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Wednesday, April 20, 2016
Earth Day April 22, 2016
Local company recycles waste into soil A local company is doing its part to help the environment. Port McNeill’s Don and Helene Waugh started making Sea Soil in Port McNeill about 20 years ago, making the decision to keep the ingredient as pure and simple as possible. What they didn’t realize back then was that Sea Soil would become one of the bestselling gardening soil products in Canada. Sea Soil creates garden and farm soil by composting a 50/50 mixture of fish byproduct (waste) and forest fines (a logging industry term for bark and the organics that fall off of logs during the sorting process). Sea Soil contains abundant amounts of macro-nutrients, micronutrients and trace elements to produce healthy plants with good growth, strong roots and scores of bright coloured blossoms without the need for additional commercial fertilizer. Sea Soil has a weed-free status - meaning it will not bring weeds into your garden unlike many other soils like those composted with manure. Sea Soil increases organic content, is chemical-free and retains moisture and can be used in pots, containers and gardens. Sea Soil is also a value-added solution to responsibly recycling two waste streams. They do not harvest any of their ingredients by excavating from the earth or harvesting fish from the ocean. As a result, Sea Soil is an environmentally-sound and organic product that is safe to use anywhere you would grow plants. Sea Soil was the winner of the 2003 and 2004 “Best organic ecological prod-
uct and VanDusen Gardens. how Sea Soil is made Sea Soil is the “fine wine” of organic composted soils because it is composted for two years in the company’s EPIC (Evolving Practices In Composting) System. The EPIC System “jump starts” the composting procedure by using the heat already produced by maturing compost to naturally generate the heat needed to give Sea Soil (and micro organisms) a great start. The company monitors temperatures and aerates their soil to make sure that the micro organisms keep composting efficiently over the next two years. Sea Soil is approved by the Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI) for use in organic growing.
Greenscaping popular
7558916
All soil mixes are available in bags at Sea Soil Port Mcneill. ‘Bulk’ Sea Soil is also available.
2175 Mine Rd, Port McNeill
(250) 956-2143
Lawn and garden enthusiasts are often on the lookout for new trends that can make their lawns and gardens healthier and more robust. One trend that has gained considerable popularity in recent years is the move toward greenscaping which can improve the health and appearance of lawns and gardens while protecting and preserving the planet’s natural resources. Why greenscape? While the opportunity to protect and preserve natural resources is reason enough for many lawn and garden enthusiasts to embrace greenscaping, there are additional benefits to turning a landscape into a greenscape. Greenscaping promotes the planting of native plants, which are already accustomed to local climates and therefore do not require as much time and effort to care for than non-native plants. And homeowners who plant nonnative plants can expect to spend money to ensure they survive. So non-native plants can waste water and also cost homeowners time and money. How can I greenscape? Planting native plants is just one element of greenscaping. The following are a handful of additional ways men and women with green thumbs can turn their properties into healthy greenscapes. • Build and maintain healthy soil. A single teaspoon of healthy soil contains
roughly four billion organisms. These organisms help create a loose soil structure that promotes strong, healthy roots. In addition, healthy soil recycles nutrients for plants while protecting them from certain pests and diseases. Another way to build healthy soil is to add compost when mixing top soil for new garden beds or plants. Among its many benefits, compost can help soil retain nutrients and water. • Water effectively. Lawns and gardens need water to thrive, but overwatering can be just as harmful to lawns as drought. Make a list of the types of plants (including the types of grass) in your yard, and then do your homework to determine how much water each plant needs. Avoid watering in mid-day, when summertime temperatures are typically at their hottest and water is likely to evaporate. In addition, watering in the evening may encourage the growth of mold or disease, so water in the early morning. • Practise “grasscycling.” When mowing the grass, leave clippings on the lawn (though not in large piles dumped from buckets attached to the mower). It’s a misconception that grass clippings contribute to the buildup of thatch that blocks water from getting to the soil. In fact, when clippings are left on the lawn, the soil recycles the clippings into fertilizer.