Small Space Gardening

There are plenty of resources available to help get you started in growing your own food. The popularity of community gardens has never been greater, with waiting lists measured in years at most gardens in the Lower Mainland. But don’t despair, you can grow food and herbs in containers almost anywhere. Our next Vancity sponsored workshop will show you how.

Rachel Elves, from Burquitlam Community Organic Garden Society and Green Zebra Markets in Vancouver, will lead you through building your own DIY self-watering planter. With this cheap to make and easy to replicate planter, you can leave your plants to self-water for quite a while. This workshop is perfect for those who might not have the time to garden often or possibly want to add to their existing garden without adding to the workload!

Container gardening can be a lot of fun, and educational too. The BC Agriculture in the Classroom Foundation rolled out its Spuds in Tubs program in 2013. Spuds in tubs includes a Teacher Guide with age appropriate learning outcomes. In the 2013/2014 school year over 8,000 BC students participated in the planting, growing, harvesting, and eating of 70,000 pounds of potatoes.

BCAITC_Spuds in Tubs(2)BCAITC_Spuds in Tubs

As satisfying as it is to eat local food you’ve just purchased from the farmer’s market, there is nothing better than nurturing your own plants from seeds to your dinner plate. For inspiration you can check out this UK web site for ideas on some of the best yielding plants for container gardening. Another fun resource is this Garden Planning Software where you can drag and drop your veggies to design your own garden.

biglittle-250x333Confined spaces don’t have to confine the imagination. The Biggest Little Garden in Town is a container garden project that was started by Fraserside Community Services in New Westminster. Using tiered garden boxes and a trellis made from Western Red Cedar, these units are perfect for growing vegetables in small areas. The project provided containers, soil, seeds, and instructions for Fraserside clients. There are now several agreements with other food security organizations that wish to replicate these compact urban oases.

If you want to get started on your container garden, register now for our Small Space Gardening Workshop at Eventbrite. Choose one of two start times, 10:30 or noon on April 19th.