I went to visit Arnoul on a hot July afternoon in the summer of 2020. He greeted me enthusiastically and took me around the back of his rental house in Southside, where he and his roommates dug up a 4’ x 8’ plot of backyard to build their garden.
“We had a lot of time on our hands,” he explained.
Arnoul, now 29, is originally from France and has had experience gardening alongside his parents and grandmother since he was 10. He found himself helping quite willingly, but not always with great motivation. It wasn’t until he was older and working with a nature conservation organization that he realized he didn’t have very much technical gardening knowledge in his repertoire, so he took every opportunity to get his hands in the dirt from that point on and build his skills to match his passions.
With Mt. Begbie overlooking the growing space, Arnoul and his roommates got to work creating what he called “pretty traditional garden beds,” but with his proximity to the Illecillewaet River and greenbelt, they quickly realized the quality of the soil they were working with was quite poor and would create a challenge in growing vegetables. He got to work implementing a permaculture technique he was familiar with which he had once utilized in France, which I had recognized as the Hugelkultur technique.
Arnoul and his roommates dug 2-3 foot deep trenches and piled the dirt in the middle on top of rotting logs, branches, and other organic matter to form a naturally raised garden bed. Then, they planted their vegetables strategically along the mound: green cover crops like kale and lettuce at the bottom and build it up with cruciferous vegetables like cabbage and cauliflower, moving on to cucumber and zucchini, asparagus, and everyone’s favourite allium, garlic! The gradual decay of wood is a consistent source of long-term nutrients for the plants. Soil aeration increases as those branches and logs break down, meaning the bed will be no till, long term. Rainwater is stored and then released during drier times, and carbon remains sequestered in the soil.
If you would like to see an example of a Hugelkultur garden for yourself, we have one at the RVAC Community Garden.
After chatting with Arnoul, I realized that he represents a portion of Revelstoke that is wildly underrepresented in the gardening community - the renters. His housing situation allowed for him to build his own community of enthusiastic growers which included his roommates. “We named all our tomato plants, and took bets on which one would be the biggest at the end,” he explained. Depending on the COVID-19 situation and his Visa, Arnoul may not be living in Revelstoke for the 2021 growing season, so I’m glad I was able to connect with him last summer and see the Hugelkultur method in action. He went on to tell me that if he would be working in the same garden this year he would like to build another mound and add an irrigation system, as going out to water the veggies at dusk near the greenbelt was a combat mission against the mosquitoes, one that he lost almost every time. Another losing battle was against the deer coming in to eat his strawberries under the cover of night. Arnoul even went as far as attempting to camp outside on a cot to catch the deer in the act, but alas the mosquitoes and heat were no match and he retreated to the comfort of home in the middle of the night.
The Revelstoke Local Food Initiative has a mission to enable all Revelstoke residents to feel empowered to increase their own food security, growing your own vegetables is a great way of doing this. Unlike Arnoul, not every renter has approval from their landlord to dig up a garden space. Alternatively, not every short term resident wants to invest in the infrastructure to start their own gardens at a temporary location. In 2021, the LFI will be looking to expand it’s Community Garden spaces to allow for more residents to reap the benefits of growing their own. Community gardens are a great way to meet new people, build on your technical skills, and become involved in your community. Check out our Community Gardens page for more information.
