Gardening Events for Greater Ottawa and Area

Fee: $4 for non-members
Notes: Mini flower show, opportunity table, and light refreshments to follow.

Mini show:
1) “Winter Interest” – A stalk or branch that provides winter beauty in your garden
2) “Indoor Blooms” – Houseplant or bulb currently blooming
3) “When I’m not gardening, I like to… “ – Display a favourite craft of hobby

Entries are limited to one entry per person, per class. Live materials should be in possession of the exhibitor for at least three months, excepts for bulbs. Material for design may be purchased.

Ottawa Plant Swap 2020 ! 🌿💪🏼

Join us for the very first #PlantSwap of the year at Ottawa’s newest eclectic styled coffee shop in the heart of Parkdale. Enjoy deliciously brewed coffees, refreshing cocktials and Spanish inspired pinchos. We will be doing RARE PLANT GIVE AWAYS with Sweet Life Flora!

TICKETS: $30

DURATION – 2 hours

LOCATION – 340B Parkdale Ave, Ottawa, ON K1Y 2W5

This annual event highlights the many local farmers, artisans and community groups  in and around Russell.  The Fair takes place from 9:30 am to 4 pm at the St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic High School, 1211 South Russell Road, Russell, Ontario.  It is free to attend; donations for the Food Bank are gratefully accepted.

REGISTRATION NOW OPEN FOR 2020 ORGANIC VEGETABLE SEED PRODUCTION COURSE

The Organic Vegetable Seed Production E-learning Certificate (OVSP) is the only one of its kind in Canada. Developed in 2015 in partnership with COG, USC Canada, and The Bauta Family Initiative on Canadian Seed Security, we are proud to have graduated 13 students in the previous two offerings.

Read what alumni have to say about their OVSP experience!
Patrick Steiner on the economy of seed saving

ABOUT THE ORGANIC VEGETABLE SEED PRODUCTION COURSE

This course is designed for students who want to:

Learn about producing organic seeds
Learn about commercial seed production including harvesting, quality, marketing, and breeding seeds
Build their own business following their own unique seed-farm business plan
This 18-week program runs from January 20th – May 24, 2020. The program can be completed part-time in 4-8 hours per week. Our blended format features live online instruction from experts in the field of commercial seed production, seed plan development with input from the instructors, course discussions via online discussion boards, and collaboration with students across Canada.

Modules covered in this certificate program include:

1. Organic Farming Practices (Pre-requisite to be completed prior to course start date.)
2. Organic Seed Production and Harvesting
3. Organic Seed Quality Assurance
4. The Business of Organic Seed Production

Read instructor bios: Kathy Rothermel and Patrick Steiner

DETAILED COURSE INFORMATION

Click here for information about text books, pre-requisites, admission requirements, technical requirements, and the optional 40-hour practicum.

Early Bird Discount: $895 (+tax) (Register by December 31, 2019)
Price goes up to $945 (+tax) on January 1, 2020

Guest speaker on Jan. 20th – Jordan Bouchard of Bird and Bee ‘Real food starts with seeds’  http://www.birdandbee.ca Bring your seeds, packaged and labelled to exchange with other gardeners!

The Gloucester Horticultural Society is relocating to Orleans!

Angela Davis, president of the society, will welcome new and returning members at the January 20th meeting to be held at the Queenswood Heights Community Centre.  Doors open at 6:00pm –  come and share in our hospitality, the meeting starts at 7:00pm.  Guests are welcome!”

Our mission is to promote education and interest in all areas of horticulture and the beautification of our community. Our Society provides a supportive environment for gardeners of all levels by encouraging the use of eco-friendly horticultural practices to promote the production of food and the conservation of our environment. Meetings start at 7:30. Annual Membership is $10 per person.

Terrarium building is a great way to engage with nature and bring the outdoors inside with your own self-regulating ecosystem. Emma Terrell (the Urban Botanist) will teach us all about the fundamentals of terrarium building with a live demonstration and sample terrariums, and educate us on the different types of plants that can be used to build terrariums.