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Garden Guide A Product of the Community Gardening Network of Ottawa www.justfoo

Garden Guide A Product of the Community Gardening Network of Ottawa www.justfood.ca CGN‐RJC of/d’Ottawa Community Gardening Network/ Réseau de jardinage communautaires What is the CGN? The CGN is a network open to all members of the community who garden, whether in a community garden, or in their front or back yard, on their balcony, at public buildings, in a schoolyard, etc. working to sow, cultivate and harvest the sustainable development of community gardening in the City of Ottawa. What is the mission of CGN? To work towards ensuring that all neighbourhoods in the City of Ottawa have information on and access to community gardens and gardening, with particular attention to, but not exclusively high density, low income areas. In doing so, the CGN is committed to democratic processes, ecological stewardship and working with diverse populations. A Community Garden is… ...a collection of garden plots in an urban, suburban or rural setting, which provides residents with access to land for gardening. Community gardens beautify previously barren or unused land. Run by members of the community, they are a place where neighbours can meet and work together to care for the garden while growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, and herbs. What are the benefits of community gardens? FOOD SECURITY and NUTRITION Gardening provides people with fresh, nutritious fruits, herbs and vegetables mainly during the harvest season. Community gardens can play an important role in helping people to eat well when they are unable to afford healthy food in stores. Gardens provide those on low incomes with the opportunity to grow organic food, which is often expensive in retail stores. ACCESS TO GARDENING SPACE Community gardens attract people who don’t have access to yard space, especially those who live in apartment buildings. Community gardens are accessible spaces within walking distance where people can participate in recreational gardening and growing healthy food for themselves. ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY A community garden allows individuals concerned about the environmental impacts of food to have control over the food they eat. People use organic methods in their gardens, thus reducing pesticide exposure to themselves and the environment. Growing food in the city reduces the environmental costs associated with transporting food over long distances. Gardening connects people to the food cycle. It also encourages the recycling of food and garden waste through the use of compost, which reduces the amount of trash in landfills. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT and EDUCATION Community gardens help to create a positive image of the community. Community gardens have a positive impact on the community. The garden becomes a meeting spot, where community members interact and get to know one another. This helps create a closer‐knit, more cooperative neighbourhood. Community gardens allow for cooperation across diverse ethnic and age groups. In Ottawa, gardeners and community members can also participate in free educational workshops throughout the year which focus on organic gardening skills, food and environmental issues, and the preparation of nutritious meals. Table of Contents Building the soil 1 Composting 2 Seeds 4 Companion Planting 5 Garden Layout 6 Planting Guide 7 Pest Control 9 Common Insect Problem 14 Bucket Gardening 16 Water Conservation 19 Planting Guide 21 Vegetable Profiles 23 Harvest Time 42 Preparing for Winter 43 Glossary 44 Thank you 46 ©CGN/RJC 2008 Page 1 of 47 BUILDING THE SOIL When you first start your garden, you might find that the soil is too hard, too rocky, too sandy, or not healthy enough to grow plants well. Most gardens need a lot of work to make and keep the soil healthy, productive and easy to work. • Early in the spring, when the ground is warm and dry enough, dig your garden to a depth of 8 ‐ 10 inches, breaking up clumps and removing large rocks. • Add 3‐4 inches of compost and turn it thoroughly into the soil. Compost is good for all kinds of soil, it gives structure to sandy soil and helps it hold water. For soil that is hard and full of clay, it helps to loosen it and helps water drain through it. It also adds nutrients which are slowly released into the soil during the growing season. • Another way to help improve the soil is to plant a cover crop, or green manure in your garden in the early fall (mid September). These plants are not harvested in the spring, but are turned back into the soil. These plants bring nutrients up from deep in the soil and also “fix” nutrients, like nitrogen, from the air and water. When you turn them under, you also increase the plant matter in the soil, which helps to give structure to clay or sandy soil. Some good cover crops are alfalfa, clover, rye, barley and winter wheat, they need to be kept moist for germination. Don’t let the plants go to seed. Turn them under in the spring when they are 4 or 5 inches tall. You can also plant cover crops in the spring or summer in part of your garden that you are not using to prepare it for next season. ©CGN/RJC 2008 Page 2 of 47 COMPOSTING! A great way to feed your soil and help your garden grow! What is COMPOST? Compost is the breakdown or decomposition of food and garden waste. It could be a mix of: • leaves • fruit and vegetable scraps • weeds • other plant waste Tiny creatures such as bacteria, fungi, worms and small insects eat these materials and turn them into compost ‐ this is called decomposition. When compost is ready to put on your garden it will be dark brown and crumbly and it will look like soil. Why should I put compost on the garden? Compost is VERY GOOD for your garden. A 2 ‐ 3 inch layer over your whole garden is very helpful. It will help your plants grow and keeps the soil moist. It also keeps weeds down longer. Helpful soil bugs like compost too. Compost is one of the best fertilizers you can feed your garden. How do I make compost? Compost is easy to make. You need to save fruit and vegetable scraps from your kitchen. Store them in a closed container until you can bring them to the garden. Dump your scraps in the composter regularly, and be sure to wash out your bucket to prevent it from smelling bad. You should also add leaves and weeds that have not gone to seed from your garden. The three most important things to do when building a compost pile are: 1) Break all waste into SMALL PIECES to speed up decomposition. 2) Have a balance of WET WASTE – egg shells, vegetable and fruit scraps, fresh grass and weed clippings and DRY WASTE ‐‐ dry grass, dry leaves, corn cobs. It is best to have a mixture of about 1 part wet and 2 parts dry; if it is too dry, you can also water your pile. 3) Make sure your pile is not too wet and turn it regularly so that AIR gets to all parts of the pile. If you do not have time to turn the pile, it can sit without being turned. Not mixing the pile results in slower decomposition. The pile may smell bad if there is not enough air in it. ©CGN/RJC 2008 Page 3 of 47 What can I put in the compost? DO ADD DON’T ADD Bread, baked goods, plain noodles Butter, cheese, milk Egg shells Meat, bones Fruit and vegetable scraps Oil, peanut butter, lard Tea bags and coffee grinds Mayonnaise, salad dressing Weeds and leaves Sour cream, yogurt Grass and Branches Dog and cat waste How do I use compost, and when do I put it on my garden? Compost can be dug into the soil in the fall or in the spring before planting the garden, or used as a mulch. When planting in the spring, put compost in with the seeds. Once your plants are growing, spread some compost around the flower and vegetable plants. ©CGN/RJC 2008 Page 4 of 47 SEEDS You might want to find some of your plants that are healthy, strong and quick growing, and let them flower and go to seed. You can then collect and dry the seeds and save them to plant next year. • This might mean letting your radishes, broccoli or spinach go to flower instead of harvesting them. • Or you might let some beans and peas stay on the vine until the plant dies and the pods are large. • You can also let other vegetables, like squash, cucumber or peppers stay on the plant until they are big and tough and not very good to eat. This is usually when the seeds are ready to be saved. Some plants will only produce seeds the second year of planting, so you would have to leave them in the garden over the winter and wait until next season to get seeds. (They would have to be heavily mulched in the Ottawa uploads/Ingenierie_Lourd/ garden-guide-a-product-of-the-community-gardening-network-of-ottawa.pdf