Garden Wisdom Blog — Commit-to-Grow

It’s pronounced “zee-re-scape-ing.” And it’s a key concept for landscapers as we look to a future of water conservation and climate change. It’s worth mentioning again in this series of Twenty-one Days of Green leading up to Earth Day, because the Earth can’t take much more of water-hogging garden designs. Simply put, xeriscaping is a system of landscaping with water conservation as the priority. In areas that receive little rainfall in the summer, some thoughtful xeriscaping will allow flowering plants to thrive, adding visual appeal – as well as important forage for pollinators. There are five principles that are key...

For the 21 days leading up to Earth Day, we are asking you to Commit to Grow with us. We appreciate that some of you might not even have outdoor gardening space, so today we’re going to talk about Sprouts! Probably the best thing sprouts have going for them is that they can be produced just about anywhere, at any time of the year. The equipment to produce them can be as rudimentary as a simple kitchen sieve, but specialized tools for sprout production have been developed and improved for decades. Sprouting is the simple act of bringing seeds and...

In this installment of Commit to Grow for Earth Day, we take the chance to explain why we choose to maintain our status as certified organic handlers of seeds. What does it mean to be certified organic? Organic certification has many nuances, but basically it’s the “certified” part that matters most. Farms or companies or products that are certified to be organic are held to account by the body that provides the certification. The certifier sets rules and minimum standards according to regional, federal, and international laws. But what does that mean? Take West Coast Seeds as an example. We...

While recreational field turf has its uses, most urban and suburban lawn leaves the Earth with a net loss. Space that could be used for growing food or feeding pollinators is dedicated instead to demanding, non-native grasses. Lawn grass is challenged by animals that prey on European chafer (and other) beetle larvae in the winter and spring, and then it dries out and turns brown in the summer due to watering restrictions. We think it’s time to consider transforming lawns to more sustainable uses. We’re asking you to Commit to Grow something more useful than grass. Xeriscaping Xeriscaping is a...

We continue our Twenty-One Days of Green with a look at an amazing community group. One of our favourite of all gardening organizations is Plant a Row Grow a Row. Quite simply, they encourage gardeners to plant one extra row of food to donate to their local food bank. This gives families crucial access to fresh, locally grown produce in an environment that normally leans heavily on donations of processed foods in boxes and cans. Across Canada, Plant a Row Grow a Row is connecting growers with food banks and soup kitchens. They also provide step-by-step instructions on how to...