We promise…no ranting or edgy political commentary this week…but wow, what an election here in BC. We can’t wait to see how this one turns out…so many potential great things could come from this shake up. Congratulations to the three Greens elected here on Souther Vancouver Island.
Now on to the yummy food and plants with lots of photos. We hope to inspire people to come on out to Eco-Sense on Saturday May 13th to wander around the lush gardens, take a selfie with Dug (the duck), and watch Nina race around the pond.
The Eco-Sense perennial edible plant nursery will be open from 10am-2pm. We are well stocked with lots of food producing perennials. Plant list here: All plant prices INCLUDE the GST. 3295 Compton Road in the East Highlands.
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- Hosta shoots
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- stir fried Hostas with ginger garlic and soy
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- Hostas for sale
Hosta greens – our new favourite perennial vegetable. They grow in the shade AND they taste very similar to asparagus. Easy to grow!!!
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- Nitrogen fixing berry producing shrub
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- Autumn Olive bushes with PawPaws, gooseberries, and broad leaf Fresh Sorrel. Walnut in back ground.
Autumn Olive is an attractive shrub that produces lots of yummy nutritious berries. This plant feed us, feeds the soil, AND the humming birds love it. Copious quantities of beautiful flowers.
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- Eating lots of brassica shoots these days
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- Rosemary in full bloom with solar dryer in background
Concrete curvy beds make excellent microclimates helping us to be more resilient with unpredictable weather. This was a hard winter, but the lemons, rosemarie, kale, chards, and even some asian greens came through the extreme freeze thaw cycles. The solar dryer is FULL of nettles for tea and winter soups.
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- Russian Almond
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- Yellow horn – seed tree
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- Dug the duck at the pond
Two new arrivals at the nursery: Russian Almond (it was stunning when it was in bloom a couple weeks ago – hoping for our first almonds this year). Yellowhorn – very beautiful foliage on this draught tolerant seed producing small tree. Seeds are very high in oils.
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- Arctic Kiwi’s for sale
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- Beautiful foliage
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- Arctic kiwi planted with perennial Leek, strawberries, and evergreen huckleberry
These are very attractive climbing kiwis producing small no fuzz fruits that taste very similar to fuzzy kiwi’s. Need male and female and these plants grow well in shady spots.
We also have Hops, OCA (Andean potatoes), Dwarf Cherries (ours is flowering), Sea Berries, blight resistant hazelnuts, pawpaws, plums, pears, etc for sale. Lots of sweet potato starts are IN STOCK. $4 each.
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- Our potato tower with apple blossoms
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- Peas growing quickly
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- about 30 sweet potatoes planted up on the solar roof
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- Kohlrabi and greens
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- Greens and OCA
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- Eco-Hut with black currants
Finally eating some salad after a long winter. Looking forward to peas.
Spectacular year for wild flowers. Camas, shooting stars, sea blush, and white faun lilies have been abundant. We are also raising 12 little chicken dinners this year. They are having a very good short life. Sweet little beings. A peak into my cheese cave shows some washed rind cheese, various waxed cheeses, and brie (in the bottom). I also make feta.
View from the upper living roof looking down the solar panels to the lower living roof with all the sea blush, sedums, and mosses and then looking onto some of the Eco-Sense gardens.
That’s it for now. Hope you enjoyed all the photos.
Ann and Gord
The Living Building Challenge
Eco-Sense 
Autumn Olive is one of the invasive woody species that we target for elimination here in Wisconsin. Curious…
Here on the west coast it is not invasive. Not sure why, but the wet winter soils seem to decay the seeds. The only way we can get it to grow is by cuttings… unless we dry and freeze the seed. It seems the interior of the continent has the conditions to allow the seed to perform well. Very interesting.
I guess it likes the Wisconsin dry-freeze conditions, then. Thanks for the info!
Dear Ann and Gord, thanks for all the photos. How do you make and use a potato tower? Looks fascinating!! Francis
Francis, first thing you need is access to scraps of 2×4’s, then either 4 lengths of rebar or 1/4″ rod. I set up a jig to drill a hole (slightly larger) for the rod I am using. I bend an “L” on each of the 4 rods. Then I begin stacking the 2×4’s on the rod and layering compost, straw/goat bedding and potatoes as I work upwards.