Two groups in town hope to show growing a garden in Prince Rupert is possible with a recently launched series aiming to teach people the fundamentals of gardening and food growing.
The Prince Rupert Garden Club and Transition Prince Rupert Society are presenting the Coastal Gardening Series, where Rupertites can learn the basics of gardening both food and flora in the Prince Rupert area. The series will include a number of presentations and subsequent discussions on topics like greenhouses, garden preparation, seeds and planting, garden design and pest control. The series is arranged to be beneficial for beginners and experts.
The program kicked off on Jan. 21 with "Greenhouses and Garden Planning" presented by guest speaker Ken Shaw, with approximately 60 people attending the opening lecture.
"The talk was intended to inspire and motivate the audience that it is possible to grow a wide range of vegetables, flowers, berries, and fruit in town," said Shaw.
To demonstrate his point, Shaw showed a number of photos of Prince Rupert gardens during his presentation including a picture of a lemon tree with a ripe lemon that is growing in a Prince Rupert office
building.
"We get enough light here, all we need to do is trap that solar energy through passive solar design," Shaw said.
"We have a very long frost free season extending from late April and often ending in mid-November. Any cool season crop will do well and those needing some extra warmth, like tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers, will do well in an unheated greenhouse."
Workshops will take place every second Tuesday of the month until May. Growers will then help each other set up their gardens, to be included in the Prince Rupert Garden Club's Annual Garden Tour expected to take place sometime July or August.
The next Coastal Garden Series discussion, "Fruit Trees and Garden Planning" will occur on Tuesday, Feb. 11 from 7-9 p.m. in Room 155 of Northwest Community College. Admission is by donation.