Garden Talks: Understanding Your Soil with Arzeena Hamir
Channel: West Vancouver Memorial Library
Date: 2023-03-10

Recorded March 9, 2023. 

So much of the success of your garden depends on the health of your soil. Plants that are nutrient deficient, overfertilized, or growing in waterlogged or ultra dry conditions are more susceptible to pest and disease issues. Learn how to identify indicators of soil health and boost soil fertility (without going overboard!). Join agronomist and farmer Arzeena Hamir as she explains the importance of soil pH, organic matter, drainage, and how they impact the health of your plants. You will also learn how to make your own compost!

Arzeena Hamir has a love for food and community and brings these two passions together through her work as an organic farmer and as a local government politician. She received her undergrad in Crop Science and her master’s in Sustainable Agriculture. Arzeena has worked internationally with small scale farmers in Jamaica, India, Thailand, and Bangladesh and in BC with West Coast Seeds, UBC, Richmond Food Security Society, and Kwantlen Polytechnic University. She and her husband moved their family to the Comox Valley in 2012 and run Amara Farm, a 25-acre certified organic farm in Courtenay, BC.

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