March 17, 2024 

By Angela Hoy and Helen Shim 

Gardeners pruned and singed the pruned branch edges on one row of blueberry bushes as described by Nancy Turner in her book, The Earth’s Blanket: Traditional Teaching for Sustainable Living, to increase berry production. Indigenous land stewards practice controlled burning or allow natural fires to burn the berry bushes.

We are unable to experience either in our urban setting, so we are hoping that singeing the pruned edge of the branches may replicate the effects on these bushes.

We also harvested overwintered greens, like radicchio.

We watered the recently planted broad beans, weeded out creeping buttercup and other early season weeds, and finally managed to clear the accumulation of partially composted detritus in the Collection Bay at the compost area into Bin 1. With the addition of some rotting apples, this Bin should now be off to a good start!