Brad Lycan was bored during the COVID-19 pandemic, so he planted some cucumbers and potatoes in his backyard.
But what started out as a pandemic project would become an obsession for Brad, a retired Langley teacher. Over the next four years, his obsession grew and he planted more – strawberries, rhubarb, asparagus, tomatoes, peppers, beets, peas, spinach, chives, lettuce, arugula, garlic, zucchini, and his garden blossomed, from his backyard, all along the side of the house, all the way to the front yard.
Now, not only is Brad, with the help of his wife Laura, producing between 10 to 12 cucumbers a day, but, so many veggies, that his family of seven is unable to keep up.
Last year, Brad estimates, he produced about $2,000 worth of food from his garden. He packed four freezers worth of food, including 15 to 20 pounds of beans, and he still has one freezer left of food. Brad and Laura were also able to fill 58 jars with pickles,
Plus he gives vegetables and fruits to his neighbours on a regular basis.
"I don't think it's a fantastic garden. I think there's so many mistakes made," he said humbly.
However, he added, anyone can find success growing their own garden, noting that most of his neighbours have their own gardens.
For a long time their backyard was a children's playground, explained Brad. But when the children outgrew it, the couple extended their deck and Brad started planting in an area of about 1,000 square feet.
"My dad had a garden and my grandma always had a garden and I always helped. And, then, it just got a little out of hand," he said about his own garden.
Tomato plants line the back fence of his garden. In between are rows of garden beds with zucchini, asparagus, and even comfrey – a plant that he grows purely because it makes a good fertilizer for the other plants in the garden.
Raised garden beds hug the side of his house that receives the most sun.
"Like all small spaces I'm fighting for sun,' he said, while walking to the front of the house where six raised beds – about six feet by three feet each – of strawberries and rhubarb consume the yard.
"The problem is I'm not a great gardener yet. I have too much of one thing and not enough of another," he explained, crediting YouTube for his gardening education.
Brad also grows plants in VegTrugs and grow bags. Next year he will have towers for his strawberries.
He also makes his own soil in homemade composting bins – black garbage bins with holes in the bottom, in which they throw their household waste and newspaper and yard clippings to balance it out.
His neighbours help as well by donating their yard clippings.
Brad spends about one hour a day on his garden now, but admits he has had plenty of disasters along the way.
Next year is is planning to grow raspberries and more flowers like the pots of marigolds that sit in his yard, to attract hummingbirds.
However, he added, growing a garden is easy, and doesn't have to be as big as his.
"I think it's easier than people think,' he said.
He has been noticing lots of community gardens springing up and would like to encourage others to start their own backyard or balcony garden.
You don't have to have a huge garden, he advised, and growing upwards, instead of horizontally, can result in healthier veggies.
For anyone wanting to start their own garden the CEED Centre in Maple Ridge offers plenty of tips online at: https://www.ceedcentre.com/when-to-start-your-spring-garden.html. And if space is an issue, they also offer planting beds in organic community gardens at four locations:
• CEED Centre Organic Community Garden at the CEED Centre Neighbourhood House at 223rd Street and 117th Avenue;
• Beckett Park on 223 Street;
• Pioneer Park on 230th Street;
• and Brimming Organic Community Garden at 220 and Lougheed Hwy.
For more information go to: https://www.ceedcentre.com/community-gardens.html.
Or call 604-463-2229.
