Home & Garden: The Plant King

The Plant King, AKA Aaron Bourbonnais, learned early that soil is at the root of plant health.

Unsatisfied with commercial soils, which often contain a high ratio of peat, Bourbonnais began mixing his own a decade ago.

He was initially inspired by the square foot gardening trend, which allows for dense planting in a small space but relies on a rich soil blend. While Cannabis was his gateway plant into pedology, Bourbonnais soon branched out into other areas of horticulture. He found his soil knowledge gave him a leg up when growing hot pepper plants, one of his favourite crops, and almost all other plants.

Soil has been a hobby for Bourbonnais, who is an engineering technician working in nuclear power.

“I just love growing things,” he said.

In March, he and his partner Ashley Bristow launched a business selling the Plant King soil mixes and a variety of house plants. The basement of their Stayner home is set up with equipment that controls light and humidity for optimum growing conditions. The basement glows with the LED lights, showcasing dozens of cacti, succulents, bonsai, snake plants, aloe and carnivorousplants like the Venus flytrap and purple pitcher plant – all of which Bourbonnais refers to using their proper Latin names.

The problem with generic commercial soils, he explains, is they contain mostly peat because it holds moisture, but it does not contain many of the minerals and nutrients that plants need.

Through research and experience, Bourbonnais has worked to develop a perfect balance between drainage and moisture retention to optimize the health of specific plants by applying an understanding of their natural habitats. For example, a tropical house plantrequires different nourishment than a cactus. Adding rocks and minerals to the soils helps the plant extract the nutrients it needs, and providing the right pH balance, mimicking its natural habitat.

The plan is to open a store but in the meantime, Plant King products are being promoted on Facebook, and will be available on Amazon in the near future.

The business is one of two that is managed by Bristow, while raising six kids.

For 15 years, since their eldest was born, Bristow has been making elderberry syrup to boost the immune system, especially during cold and flu season.

As an adult, she said, she has always taken an interest in health and found peace of mind in making her own products, because she knew exactly what was in them.

In 2019 she started selling the syrup mix, organic teas and candles made with organic beeswax, coconut oil and essential oils under the Ashley’s Wholesome Organics label.