Lethbridge Horticultural Society presents Lyndon Penner! -- Monday, May 25 @ 7pm, Lethbridge Public Library, Theatre Gallery

Lethbridge Horticultural Society, May 25 Monthly Meeting, Public Library

After the success of ‘The Short Season Yard’, Lyndon Penner is back and better than ever! It’s all very well and good to know HOW to grow a peony or a lily, but what do you put it next to? Lyndon is quick to explain that no plant exists in a vacuum, and where to place perennials and trees is just as important as how to grow them! Most gardening books are focused on areas much milder and more temperate than the prairies, so Lyndon has written a book JUST FOR PRAIRIE GARDENERS- ‘Garden Design for the Short Season Yard’ is written expressly for those who’d like to learn how to design a magnificent garden in OUR climate! Lyndon will teach you all you need to know to create a breath taking garden with our wind, our frosts, and our short season! At last- a Canadian garden design book that wasn’t written for Vancouver or Toronto! With charm and pizazz and a good dash of common sense, Lyndon will usher you into the exciting world of garden art and design!

How the Garden Grows! Update #2 - Seed Exchange!

An update to the update: How the Garden Grows!  

Seed Exchange Guidelines:

Prepare your seeds for the exchange:

• Divide your seeds into small envelopes or plastic bags prior to the exchange (we recommend 10-20 seeds per package).
• Label each package or attach a note card with as much information as possible to will help your fellow gardeners grow your seeds successfully, such as:

• Plant Type (i.e. Green Beans – Bush)
• Variety (if known)
• Hybrid or open-pollinated **Do not bring seed you have collected from hybrid plants.**
• Number of days until harvest (i.e. 60 days)
• Planting guidelines (i.e direct, transplant, 6” apart, 1/2 “ deep)
• Seed Source (i.e. My Garden)
• Year purchased or harvested
• Characteristics of the edible parts (i.e. Tomatoes – great slicers)

When you arrive for the seed exchange, place your seeds on the appropriate table:

• Cucubits: Cucumbers, squash, pumpkins, melons, etc.
• Greens: Lettuce, brassicas, spinach, chard, collards
• Herbs: Basil, chamomile, lemon grass, oregano, etc.
• Legumes: Beans, peas, etc.
• Roots: Beets, carrots, onions, radish, turnips, chives, etc.
• Solanaceae: Tomato, pepper, etc.
• Other: Corn, grains, flowers, etc.

The seed exchange will work on the honour system. Please do not take more packages than you have brought, until it is announced that all donors have completed their exchange. If you did not bring seeds to exchange, please wait until we have announced that all donors have completed their exchange. We have lots of extra seeds, so there will be seeds for everyone!

LECTURE & Discussion on Sustainable Water Management (read: rain barrels, ponds, etc)

For more information, check out the Vibrant LifeEco-Solutions blog entry:  Make your Pond work for you!

Who knew?! The United Nations has declared 2015 as the International Year of Soils

2015 has been declared by the United Nations as the International Year of Soils!

The CBC did a great two part series on soil so take a listen while you are transplanting your seedlings:

The Dirt on Soil, Part 1 & 2

"Life on earth depends on healthy soil. Yet most people don't know - or care - that the world's soils are in danger."

Want to know more?

Click the image below to travel to a great website on the this important topic.

How the Garden Grows! UPDATE on ORIENTATION MEETINGS

As a followup to the post: How the Garden Grows!  Plots are filling up!

All Campus Roots Gardeners (new or returning) must attend ONE of these meetings.

WHEN:  

• Tuesday, 2015 April 14, 7:30-9pm 
• Wednesday, 2015 April 15, 7:30-9pm

WHERE:  University of Lethbridge, Anderson Hall Room#118

DETAILS:  Parking at that time of day is free in front of Anderson Hall.   (See Map)

Questions?  Email campusroots@uleth.ca

Thanks to all of those returning gardeners who got back to me to let me know they were coming back.   It has been very helpful. I look forward to seeing you all there next week.

Happy Gardening,

Courtney Lamb

Membership Coordinator, CRCGA

How the Garden Grows! Plots are filling up!

Spring will soon be upon us and CampusRoots is gearing up for another fantastic gardening year.  As the Garden gets larger, the Board has decided to run our annual Orientation Meeting a little differently this year.  To accommodate more of our gardeners' schedules, we are running TWO orientation and registration meetings this year.   

Attendance at ONE (not both) of these meetings is mandatory for those wanting to garden with us whether you are a returning or new gardener:

• Tuesday April 14th (evening, time and place to be announced)
• Wednesday April 15th  (evening, time and place to be announced)

NOTE:  There will also be an informal and short, but mandatory, Garden Walk-through held at the garden in early May. More information on that will be coming out closer to the event.

In the past, returning gardeners have had first choice of the plots, after which new gardeners were offered what was still available. This was done by having the returning gardeners register first at the Orientation meeting. With running two Orientation meetings this year, that system simply won't work.

RETURNING gardeners: BY APRIL 7th, contact Courtney Lamb (Membership Coordinator) via CampusRoots  with your intention to return to CampusRoots.  A garden plot will be held tentatively subject to your attendance to one of the Orientation meetings and payment of all fees.   If you are not able to decide whether you are returning by April 7th , you are still welcome to come back and garden with us, but you will be offered one of the "unspoken for" plots along with the new gardeners (i.e., there is no guarantee of a plot let alone the one you gardened in last year).

NEW gardeners:  Email CampusRoots with your wish to be considered for a garden plot in the CampusRoots Garden.  Courtney will be in contact with you about your interest.

We, on the Board, are all very excited for the upcoming season and wish you all a fantastic and productive year. If there are any further questions with regards to membership and the upcoming Orientation, don't hesitate to ask.

Compost: Make it Hot and Break it Down. A three-part Permaculture workshop series

LSLA Workshop:  

Compost: Make it Hot and Break it Down. A three-part Permaculture workshop series 

Lethbridge Sustainable Living Association is putting on a composting workshop. 

Details are below.  Check out the promotional video:  

Workshop Dates: April 25th, August 1st, and October 17th, 2015.

Hosted by:

Josh Hellawell - http://www.synergypermaculture.ca
Tim Wickstrom - http://www.edibleearthscapes.ca

About the Workshop:
Learn how to build a three-bin composting system using recycled pallets and what materials to use to get the correct carbon to nitrogen ratio to get a hot compost. Learn how to monitor your compost pile temperature and how to adjust the temperature if needed. And finally learn how to turn your pile and prep it for winter. The workshops will be held at the Southside Permaculture Demonstration Garden.

To Register:

Registration is Free for LSLA (Lethbridge Sustainable Living Association) members or $10 for non-members. Added Bonus: Get a Free LSLA membership with your registration.

Register @ Umami Shop located at: 814 4th Ave South, Lethbridge: http://www.umamishop.ca/

Registration deadline is April 23rd and register soon as there are only 15 spots available.