JASON SETNYK
A free public talk on designing low-cost food gardens drew a packed audience to Cline House Gallery, with organizers bringing in extra chairs to accommodate the turnout.
Hosted by Transition Cornwall+, the event featured edible landscape designer and author JD Van Allen, who shared practical strategies for creating productive, attractive gardens that can provide food for decades while keeping costs and maintenance low.
Van Allen, lead designer with Eden’s Refuge, said rising grocery prices and declining food quality are pushing more people to rethink how they grow food. “With grocery prices going up and the quality of food going down, we make beautiful landscapes that feed families and communities,” he said, noting a growing interest in community orchards alongside residential projects.
“If you imagine what the price of food is going to be in 50 years, it’s a good price now – and it’s a great price in 50 years for Asian pears and plums and apples and hazelnuts,” he added.
A common concern he hears is the fear of ongoing upkeep. “One of the biggest hesitations people have is worries about maintenance,” he said. “So we design things like an ecosystem. Let nature do a lot of the work instead of fighting nature.” By working this way, he said, food gardens can be a long-term investment, estimating that an edible landscape can work out to “about four cents a pound for food over the next 50 years.”
During the presentation, Van Allen highlighted plant choices suited to Eastern Ontario’s climate, describing the region as a “nice pocket along the St. Lawrence” with unique growing advantages. “The cold is actually a great benefit for us,” he said. “It’s just a matter of choosing plants that will do well here.”
He also demonstrated how modern tools like drones can improve garden planning. Using pre-programmed flights, Van Allen explained he can create detailed 3D maps of properties, allowing him to design with precise knowledge of sunlight, water flow, and terrain. “It feels like a luxury service, but it makes things better and easier,” he said.
“We’re going to talk about how an average Cornwall property can do an edible landscape with a $1,000 budget, a $500 budget, or even a $100 budget…When people realize food can be installed like a project and nature can do a lot of the work, it becomes a lot easier to come alongside the idea,” he stated.
Following the talk, attendees browsed and purchased signed copies of Van Allen’s book, Before the Design, which outlines essential steps to take before starting any project. What began as a short worksheet for clients, he said, grew into a 160-page guide focused on clarifying values, goals, and available resources. “Values drastically change the design of a project,” he said. “Even with the same elements, it can change how they’re arranged.”
Penny Bateman, Chair of the Food Action Group with Transition Cornwall+, said the event aligned closely with the group’s mission. “Our whole emphasis is to get people to think about growing sustainable food, or at least being part of keeping food sustainable,” she said. Bateman added that Van Allen’s focus on low-budget, accessible garden designs made him an ideal speaker for a community facing rising food costs.
Despite snowy February weather, Bateman said the turnout was encouraging. “This is a very good response for a very snowy February,” she said, adding that interest in gardening and food security appears to be growing locally. “It will help everybody who’s struggling to pay for food discover a new way of getting fresh, healthy food cheaply,” she concluded.
Van Allen said the goal of the session was empowerment. “Not everyone can afford to have a professional come design and install,” he said. “Today, we’re teaching people basically how to do it themselves.” He outlined scenarios showing how Cornwall homeowners could grow significant amounts of food regardless of budget, and learning skills that could yield harvests for decades to come.
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