Greetings Greenthumbs! I'm Kathryn Hogan, and I'm here to tell you about my adventures in permaculture.

If you'd like to know more about me, check out my website! www.kathrynhogan.ca


Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Berry Spiral Update

When I first built my berry spiral, it looked like this:


Look at those dormant little berry bushes!


Then the bushes and seeds started growing, and it looked like this:

Some growth! Not much, but some!


Then, something amazing happened.
It rained for like a million years. And then the sun came out, all strong and warm and life-giving. Now, my berry spiral looks like this:

Explosion of Growth!!!

It is so beautiful! Surrounded by natural grasses, filled with nitrogen fixing clover and bee-attracting wild flowers, with three honeyberries, a highbush cranberry, a siberian almond, and a little baby evan's cherry, this berry spiral is sort of THE BOMB. There are also some sunflowers growing, which you can probably make out in the left hand of the picture, around one of the honeyberries.

I also planted some gladiola bulbs when I first made the spiral, but some ants have taken up residence and were using the shoots as food, so I don't think any of them will make it to maturity. I'm not too fussed - the ants are aerating the soil and plus they are pretty cute (if you are insane).

I'm super happy with my berry spiral. It probably won't produce berries this year but it's already a veritable mecca for bees, there are ants applenty, and so much green it almost hurts your eyes. 

The main goal of bringing a whole lot of life into what had been a dead zone due to soil damage has been achieved! I'm already planning a new, even more ambitious spiral with a fruit tree at the top for construction next year!


Monday, July 23, 2012

Plant Invaders From The Third Dimension!

Ok, ok. I'm not actually talking about invaders, invasive species, or anything like that.

I'm talking about... Vines!


Vines are a great way to beautify any garden by adding a whole new dimension of plant growth. They can draw the eye up, over or around; they can prettify plain old fences or trees; they can mark boundaries or contain other visual elements, like nature-imitating garden beds.

They can also feed you, attract beneficial insects, increase overall biomatter on your site, improve the soil, and take advantage of sunny spots that other plants aren't able to reach.

Plus, they're soooo pretty!

Look at the difference that some vines make in my own garden:

Before: Boring!
After: Amazing!






















Some Vines to Consider Growing:





Grapes! On a Pergola!

Grapes 

If you have a long enough growing season, grapes are a staple-type of food vine for you to grow. 

Arctic Kiwi 

For those of us with much shorter growing seasons, Arctic Kiwi is a fun and interesting alternative to grapes.

Honeysuckle / Trumpet Vine

There is some beautiful native honeysuckle where I live, and I'm excitedly training it onto a trellis. It attracts lots of insects and has very unique flowers.
If you live in a warmer place, try Trumpet Vine, which attracts hummingbirds, too!

Clematis 

Yellow clematis can be invasive, so check local regulations before you plant. But the many shades of blue and purple clematis are a safe bet, and grow vigorously in full sun to part shade. The stunning flowers are a great addition to any landscape.
The best part: no matter where you live, or what part of the garden you're looking to bring into three dimensions, you can likely find a clematis to suit your needs!

Maybe you'll find treasure at the top!

Beans / Peas / Sweetpea

Often quick growers, many varieties are available that have gorgeous flowers followed by delicious food. Plus, legumes help fix nitrogen in the soil, improving soil quality and acting as a fertilizer to other plants. Buy a legume inoculant to help the nitrogen get a'fixin!

 Hops

If you're looking for a plant that will cover a trellis, pergola or arbor fairly quickly, Hops may be your plant. It is somewhat plain looking, but adventurous gardeners can use the plant to make their own beer!
Espalier How-To

Berries

Lots of berry plants can be trained up arbors and trellises, blackberry and raspberry being the best examples. Delicious!

Anything You Can Train!

Many fruit trees and bushes increase their production when they are espaliered. That's a fancy word for training a tree onto a fence or trellis. That's right! You could have an apple tree trained to grow over your deck, or up the wall of your house.



Your imagination is the limit!




Sunday, July 22, 2012

Sassy Advice - Say it, Or Write it, Or frickin' pull it out by hand. Just don't Spray it.

As far as Day Jobs go, mine is pretty alright.

I work in a beautiful provincial park. I feel indebted to the foresight of environmentalists every time I drive to work here: as much as it can be while still being a tourist destination, this place is protected.

Unless there are weeds.

You see, the activities of us fun-loving humans have brought a few invasive species into this delicate mountain ecosystem. Some of them are classified as 'noxious weeds' throughout the province and are being aggressively sprayed with poisons recently shown in peer reviewed scientific literature to cause birth defects and cancers in mammals.

Like, you know, us humans.

Now, we thoughtful and good-looking humans who know a bit about ecosystems know that healthy ecosystems are far less susceptible to the advances of this invasive plants. Unfortunately, my particular place of work does not qualify as a healthy ecosystem. The accidental planting of weed-seed-contaminated, suited-to-warmer-climates grass as a landscape staple, and damage to the soil from ongoing construction have provided the perfect place for invasive dandelion and thistle.

So my boss has decided to spray herbicides. Here. In a supposedly protected provincial park.

The amount of thistle and dandelion is very minimal. It could be pulled by hand in a couple of days. Sure, it will likely come back. But guess what? It will come back if you spray it, too.

I've spoken with my boss about this twice now with no luck, and am waiting for a call back now that he has decided to go ahead in spite of my concerns... this Wednesday.

What are my concerns?

I'm glad you asked!

1. Herbicides hurt humans.

Most herbicides use glyphosate as their active ingredient. Glyphosate  causes birth defects in humans. It is associated with long term health problems including cancer, especially cancer in children.

Herbicides are also known to cause respiratory distress. Many of the people who come to my place of work have respiratory problems to begin with. If we claim to be an accessible facility to people with special needs, we have to include respiratory needs in that claim.

2. Herbicides hurt the environment.

Glyphosate also “causes birth defects in the embryos of laboratory animals” according to Lucia Graves of the Huffington Post. Even low doses are shown to cause abnormalities in rabbits, including dilation of the heart.

It promotes soil pathogens and inhibits plants’ immune systems.

We are located in an extremely important watershed. Scientific American reports that glyphosate leeches into water.

Perhaps glyphosate is not the chemical that will be used here. Perhaps it is aminocyclopyrachlore, another common herbicide claimed to be more environmentally friendly, which causes mass tree deaths, especially in conifers.

Perhaps it’s the popular atrazine, which is still present in ground water 15 years after its use, causes breast and prostate cancer, and reproductive defects in birds, fish and frogs.

Either way, I cannot fathom how something so harmful to flora and fauna can legally be applied in a supposedly protected area.

On top of all of that, my partner and I are going to be starting a family soon. How could I conscionably expose myself to chemicals that could cause birth defects and / or cancers in my babies? My workplace will be sprayed on Wednesday. I'm supposed to work on Friday.


The mostly-wild places of Kananaskis Country are under enough pressure from tourists, logging and damns without having poisons sprayed on them.


Re-posted from www.kathrynhogan.ca/writersblog where Sassy Advice is a fun and frequent feature.