Garden Diary: March 25th 2020

This morning Angela, our Master Gardener in training and chief composter, tidied up the Berry Patch.  This involved cutting out all dead wood (last year’s canes), correcting some pruning mistakes, spreading compost over most of the patch and she also removed a few weeds, but there is more to do here!

“I saw two lady beetles this morning and they will be looking for food. They are very fond of aphids so look out for these if your in the garden"

The black compost bin to the right of the main bins has now been emptied of compost and contains some surplus leaves for future use. If anyone has time to chop up compost materials, there is a growing pile in the open bay!  When we are next in the garden, we will rotate the contents of the bins and a volunteer would be welcome.

Bed 14 has now been cleared and reformed and is ready for planting.  Beds 1, 2 and 3 have had some work done on them and are nearly ready for planting.

The berry bushes

When cutting back the bushes, it is important not to leave a long stub above the bud, as this will just rot away and in any case, looks unsightly.

For the Tayberries, Loganberries and Blackberries, all the canes that bore fruit last year needed to be cut back to ground level; these are usually easy to spot as they have turned brown, versus the new canes that are red or green, depending on the variety.  The new canes should then be tied to the frame for this years’ fruit. This would normally have been done in the Fall.

Sanitizing supplies in the Shed and cleaned tools

Please use these if you use tools from the Shed.  If you want to take small tools home, please make a note on the Attendance Sheet so we know where they are.

Also please make a note on the sheet what you have done whilst at the Garden.

Until next time gardeners

Angela x

COVID-19 Protocols in the Garden

We are in uncharted territory. RPCG contributes to many food security initiatives in the area, and we see this as vital for our community. We are determining how we can maintain this contribution to our community, while keeping everyone safe. 

Until further notice, we cannot hold Work Parties, host Workshops or Lunch Events.  To keep up with needed site work, core volunteers will facilitate limited small group work sessions focused on specific tasks. Your participation in one or more of these work sessions will help us maintain the valuable community resource that the RPCG has become.

In keeping with the Vancouver Parks Board response to the COVID-19 outbreak, effective March 30, 2020, Community Gardens are to follow these guidelines, which are subject to change.

• All work parties & events are cancelled until further notice.

You may continue to garden if it is safe to work independently and you can ensure the activities can be completed:

• without hosting a public event;

• maintaining physical distancing of at least 2 metres (6 feet) between individuals;

  • Our maximum number of gardeners is 4 people. 

  • The garden is closed to the public when our gardeners are at work. 

• without sharing food, tools, gloves, or equipment; 

  • Bring your own tools, no shared snacks or lunches.

• while following the City of Vancouver’s COVID 19 guidelines:

  • remain at home if you are feeling sick;

  • remain at home if you have recently travelled outside of Canada;

  • wash your hands before and after going outside;

  • cover your cough or sneeze.

Complete our Garden Survey →

Inviting all community members who participated in a garden activity in 2019: lunches, workshops, work parties - to complete our survey. Your feedback helps us to better connect and engage with our community and to provide the programs you want to see.

Here is the link to the survey.

If you have any questions, email us.

Be sure to keep in touch and join us in 2020!

Thank you.

Connecting to Place: Salmon Dreams

An exploration and discovery of the waterways and the importance of water in Little Mountain Riley Park.

Saturday, Feb. 15 1-3pm in the Garden rain or shine.

Our exploration will nurture a connection with the visible and hidden waterways in the Riley Park/Little Mountain Neighbourhood. The guides are Celia Brauer, co-founder and staff of the False Creek Watershed Society and Amy Kiara Ruth, a somatic movement educator. We will continue afterwards with a gathering filled with community connection, scrumptious snacks and hot beverages!

World Soil Day December 5

Every day is “soil day” at the Riley Park Community Garden.

Read our post from our local soil scientist, Professor Emeritus UBC, Dr. Art Bomke

December 5 is World Soil Day, a day on which we are encouraged to become more aware of soils and their importance in the sustainability of the earth’s ecosystems. The Riley Park Community Garden group, under the auspices of the Little Mountain Neighbourhood House is actively collaborating with UBC students in a case study of park soil creation and management of both natural and human-made soils. The soils of Riley Park offer an opportunity to connect with the natural history of the community and with the way in which urban soils currently influence the way we live in this community.

Beginning in 2016, students from UBC Applied Biology 402/SOIL 502 (Sustainable Soil Management) have sampled the park to establish a data base focused on the fertility of park soils. This is likely the best data set of this kind in Canada and aims to characterize soil quality indicators of importance to growing plants in the park.

Riley Park lies on the boundary of two very important soil parent materials in Vancouver, well drained glacial till and poorly drained glacial marine deposits. To further complicate the picture, redevelopment in the northern quadrant of the park in 2015-16 created a landscape of human-made, anthropic soils that are to support the community garden and green space for grass and other vegetation. In order to improve our knowledge of park soils and how they function in Riley Park we are, for the second year, collaborating with a group of Environment 400 students whose main goal is to map the soils of Riley Park and suggest design and management implications of the various soils. 

The results of these collaborations will be to assist and enrich the outreach programs of the Riley Park Community Garden. Examples include the current Ecological Literacy Through Gardening initiative with Brock Elementary School and our desire to support local gardeners and other community gardens.  Every day is a “soil day” at Riley Park.