Category Archives: Maple Garden News

September/October Gardening Hints {courtesy of Rosemary}

from joyce 2015

from joyce 2015

1) A quick reminder that we still need to conserve water even if it rains. Please be sure to water by hand, using either a bucket or a hose with nozzle to control the amount of water you are using.  There has not been enough moisture to get us back to a normal water level after the extremely hot and dry summer that we’ve had.

2) This is the time of year to start thinking about bulbs for spring if you wish. Choose healthy, firm bulbs and store them in a cool, dry place until each type of bulb is ready to plant over the next couple months. Adding a small amount of bone meal in each hole when planting will help establish the root system and promote flowering.

3) It’s also a good time to harvest seeds from flowers in your gardens to save for next year. If you’re inspired, throw some over the North fence to help create a bit of a wildflower garden out there to improve the look of that side and provide more food for the bees too 🙂

4) Keep weeding and deadheading, and keep grass trimmed in and around your plot as usual.

5) Keep picking produce regularly, and also herbs for drying so you can have a little taste of summer later in the year!

6) When summer veggies and flowers are finished, remove the spent plants and compost healthy parts of the plants.

7) Please do not compost diseased leaves, shoots and plants. If disease-causing spores, fungus or viruses are present, they will survive in compost.  Please take a moment to review the information and photos about disease management to help keep all Maple Community Garden plots healthy http://maplecommunitygarden.ca/gardening-resources/disease-management/

8) Divide perennials like peonies, asters, Goldsturm daisies and Autumn Joy sedums. Make sure you have 3-5 “eyes” on each division of the peony for a solid new plant.

from thevintagemom.com

from thevintagemom.com

9) Begin fall garden cleanup of your plot, and prepare the soil if you plan to grow fall and/or winter vegetables.

10) Set out transplants, seedlings of fall/winter vegetables like Spinach, Lettuce, Purple flowering Broccoli, Chard and Kale. Plant Garlic later in October. West Coast Seeds has a brochure that provides lots of good information on their website called Planting Guide for Fall & Winter Harvests

11) Amend your soil with Dolomite lime (1 cup for each of our small beds should do) and then one week later add mushroom manure or compost. Dig in some organic fertilizer as well (see recipe below) and you are ready to plant fall veggies. Most veggies will grow well with this addition of nutrients, other veggies like potatoes prefer acidic soil (more on this in the spring).

12) Maple Community Garden is an organic gardening area, and organic fertilizer contains many micronutrients of value for plants which release slowly without washing away as fast as chemical fertilizers.

Recipe for Homemade Organic Fertilizer

1 part Blood meal           Nitrogen (N)  

2 parts Bone meal           Phosphorus (P)

1 part Kelp meal              Potassium (K)

The above ingredients can be found at most garden centres and feed stores, and this recipe provides an N-P-K ratio of approximately 4-5-4 to 5-8-5.  Nitrogen promotes vigorous growth, phosphorus improves flowering and root system growth, and potassium assists with fruit quality, root growth and reduction of disease.

Encouraging Bees {courtesy of A. Jonker}

As you may know, bee populations have been under serious threat, due to habitat destruction, pesticide use and natural factors such as fungi infestations.  Maple Community Garden established a number of hives of honey bees a few years ago to help increase the populations in our gardening area.  These hives are managed by individual members acting as beekeepers responsible for the health and maintenance of the hives. There are also many ways that all garden members can improve and support populations of local bees.

While honeybee and bumblebee populations have been hard hit, other species, of which there are many, can be encouraged to populate and at least partly make up for the decline in numbers.  Of particular interest are the species known collectively as “Mason” bees.  They take their name from their habit of closing the door to their nest with a layer of mud, as a mason might do.  They vary greatly in size and may be unrecognizable as bees.  The good news is that, while they are efficient pollinators, they are not aggressive, do not normally bite, and do not swarm, being solitary bees that do not live in colonies.  Therefore, you can assist the cause of bee re-population without taking any personal risk!

There are a number of website links at the bottom of this article that include general information applying to all bees, as well as specific information for those interested in creating and managing a solitary bee habitat.   Here are some suggestions on how you can help create a better, bee-friendly environment.

Bee Bath

from gardenmatter.com

from gardenmatter.com

  • Place a plate of water at ground level, shallow enough to evaporate over the course of the day. This will help support bees, not mosquitoes.
  • Put a few dry rocks and/or flowers in the water for bees to land on, they cannot land on a water surface.
  • Placing the plate near infested plants will attract natural predatory insects, which will help reduce unwanted insects, such as aphids.

Bee Food

from  hennypennyrosecottage.blogspot.com

from hennypennyrosecottage.blogspot.com

Bees can use pollen and nectar from a variety of wildflowers.  Early bloom, mid-season bloom and late bloom flowers will support them throughout the season.  The Maple Community Garden website has a list of bee-friendly plants by season at

http://maplecommunitygarden.ca/projects/beekeeping/

  • Use native plants or heirloom varieties
  • Bright flowers are preferred (honeybees have very good color vision): blue, purple, violet, white and yellow.
  • Plant flowers of a single species in clumps about four feet in diameter instead of in scatterings so bees are more likely to find them.
  • Plant a variety of flower shapes as this will benefit a diversity of bees.
  • An interesting plant to consider for your bee friendly environment is Himalayan Honeysuckle. It doesn’t need full sunand has some stage of a flower over almost the entire year, so a constant rotation of pollinators go to it.

Habitat (Honeybees and Bumblebees)

Honeybees and bumblebees, being social, require a large productive area to support the colony.  Honeybee presence may be indicated by a visible hive, while bumblebee presence may be undetectable as they nest underground or in clumps of vegetation.  If you own a large property, or know others that do, such as farmers, encourage owners to leave the edges of fields, lawns or other productive areas empty, wild and undisturbed.  This will allow wildflowers to grow in abundance and nests to remain intact year after year.

Habitat (Mason and other solitary bees)

If you would like to experiment with supporting a local solitary bee population, and are not up for building a bee house yourself, you can buy a bee house from a supplier such as Wild Birds Unlimited on West Broadway. They sell manufactured bee houses and nests, as well as bee cocoons. You can also check with your local garden center.  Look for these products in December/January prior to the start of the season.  Mason bees are active in the spring [March-June], so your bee house/habitat needs to be in place by February-March.  Fall and winter management includes cleaning cocoons and cleaning the nests.  Mason bee cocoons are vulnerable to predators and parasites and must be stored correctly over the winter as well.

Before purchasing or making a homemade bee habitat, please review the sites below for general information on bees and also for additional information on creating and maintaining a successful solitary bee habitat.

Further Information:

The City of Vancouver http://vancouver.ca/home-property-development/support-bees-and-butterflies.aspx

The David Suzuki Foundation http://www.davidsuzuki.org/what-you-can-do/food-and-our-planet/create-a-bee-friendly-garden/

West Coast Seeds https://www.westcoastseeds.com/articles-instructions/product-instructions/keeping-mason-bees/

Dr. Margriet Dogterom “Pollination with Mason Bees: A Gardener’s Guide to Managing Bees for Fruit Production”   [available at Indigo, Vancouver Public Library, or online]

Also by this author, Build A Bee Box:

http://www.canadiangardening.com/how-to/wildlife/build-a-bee-box/a/21201

 

July Garden Hints {courtesy of Rosemary}

from Rosemary 2015

from Rosemary 2015

  1. Watering is key to growing healthy plants and veggies in this heat!  Try to water in the mornings when it is cooler, slowly and deeply, which will cut down on need for watering frequently. Don’t water leaves of tomatoes or roses, always water these plants from the bottom close to the trunk.
  2. Add Mulch of straw or compost to the garden to conserve water.
  3. Harvest fruit and veggies frequently and pull weeds before they go to seed. Deadhead spent flowers, cutting close to the base of the stalk.
  4. Use bait to discourage slugs, especially on new plants. Safer’s has an organic bait now.
  5. Plant successive crops for continual harvest like peas, radish, carrots and beans.
  6. Sow seeds of cool season crops by mid-late July and keep watered. Some examples could be: lettuce, spinach and arugula.
  7. Fertilize June-bearing strawberry plants after you harvest, ever-bearing types should be fertilized halfway through the season. Half strength fish fertilizer is a good choice.
  8. Irises can be divided now.  Although daffodils and tulips have bulbs, irises have fleshy rhizomes. Just dig up the whole clump, break the rhizomes apart, trim the roots to about 4″, cut the leaves to a fan shape about 6” on top to make them easier to work with, and then replant in groups of three or more with the fleshy rhizome exposed to the light and roots below in the soil. Irises need the rhizome exposed to capture sunlight, like in the photo below:
from gardeningknowhow.com

from gardeningknowhow.com

Update on fence building and plot size re-adjustment to stay within the city property line

20150426_212611167_iOS

What was accomplished:

·        There was a good turn out on Sunday for the Fence Building and preparation.  Many members helped clean up the wood and debris to clear the way for the awesome fence crew who worked past 4 pm.

·        Apologies if you find things have been moved or disturbed.   We needed to move things out of the way in your plot areas like  trellises, boards etc. so there was a safe space for the fence crew to  install the 4×4 cedar posts.  Fence posts were installed in between  your plots to minimize loss of space.

FYI:  We did  not clear the stones and boulders on CP land…we are  hoping CP will take that away when they come to do more work on the tracks.  There is a big pile of wood at the East end of the Garden by  Jean’s Garden that we plan to dispose of…does anyone have a truck that  can make a trip to the dump?  If you have wood to throw out please use  this pile.  Please take any garbage home.

·        Measurements were re-done to insure our raised beds and other  garden structures are within our property line.  The installed 4×4  posts and a thin line marks the length of the property line.

What needs to be done?

·        Raised Bed Boxes that are ”over the line”  on CP land need to be cut back.   Some gardeners removed their North end board and moved soil so there would be access to trim back the boxes.
·        The Fence Crew hope to install the fence wire on the weekend.

What can you do to help?

1.      Go check your box to find out if it needs to be cut back. The fence crew have measured and marked what needs to be cut back. If you have tools and experience, please go ahead and cut back your box and reinstall the North board.

2.      If you do not have tools, the fence crew will cut back your box, but please do what you can to prepare for this weekend:
·        Remove the north facing end board,  as well as any plants and soil for about a foot.
·        Come back during the week to repair your box ASAP after the cut. It is very important that you get the north end board replaced before then fencing material is put up as you will not have access to that end to contain your soil.

Thank you from the Executive and Fence building committee.

Spring Garden Hints

Spring_flowersMarch 2015

1. Bait garden for slugs – Use Safers Slug bait as it’s an organic one.
2. Work on garden clean-up, weeding and preparing garden beds. Add a handful of lime several weeks before planting. To improve your soil, use mushroom manure or compost.
3. Plant cool season veggies such as lettuce, spinach, kale & cabbage. Plants seeds of peas & sweet peas at this time as well.
4. Start tomato seeds indoors if desired.

April 2015

1. Continue to plant cool season veggies and flowers
2. Transplant raspberries & strawberries if necessary.
3. Plant early potatoes (Yukon Gold & Pontiac)
4. Fertilize perennials with all-purpose fertilizer such as fish fertilizer or organic fertilizer you can make yourself. See below
2 parts bonemeal, 1 part kelp meal, 1 part blood meal.
Apply the fertilizer during growing season.

Updated Work Party Schedule

This message is for the members of the Maple Community Garden

The work party schedule has been updated with 2 dates:

  • Sunday April 5th, from 10am to 12pm (noon)
  • Sunday, April 12th, from 10am to 12pm (noon)

For both dates, the meeting will start at the meeting room located in Maple Crest Apartments (2229 Maple Street) – please arrive early so that we can be efficient.

The purpose of these meetings is to:

  1. Pay your membership dues for 2015 garden season
  2. Participate in the work party to clean up and repair the common areas

Suggested Tools: Please bring your gloves, trowels, digging tools, edgers, shovels. For those who have building skills and tools bring your cordless drills and saws, hammer, nails.

We hope to get teams working on areas like the wheelchair accessible patio and boxes, a fence etc. Wear sturdy shoes or boots. Knee pads might be useful.

This is the last goodbye

Canadian Pacific has started to remove “encroachments” along Cypress Community Garden, just 1 block east of Maple Community Garden; click here for photos as of Saturday, February 28th. Work will resume after the weekend.

Unofficial sources reported that CP will start working along Maple Community Garden on Monday, at which point they will remove everything between the track and the orange markers.

This weekend may be your last chance to see the Garden as it exists today, before the “encroachments” are removed by CP.

The 2015 Sign-up AGM scheduled for March 1 is POSTPONED

To Maple Community Garden Members from The Executive

The 2015 Sign-up AGM scheduled for March 1 is POSTPONED

 

– CP Rail has stated this month in the media (newspapers)  that the community gardens on their property would be destroyed within a month. This week, bulldozers have destroyed the north-end of the Pine and Cypress Community Gardens that were encroaching on CPR Right of Way.

– The Executive is postponing the AGM, tentatively to be scheduled early April (date to be announced), in order to get more clarification on the situation as time goes on, and to give everyone a better chance to decide how to proceed.

– Your 2014 membership continues until the next 2015 AGM happens.

* The Executive has only the information published in The Province and The Courier, so please do not contact the Executive members for more info.

Thank you for your patience- and let’s wait and see.

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