Canterbury Creek Gardens

Organic Gardening Seminars are $20 each or attend all 7 for $100. Healthy snacks are served. Reservations are required due to limited seating. Call 440-899-2741 or email at canterburycgardens@sbcglobal.net for reservations.

True organic gardening is not simply replacing chemical fertilizers and pesticides with organic ones. It is choosing the most vigorous, productive, and disease resistant varieties. It is using soil preparation methods, fertilizers and cultural methods that make your plants as healthy and as nutritious as possible. This combination results in minimizing the stresses on plants that reduce yields and cause pest damage -- therefore minimizing the need for pesticide sprays.

All pesticides are carcinogenic -- whether derived from natural or synthetic sources. If you use a pesticide in your garden, it not only leaves a residue on the plants, some of it also washes into the soil. This damages soil microbe populations, and reduces their beneficial actions which naturally nourish and protect your plants. As a result your plants become weaker, less productive, less nourishing and more vulnerable to more pest damage.

Organic gardening is practicing preventive medicine for plants. It takes more knowledge to keep plants really healthy -- but it also results in higher yields, more nutrient rich foods and lower exposure to pesticides.

These seminars will save you years of experimenting and low yields -- save you money -- and increase your harvest.

Organic Lawn Care

Sunday March 11, 4PM

A study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute found that home and garden pesticide use can increase the risk of childhood leukemia by almost seven times – and pet cancers by the same amount.

It is time to stop the madness of wasting money on antiquated lawn care practices that are harmful to your family and the environment – especially when less expensive and better organic products are available.

We have used organic lawn care products at our home for several years. Our lawn looks as good as any on the block for an average of $30 per year.

Many of our customers are finding the same results. This seminar is a chance to find out how to improve your lawn – and make it safer for children & pets.

Basics of Organic Gardening

Sunday March 18, 4PM

It seems like everybody wants to put in an organic vegetable garden these days. Unfortunately, many businesses are ready to take advantage of this with “organic” scams like “organic” labeled soils and so-called “organic” fertilizers.

This seminar will focus on the basics of organic gardening. It will tell you how to grow healthy, productive plants and produce an abundance of food that you will be proud to share with your family and friends.

Organic gardening takes more knowledge than chemical gardening because you want prevent damage to avoid pesticide use. This means learning about plant weaknesses, soil preparation and fertilizing methods, looking for resistant and vigorous varieties, and doing timely maintenance.

Choosing Garden Crops & Varieties

Sunday March 25, 4PM

Experienced gardeners spend weeks, or even months, sorting through seed catalogs to make sure they are selecting the best varieties. They know that a successful garden starts with choosing the right crops -- and choosing the best varieties.

With organic gardens, choosing the right varieties may eliminate the need for sprays and usually means much greater yields.

This important seminar will get your garden off to a better start because of better choices made in planning.

Fertilizers and Soils

Sunday April 1, 4PM

An old gardening adage says that a good gardener will put a 50^₵plant in a 1 dollar hole. The more experienced a gardener is, the more they realize the importance of using the best soil conditioners and fertilizers.

Today, your choice of these products can be one of the most important health decisions that you will make. Every day, more is being discovered about the relationship between soil microbes and our health. The right decisions will provide you with much needed nutrients -- the wrong ones will just give you more grocery store vegetables.

Learn the right way at this seminar.

Growing Tomatoes

Sunday April 15, 4PM

Tomato plants can reach almost thirty feet tall and can yield up to 340 lbs. per plant. Last year we picked almost 1500 paste tomatoes from a single container. How do yours measure up?

Growing heirloom tomatoes can be more difficult because of the tremendous genetic diversity of these varieties -- and less disease resistance.

This seminar will focus on how to increase your yields and save time doing it. It will demonstrate the best tomato support systems, pruning methods, fertilizing and soil preparation, the importance of variety selection and how variety selection influences your choice of growing methods.

Growing Veggies in Containers Organically

Sunday April 22, 4PM

We grow almost everything in containers. It eliminates concerns about soil contamination with pesticides -- and concentrates resources like compost and fertilizer where they do the most good.

In 2010, we picked 142 peppers from a single potted pepper plant. Our Salad Bowl Planters are extremely productive. Container gardening can be productive and easy if you make the right choices. It can be difficult and/or expensive if you make the wrong choices.

This seminar will cover all aspects of gardening in containers organically -- from soils and fertilizers -- to the best container sizes and materials -- to variety selections.

Composting

Sunday April 29, 4PM

Composting turns house and yard waste into black gold -- a natural fertilizer and soil conditioner.

We now compost all of our organic waste and recycle the nutrients. This saves money on fertilizer and soil conditioners, increases our yields and reduces pest problems by having healthier plants.

This seminar will teach the basics of composting and show you different composting methods.