Learning how to tune your yard and garden to nature was the theme of a workshop on Saturday at Knotty Pine Bistro.
The Backyard and Compost Corner hosted “From Scarcity to Abundance: An Introduction to Permaculture” to teach an interested audience about what exactly permaculture is.
“It’s an introduction to Permaculture,” said Keri Sapsford, owner of The Backyard and Compost Corner. “(We’re) just kind of talking about how to plan our yards, gardens, and lives in tune with nature rather than trying to tune nature to it.
“(We’re) just trying to do what nature does already and put it to productive use,” she added.
As an example, Sapsford said aspiring gardeners can look to Saskatchewan’s northern forests, where taller trees and shorter shrubs make up various layers. She said each plant in the forest serves a purpose in making the area healthy, and gardeners want to mimic that with their own gardens by using something like an apple tree along with a Saskatoon Berry bush and herbs growing around it.
Sapsford said using permaculture makes a garden more productive.
The afternoon workshop included video presentations and discussion about how to incorporate permaculture into your yard and garden.
“Instead of just growing one vegetable or one plant you can grow many different plants, have a variety of different crops, have healthier soil, and more abundance at the end of the year,” Sapsford explained.
Saspsford said that she was happy with the turnout as it was only her second event. She did her first event in her shop in September 2022.
Since then, her business model has changed, but she’s still hoping to provide the same workshops and education.
“We don’t have the shop anymore,” she explained. “I just decided that a retail space wasn’t really what I wanted be doing for the rest of my life.
“We can still do our activities (and) I can still sell dirt and make compost.”
Sapsford said the business is still burgeoning but her mindset had just changed.
“You can always look on our website for more events coming up,” Sapsford said.
The website for the business is www.thebackyardpa.ca. Her next event is Backyard Composting at the Knotty Pine Bistro on Tuesday, April 25 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
michael.oleksyn@paherald.sk.ca
