A CHEMICAL REACTION:

AN ACCLAIMED DOCUMENTARY FILM BY BRETT PLYMALE that tells the story of one of the most powerful and effective community initiatives in the history of North America — the Canadian movement to ban lawn and garden pesticides. The Trailer for the Award-Winning and controversial film can be viewed by going to www.cancer.ca/sk

The movie will be followed by a question and answer session with Paul Tukey – Organic Lawn Care Expert and Executive Producer of the film. A Book Signing for Paul Tukey’s The Organic Lawn Care Manual will follow.

When? March 17, 2010 at 7 p.m.

Where? Education Auditorium
University of Regina

Admission by donation
To find out more please contact:
Sanela Begic, Canadian Cancer Society
sbegic@sk.cancer.ca or 790-9881.

To join the fight and make SK pesticide free visit www.cancer.ca/sk/takeaction

Invitation courtesy of the Canadian Cancer Society

Arranged in four sittings:  12:30, 1:30, 2:30 and 3:30

For more information, please visit www.reginafloralconservatory.ca

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As expressed by many, I would like to add my sincere thank you to the past Board members, sponsors, friends, volunteers and gardeners for your commitment to developing the YARA - Grow Regina Community Garden at 3500 Queen Street in McLeod Park. The Grow Regina Board Members 2010 are committed to increasing the benefits and design features of community gardening this season.

Please click twice on the image to view or download a printable PDF version of the Grow Regina 2010 Spring Newsletter.

They pore over seed catalogs, imagine the layout of their gardens, and create visions in their minds of the lush, healthy vegetables and beautiful flowers that will grow there.  It just goes to show that you don’t need to be outside digging in the soil to be a gardener.  A bit of planning can keep you busy as you wait for the spring to come, and you can even start planting seeds well before the ground thaws.  Here are a few things to keep in mind while planning, as well as a few tips to help you get started with indoor planting.

Things to Consider When Deciding What to Plant:

• Experience level: most vegetables and flowers are easy even for beginners, but some, such as celery, eggplant, peppers, pole beans and head lettuce, are more difficult. Carrots and parsnips may seem like easy choices, but they can be difficult to grow in Regina’s clay soil and require preparation and care.

• Growing season: southern Saskatchewan has a short growing season, often less than 150 days, and only a few months of hot weather. Vegetables such as yams, peppers, melons, gourds, squash, and some varieties of tomatoes need a long, hot growing season to mature. They can still be grown here, but to insure that they survive and produce you may want to start them indoors or buy them as plants.

• Maintenance: some vegetables and flowers require less maintenance than others. A few low-maintenance plants include onions, radishes, chard, tomatoes, bush beans, marigolds, cosmos, and of course, zucchini (put a few seeds in the ground, wait about three months, and you’ll be eating zucchini bread for a year).

• Space: if there are a lot of plants you’d like to grow and space is limited, it may be helpful to list those that are most important to you and make sure they will all fit; less important ones can be added if space is available.

Things to Consider When Planning the Garden Layout:

• Rotation:  Some plants may need to be rotated.  Potato beetles lay eggs in the soil every summer that hatch the following year, so potatoes should be planted in a different place each year to prevent damage from these pests.  Planting vegetables that require a lot of nitrogen, such as corn, in the same place two years in a row can sap nutrients from the soil.  To help replace lost nutrients, plan to put nitrogen fixers like legumes where corn grew the year before.

• Spacing:  Some plants need as much as four feet of space around them, while others need only a few centimeters.  Make sure you leave enough space around each plant and between rows as you plan the layout of your garden.  The Grow Regina website features a link to a garden planning tool (under the “Gardening Tips and Tools” sidebar) that shows you how much space to leave for each plant. 

• Companion Planting:  Some plants, when placed side-by-side, nourish each other and help prevent pests.  A good list of companion plants can be found here: http://www.companionplanting.net/ListofCompanionPlants.html

• Aesthetics: textures, colours, and arrangements can turn a garden space into a work of art.  More information on garden design can be found here:  http://gardening.about.com/od/gardendesign/bb/Design_FAQ.htm

Starting Seeds Indoors:

• Check the instructions on the seed packet to determine the best time for starting the seeds.

• Good seeds to start indoors include tomatoes, peppers, herbs, and leafy greens.

• Seeds usually aren’t available in stores until April or May, so you may want to order from a seed catalogue.  The Grow Regina website has a link, located under the “Gardening Tips and Tools” sidebar, to a list of seed suppliers across Canada and the US from whom you can receive catalogues simply by giving your address and getting on a mailing list.

• Indoor seeds grow best in potting soil, or a combination of equal parts potting soil, vermiculite, and peat.

• You can use recycled containers like coffee cans or egg cartons or you can buy containers, but either way, make sure that there are holes in the bottom where water can drain out.

• If you place your seedlings near a window, make sure they get enough sunlight; some plants need up to 12 hours of light.  It may be helpful to grow seedlings under full spectrum fluorescent lights.

For more information on how to start seeds indoors, check out the following sites: http://gardenline.usask.ca/misc/seeds.html

http://gardening.about.com/od/gardenprimer/ss/SeedStarting.htm

Submitted by Jennifer Bobowski

Our team has chosen a variety of raised bed designs and will be drawing up the specifications to be delivered to the Saskatchewan Abilities Council Woodworking Shop for preparation. As soon as the weather allows, Grow Regina volunteers will start leveling the soil for a crushed rock base and trenching for irrigation.

There will also be plenty of activity of the northern edge of garden with the planting of trees, shrubs and bushes. The soil preparation and hole-digging will begin early in May with planting as soon as the ground warms. The order for 126 fruit bearing native species has already been placed.

On behalf of the Board of Grow Regina, please express my deepest appreciation to your members for their donation and support of Grow Regina.

Karen Watkins, Grow Regina

For those who are visiting our site from around the world, it may be hard to believe that come May we will begin to work the soil again for a new growing season.

As the garden rests covered in its blanket of snow, Grow Regina is busy organizing activities for the coming season.

John Fagan, Chair

Gene Lauman, Commitee Chair

If you are interested in joining this committee please call 949-5593.

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Arranged in four sittings:  12:30, 1:30, 2:30 and 3:30

For more information, please visit www.reginafloralconservatory.ca

Gene Lauman, Chair

Don Fenwick, Chair

Prior to Fran starting her Herb Farm business in 1997 she was a registered nurse for several years, then embarked on a career in labour relations.  Throughout her careers as a nurse and labour relations officer, she continued to grow vegetable gardens, strawberry gardens, and planted trees, annuals and perennials.

Fran Eldridge, along with her business partner Leah Currie, now owns and operates “Fran’s House of Herbs” located 15 minutes South on the highway to Regina.   She has been growing and selling edible herbs in the plant, fresh and dried form since 1997.  Her fresh and dried herbs as well as herb plants are sold seasonally at her herb farm as well as at the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market from mid April to the end of December.  Fran grows all her herbs without the use of insecticides or pesticides.

Fran has maintained an active and continuing education knowledge by attending and participating in Greenhouse Grower’s Seminars, Herb Conferences, Horticultural Tours as well as enrolling in Botany and Greenhouse Structure and Management courses put on by the Extension Division/University of Saskatchewan.  She has spoken at a number of Provincial, National and International Conferences.

We look forward to a very informative evening.

Admission: $5.00 Non-members
Regina Horticultural Members: Free admission

Coffee to follow: Free will offering.

Acknowledgements:  The Regina Horticultural Society

John Fagan, Chair