Adding green to the grey

>> Urban gardening made easy and
other important horticultural tips

LIKE THE SUN AND DON’T DRINK MUCH: Petunias

by Erik Leijon

Nothing quite says burgeoning hot summer romance quite like the stamen and pistil coming together in hot, sweaty stem-on-stem action. Even for those would-be Jethro Tulls trapped in a concrete dungeon in the city, cultivating a small garden is as simple as keeping a soil box on a rooftop or balcony. Here are some pointers for anyone tired of seeing the same depressed cactus drooping on the kitchen windowsill.

1. Forget the cumbersome backyard composter of yesteryear. The art of turning garbage into useable soil is not only environmentally friendly, but easy to do. All you need to build your own mini-composter is a small bin with a lid (remember to put holes on the top and bottom), biodegradable materials and a half-pound of red worms. “It doesn’t smell and the worms like staying in the dark so they won’t leave the box,” says Lidia Guennaoui of Eco-quartier Côte-des-Neiges. She also warns that achieving the correct balance of wet and dry substances are paramount to quality compost-making; start with vegetables and fruits

2. This likely comes as no surprise to anyone, but organic soil is a safer alternative to chemical-based products. Organic soil is often also made of recycled substances, such as Distrival Canada’s shrimp-shell-based soil. “In New Brunswick, fishermen who fish shrimp and crab dry the shells and we recycle them. Plants and soil don’t want gasoline, they want substances from nature,” says Lyne Lafrance, co-owner of Distrival Canada. “Natural soil doesn’t require any more time and the results will ultimately be better.”

3. Unwanted guests? The Urban Nature Information Service (UNIS) at McGill University’s McDonald campus has a wealth of horticultural information, and UNIS’s Katie Clemens-Seely has been fielding questions this summer about the nefarious scarlet lily beetle, a critter that eats leaves. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has a hotline (1-800-442-2342) and Web site (www.inspection.gc.ca) for certain pests.

Another annoying visitor is weeds, especially dandelions. “The best method is to pull up the weed, but if you can’t get the whole root, pour vinegar and the acid will kill the roots,” says Clemens-Seely. She also advises to mow your lawn when the dandelions are still yellow and removing them before they get a chance to start seeding once they turn white

4. Sometimes killing little critters is as easy as dousing them with a little methyl bromide, but alas, Montreal prohibits the use of pesticides outside of buildings. The by-law still allows certain types of low-impact pesticides. What makes the low-impact pesticides different, according to the Botanical Garden green pages, is the compound that makes them effective, called the active ingredient. Clemens-Seely thinks panic-stricken gardeners are too quick to turn to dangerous chemicals to combat a weed or bug problem without finding alternatives first. “You might get short-term gain from using [pesticides], but the effects of them could kill your plants and the bugs could just come back later,” she says. “You want to make sure your actions will keep your garden healthy for the long-term.”

5. When picking out a plant for your balcony, it’s important to keep in mind how much sun and shade your plant will be seeing. Hostas come in different colours and are low-maintenance plants that live in the shade. Petunias are popular window-box plants that require a lot of sunlight and very little water.

LIKE THE DARK AND WILL EAT

6. Because of their small size, bonsai plants have become a trendy purchase for those who want a stylish plant without getting dirty fingernails. A bonsai plant is a miniature tree whose growth is stunted by being confined to a small pot and being enclosed in a container during its formative stages. It is possible to grow a bonsai from scratch, but specialty bonsai dealers are commonplace. Evergreen and maple bonsais prefer the shade outdoors, while tropical varieties should stay indoors.

7. Naturalized gardening, or ecological gardening, is a more laissez-faire and adventurous way to create a garden. The idea is to plant different kinds of plants and to let nature take its course by minimizing human intervention. The plants will interact with each other and produce some interesting results.

For more info, contact UNIS at
(514) 398-7882, or e-mail
unis.macdonald@mcgill.ca