I was one of the many who got out and protested with Greta over the past month, and I was trying to think about how to help carry forward her climate strike.   What could I do to decrease the carbon, so that Greta, and HER generation will have a world that was livable… “in-able” ….for all?  Now what could I change?

I could make a forest, a Greta forest.

This year the Pine tree at the centre of our drive way, sent out at least 50-60 new seedlings that were growing under the tree, where there is also a garden. I dug them all up and kept them moist and in dirt. (they would not have survived where they were)

So I have now replanted about 60 seedlings up this bank with the hopes that it will be a forest by the time Greta is 50….. or my grandson Talon is 35.

I must admit that I do LOVE watching tree seedlings grow, so it will be fun to watch them all grow, perhaps I can report back here.

Other “things” I brought from our old property were my red Wiggler worms. For several years I kept them indoors and fed them veggie scraps, but eventually I  decided to try keeping them out doors.  Red Wigglers do not survive out doors as a rule, because they do not go very deep in the soil, as other worms to, so they will freeze in the winter.

Last year however I devised a way to keep them in the garden. I dug a deep hole and filled it with lots of yummy things like rotting food, leaves and straw.  I then put all of my worms into the whole and covered them up with more food and more mulch.

I know that they look gross, and when they were living in our basement, my sister once said to me “Janet I really wish you had not told me that there were worms in your basement”

But they make the very best soil.  So on top of all of this I  put a large black compost bin, wood chips around the edge, and more mulch inside. Then when the weather gets cold, I put a large tarp on top of all of this, and say nighty night to the worms for the winter.  They survived last year and created great “castings”, AKA worm poop, which is like gold to gardeners. So I was not about to leave them at the old place, I brought them to the new place and they are tucked nicely down in the soil for the winter.

 THAT IS until I hit the compost bin with the tractor bucket   My first mishap with driving the new tractor, whoops.  nothing a lot of duct take could not fix.

I was recently at a medical conference and met up with a friend from Chilliwack (we used to live in Chilliwack). I was telling her about our “gravel pit project”.  She said, “did you know that Minter Gardens was built on a gravel pit.  Anyone from BC would know about Minter gardens, a huge beautiful attraction outside of Chilliwack.

A friend of mine who lives in the Juniper area of Kamloops has a small garden and last year she purchased a lavender plant that did well last year, but died over the winter. However then she noticed it had not died without leaving something behind……. at least a hundred baby lavender plants showed up this year. So she was digging them out and have gifted me with all of these plants.  There are not totally hardy in our area, so will tuck them all in with lots of nice wood chips for the winter 

AND presto, next year we will have Bates garden, or Lavenders of the lake.  Stay tuned for that.

Much Love from Janet, Ken and Tucker