BC Home + Garden Show 2024: Turn your veggie patch into a focal point in the garden

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Don’t plant a veggie patch in the back corner of a garden — take it from a functional space to a focal point in the yard. This is the advice from Seed & Nourish’s Carissa Kasper, who recommends establishing permanent garden beds and pathways and using an organic approach for a successful garden.

“Make it a focal point in the garden, a place where we want to be; it sets us up for success,” says Kasper, one of The Vancouver Sun Gardeners’ School speakers on the Garden Stage at this year’s BC Home + Garden Show.
Kasper began gardening at a time of change in her life.

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“I believe growing a garden has the power to transform you,” she says. “That’s specifically why I like growing food. The idea of growing nourishment for yourself, the alchemy in that, going from a seed to something that feeds you, is the basis of my name for my business,” she says.

Kasper suggests three steps to establish a successful veggie garden. The first is to create permanent beds and pathways (these could be raised or in-ground beds) and to add vertical structures; second, add compost and manure every season to replenish nutrients; and third, throughout spring, summer and fall, grow nitrogen fixers — plants like beans and peas that add nitrogen back to the soil — and cover crops through the fall and winter.

“One of my favourites for small kitchen gardens is broad beans, which can be planted quite late and will protect the soil and replenish nitrogen through the fall and winter,” she says.

Kasper believes permanent vertical structures such as obelisks and trellises add a sense of longevity.

“That means that there is a sense of place and permanence while your crops are cycling through the seasons, and they also provide visual interest and a place for vertical crops to grow,” she adds.

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Tomatoes, cucumbers and pole beans are three of her favourite vertical crops.

“A cherry tomato is a good choice for beginner gardeners, and pole beans pretty much grow themselves,” says Kasper.

“My biggest tip for growing and having success with different kinds of crops is the principle of planting the right plant in the right season,” she says. “Oftentimes, I find that when people are thinking of the garden, they’re thinking of the summer months. But in coastal British Columbia, we’re lucky that we’re able to grow in the spring and fall as well. If we get started in April with cool-weather crops like lettuce and peas along with brassicas like kale and broccoli and herbs like cilantro and parsley, that’s the season that they actually want to be growing,” she says.

Companion planting — growing certain plants close to other plants — also has many benefits, and Kasper shares these tips.

• Plant flowers and flowering herbs with a proliferous shape — such as cilantro, dill and yarrow — throughout the garden. These plants support natural pest control by attracting beneficial insects while also enhancing the garden’s beauty.
• Nitrogen fixers are good companions for ‘hungry’ crops like tomatoes. “I might plant bush beans at the base of tomato plants. The beans put nitrogen into the soil as the tomatoes use a lot of nitrogen,” she says.
• Living mulch keeps moisture in the soil and takes up space to discourage weeds. “With those vertical crops, make sure we’re putting lower-lying crops at their feet,” she says, adding cucumbers do well with bush beans or Swiss chard.

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“My philosophy is that the garden is our closest opening to nature. I love it because we can step outside our door and immediately engage our senses,” she says.

If you haven’t started gardening, it’s worth beginning, she says, noting a garden can be as small as three pots on a balcony or as large as a backyard.

“It’s worth it to plant the first seed.”

For more advice and tips, don’t miss Kasper’s presentation at The Vancouver Sun Gardeners’ School on the Garden Stage at this year’s BC Home + Garden Show, BC Place Stadium, from Feb. 8 to 11.

Carissa Kasper, Seed & Nourish / Topic: Grow Beautiful Food in the City; Fri., Feb. 9 at 1 p.m.

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