Molly shares some lessons from the Just Growing Garden Project

By Molly Armstrong, WildRoots Summer Worker (Manitoba)

July 3, 2025

It’s the beginning of July and the ‘Just Growing’ garden at Saint Margaret’s is flourishing! It’s wild to me that two months of gardening have already passed me by. Sophia and I  have taken on the roles of Urban Agriculture Assistants this season. We have been working at the Metanoia Farm, as well as helping out at the Vimy Ridge community garden, but our main project is the garden beds behind Saint Margaret’s. Over the months of May and June we have planted seeds and seedlings, watered, weeded, and even begun to harvest. The produce we have collected so far includes; rhubarb, mint, sage, dill, arugula, and radishes. These were donated to Acorn Family Place where they are used in cooking classes to help teach community members useful cooking skills, as well as provide healthy meals. I can already see many more veggies ripening, so there’s much more to come.

This past Thursday I was lucky enough to run an event; Art in the Garden! It was a lovely time, we had a great turn out, people were shown around the garden, and given booklets to draw their plant observations. We went around and shared our creations at the end. What a lovely talented group, I always love to see people being creative and being outdoors together, a fantastic combination. If you missed this event, you have another opportunity to get creative with us in August with our Eco-Printing Workshop at the Metanoia Farm.

Working for A Rocha this summer has made me more excited than I ever have been about gardening. I feel as though a new passion has been evoked in me. I’ve learned so much from Zoe and the Metanoia farmers. These are skills that I will be able to use for the rest of my life, and important knowledge that I can pass on to others. From pruning tomato plants, to composting, to companion plants, to edible weeds, it’s all so satisfying and fulfilling to learn and practice. I would highly recommend gardening to anyone who is able. Being outside doing hands-on activity, paired with the feeling that you are actively taking care of the earth does wonders for one’s mental health. All this to say, I’ve been getting very excited about plants! I would like to share with you some of my favourite things I’ve learned this season so far.

As a self guided project, I have been doing some research on weeds in Winnipeg, and some of their uses. Turns out, not all weeds are bad! In fact, a lot of them are actually edible, and a few even have medicinal properties. I created a small zine with my findings called “Lawn Salad: recipes for the weeds in your Winnipeg yard.” (Download it here! It is formatted to be printed and folded in half) It includes five weeds commonly found here, a recipe for each, and illustrations of the plants. These include pineapple weed, broad leaved plantain, creeping bellflower, lambs quarters, and dandelions. I hope to give away some at the Wolseley farmers market on Thursdays!

Another newfound passion of mine is COMPOSTING. I never would have thought I’d get so much enjoyment from watching my food waste decompose, but as I’ve learned more about how to properly take care of my compost, I am never going back. I have been composting at my house in barrels, and at the Metanoia Farm in piles. I will share with you some of the things I have learned in case you are interested in doing a bit of your own composting :-). It’s great for the environment and for your garden!

The components of a healthy compost are: greens, browns, moisture, heat, and oxygen. Greens are the nitrogen of your compost, this is the food waste, the ‘wet’ stuff. This will make up 25% of your compost and includes things like fruit and vegetable scraps, coffee grounds, egg shells, weeds and grass clippings. This does not include animal products such as meat, bones, dairy, or any kind of oil. As for the browns, your carbons, the ‘dry’ stuff, these make up 75% of your pile, and can be dried leaves from your lawn, wood chips, napkins and cardboard to name a few. These will balance the moisture in your compost and keep in heat. If your compost is too wet, add more browns. If it is dry, add some water! Compost requires a mix/turn about once a week, this reactivates decomposition, allowing oxygen to once again be distributed throughout the organic matter. If your compost is hot, this is a good thing! Your compost is alive and well and on the road to becoming nutrient rich dirt for your garden. If done right, you can have ready compost in just over 2 weeks!

I hope you enjoyed this little update! Thank you for your time and support, I am excited to see what the rest of the summer has in store. Til next time!