Brought to you by

the Food Security Team at

Community Connections

(Revelstoke) Society

314 Second Street East

Po Box 2880

Revelstoke, BC V0E 2S0

foodsecurity@community-connections.ca

(250) 837-2920

Proud to partner with

The employment program of British Columbia is funded by the

government of Canada and the province of British Columbia.

Creating

Edible Garden

Spaces

A guide to converting

lawn into garden space

for landscape professionals

in Revelstoke, BC

Hello landscapers,

Due to increasing concerns about climate change, water

shortage, and environmental impacts of fertilizers and

pesticides, Revelstoke's appetite for healthy eating has

sparked a renewed interest in growing food at home.

By offering an edible garden service, your business

can help clients decrease their impact on the environ-

ment, support our local economy, create a healthy envi-

ronment with organic food, and participate in the move-

ment towards new and sustainable food systems within

our community.

This booklet aims to provide information for landscape

companies to offer an edible garden conversion service

to citizens in Revelstoke including methods, training,

and consultation options.

Resources

ONLINE

Victorygardensvancouver.ca

A successful lawn-2-garden conversion business in Van-

couver, BC.

Lawntogarden.org

Provides info for the garden conversion.

Ediblegardenproject.com

Successful edible garden landscape business in North

Vancouver.

Greencityacres.com

A SPIN business ran in Kelowna who has produced

50,000 lbs of food on less than one acre.

Youngagrarians.org

A network of new and young farmers, both rural and

urban who work to steward land and soil to produce

local food.

Westcoastseeds.com

Provides quality organic, heirloom or non-GMO seeds.

Their mandate is Eat local. Grow Food. Grow from seed.

BOOKS

Edible Estates: Attack on

the Front Lawn by Fritz

Haeg

The Edible Front Yard

Book by Ivette Soler

Edible Landscaping by

Rosalind Creasy

Whatever method you choose, be patient. It takes at least

two years for a new garden to really fill out and start to bloom

and grow. It’s going to look a bit thin at first. And keep in

mind that the soil in your garden will feed your plants for

years to come. The better the soil, the better the garden.

Starting up costs

Training/ Contract Opportunities

Home Grown Revy (Revelstoke, BC)

Start-up business looking to create edible land-

scapes in Revelstoke, offering design, building,

planting, and harvesting services.

Offers: Training consultation and

third-party contract work for landscape

professionals. Contact for rates.

Victory Gardens (Vancouver, BC)

Build. Teach. Grow.

Landscape company who assists people in

growing food in urban spaces.

Offers: Infrastructure building, training

consultations, and garden maintenance.

One-on-one consultations or training clas-

ses available, starting at $130/ hr.

Okanagan College

Landscape Horticulture Certificate

120 hour course offered in Salmon Arm,

Vernon or Kelowna. The curriculum

consists of botany, soil science, plant

identification, and landscape skills. People

involved in landscape maintenance and

construction contracts can benefit from

this program’s components.

Problems with Lawns

Water Use & Pollution

Lawns require excessive amounts of water to maintain

a healthy, green appearance

Our water shed is vulnerable to drought due to the

fluctuating water levels. Need to conserve our water .

In 2013, Revelstoke used an additional 200 million

litres of water during hot summer months.

Nitrogen & Phosphorus-rich fertilizers and pesticide

chemicals seep their way into groundwater systems,

which ends up in our rivers & streams. The chemical

presence increase algae populations which eat all the

oxygen, declining the fish populations.

Estimated that 60% of nitrogen added to our lawns

ends up in our water supplies due to run-off from over

-fertilizing and over-watering lawns.

Chemicals used to treat lawns have adverse health

effects due to direct contact with skin and sprayed

product into respiratory paths.

Air Pollution

The amount of volatile organic compounds emitted by

a lawnmower for an hour is equal to the emissions of

a car being driven 550 kms.

Yard waste (ie. Grass clippings) thrown into landfills

produce methane, a greenhouse gas.

Noise Pollution

Lawn mower noise can cause disturbances with

your neighbours.

Problems with Lawns

Benefits of an Edible Garden

Gardening has many health & therapeutic benefits

and can be enjoyed by everyone.

Improves Family Health: Provides you and your family

with a healthy source of nutritious and safe, fresh food plus

gardening is a physical activity, which offers relaxation.

Save money on groceries: Grocery bills will shrink as you

harvest your own garden goods.

Reduce your Environmental Impact: Growing food or-

ganically (without pesticides/ herbicides) reduces chemical

exposure and help increase pollinator populations. You con-

tribute to the reduction of fossil fuels from the global

transport to supermarkets.

Enjoy better tasting food: How long does it take for your

food to travel farm-to-table? How long does food sit on the

store shelf? Compare garden fresh veggies with store-

bought….you can taste the freshness!

Stop worrying about Food Safety: When you responsibly

grow your own food, you don’t have to worry about con-

tamination that may occur at the farm, manufacturing

plant, or transport to the supermarket.

Landsharing

A viable tool to help with people who do not own

land or lack the space in their yard

but want to farm. Landsharing is an rental

agreement between a farmer and a landowner

to utilize vacant space for agricultural means.

Best approach to is to converse with local

landowners to inquire about unoccupied space.

There is a farm linking blog on Young Agrarians’

website (see resources section) to connect

farmers and

landowners.

The website

offers resources

to initiate the

landshare

agreement.

SPIN Farming

A popular approach to urban farming. Small plot in-

tensive faming, otherwise known as SPIN allows

farmers produce gardens on less than an acre. Peo-

ple are creating SPIN plots wherever they can create

space (front lawn, backyard, neighbourhood lot). It

is production based, entrepreneurial, environmental

friendly, low capital intensive and best of all, is it is

local! Green City Acres in Kelowna has seen

trememdous success with producing over 50,000 lbs

of food on less than one acre.

Lawn-to-Garden in 5 Steps

Sheet mulching-

a simple technique that

reduces the cost of

grass removal.

Over time as the lawn

decomposes it suppress-

es weed growth, im-

proves nutrient and wa-

ter retention in soil, and

enhances the soil struc-

ture, all of which im-

prove plant health.

Plan to sheet mulch in the Fall to have your garden

space ready for planting in the Spring.

Step One: Find a sunny location with at least 6 hours

of sun. Mark the designated area by cutting the edge

in with a shovel.

Step Two: Spread a 2-inch layer of composted soil on

top of sod, which helps decomposition.

Step Three: Cover compost with cardboard or multiple

layers of newspaper to protect from the sun (keep moist)

and stop weeds from sprouting.

Step Four: Add organic materials on top (ie. grass clip-

pings)

Step Five: Add 3-inches of mulch and start planting!!

Cedar chips, straw, and compost are three popular mulch-

es. Cedar chips are a good-looking, but pricey, mulch.

Compost and straw works well, though weeds may take

hold eventually. Plus straw can look messy.

Ways to Convert to Garden

Method 1: Sod Cutting/ Tiling

Remove sod using a shovel or sod cutter. Compost sod or turn

into soil. Cover with newspaper, then mulch.

Pros: Immediate results with cutting. Tiling helps loosen

the sod and helps to mix in organic materials.

Cons: Labor-intensive work required. Sod needs to be

composted not thrown into landfill (see Air Pollution section

on page 2).

Method 2: Sheet Mulching or “Lasagna Mulching”

Cut grass as short as possible, then cover with a think layer of

newspaper. You can also mix in layers of kitchen scraps, yard

waste, compost to the layers. Then cover with mulch.

Pros: OUR RECOMMENDED METHOD. Easiest and most

eco-friendly. Low cost of materials.

Cons: Lasagna mulching requires time to decompose.

Start in the Fall to plant in the spring.

Method 3: Solarization

Cut grass as short as possible. Cover lawn with a black, plastic

sheet. The plastic heats up the soil, killing all plants below it.

Takes 4-8 weeks.

Pros: Effectively kills grass in a short amount of time.

Cons: Plastic requires disposal afterwards, it is an eye-

sore.

Method 4: Herbicide Treatment

Spray designated area with a glyphosate–based chemical. Re-

move grass, then add topsoil and mulch to the treated area.

Pros: Relatively quick and effortless procedure.

Cons: Herbicidal chemicals seep into waterways causing

pollution and it has adverse health effects from use

(see Water Use & Pollution on page 2).

Edible gardens can be of any size and most locations...