Ladner Community Garden

Our Ladner Seedy Saturday and Garden Expo was a huge success! I would like to thank all the wonderful vendors, volunteers and customers who supported this annual event. We couldn't have done it without all of you. Thanks also goes to Ladner Baptist Church for being so giving of their time and space for our event. The venue is perfect for Seedy Saturday. We had some wonderful vendors travel quite a ways to come to our event and we are glad they did. The Planting Seeds Project came all the way from Lillooet bringing an array of seeds and a craft table for children. I was very interested in their dried vegetables that they had for sale. I guess it never occurred to me to dry my onions. What a great idea! At the craft table children used seeds to make cards. I got to see this finished project done by a young girl who was so proud to have her name written in seeds. We also had Salt Spring Seeds come over from Salt Spring Island to bring us their well known collect...

The plans for Ladner Seedy Saturday and Garden Expo are almost complete. The Seedy Saturday and Garden Expo will be held on February 9, 2013 at Ladner Baptist Church from 10-3. The church is located at 5624 Ladner Trunk Road here in the village of Ladner, BC just  a short 20 minute drive south of Vancouver. When you arrive at Ladner Seedy Saturday and Garden Expo you will enter at the side door on the west side of the building. There is lots of free parking and handicap parking as well. As you enter the church there is a fireside room where we will be having our presentations. Next to the fireside room is a large gymnasium that will be filled with vendors selling seeds, plants and garden accessories or services. We will even have a children's table where kids can make a craft to take home. Admission to the event is free but if you would like to donate to the Ladner Community Garden, that would be great. We grow food for the South Delta Food bank and can always use se...

What is a seed swap? A seed swap is when many people meet to trade seeds. They have too many or don’t need the seeds they have and want to trade for seed that they are looking for. Seed swaps are also social events and full of fun. One gets to meet other gardeners, learn about seeds and perhaps try a seed they didn’t know about.  So to get started, check out your seed inventory. Bring in what you will not be using or have too much of. We encourage you to bring in open pollinated seeds as they can be saved from year to year. If you are not sure what your seeds are,we have master gardeners on hand to help. Once you find your seeds, you must package them with the following on the front of the package. Using small envelopes for this works great. common name  number of seeds annual, perennial or biennial? were they bought or collected? hybrid or open pollinated? Latin name if possible Bring seed in between 10am-1030am so they can be so...

 Have you attended a Seedy Saturday before? For many it may be the first time so lets see whats happening. Seedy Saturdays have been around for over 20 years with the first one being held at VanDusen Botanical Gardens back in 1989. The event became so popular that they have sprung up all across the country. So what is at a Seedy Saturday? Its an event where you can come to purchase open pollinated seeds and heritage or heirloom seeds for your garden. Open pollinated seeds mean that in the fall you can let a plant or two go to seed and then you can harvest the seed and use it the following year. Think about it, saving seeds means you save money plus you are preserving seeds that may not always be available. Heirloom seeds are seeds that have been around for hundreds of years. For example, last year I had someone bring in some Swedish brown bean seeds that her family had brought to BC in the 1800's and they had been growing the beans here on Westham Island ever since. ...

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 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...