On this Father鈥檚 Day weekend, gardening families all over the Island will be honouring the fathers of the household in all听sorts of ways. Perhaps a surprise visit to a local public garden has been planned. Dad鈥檚 favourite meal may be enjoyed out on the deck or patio. Cards promising help in the garden may be given, a long desired plant presented.
In some homes people will be looking back, entertaining tender memories of fathers and gardens of the past. My friend Daphne will likely be thinking of听gorgeous plants in the Deep Cove garden created by her father, John Trelawny 鈥� a majestic wisteria, an imposing and memorable fig tree, bright yellow Fremontia blooms curving over a doorway.
I recall my first little childhood garden prepared for me by my father in a space beside the driveway of our home on Tattersall Drive, and the distress at finding worms in the radishes 鈥� an early lesson in patience and in understanding the ways of the natural world.
I recall vividly my father demonstrating his 鈥減uddling鈥� method of transplanting. I鈥檝e used it ever since, through all my years of gardening, with听near perfect results.
Puddling involves settling a half dozen or so transplants into holes made听in well prepared soil and pouring a gentle stream of transplanting solution into the holes before firming soil around the transplants.
Carefulness, patience, connection with and respect for the earth are among values ideally absorbed in a parent-child gardening relationship. They are remembered. On this Father鈥檚 Day weekend I鈥檓 also remembering words attributed to Chief Seattle:
鈥淭each your children what we have taught our children 鈥� that the earth is our mother.
Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons and daughters of the earth. 鈥�
This we know. All things are connected like the blood which unites one family. All things are connected.鈥�
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Heart of the garden. Among all the many parts of my large garden, where do I feel most at ease, peaceful, perfectly right with the universe?
It鈥檚 at the composting section, in the right hand back corner of the property, where five enclosures, divided by openwork cement blocks, are lined up along the side fence. The end of the path leading to the compost area faces the centre enclosure, where a heap of partly finished compost houses a young zucchini plant. The zucchini is flanked on either side by winter squash plants. The two end sections are working heaps.
This year, the neighbour鈥檚 mammoth Kiftsgate rambling rose tumbles over the side fence and presents a cloud of about-to-be blooms dangling over the compost enclosures, adding to the enchantment of the area.
Here is the garden鈥檚 investment portfolio, its treasure and its heartbeat. Compost heaps recycle piles of garden 鈥渨aste鈥� into spongy, 鈥渂lack gold,鈥� teeming with living organisms that convert soil nutrients into forms plant roots can听use. Compost builds fertility as it improves moisture retention and enhances soil texture.
An approximate balance of two or three parts carbon rich materials to one part nitrogen-rich materials, mixed into or layered in a heap, creates the ideal working compost. Carbonaceous matter is dry, brown and fibrous like straw, sawdust and shredded newspaper. Soft, green matter (lawn mowings, young weeds and plant trimmings) are high in听nitrogen.
Organisms that act to decompose a heap need carbon and nitrogen as food along with moisture and air to live and work efficiently. In dry summer weather keep compost heaps modestly moist and aerated. I use a thin-tined compost fork to give each working heap a few turns weekly to check moisture levels and introduce fresh air, and water as needed to keep that old 鈥渂lack magic鈥� in play.
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GARDEN EVENTS
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Rose meeting. The Mid Island Rose Society meets Monday, 6 to 8 p.m. in听the North Nanaimo Library on听Hammond Bay Rd.
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Comox Valley presentation. Comox Valley Horticultural Society meets Monday in the Courtenay Filberg Centre, 411 Anderton Ave. Lynda Smith from Lawn to Food will give a presentation on preserving the harvest. Lynda will share new ideas on how to use our garden bounty daily and preserve it for future consumption. Eating, freezing, canning, dehydrating, pickling and fermentation are some of the topics that will be covered. Tips will include how to avoid becoming overwhelmed with garden produce during busy summer months. Doors, 6:45 p.m. Annual memerships, $20. Guests welcome at $5. comoxvalleyhortsociety.ca.