Ladner Community Garden

As of this week, The Ladner Community Garden Society will be overseeing the gardens at Winskill Community Garden in Tsawwassen. The gardens were started by Harry Caine, a local resident and member of the Lions club as an addition to the Lions Wellness Park next to it.  There is some great Delta history about how this garden got started on this site. This year the gardens have needed some extra support so we were asked if we could oversee them. I am walking through the gardens tomorrow to see what we can do and to meet the gardeners who tend them. These photos were taken back in early February so the gardens are needing a spring cleanup which has already begun. We hope to bring more beauty and bounty to South Delta. Please stop by and chat if you see us at the gardens.

Spring has arrived at the Ladner Community Garden. Today we had our first of a two day spring cleanup. We had to dig out weedy grass from around the raised beds and get our allotment beds cleaned up. One of our gardeners was excited to see that his chard had returned. Now that's a fun surprise in the garden! Food Bank Garden  We raked over the food bank garden on one side and split in to two separate beds. We hope to make one of them a healing garden and use the other for cubs to earn a gardening badge. If you live in Ladner and are interested in your cub group doing a badge or two , let me know by leaving a comment below. Food Bank Garden The east side of the food bank garden is just about ready to plant. A bit more fall rye to take care of first. Thanks to Bonnie for donating  and planting Swiss chard in the food bank garden today. Thanks to Don who came by and cut the lawn. Our allotment gardeners were kept busy cleaning their beds in preparation for spring ...

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...

Yesterday the grade three class came for their first  spring visit to the Ladner Community Garden. Well its technically not quite spring but it was time to plant some early crops. I had the outdoor classroom all set up so there was enough room for 26 children to sit down and listen to what we would be doing today. We use mostly stumps for sitting, a few benches and folding stools. The children were so excited to be there. They are coming from a newly built school that doesn't have the landscaping finished so this was their first outdoor activity since mid January. We broke in to groups. My group helped to work on the food bank garden. We needed to dig under the fall rye and harvest the leftover turnips. This was one big turnip and it took three of them to get it out. They loved the size of the root on this one.  The children were so eager to use the new shovels we purchased at Lee Valley Tools. One child looked at me and said, "I love this, can we come ever...

Look whats blooming at the Ladner Community Garden. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw these tiny blooms poking their heads out of the grass. The community garden wasn't built until May of 2011 so we didn't know they were here.  Its not a big patch of Crocuses but they just happen to be right in our path down the center of the garden. I guess we won't be putting any gravel down this pathway. I took a quick walk past the allotment gardens. Check out the peas or beans growing in this garden. The shoots are just above ground but its a sure sign of spring in the community garden. These seeds were planted last fall by one of the allotment members. Here is a closeup of the new seedlings. The raised bed is full of them. Yesterday was a work day for a few of us at the garden. With new allotment holders coming this year, we had the chore of cleaning out plants that had been left behind by last years members. This is what you get when you plant a whole pac...

What is it about gardeners that we are always looking for the telltale signs of spring? We are on the alert for those cherished sign of rebirth in the garden. I couldn't help myself when I walked the community garden yesterday. I had to look. I was pretty excited to see the tulips that the grade three class planted are up. We had covered them with some straw for protection. Its time to pull it off the beds. You have to love Desiree's broad beans. She planted her seeds in the fall and these plants definitely have a head start. Check out the garlic coming through the straw. This garlic was planted last fall by an allotment holder. You have to look really close on this grass. Its just beginning to show new green shoots at the base. I will be cutting this plant's old growth back next week. The Sedum Autumn Joy is also growing like crazy. So we have lots to do in the next few weeks. Cleaning up the plants in the rock wall garden will give it a nice fresh...

Spring is almost here and its time to think seeds. If you didn't attend our AGM meeting I will be bringing seeds to share at our spring cleanup day on March 10 & March 11. I hope to see you there. Its time to clean up the community garden. We will be bringing a weedeater to trim the tall grass from around the beds. We will be looking for volunteers to place mulch on the pathways. It sure disappears fast doesn't it? At least its light and easy to spread. You know how it is, many hands make light work. We will also be cleaning our garden beds and getting the weeds out. If you want to get planting, early March is the perfect time to plant broad beans, radishes and peas. The board of directors have lots of exciting events we want to hold in the garden this year. We can't wait to share our calendar with you so you don't miss out on any of them. Happy Gardening, Kristin