Ladner Community Garden

Its been ages since I have posted, bad me but life gets busy when you are farming in the great weather that we had this year. As 2016 comes to a close, I want to thank all of you who have supported the Ladner Community Garden over the years. In the spring we had such a wait list that we released six more raised beds for eager gardeners. Going into 2017 we have a new list so we will be looking at finding space once again.   I have been working on Ladner Seedy Saturday and Garden Expo 2017 which is scheduled for Saturday, February 18, 2017 at the Ladner United Church. Please note that our venue has changed this year. I think the acoustics in the church will be awesome. I have a great lineup of speakers for the event. Brian Minter will open the show at 10:00am with a lively and entertaining talk about whats new and funky in food gardening. Our vendors will be back with all sorts of garden goodies for you. Tropic to Tropic is back with their array of plants. Can you say avo...

June has brought a mix of sun and rain this month and the weather is so different than last year. The rain has crops looking fantastic this month. Just walking the garden makes me hungry. You can't say that about a flower garden, now can you? Kale is now available in so many varieties. Being a biennial  vegetable you get two seasons from this crop if you leave it all winter. The second year it will flower and produce its seed pods. Be sure to taste the new flower buds as they are delicious.   I am so jealous of these salad greens. Look at the size of them! The peas in this allotment garden are the most interesting vegetable I have seen. Both the flowers  and pods are a deep purple making it a striking colour in the garden. This one is called Purple Mist peas and its a shelling pea but young pods can be used for eating while still tender.  Below the peas this allotment gardener has Swiss chard, red lettuce and a new crop on the go. Its importa...

 Its been a busy spring at the Ladner Community garden. All our allotment beds are full and we have started a wait list for 2017. Can you believe that? Its only May. In fact if you want a garden bed at the community garden its best to apply in the fall. By the end of January we know if people will stay another year and which garden plots will be empty. Monday mornings have volunteers working on making this the best community garden. Red poppies have taken over the back corner of the garden and we have a few escapees further afar. I love how they sway in the breeze amongst the tall grass.   This allotment garden is not only maximizing the space allotted but the lettuce will love this shade from the large leaves nearby.  I am always amazed at how much you can grow in 40 square feet of soil.  Asparagus fronds reach to the sky in this garden. Its just about to flower and I wonder if collecting seed would be a good idea. I will have to ask the ...

With the weather starting to clear it's time to think cool season plants for the vegetable garden. If you are growing in raised beds at the community garden, it's time to plant radishes, peas, kale, spinach, lettuce and onion sets. Check out the garden centers now for the best selection in seed potatoes. Remember to rotate your crops so you don't plant the same crop in the same spot this year. By rotating your crops you will minimize problems with pests and disease. If you haven't topped off your gardens with compost, manure or new soil, do this before you plant. With the rainfall we receive over the winter, nutrients are leached out of the soil. Its time to feed the soil so it can feed your plants. Direct sow peas in the garden as they don't like to be transplanted. Be sure to add a support system using poles and netting for the tendrils to cling to. If you like to save your own seed, look for open pollinated types of peas such as Lincoln Homesteader...

Alex from West Coast Seeds  Last weekend we held another successful Seedy Saturday and Garden Expo. People arrived as early as 9:00am trying to get in early. Lucky for us it was a nice day out so no one froze to death.  The parking filled up in the first few minutes. Thanks to the flagging staff who helped our customers find the overload parking and the shuttle bus to the event. I have had nothing but good comments about the staff. Jim the Kelpman The vendors were kept busy all day long selling everything from seeds to plants and garden accessories. We strive to have something for everyone. Jassen's plant display Our speakers did some amazing talks this year. We learned from Egan Davis about growing plants in sand and how well it works. Who knew? This type of gardening is taking place in Sweden and is very successful. It turns out the plants need little watering once established. David Catzel talks about seeds David Catzel talked about seed saving and...

Its only two days away and we are ready to welcome you to Ladner Seedy Saturday & Garden Expo 2016. Have you packed your seeds to bring to our seed swap? Try placing them in an envelope with the name of the plant, the year you bought or harvested the seed and some information about your plant. Bring your seeds to trade between 10:00am-10:30am and the swap begins as soon as all the seeds are organized. I am always thrilled to find something new to try in my vegetable garden. We are passionate about gardening and whether its flowers or vegetables its all up to you. Let's celebrate the beginning of the new gardening season by coming together to enjoy a day of plant delights and education. Learn from our speakers about everything from fruit trees to saving seeds. There is so much to learn and this is the best place to come if you are just getting started. The VanDusen master gardeners will be on site to answer any garden questions. Parking is always a premium at ...

We want to introduce our vendors today. You will be able to meet our vendors at Ladner Seedy Saturday on February 20, 2016. The vendors will be located on the lower floor of the Harris Barn at 4140 Arthur drive in Ladner. The event opens from 10:00am-4:00pm. Bartlett Tree Services - They offer a variety of services to keep your trees and shrubs in healthy condition. Call them to help diagnose any tree or shrub problem. Remember trees add value to your property. West Coast Seeds -Offering a large source of certified organic and heirloom seeds, this company is a big supporter in our community with donations of seed to various programs. Westham Island Herb Farm - The Ellis farm is well known for its locally grown produce, seasonal displays and events such as a 'Day at the Farm' which is held every September. Mike & Sandy's Berry Farm -They will be bringing blueberry bushes and vegetable starts to get your garden growing. Usana Health Sciences -Lynn has a select...

We are excited to announce our fourth speaker for Ladner Seedy Saturday. Egan Davis will be speaking at 1:00 pm on February 20, 2016. Egan Davis is well known in the lower mainland of BC. He is the instructor for the Horticulture Training program at UBC. Egan has a life long passion for horticulture and nature and it shows when he talks. In 2010, Egan was nominated as educator of the year by the BC Landscape and Nursery Association. He has been featured on television, radio and in the newspaper. Egan used to manage the plant collections at VanDusen Botanical Garden in Vancouver, BC. I remember going on a tour of the garden with him and he knew every inch of it and all the botanical names of the plants. He would tell us of his vision for the garden and you could see his passion by the way he loved his work. Egan now teaches at the University of British Columbia and loves working with his students. He is an award winning gardener and is knowledgeable in everything from garden design...

Ladner Seedy Saturday & Garden Expo 2016 is less than a month away. The executive team from the Ladner Community Garden Society is busy getting everything organized. Today we want to share with you one of our speakers at the event. I have heard Conway Lum speak before and he is an excellent speaker. He can answer any of your gardening questions. His presentation will be about fruit trees and their quirks. Have you had problems with your fruit trees? I know many of us have issues with scab on apples and other fungal diseases. I have also been asked why certain trees don't produce fruit. Now is your time to come and ask your questions. Conway will be speaking at 11:30am on February 20 at the Harris Barn in Ladner. All of our speakers are located upstairs at the barn. Here is a bio about Conway Lum. Conway Lum is currently working for GardenWorks@Mandeville (originally Mandeville Garden Centre located at corner of Nelson St. and Marine Drive, Burnaby) since 1988.  He sta...

Ladner Seedy Saturday is starting to shape up as vendor registrations come in. We still have room for vendors so if you would like to join us at this event , let me know. We have four wonderful speakers at Ladner Seedy Saturday. Lets look at our first speaker of the day, David Catzel. David has over 20 years experience in agriculture using organic and ecological principals.  He has had the opportunity to experiment with seed growing/breeding, low till annual production, intercropping and companion planting while working with Glorious Organics Co-op in Aldergrove, BC. He has taught workshops in gardening, composting, permaculture, and seed saving to adults and children.  David has most recently been working with BC Ecoseed Co-op, a new seed company focusing on increasing the quantity and quality of ecologically grown seeds in BC.  I met David last year when he came as a vendor to Ladner Seedy Saturday. I also heard him speak at the South Delta Garden Club . Wh...

Happy New Year!! Its a busy start to the year as I receive vendor registrations for Ladner Seedy Saturday and go through all the details involved in event planning. Tables are filling up so if you came as a vendor last year, be sure to fill out the registration package soon. Last year we had 600 eager gardeners come to our event. The Harris barn was filled with people coming to listen to the garden presentations and shop with our vendors. We hope to have master gardeners from VanDusen Botanical Garden come to help you with your garden questions. Lets look at one of our speakers today. Randy Shore is a writer from the Vancouver Sun. I enjoy reading his column about gardening and cooking. Here is his bio: Randy Shore "Randy Shore's father and grandfather grew up on farms, yet he didn't even know how to grow a radish. Author of "The Green Man" column in the Vancouver Sun, he spent five years teaching himself how to grow food for his family, and then how...