Spring Home and Garden 2020 - Powell River

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Friday.March 27.2020 Powell River Peak » prpeak.com

Spring

HOME AND GARDEN

SPRING HOME AND GARDEN 2020

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[Above] 2019 Grand Heritage Award-winning Maple Avenue home owned by Will and Brenda Van Delft. [Right] How the home originally looked in 2013 when it was purchased. All of the exterior vinyl siding was removed and original wood repainted.

Couple restores centuryold home Results garner heritage award for Townsite property owners DESIRAY FENRICK Peak Contributor Will and Brenda Van Delft on their front porch swing which was a Christmas gift from their children. The room at the front of the house was removed and converted back to the original open front porch.

When the 2019 Home and Garden Awards were handed out by Townsite Heritage Society, recipients of the Grand

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Heritage Award, and previous winners of Most Improved Garden, were Will and Brenda Van Delft.

The award is given to a well maintained/restored property that best represents Townsite’s heritage in exterior details, colours and landscaping. Originally started by The Powell River Company, the awards were reestablished by the heritage society in 1992.

Will and Brenda spent 22 years in Kimberley raising their two boys. When one moved to Sidney to do search and rescue for the West Coast Trail and the other moved to England to go on tour as a lighting technician, it was time to move on.

Coming to Powell River wasn’t their original plan, however, Will had a college friend living here and while watching the real estate market an opportunity presented itself. When they decided to relocate to Powell River When we started pulling they weren’t particuback the vinyl, little by larly looking for a heritage home. little we noticed the “As soon as Brenda original wood was still walked through the front door and saw there and [we] decided this, that was it,” said to keep going with it Will.

“I fell in love with it,” added Brenda.

They wanted to move into a move-in ready house but Brenda jokes that it just didn’t happen and after seven years they’re still working on it. They worked with the heritage society and museum obtaining old photos of their Maple Avenue home, including one from the cover of the 1925 edition of the Powell River Digester.

When it came to restoring the 1920 property, they believed that history would help them the most and found lots of inspiration. This year they will be celebrating the home’s 100th anniversary.

The outside of the building they originally purchased is barely recognizable to the way it looks today. The real estate photo from 2013 shows a home covered in drab vinyl siding with a closed-in porch.

“When we started pulling back the vinyl, little by little we noticed the original wood was still there and [we] decided to keep going with it,” said Will.

They also removed the room at the front of the home and converted it back to B4

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Will and Brenda’s dining room showcasing the original fir floors and Madeline.

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B3« RENOVATION

Both avid gardeners, the Van Delfts have transformed the yard with their stunning gardens, including these sweet peas planted at the back porch.

an inviting open porch that now houses a chair swing, which was a gift from their children.

Other than some help from family members, all of the work on the home has been done by themselves. Will spent two years in charge of facilities and maintenance in Fort Steele, an old heritage town in the Kootenays. It was during this time he gained the knowledge needed to restore a heritage home.

“I was in charge of a lot of the restoration projects there, so when we came here and started seeing what we were really in for, that’s when I thought, ‘oh ya, I could do this,’” said Will. Will’s brother is an electrician who was able to replace all of the old knob and tube wiring, which considerably cut down on the cost.

Although the award is for the exterior of the home, they’ve done extensive work to the interior as well. They say they were lucky because half of it had already been restored, however, they’ve gutted and reconfigured the bathroom, redone the kitchen, painted the original lathe and plaster walls in warm heritage colours, purchased ceiling lights from a heritage lighting store in Mission and installed wall sconces that were originally from Brenda’s grandmother’s home in West Vancouver.

When they painstakingly removed the old shag carpet from the master bedroom it revealed stunning original fir floors.

The Van Delfts both enjoy gardening, which is evident by the neatly manicured yard. The front features a breathtaking Korean Pink Dogwood, which was a housewarming gift from Brenda’s parents, and many flower beds that are just starting to wake from winter.

There is a sense of pride when Will and Brenda talk about Townsite.

“There’s a lot of people who’ve moved here with an idea and gotten inspired by the neighbourhood,” said Will.

Many morning coffees are now enjoyed out on the front porch, which leads to plenty of conversations with people passing by enquiring about the work they’ve done.

Will believes the original open front porches were built to, “foster a sense of social atmosphere.”

When asked what the award means to them, Brenda is humble in her response.

“It is recognition for our hard work,” she said. “We still have lots to do so when we got the Grand Heritage Award it was like, ‘no, we’re not done!’”

Will concurs with his wife’s assessment.

“It’s nice to get that kind of recognition, but keeping in mind that they do this every year, so every year there’s somebody deserving who’s worked really hard at restoring their home,” he said. “Those awards are meant to inspire.”

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How to keep your home clean and virus-free

KICKING THE CLUTTER

By Ranka Burzan

For the last couple of months, we have all heard about Coronavirus and its potential to spread throughout the world.

You may have experienced some of the consequences of Coronavirus too: stores out of toilet paper and hand sanitizer, schools closing down, and major entertainment events postponed.

Powell River certainly has its share of lineups, grocery hoarding, and fear of the unknown all stemming from not being able to predict the consequences of the situation.

Many of us receive countless emails, phone calls, Facebook advertisements, trying to implement extra-vigilant cleaning and health and safety procedures, encouraging us to wash our hands, not touch our faces, keep social distance, no hugging, no hand shaking, avoid large crowds, et cetera.

We don’t have any control over what goes on worldwide, but we do have control over how clean we keep our home and possessions, especially now. So, how confident do you feel that your home is pretty clean? Have you disinfected the

kitchen and bathroom to make any dangerous bacteria disappear?

While our kitchen counters can appear clean, that doesn't necessarily mean that they are clean.

Keeping your home clean is even more important if you have pets.

If your lovely cat jumps on your kitchen counter after doing her business in the litter box, your counter is not fit to have food on.

There are other places we should clean and disinfect as well: doorknobs, light switches, remotes, faucet handles, keyboards, cell phones, car door handles, steering wheel or anything people touch.

There is a big difference between

cleaning, disinfecting, and sanitizing, even with the order in which they should be done. Always clean before you disinfect.

Cleaning involves some kind of all-purpose cleaner, hopefully a non-toxic one. These cleaners lift up the sticky or greasy messes like juice or grease that have collected on the countertops, or the toothpaste and soap scum in the bathroom sink.

Sanitizers and disinfectants are terms that often get used interchangeably. However, they are different. Sanitizers reduce the bacteria by significant numbers, but do not extinguish or eliminate all

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bacteria.

Disinfectants destroy or deactivate nearly all bacteria, moulds, and viruses, although not necessarily contagious microorganisms.

A real disinfectant should kill about 99.9 per cent of the germs on a surface. Most of us have some sort of disinfectant in our cleaning collection. Now the question is: Are you using your disinfectant correctly? To be effective, most disinfectants need to sit on the surface for five to 10 minutes before you wipe them off.

Because of our busy schedules and impatience, most of us just spray, wipe and run. I hate to break

the bad news, but you cannot disinfect by spraying and immediately wiping your counter or sink.

Having a fear of getting Coronavirus should be a lesson for all of us to take better care of our home and health. Disinfecting your horizontal surfaces in your home should be a big part of your spring cleaning.

Keep calm and safe! Ranka Ranka Burzan owns a professional organizing company based in Powell River and has written several books on reducing clutter and becoming more organized. For information, go to solutionsorganizing.com.

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Enthusiastic gardener creates greenspace Georgia Glassford transforms Townsite property with plants and shrubs DESIRAY FENRICK Peak contributor

Georgia Glassford, winner of the 2019 Most Improved Garden Award, at her Poplar Street home.

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When speaking with Georgia Glassford you can instantly feel her enthusiasm for the greenspace that surrounds her. The gardens at her Poplar Street home earned her the award for Most Improved Garden from the Townsite Heritage Society at the end of 2019.

Originally from Gibsons, her family is related to founder George Gibson.

Georgia has been in Powell River since 2005 and purchased her heritage home, which was built in 1914, six years ago.

Georgia’s love of gardening came from family.

“My grandmother was a gardener and my mom has a green thumb,” she said.

Her mom is originally from Sweden and was taught Latin in school, so

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she taught Georgia the scientific names of the plants. This led to Georgia obtaining a horticultural diploma from Kwantlen University and an 11-year career in the field.

“I did it for so many years, and then I kind of lost my love for it because it was just a job and so I stopped doing it,” she said. “Now it’s back.”

When she isn’t busy working at her current job in health care or chasing after her energetic sixyear-old son Lyndon, Georgia can be found out in the garden.

Originally there was nothing but grass in the front yard, essentially providing her with a blank canvas.

It is now home to evergreen deciduous shrubs and striking sevenfoot-tall lilies, which add privacy from the street.

Along the side of the house she planted a cedar hedge that provides a backdrop for her flowerbeds leading to the backyard. It’s here where visitors will find pink and white bleeding hearts, hostas, astilbe and a purple columbine from one of her clients she grew from seed. A giant Buddleia or butterfly bush stands tall beside the kitchen window.

The majority of Georgia’s plants have been selected to attract butterflies, hummingbirds and birds.

“I want everything, I want an ecosystem,” she said. “You can’t have one without the other, so [I have]

safe places for them and trees.”

She also chooses plants for their scent, such as lilies, peonies and her five different kinds of deciduous azaleas. Georgia says she has something blooming 12 months out of the year.

“It’s a process, this is my art,” she added. “It’s very calming.”

In the backyard a variegated climbing hydrangea with mottled leaves wraps around the deck.

There are white snowdrops, black mondo grass and a blue star creeper Georgia describes as a tiny carpet of light blue, star-shaped flowers that bloom for months.

She jokes that she can’t drive by a nursery without coming home with something new. On one trip to Vancouver Island Georgia returned with her car full of perennials, shrubs and even managed to squeeze in a Magnolia tree.

Along with most of the plants people are familiar with, Georgia has acquired some unique greenery. Beside the fence stands a dwarf strawberry tree that is actually a type of Arbutus. It blooms with white flowers in the spring that are followed by small, strawberrylike fruit that is actually edible. She also has a weeping white pine that remains in the pot because she says it would be too hard to leave behind if she were to ever move.

While most of the gardens contain perennials she does grow

Six years ago the front yard was nothing but grass, which gave Georgia a blank canvas to design the gardens exactly the way she envisioned them.

peas with her son, strawberries, blueberries, dill, basil, garlic and rosemary. There are future plans to build some raised planter beds for growing more vegetables and hopes for a meditation area that

said she has tried to keep the entire yard as low maintenance as possible with very little pruning, deadheading and watering.

“Once the plants are established you don’t have to water much,” she B8

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currently contains some bonsai trees.

Georgia has grown an impressive 20-year-old Shishigashira Maple with leaves smaller than a dime.

In planning out the gardens, she

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Traditional Swedish Prinsesstårta (Princess) cake made by Georgia’s older sister Karin decorated with hellebore flowers.

B7« GARDENING added. “You come out every three or four days; when it’s hot you might have to do it every other day.”

This is smart planning for a woman who barely seems to have enough time in the day and realized last summer she doesn’t have seating areas outside or on the deck “because I never sit down,” she says, laughing.

When asked if she has a favourite flower she says it’s too hard to choose, although she has a fond-

ness for her 15 varieties of hellebores that range from dark purple to delicate pale pink.

In Swedish culture it’s tradition to get flowers on your birthday, so every March Georgia’s older sister Karin makes her a traditional Prinsesstårta (princess) cake decorated with hellebores.

Gardening season has now arrived and anyone who enjoys getting their hands dirty will understand what Georgia is talking about when she says: “You feel it and it develops, it’s literally a living thing.”

A busy mom of a six-year-old boy, Georgia has kept the gardens as low maintenance as possible with very little pruning, deadheading and watering needed.

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Kitchen update on a budget Is your kitchen looking a little dated?

Do you long for a new cooking space, but lack the budget? If so, here are some affordable ways to revitalize this room.

Apply some paint A fresh coat of colour on the walls is an easy way to refresh a tired looking space. Or, if your cabinets are in good condition, consider giving them a facelift by painting the doors and frames.

Use open shelving New cabinets are expensive and may not be necessary. Make your space more modern and inviting by removing one or more of the upper cabinets and replacing them with open shelves.

Upgrade the countertops

Natural stone and quartz countertops aren’t exactly budget-friendly, but there are lots of options that mi­mic the look without the high cost. Think high-end laminate or tile.

Update the hardware New pulls, handles and knobs can make a big impact. This is a simple and inexpensive upgrade that can be done in less than an hour.

The kitchen is often the heart of a home, so make yours a place you love to be.

Storage solutions for every room make them easy to find when you need them. Use baskets to hold things like bath towels or toilet paper.

Kitchen

Put a bowl on the coffee table to stylishly corral remote controls, magazi­ nes and other items. Additionally, a storage ottoman is perfect for holding throws and pillows.

Install hidden trays under your cabinets to hide chargers, coffee pods and other essentials. In addition, placing pull-out shelves in cupboards will make it easier to organize your items.

Bathroom Store your cleaning supplies on a Lazy Susan to

Living room

Garage Install overhead racks near the ceiling. This allows you to incorporate storage in the garage without sacrificing parking space. Use this area to hold stuff you don’t need to access often, like seasonal decorations and sporting gear.

Bedrooms

Workshop, office or craft room

Take advantage of the space under your bed by adding drawers or using under-the-bed storage boxes.

Mount a pegboard above your work area and use it to organize your tools or supplies. By hanging things on

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Touchstones of the heart LIN MORRISON

There are certain flowers that in some indefinable way have a special hold on my emotions. They are all plants from another era, still found in gardens today, but often superseded by newer varieties, and forgotten in contemporary landscapes.

Among them are peonies, lilac, hollyhock, violets, bleeding heart, lady slipper, Jack in the pulpit, forsythia, tulip and iris. I call them “Grandmother Plants.”

These plants touch some atavistic memory that defies logic and reason. They are the touchstones of my heart; they make me feel better each time I see them.

There are many plants that I love, admire and enjoy, but they don’t inspire the same personal emotional connection as my Grandmother Plants.

These particular plants may not have been a part

of my experience in my own Grandmother’s garden. It was only in the summer that we visited—long past the bloom time of many of these special plants—but they all personify that sense of permanence, security and the subtle touch of fantasy that are the trademark of established gardens, and mirror my deep bond with my Grandmother.

Throughout my growing up years I would see them in gardens as I walked by, and my eye would immediately gravitate to these select plants. Not for me the roses and lilies of exotic beauty; my heart had long since been lost to these particular blooms which are so often found in the mature gardens of older people.

Grandmothers.

Scent is a profound memory binder. My Grandmother wore an old-fashioned scent called April Violets. It was distinctive, and her own personal identifier. To this day I find violets and their scent irresistible, and hope to always have some in my garden for their transitory

Whether it be peonies, violets, lilies or dandelions, flowers have an ability to trigger the heart and evoke emotion. DIANA WOOD PHOTO

but singular pleasure.

Memory takes me back to my childhood, where those first connections were forged. Living for a couple of years on an orchard in an eastern rural community was utopia for a seven-yearold. The orchard bordered a wooded space where mysterious and dangerous things existed. My sisters and I freely ranged the orchard and neighbouring farm, encountering patches of wild

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or emotion that connect us to significant times or people in our lives. We take these touchstones, these Grandmother Plants, and incorporate them into our gardens, keeping them close to us.

Our children and grandchildren may pass by these plants and possibly miss the significance they hold for ourselves while they are each busy discovering their own place in the world around them. Their touchstones will be uniquely their own, containing their personal connection to the earth and the things that come from it.

These young people may not even be aware of the invisible bonds they are forming until years later, when they find themselves inexplicably drawn to a section of a garden, or an aisle in the nursery, or down a forest path. And there they will be, feeling a secret sense that all is well with the world without knowing why.

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their colours glowed in the shadows.

An old neglected forsythia bloomed early in the overgrown yard, heralding spring’s arrival. Tasting minute sips of nectar from inside each golden blossom was a childhood communion celebrating the advent of spring.

We all have some singular plant, or several, that resonates with us. Bound with them are our ties to memory

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strawberries and violets, but we were forbidden to explore the nearby forest due to poisonous snakes, poison ivy, and the dark secluded nature of the woods.

Occasionally, we were taken there on memorable excursions by our Mother to see the trillium, Jack in the pulpits and lady slippers that seemed exotic in that shaded grove. Their secret inner vessels made them even more fascinating and

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SPRING HOME AND GARDEN 2020

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Farm uses communal aspect to tackle challenges

JACK COX Peak contributor

Farming is not the easiest of endeavours to undertake.

The crops and livestock are under pressure from the elements and predators, not to mention the constant need for basic upkeep of the land itself.

Blueberry Commons Farm Cooperative, a local endeavour situated at the northern edge of Wildwood, is tackling the challenges of farming with a more communal aspect than most. Not only do they want to provide food for the community of Powell River, they are utilizing the community to bring that dream to life.

Blueberry Commons recently held its first work bee of the year. It was a chance for locals to see the farm and learn how to prune a blueberry bush. Coffee and snacks were provided for the volunteers as they set about their work while enjoying, what was at that time, a rare winter glimpse of the sun.

Ron Berezan, who helped organize the event, explained how Blueberry Commons was started.

“We began with a group of families who started meeting four years ago; we were looking for land to start a cohousing project, along with an agricultural initiative,” said Berezan. “A year and a half ago we found the property in Wildwood. Our aim is to have a group of families work together to create a community living situation, as well as grow food and raise livestock.”

Berezan and fellow co-op members have a vision of a farm where the community can be more involved in the creation of locally sourced food and farming education.

“Our vision is to really have lots of interaction with the community, to be very connected with the Wildwood community, and the wider Powell River region,” he added. “To do that we welcome people to come out to the farm and share in activities. Sometimes those are work bees, social events or learning opportunities.”

With 16 acres of land to develop into a functioning farm and living area, Blueberry Commons has the potential to grow a great deal of food for local distribution.

“It'll be a very intensive growing operation,” said Berezan. “It will include vegetables, fruit, nuts, animals, eggs and bees this summer for honey.”

In keeping with its goal to create a lasting and productive relationship with the greater Powell River community, Blueberry Commons

Volunteers and members of the Blueberry Commons Farm Cooperative joined together recently to prune blueberry bushes in preparation for the summer harvest. JACK COX PHOTO

has also included donating to local schools as part of its mandate.

“This past December we had a surplus of young fir trees on the property and we made those available to the community for donation,” said Berezan. “And those donations were given to James Thomson Elementary School for their hot meal program.”

Whether working the land, holding community events or just getting those 800 blueberry bushes pruned, Berezan said Blueberry Commons’ goal remains resolute.

“We want to help provide food security for Powell River,” he said. “We see that as a critically important part of our community life in the coming years. All we want

Constance Roy and Ron Berezan, both members of Blueberry Commons Farm Cooperative, ready to greet work bee volunteers. JACK COX PHOTO

is to establish an ecologically thriving farm that can provide.”

During the COVID-19 emergency, some alterations

are being made to public access to the land. Stay updated about how COVID-19 is affecting work bees by finding Blueberry Commons on

Facebook. For more general information on Blueberry Commons, visit blueberrycommonsfarmcooperative. com.

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Building soil and healthy gardens Adding ingredients and words of support can help LIN MORRISON

A plant needs certain things to grow successfully: sun, air, water, nutrients, and some say, kind words.

Sunlight is already provided. We can add grow lights, but for the most part plants get what they need from the sun. Air is provided also, free of charge. Plants exchange oxygen for carbon dioxide, which is a bonus for us oxygen-dependent creatures.

Water and nutrients are present in most soils, but not necessarily enough or in the right proportions, or in an easily assimilated form.

That is where we come in.

Soil nutrients need to be soluble in order to be taken up by the roots, and the most voracious feeders are the very fine, hair-like roots.

Roots can’t handle chunky food. Their food processors are the enzymes and microorganisms in the soil which break down molecules into a form the roots can absorb.

Water is the vehicle that transports the nutrients into the plant. Oxygen is a necessary component for photosynthesis and the assimilation of soil nutrients.

It is taken from the soil as well as the air.

How do we give our plants what they need? We do that by creating a soil environ-

ment that maximizes the plant’s ability to access what it needs.

We use amendments to improve the physical characteristics of our soil. We don’t want hard, compact soil. Opening up the soil improves drainage, moisture retention and aeration.

Loose soil can stay moist, providing water to roots, while being open enough to hold air. Soil that is loose and open also allows excess water to percolate through so that the roots are not waterlogged and starved of oxygen. Opening up the soil also allows roots to grow and travel freely through the soil. A better root structure means a larger healthier plant.

At the same time, this open porous soil prevents erosion by minimizing runoff. What you have is a giant sponge that drains into the deeper groundwater levels.

You can change the physical nature of your soil by adding soil amendments. -These are essentially sand and humus, and the physical act of digging and cultivating.

Coarse sand can help open up heavy clay or bog soil by incorporating larger particles with the finer clay or peat soil. It is like bran in your cereal: little nutrient value, but so beneficial.

Digging is a very physical soil treatment. Even the nicest garden soil can suffer from compaction and get root crowded. Digging manually loosens the soil and enables you to remove stones, roots and obstructions. That

is part of the benefit you get whenever you dig up, divide and replant in the ordinary course of gardening.

That being said, excess digging disturbs the normal environment of soil microorganisms that work happiest in specific environments.

Some operate in the upper, oxygen-rich level, others do better deeper down, and when you dig intensively the natural order is disturbed and takes a while to adjust.

A humus rich soil should require little digging.

Humus is the organic component to your soil. Frankly, you can’t have too much.

This comes from compost, manure, leaves, pine needles, grass, seaweed, bark, peat; in other words, plant (organic) matter.

Organic additions have a lower nutrient value than prepared fertilizers.

Compare the number rating on bagged compost or manures to a commercially prepared fertilizer. You would see probably 1-1-1, as opposed to 6-8-6, or other rated fertilizers.

However, that’s not why we add humus. What is important about these organic additions is how they affect the consistency of the soil.

Humus gives you moisture retention and an open soil texture. Soil with a good humus content is spongy, loose and moist, demonstrated by squeezing a handful in your fist. It should ball up loosely, breaking up as it is released.

Heavy soil binds into a tight ball and does not crumble freely. Sandy, dry soil does

Lin Morrison knows all about soil additions to help feed the plants in her garden.

Leaves, bark, seaweed all add nutrients to the earth and open up the soil for air and water to come through.

not bind together, but crumbles too freely. Neither condition makes for a desirable growing medium.

Humus does more than work on the physical nature of soil. Even more important is how it feeds the microorganisms in the soil and provides enzymes. It is through the action of these tiny organisms and enzymes that the soil nutrients are broken down into a form that can be taken up by plants. You are in effect feeding your soil and keeping it fit and healthy.

When talking about soil it is important to mention pH.

This refers to the acidity or alkalinity of a soil and influences how the roots are able to process nutrients. Most plants do best in a mildly acid soil, and some prefer it more so, such as tomatoes, roses, rhododendrons and most berries. The soil here in coastal BC tends to be acid, so liming is a matter of course, but don’t over do it. The easiest way to adjust a too-acid soil is to add lime.

A slow acting or pelleted form is best, and applying it early in the season gives it a chance to percolate through the soil before planting.

Fertilizers can give your

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soil a boost, but the fertilizer you use is only as effective as your soil’s ability to process it so that the plants’ roots can assimilate it. Otherwise, that investment in fertilizer is not going to give you the yields you expect. Instead, be generous with your soil amendments, be extravagant with your mulch, overindulge with humus and reap the rewards of a healthy rich garden soil. Now, going back to that statement about the needs of soil—the kind word—it can’t hurt!

Lin Morrison is a member of Powell River Garden Club.

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Privacy options for your yard If you want your yard to be a private oasis where you can relax unobserved, you’ll need to install a privacy screen. Here are six options to consider.

Louvres The angle of the slats on most louvred privacy screens can be adjusted to allow plenty of natural light in while still shielding your yard from view. They’re usually made of wood or steel.

Trellises Available in many different styles and sizes, trellises look great on their own or as a support for climbing plants. If you want a privacy screen that does double duty, grow fruit-bearing vines along it like cucumber or grape.

Curtains One easy way to create privacy is to hang large swaths of fabric from a pergola or similar structure. Best of all, they can simply be moved aside when they’re not needed.

Hedges A sturdy hedge creates a natural screen, barrier and home for local wildlife. Cedar is a good choice, but there are many other types of shrubs that make nice hedges.

Fences Metal and wood fences are a pricier option, but they last a long time and add value to your property. For a modern look, combine materials.

Shades Typically made of canvas, outdoor shades are great for spaces that don’t require constant privacy. Simply pull the shades down when you want them and retract them when you don’t.

In addition to shielding you from view, privacy features add visual interest to your yard and make it a more beautiful place to spend your time.

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Zero waste your veggie garden

With a little ingenuity, a homemade greenhouse can be created out of recycled materials.

Ready or not, and we’ll assume you’re the former, spring has practically sprung! All the green thumbs out there have been twitching for some time, and new ones are tentatively joining the ranks as we are all more prone to contemplating local resilience these days. As LET’S TALK TRASH tempting as it may be to run out to the local store with a squeal of your tires and come home with an instant garden, nature’s way is more plodding, and to be respected.

There are plenty of ways to get a healthy vegetable patch prepared and planted without disregarding the broader picture of the planet’s health.

As with most things, reducing and reusing get us a long way down the Zero Waste path.

Why not start with seed sharing? Plants produce far more seed than we can ever use, and if we stash them for another year, they are more than likely to lose germination rate. Plants that have thrived in our local climate in previous years are much more likely to be happy than ones from elsewhere – just ensure that the type of seed you are planting is “true” to its parent rather than a random mishmash because of cross-pollination,

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though that can be a fun gamble, too.

Once you get sprouting, you may also find that you have a greater abundance than you could ever use personally. That is a great way to make friends with folks in the neighbourhood by leaving seedlings at your curb – possibly with a donation box to fund your efforts.

You might be able to skip the plastic when propagating, too, by diving into your recycling bin – toilet paper rolls (apparently we go through a lot of these), folded newspaper (look up folding techniques), single-serve yogurt containers, and egg cartons are easy to come by. Any pots that do come into your garden can be gifted to others, or rinsed and then recycled both at curbside and local depots – hanging planters are the exception as they usually have components that get stuck in recycling facility machinery.

To get a jump on the season, greenhouses and window ledges are prime real estate in early spring.

Windows are a great spot for a mini greenhouse made from large plastic salad containers which can be a paradise for hot-house loving peppers, tomatoes, and eggplants.

If you are keen to finally have your own greenhouse, maybe skip the ones that come new in a box and make your own from materials easily found. Old window panes,

bricks, and lumber can usually be pieced together by the average tinkerer and in a few afternoons, voila – an upcycled greenhouse! A coat of colourful paint can bring it all together, and this might even be sourced for free from your basement, garage, or paint recyclers around town who set aside halffilled cans for pickup.

Plastic and gardening are unfortunate bedfellows, but making your own compost at home rather than bringing some home in a plastic bag – one potentially polluted with microplastics from composting facilities – is more close-looped (which is a good thing). Backyard composting can be as simple as setting up a wire bin from one-byfour-inch wire gauge curled into a circle.

For more of a project, head online to LetsTalkTrash.ca for opensourced plans to convert a freezer into a composter that will accelerate the composting process by keeping in the heat generated as organics break down. Other possibilities to look into are the Bokashi fermentation method and vermiculture, also known as worm composting.

Homemade liquid fertilizers, often referred to as compost teas, will make any garden more nutrient-dense and happy. These can easily be created with water, so-called “weeds” like comfrey

Kitchen scraps make ideal nutrients as compost to add to the soil.

and dandelions, seaweed, local manure, worm castings, and, yes, even urine. To keep them from getting too fresh smelling, stirring helps as does hooking up a pump and bubbling it with oxygen.

Watered down, this potent stuff can act as a natural pesticide and herbicide. You can either spray a diluted tea onto affected plants in

the ground, or dip unplanted ones straight into a bucket of diluted tea for a good dose.

There are other natural methods to deter garden pests, both big and small, that are not wasteful. Planting fragrant herbs and flowers can be a great start, as can certain beneficial plant pairings, a solar-powered predator light for

night time, and fencing.

Thinking outside the box-store invites the imagination and reduces waste. May more of us get our green thumbs into the black gold of the earth this year than ever before.

Let’s Talk Trash is qathet Regional District’s waste-reduction education program.

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