Ladner Community Garden

To all our allotment holders and fellow gardeners, our new composting program is now in effect. Even though we had lots of composters, the green waste was not being chopped up sufficiently enough to make decomposition work fast enough. Whole plants do not compost as quickly as ones chopped into smaller pieces. So what could we do?   We sent out a message asking gardeners if they wanted to take over a composter to make their own black gold. So far we have over eight composters that are being managed by allotment holders for their own use. You will know if the composter is for private use of that gardener by the numbers painted on top. This is also the same for West Coast Seeds who have their name on one large wooden composter.  You will also notice that several composters are displaying this sign. Please do not add green material to these composters as they are full of 'almost ready to use' compost which we hope to use for a new garden. It just needs a few...

Our community garden is getting a new look. The messiness of the existing composting site was driving me crazy. Not only was it unlevel, often the composters were full to the brim. There is nothing worse than overflowing composters to attract visitors that we don't want to see. We also couldn't maintain the grass around the composters easily enough. That has all changed.  Last month, Jim built a base for the east composters. This base was necessary to ensure that the composters would not be sitting in water this winter. Yes, the drainage is horrid here so he added some fill and built it up.  Now Jim is working on the west side to do the same thing. All we need now is some more fill. He has moved all the existing composters and added three new wooden ones. These new composters have all been built from repurposed fencing. Thanks to those who donated fence boards for our project.  Jim also moved and turned all the compost that was inside the compost...

Okay, saying it was a blustery day last Monday is a bit of an understatement. The winds ripped across the lower mainland of British Columbia so hard that all ferry traffic ceased leaving travelers stranded for hours. Power went out all over leaving people in the dark. I sat in my home and watched nervously as my trees swayed in the gusts wondering if one of them was going to topple. Luckily all my trees are fine. The next day I traveled to check out the Ladner Community Garden as a wind storm usually means we have to do a bit of cleanup. I picked up the odd compost lid that had blow away but thought we got off easy until I realized my brand new composter was missing. Now how does a compost box with compost in it disappear? The lid was on the ground so even though I had thought someone had taken it, I realized that they would have taken the whole thing. Hmmm..... where could it be as I scanned the 5.7 acres of grass and bush for a black composter? I took a walk to the very back o...