Canadian gardening icon Mark Cullen has fielded a lot of questions from green-thumbed Canucks in his 30 years in the business. Over the past decade, though, he's identified a trend: it's more than their thumbs that are green.
"The nature of their questions has revolved around the environment to an increasing degree every year for the past 10 years," Cullen says.
Driven by our collective eco-conscience, Cullen has penned an all-encompassing general-purpose gardening book (his 18th) with a green slant. Called The Canadian Garden Primer: An Organic
Approach, the book outlines how we can "get our knees dirty" sustainably.
Gardening, Cullen is fond of saying, is "the original green industry."
"All the oxygen we breathe, after all, is from green living plants.
"We get a bit of a bad rap for the chemicals that were used for a long time, but less so today. When my father started in the gardening business in the forties, his partner at the time made the comment that the use of 2,4-D after the Second World War would revolutionize the gardening industry. And it did. And it's the absence of 2,4-D [weed killer] that is revolutionizing the industry yet again."
Cullen instructs his readers in ways to optimize their gardens without the use of the pesticides, explaining strategies for challenges like shade and drought. A telling sign of the times is the inclusion of chapters on xeriscaping (gardening with little or no water), native planting, water conservation and small-space gardening for condo dwellers. Hundreds of rich colour photos fill the pages -- some, step-by-step techniques; others, lavish illustrations of landscapes we long to recreate.
Mark Cullen's is a voice we trust; his homegrown advice and familiar phrases feel as comfortable his father Len's well-worn shovel. His new book is simple enough for novices and yet complex enough for old hands, and it is squarely focused on the unique needs and growing zones of Canada. Above all, it is aimed at those gardeners seeking a greener path.
As of Earth Day 2009, Ontario became a greener place. That's the day the province's cosmetic pesticide ban took effect. Non-organic pesticides will disappear from Ontario garden centres -but the dandelions, crabgrass and other weeds certainly won't. So what's a gardener to do?
"They're going to explore alternatives," says Mark Cullen. "And I have an eight-stage recipe for producing a gorgeous lawn in the absence of chemicals."
1. Once the snow disappears, rake your lawn lightly with a fan rake to remove the winter debris and make the grass blades stand up.
2. Aerate if you have a heavy clay-based soil or heavy foot traffic.
3. Overseed the thin areas of your lawn with a high-quality grass seed.
"This is the secret to minimizing your weeding problem -you compete them out of existence by thickening your lawn. The single greatest favour you can do for your lawn is pay a little bit extra for good-quality seed."
Cullen recommends a mix of 50% perennial rye grass, 25% red fescue and 25% Kentucky blue.
"Put down some triple mix in the thin areas, rake it smooth; put down the grass seed, rake it smooth. Step on it, water it -- bingo."
4. Fertilize with a high-nitrogen slow-release product.
"The slower the release of the ingredient, the better. This is where I recommend Golfgreen. Once again, you pay a little bit more for it, but it's worth it."
5. Cut high -- no more than 2 1/2 to 3 inches -- because the higher the grass blades, the deeper the roots. And the deeper the roots, the better your lawn fights off drought and weeds.
"Sometimes our experience on the golf course doesn't do us any favours because we think that's the way a good lawn should look. But a fairway is not a front yard. They've got full-time crews that look after theirs, we don't."
6. Water wisely. Once a week and an inch of water is all it takes.
"This drives the roots deep and produces a drought-resistant lawn."
It's not natural for your lawn to keep growing during summer dry spells. Let it go dormant; it will recover in August when the days shorten, evening temperatures drop and the dew grows heavier.
7.Use a mulching mower; it returns the nitrogen-rich clippings to the root zone of the grass plant. Over the season, this gives your lawn the equivalent of an extra fertilizer application. It also provides an insulating mulch that holds moisture in the soil in the heat of summer.
8.Replace your old gas mower, especially if it's a two-cycle mower fuelled by an oil-gas mix.
The new gas mowers are, for the most part, cleaner-burning, and the cleanest of all are the Honda and MTD -- MTD are Canadianmade mowers. The greenest alternative of all, and growing in popularity especially with urban gardeners, is the reel-type push mower."
The Canadian Garden Primer: An Organic Approach ($29.95) by Mark Cullen is available in bookstores and Home Hardware stores across Canada.
