March 2014 Last of the winter snow...spring is around the corner! - photo by Colette Ilnitski

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1 March 2014 Last of the winter snow...spring is around the corner! - photo by Colette Ilnitski Editor: Hermina Hubert smathermi@gmail.com Membership: Linda Hugli lhugli@hotmail.com Founded in 1911 Dedicated to the beautification of the Greater Sudbury region

2 Door Prize Winners at the Seedy Sunday Event Food Baskets from Eat Local: Colette Bureau and Kelly Stewart Gardening Books: John Allison, Shelly Deeth, Kelly Smith, Sue Michaud, and Debbie O Brien. Southview Greenhouse Growers BEDDING PLANTS - GERANIUMS - PERENNIALS TREES - SHRUBS - FALL MUMS Joe Reid 2500 Southview Drive Tel: (705) Sudbury, ON. P3E 4M9 Fax: (705)

3 Mark on Your Calendar March 30, at CNIB Guest Speaker: Mike Meeker It All Started with Fish Guts Doors open at 1:15 pm. Enjoy coffee, tea, and treats, meeting friends, and shopping! We all like a bargain, and the white elephant table does not disappoint. March 9 Daylight savings Time ends turn clocks forward March 22 Advisory Council Meeting Blind River March 20 First day of Spring (?) March 30 General Meeting at CNIB April 1 Board Meeting, Red Oak Villa 7:00 pm April 20 Easter Sunday April 22 Earth Day Introducing the Guest Speaker Mike and Sharon Meeker are owners of Meeker s Magic Mix Fish Compost on Manitoulin Island. Mike will share his story of how it all began with a few bags of fish guts, and developed into a thriving business. The large composting operation began as a research project. Processing waste from the Little Current trout processing facility combined with fish mortalities and sawdust waste from local mills produces a very marketable compost in a very short time. Mike thought there had to be a better destination than the local landfill for the by-products of the fish and forestry industries. He experimented by churning fish offal and sawdust together in a modified cement truck on his farm. The result is a successful compost product that has a high nutrient value for lawns, flower beds and field crops. Today, approximately 1.5 million pounds of fish by-product from other fish producers in Northern Ontario are used in compost production. Up to 40 tonnes of compost are produced each week. The product, sold in 40L bags, has attracted retail April 27 General Meeting & Pot Luck partners like Canadian Tire and Home Hardware and has drawn praise for its quality from organic growers. Mike Meeker was the winner of the 2008 Premiers Award for Agri-Food Innovation Excellence for the composting project. If you would like more information, check out their excellent website at THANK YOU! The Seedy Sunday committee and the SHS board members would like to send heartfelt thanks to all the volunteers that helped make this event so successful. Thanks for being there, especially so early on Sunday morning.

4 Capture Spring Rain! Homeowners and other residents who want to save money, care for their gardens, and protect the environment know that rain barrels are essential to help meet all three goals. Sudbury Teachers Lions Club is now accepting pre-sale orders for a Fundraising Truckload Rain Barrel Sale scheduled for Saturday, April 26, at Parking Lot - corner of Paris and York Street, Sudbury from 9am to 1pm. Rain barrels are being sold for $60 each and funds raised will support educational activities for all ages. Rain barrels capture and store rain water collected from roofs through downspouts. They provide chlorine-free and fluoride-free water which is ideal for flowers, vegetables, lawns, shrubs and trees. Collected water has a number of other uses including washing cars, cleaning floors, laundry and more. These many uses can provide cost savings and conservation opportunities for every homeowner, especially those who pay to have water trucked in, use a well or have a water meter installed. Three of our Society members have volunteered to be in a play Girls of the Garden Club, from, June 11 to 21. The theatre company is Lighthouse STF Productions. Mary Anne Fraser is the play's director. There are still parts available if you would like to participate. Contact Mary Anne at Also needed are large indoor plants for the stage, if you have some and would like to lend them for eleven days. Save the date June 11 to 21, at Grace Church, Antwerp St. Sudbury. Purchasers can select the colour and model of rain barrel they would like. Each one comes equipped with the parts needed to set up your barrel at home. These environmentally-friendly products were once used to transport fruits and vegetables and have been refurbished and repurposed to offer years of reliable service as rain barrels. Down spout diverters and rain barrel stands are also available. All orders must be placed online in advance at or by calling Adopt a Seed Variety At the Seedy Sunday event, the public voted to save a rare seed variety in the Adopt a Seed initiative. The four choices were: BEAN (Canada Wild Goose), TOMATO (Bear Claw), WHEAT (Dawson s Golden Chaff), and SUNFLOWER (Hopi Black Dye). The most popular choice was the tomato. This variety is open-pollinated, which means you can save your own seeds from vine-ripened tomatoes and have plants that will be true to the parent. It is a variably-shaped beefsteak tomato with outstanding flavour. Seeds of Diversity thanks all those who participated.

5 The Dahlia Photos Shown at the Meeting on Sunday The photographs of dahlias were taken in September, 2013 at the Golden Acres Park in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The dahlias were a display of recently developed varieties from local growers in the Leeds area. They may or may not be available commercially in the near future. The park is a municipal facility that includes a lake, wetlands, and numerous plots featuring a wide variety of flowers, shrubs and trees. Ed Pattison Correction in the Yearbook! In the yearbook, page 6, Aline Dupont was not in the photo, but should have been included as a member of the Yearbook Committee that met throughout the year. Her contribution was much appreciated. My apologies Aline! Hermina The Sudbury Master Gardeners Visit their website: Congratulations! We are happy to announce that another of our members is a graduate of the Master Gardener course. You will remember that last year we featured Dave Kechnie in the yearbook when he completed his course. This year, we congratulate Linda Hachez. We are fortunate to have such a great wealth of information at our disposal when the Master Gardeners offer to spend a few hours (usually under the green umbrella) at our general meetings. Do ask questions, please. They are more than happy to help.

6 Sudbury Seedy Sunday The organizing committee - Colleen Zilio, Hermina Hubert, Alice Haasdyk, Tamara Gagnon, Doreen Ojala, Stuart McCall, and Tammy Cheguist (absent from photo) thank the many volunteers that helped make the event a successful one. (above) Our friends from the French River Society; (below) Rita West and Suzanne Hanna from the Sault; (centre) Colleen and Dr. Courtin Hugh Kruzel, our marvelous MC