Recycling: In front of our store, you will see a large bin dedicated to recycling of plastic growing pots. Customers are encouraged to return their plastic pots here year round! We also clean and reuse all pots and trays from our growing facilities. We collect and recycle more than eight tons of scrap metal and compress our greenhouse poly into bales totalling roughly 3 tons per year. We also compress and recycle approximately 10 tons of cardboard per year. All concrete and other aggregate waste we collect from our yard and landscape sites is crushed and reused on-site for maintenance and resale. We love to compost and collect yard and greenhouse waste to blend with topsoil for use in our landscaping and for retail sale. We process roughly 3000-4000 cubic yards per year.
Green Initiatives: Sipkens Nurseries strives to be a leader in environmental responsibility and sustainability. As a business and family, we must be aware of our impact on the environment and the footprints we leave behind for the future generations.
Water Conservation - We recycle water by collecting irrigation runoff and rainwater in a large pond to irrigate our fields and growing area. Our collected water is filtered, treated and then conditioned to the correct pH and nutrient levels for optimizing our plant growth and health in our greenhouses. Many of our crops are irrigated with drip, spray, or micro-irrigation systems. As products sell, we continually condense areas to limit our water and fertilizer use. This limits the quantity of wasted water in each growing area.
Controlling plant pests - We carry many methods for controlling garden pests and promote using natural pest controls when we can. These are safer for your garden, your family, wildlife and the environment. We stock traps & lures, barriers and repellents, beneficial insects, bio-pesticides, insecticidal soaps, horticultural oils and more. In our growing and greenhouse facilities we have put in place an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) system. This allows us to carefully monitor plant health and keep plant pests in check with cultural and biological controls so as to minimize pesticide use. One example is our roses that are sprayed twice each year with a bio-fungicide at careful timing to keep them clear of diseases all season long.
Our garden centre also provides a selection of natural and organic fertilizers. These differ from chemical fertilizers in that they feed your plants while building the soil. Soils containing high levels of organic material remain loose, retain more moisture, nutrients, and oxygen. This fosters growth of soil organisms and promotes healthy plant root development. We stock a selection of organic seeds as well as natural fertilizers such as blood and bone meal, hen manure, fish emulsion, worm castings and bat guano. Milorganite is stocked for a great lawn fertilizer option and organic potting soil, soil amendments and ph adjustment.
Native to Ontario – We supply a Native to Ontario plant program that allows our clients to purchase plant material that is naturally suited to our region and local wildlife. Many of these plants are adored by pollinators and provide food sources to honey bees, butterflies and hummingbirds which in turn help plants reproduce and sustain our ecosystems.
