Garden Wisdom Blog — garden-wisdom

Food miles measure the literal distance in mileage between the producer and the consumer. They’re used to demonstrate the relative carbon footprints of conventionally farmed and imported groceries. This isn’t an effort to make consumers feel guilty. It’s about better understanding the burden our regular food consumption places on the environment. What it might compel some people to do is to be more proactive about growing some of their own food. We think that growing some of your own food is a pretty good idea anyway. Although food miles are a good measure of how shipping food impacts the environment,...

One of the amazing opportunities facing all gardeners and farmers is planting for wildlife — or, at least, growing food with biodiversity in mind. Organic gardeners understand that soil health is inherently dependent on robust biodiversity in the soil. Earthworms, invertebrates, fungi, bacteria, and many other organisms play different roles in the breaking down of organic matter into forms that are available to plants. But this concept carries on above the soil, too. The most obvious wildlife in most gardens are the legions of pollinators and other beneficial insects, not to mention the pest species many of them prey upon....

Okay – now for the fun stuff. Seed balls (sometimes called seed bombs), are simple balls of clay and soil that contain seeds. They can be placed or tossed into their growing spot, and the clay/soil mix provides the seeds within just enough medium to get started. In most cases this will be more successful than simply throwing or dropping raw seeds. Some mischief-minded people might choose to throw seed balls into vacant lots, traffic meridians, or other under-used urban areas. We would never condone such behaviour, of course. But here’s how to make them! Step one: The Materials Seed...

At West Coast Seeds we are huge fans of school gardens. Nothing beats seeing a class of happy, engaged kids learning about how soil works, and how to grow food from seed. The match seems so natural, and yet school gardens are a relatively recent development. It’s hard to imagine an elementary school without a school garden these days, despite the ever-present challenge of tight budgets. In a way, the garden itself is a classroom. Even Master Gardeners will admit that the learning curve does not end. As much experience as we can accumulate in a lifetime of gardening, there...

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...