lettuce just won't grow well back in the children's garden. I use the same seed at home and its fine. Lets take a walk through the garden today.     The rockery which borders the front of the community garden is full of blooms. The Sweet William or Dianthus barbatus is stunning, isn't it? This plant attracts butterflies and bees to the garden.  Next to it is Limnanthes douglasii or poached egg flower. This cute as a button flower is easy to grow from seed. Let it self sow to have it year after year in your garden. This flower attracts hoverflies to the garden and they eat aphids.  The Campanula rambles nicely over the rock wall. This spark of blue in June is a welcome sight. There a...

April is here and if you haven't planted your vegetable seeds yet, its time to get busy. Plants such as peas, broad beans, spinach, lettuce, carrots, arugula, potatoes and onion sets should be in the ground. Its still too early for plants such as basil, peppers, beans, cucumbers or squash but getting your seeds chosen is wise while selection lasts. I like to wait until night time temperatures are a steady 9-10C before placing my warm weather crops outside. Don't forget to harden off your new transplants before planting. They need time to adjust from a warm cozy greenhouse to the lower temperatures of the garden. Take them out for an hour each day to get them used to being outside and lengthen the time as you go. This hardening off can take up to a week but your plants will adjust better.  Thanks to the allotment gardeners that have cultivated their gardens. Try to have your gardens planted by the end of May so you have a successful harvest.      Have you see...

Are you looking for somewhere to garden and be part of a community of gardeners? We have just the solution. This spring a few beds have opened up in the Ladner Community Garden. Each raised bed is 4' by 10' and 10" high. This size bed will produce enough salad greens for two people all summer long. The cost of having an allotment at the Ladner Community Garden is $40 per year with our year running from January 1-December 31. You would also be required to obtain a membership for as little as $10 for seniors over the age of 65, $15 for a single membership and $25 for a family membership. The Ladner Community Garden encourages everyone to help out at work parties during the growing season to keep our garden looking top notch. Having a garden does require commitment as you may have to water often during hot dry weather. It is also a requirement that you harvest in a timely manner to lessen any theft in the garden. We have community meals in the garden during the summ...

Ladner Seedy Saturday and Garden Expo 2014 was a huge success. Thanks goes to all our volunteers, vendors and customers for making this event successful. It was a fun  day had by all. After five months of working on this event, it was nice to see it all come together. Let's take a look at a few of the displays.  Ray Mattei from Tropic to Tropic came with his plants. He had everything from olive trees, avocado trees and citrus. Did you know many of these plants are now hardy here? I came home with Camellia sinensis or Russian tea shrub although I would have loved to have bought way more.  Distinctive Perennials brought his amazing succulent containers and the mix of colours made it hard to choose which plant to take home. I couldn't resist buying a couple of small plants for my terrariums and will have to get some more soon.  We also had three speakers and as you can see it was standing room only. Brian Minter, Julia Common and Ian Tait gave wonderful...