Friday, July 11, 1997 - North Shore News - 41

home garden auio
NORTH SHORE | IFE

By Anna Marie D’Angela “ENTS, he : Fe mt a: a. 17, Wawa , TODD paaior,
papier ’ Ra Regie gee kee ee PRR, mais am of Park an
News Reporter , Regime OPN 2 ea Heh Astin. i veces © Tilford
PARK and Tilford head gardener SN Sabo a Rae BN) emtian rime ak Pe shed aKa 4 Gardens,
Todd Major has some advice for peo- BARRE RENE “aed beri Tne He erase e i mccdemen Ddelleves
ple who don’t like mulch, ACERS SNe ae Gees a , eben? cantar tabs Spas) mulch is a
OE ater , : . eg | Greet agree ; i a es : key ingredi-
“Get over it.” er. : Fassett : eRe : ne ®, wv, ag é wis-<z,, ent to a
Major, the gardens” director for six years, Picea: SAC Ep ON “ati : a eee : ae were healthy, low
credits the use of thick mulch for keeping weeds |: eh ae es m : “FE he age er eg o, ie} maintenance
out and insects away from the popular 2.8 acres |. GR aes ; oppose is ase we an ; = garden (left.)
“of gardens, a wir oi Fars, ef : : i) ee a i at Mulch
“Over the past five years, have had nothing — Reena SRR a cree er Ae) Ce ; ‘ : (v7 inhibits the
but complaints from the public about our a a LS en i? ris ait : eho e i} Ay | growth of
mulching process,” said Major. Te eet LS aes : i ; eget hn 5 ave weeds such
“Mulch isa huge component of why the gar. FR a a } “4 “ j aN a. as dande-
dens look good,” he said. ieee . a ; eo et : ; lions (belaw)
Major said he hasn’t had to spray for aphids . : fe or ey é aS by prevent- |
in the rose garden in six years. wy -_ k ; “ . : Ne ae 4 Ing sunlight | -
No insecticide sprays have been used on the a - . ce , aaa end from getting
outdoor garden at all this year, said Major, He RB = Bi, : a : rr re to the weed
estimates the use of insecticide sprays at the gar- : , ; Re — ria a « Biome, seed, thus
dens has dropped by about halfin the last eight ami Poh og : : ca. stopping |
years — largely due to mulch. af ES ee PUR 5 ; : “es germination.
The types of mulch used at Park and Tilford é ba ‘ : : ee
include leaves (two dump trucks a year,) straw,’
hay; bark, bark chips, compost and lawn clip-
pings: Major said the: mulch is put.on five to
eight centimetres (two.to three inches) thick
“around the. plants. The mulch stays on the soil
“year round. ..
“We don’t believe in bare earth,” said Major.
“We get'some weeds, but not as much as you
. would get with uncovered soil.” Major said the
~ “old-world idea” is that -mulch
-allows bad bugs to hide out. He
"Said that! good bugs can be
found-in mulch, too.
. All these prissy homeown-
ers that want to .pay.to have -
their soil faked down ‘to bare
» ~ garth and ‘as. hard’ as a rock;
» they'll pay ferit in higher main-
tenance costs, more pests and
disease, more weeds and in the ~~
» Jong term, a weaker landscape,” _ .
said Major. . . He‘offers the following tips:
“The principle of mulch is that it doesn't’ M@ Plant and design your garden well so that
“allow sun to” Et to the weed seeds so they can’t. when the plants grow, they will close in without
‘ germinate.” crowding each other to cover the surface;
He advises gardeners to pull weeds before _ i Place mulch (organic), two to three inches
they goto seed — and then pop up in the thou- deep without burying the necks of plants.
Replenish the mulch as it starts to wear down;
a a Major said that close planting of plants (den:  ™@ Show tolerance.
' sity planting, companion planting) also reduces “So what if you have a few leaves or a bit of
uie number of weeds. bark chip or plant debris on the ground; as long .
“Chemicals are always the last resort.” as it isn’t a disease problem.”

. sense

NORTH SHORE COMMUNITY

Family & Vehicle
_ Safety Day - July 12th

Child Car Seat Checks

Rona Kinetics will conduct child car seat checks.

Child Identification

North Vancouver Community Policing volunteers will fingerprint
and photegraph your child for the Child ID program.

Vehicle Inspections
The North Vancouver RCMP will conduct sei Safety checks.

(See us before Visiting the nil candy.)

Fire Safety Awareness
* The North Vancouver Fire Department will do a fire safety check with their mobile
burning house.

Bicycle Safety

Information will be on band.

May

NORTH SHORE EAST
ICBC CLAIM CENTRE

601 Lynnmouth Avenue a , pe Our pharmacy department is hosting learn what your proper glucose level
North Vancouver wa ae \ : a special free clinic discussing the should be and find out if you're at
9 a.m. to 1 p.m. els an) diagnosis and treatment of diabetes. risk. It's free for everyone. But you may
. 12. 1997 . Have your blood sugar level tested, © want to leave the jujubes at home.
Saturday, July 12, Monday, July 14, 10am-2pm, Pemberton Plaza, 1280 Marine Drive, Phone: 988-2180
Thursday, July 17, 1Oam-&pm, Park & Tilford, 333 Brooksbank Avenue, Phone: 988-2147
Free — Everyone welcome

Balloons, coffee, juice and road safery information SAVE-ON-FOODS

o a
Brought to you by ICBC employees, who care about fomily safety, especially that of young passengers Be ] evi e it.

‘Geom * wOUATS :