Speaker: Lucretia Schanfarber
Topic: The Power of no-dig gardening.

Lucretia Schanfarber is a dedicated organic gardener, motivational speaker and writer. Her mission is to motivate and teach people to Cultivate Edible Landscapes & Superfood Gardens while Building Soil Health & Fertility. She has worked as a writer for "alive magazine," Canada's most popular health magazine and as a contributing editor to the award-winning "Encyclopedia of Natural Healing." Lucretia's simple message is: "We will all live longer, healthier and happier lives when we grow more of our own food & work together to build a lasting culture of organic gardening communities." She creatively blends her expertise in natural healing and organic gardening to deliver an entertaining, educational and uplifting presentation. She has written two mini-books "How to Grow Your Own SuperFoods" and “How to Build Your Own SuperSoil".

Why should you follow the principles of no-dig?

It leaves the soil microbiome undisturbed.
It reduces weed growth.
It feeds the soil life with organic matter.
It works on all kinds of soil.

Do:

add compost to your soil yearly
grow cover crops
chop and drop
harvest mulched pathways
use available biomass and resources
keep the soil covered - mulch
use only organic soil amendments
grow and use comfrey
make compost tea
use the power of pee
leave annual roots in the soil
use grey water

Don't

rototill or dig your soil
use toxins
waste any biomass
use questionable amendments and resources
burn healthy garden pruning and weeds
leave soil bare
go ew! about pee
pull annual plant roots out of the soil
freak out about weeds
do anything that hurts the soil structure

 

 

Speaker: Jason Crouch from Fraser Valley Rose Farm
Topic: Roses

We’re Jason and Lisa, and about a dozen years ago we took the plunge and bought a small acreage on Nicomen Island. Money was tight at the time, the girls were young, the learning curve was steep, and the property needed some major TLC. It was hard to see at first, but even in those tough early years we were forming the impression of what Fraser Valley Rose Farm could be. Although we had to hold our day jobs to make ends meet, make no mistake: from the time we sold our first plants from a folding table at the farmers market, we were no longer a part of the “9 to 5” work force. It took me nearly another decade to hand in my resignation, and now I’m so excited to invite the world to our little farm.

Site/Soil:

• Roses need 6 to 8 hours of sun a day
• They do not tolerate rocky soil, direct tree roots, poor drainage and high pH otherwise they will be fine in any other condition.
• It is best to plant a new rose 3 ‘ away from where another rose had been planted.
• The best time to plant them are from February to May and September/October ( when the danger of high frost has gone and not during the very hot weather in the summer)

The family tree of roses goes back 2500 years!

Good roses for small spaces and containers:

• Miniatures
• Polyanthas
• Floribundas
• Shrub roses

Good roses for large spaces:

• Hybrid teas
• Climbers/ramblers
• Old garden roses
• Some larger shrub roses

Solitary flowering:

• Hybrid teas
• Some modern climbers

Cluster flowering:

• Floribundas
• Grandifloras
• Hybrid musk
• Ramblers 
• Many others

Drought tolerant roses:

• Scots roses
• Rugosa roses
• Compact floribundas
• Shrub roses

Rosapedia is a good site to help you find the type of rose you need/want.  On this site you can start with your priorities and search the data base.

What is the difference between a grafted rose and one that is grown on its own roots?
Grafted roses tend to live 10 -15 years, whereas those grown on their own roots live longer and are healthier over time.

Feeding your rose:  the NPK ratio needs to follow the 3-1-2  or 3-1-3 ratio

Pruning is usually done in February or March.    

Important to prepare roses for winter:

• Stop fertilising in August
• Limit the pruning
• Shelter potted roses
• Clean up diseased foliage
• Replace mulch as needed

 

Speaker: District of North Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services
Topic: Firesafe for our Community and Gardens

FireSmart Landscaping Guide
FireSmart Landscaping Hub
DNV Home Hazard Assessment

Speaker:  Linda Gilkeson
Topic: Where have all the insects gone?

If you missed the presentation you can view Linda’s slides on her website under presentation.

Linda earned a Ph.D. in Entomology from McGill University in 1986, then moved to British Columbia to work for Applied Bio-Nomics Ltd., a company that produces biological controls. From 1991 to 2002 she worked for the provincial government, promoting programs to reduce and eliminate pesticide use. She was head of the provincial State of Environment Reporting Unit for the next six years, then the Executive Director of the Salt Spring Island Conservancy until the end of 2011. Linda now devotes her time to writing, teaching and consulting.
Linda’s comprehensive gardening book, Backyard Bounty: The Complete Guide to year-Round Organic Gardening in the Pacific Northwest, is a BC best seller. She has just published a newly revised and expanded 3rd edition of her comprehensive pest management guide, West Coast Gardening: Natural Insect, Weed & Disease Control. In the past, she has co-authored pest management training manuals for the provincial government and organic gardening books for Rodale Press and now focuses on publishing books for local gardeners.
As a private consultant, Linda is a regular instructor in the Master Gardener programs in BC and is busy year around giving workshops on pest management and organic gardening.
Linda has served as President of the Entomological Society of Canada, the Professional Pest Management Association of BC, the Entomological Society of BC and the Salt Spring Island Garden Club. She was awarded a Queen’s Jubilee medal in 2003 and an outstanding achievement award from the Professional Pest Management Association of BC in 2005.

Six members of the Lynn Valley Garden Club spoke on the following topics:

Saving Seeds - Aline Burlone

Why should we save seeds:

• Help preserve biodiversity
• Adapting varieties to your local environment
• Save money!

Open pollinated vs F1 (hybrid seed)

Open pollinated

• 2 plants of the same variety produce an offspring
• The offspring will come true-to-type if not crossed with another variety 
• Plants from the seeds will be similar to the parent plant
• Can show some variation

Hybrid seeds

• F1 is the result of a controlled cross pollination between 2 OP varieties in the same species
• Have good characteristics of both parents
• They are created to have a favourable trait such as disease resistance
• Not true-to-type

Collecting dry seeds

• Collect seeds from the healthiest and most vigorous plant -you may want to tag them
• Let seeds mature on the plant
• Separate the seeds form pods or hulls
• Dry seeds completely
• Clean if necessary
• Label package and store

Collecting seeds in pulp (tomatoes)

• Collect the fruit
• Squeeze the pulp with seeds in a cup with some water
• Ferment the pulp to extract the seed - 2 to 3 days
• Rinse off the pulp
• Dry seeds completely
• Label package and store

Storing seeds

• Once dry store in a dry, cool, dark area
• Envelopes can go in an air tight container 
• Make sure there is no moisture
• Can be store in the fridge

Conclusion

• Start with easy seeds to save (beans, peas, lettuce, tomatoes)
• Make sure the seeds are dry before storing
• Store in a cool, dark, dry area
• Label your seeds every step the way

Maria Issa explained the process for digging out shrubs and replanting them.

• Decide if you want to move it
• How big is it
• Where is it going?
• Tools  will be needed such as tarps, secateurs, shovels hose, rope, crowbar
• At the site look for hazards before you start digging 
• Dig from the drip line in 
• Once finished digging roll the shrub onto the tarp
• To transport - use a piece of plywood as a ramp to get into your vehicle
• In order to replant do the process in reverse 
• Dig the hole as deep as the root ball but about three times as wide
• Dig the sides of the hole at an angle so the roots can get into the native soil
• Place the shrub in the hole and fill with the native soil
• Water it well

Hostas - Penny LeCouteur

• Beware of the hosts addition - if you have more than 20 hosts in your garden you are addicted
• Hostas can be in a sunny area for 2 - 3 hours a day as long as it is not during the hot time of day
• Use a diluted solution to fertilise them in the spring every 2 - 3 weeks - do not fertilise after July
• Make sure you label your hostas 
• When dividing use a sharp knife 
• In order to control slugs underplant hostas with moss and cut the leaves off before they become slimy - iron phosphate around the edge of the garden also helps
• There is a Hosta Library on line https://lynnvalleygardenclub.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Links-from-the-Summer.pdf 

Daphne Page provided a weed identification quiz for members to take.

Garlic -  Lorna Moxon  

• There are many varieties - the hard neck variety is best for our climate
• Do not keep it in the fridge as the cold will make it sprout
• Do not put it in the compost 
• Two good varieties are Red Russian and Music
• Full sun is best but 6 hours is ok
• Amend the soil with compost
• If planting in a container use the ratio of 3:1 Promix:Sea Soil
• Plant from mid— October to mid November
• When planting separate the cloves but do not peel them
• Plant 8” apart
• Put 4-4-4 fertilizer and worm casting in the hole
• Plant about 4” down
• Water the whole bed
• Mulch with straw
• Cut scapes and eat them in June
• When harvesting dig out - do not pull the stalk otherwise it might break
• Dry in a ventilated area  - no sun, no rain for 3 -4 weeks

Doreen Marbry demonstrated planting a fall container

• Put landscape fabric over the hole in the bottom of the container
• Use sterilised soil
• Fill it about 3/4 full
• Take the plants out of the small pots
• Place the empty pots in the container and then fill the container with earth around the pots
• Plants small daffodils between the empty pots. 
• When arranging the plants take out an empty pot and place the plant in the same area