Garlic Bulbils are Available!
While supplies last, we have 48 varieties of garlic bulbils available for planting this fall. Bulbils - not the large bulbs that you're probably used to, but the tiny nuggets that grow in the scapes at the tops of the plants, are a very economical way to collect and grow a vast assortment of garlic varieties!
If you plant bulbils, be prepared to wait for two full years before harvesting fully-grown garlic, but the results should be better than clove-planted garlic, and growing from bulbils is a very economical way to scale up a diverse collection of varieties. Read our article to learn more: How to Grow Garlic From Bulbils
While supplies last, we will send you a good amount (at least 10) of bulbils for 5 different varieties for $15 including shipping and handling. Please order at seeds.ca/store.
We cannot guarantee specific varieties, but if you have a favourite, please ask and we'll do our best to provide what you want.
Looking for Full-size Garlic Bulbs to Plant?
We've updated our Canadian Seed Catalogue Index with current information about all the garlic suppliers we know about. Check the Index or search our Seed Finder for local garlic suppliers in your area. Let us know if we've missed any. Thanks so much to volunteer Diane Whitehead for updating this information!
Annual Members Meeting November 25, 2023
Save the date for our Annual Members Meeting. Details coming soon!
Join our Board of Directors
At our Annual Meeting we will elect members to our Board of Directors. Do you love what Seeds of Diversity does and want to help make it even better? We're looking for people with skills and experience who can help strategize our work for the future. Meetings are monthly and virtual, typically no more than an hour. We're especially looking for people who have connections with the wider seed-saving community, experience in administration or governance of non-profit organizations, and availability for a one-hour virtual meeting each month.
If that sounds like you, send us an email expressing your interest and let us know
- Your background, skills, and experience with non-profits like Seeds of Diversity.
- What you feel you can offer as a board member.
- Any questions that you might have about our board, meeting style, or other roles within the organization.
Why Do You Save Seeds?
Seed saving season has arrived and as you may have guessed, it’s kind of a big deal for us. Here at Seeds of Diversity, we aim to represent a bunch of different things: seeds, biodiversity preservation, food security, human and planetary health, local food systems, community building. But at the end of the day, it really does all come down to protecting genetic biodiversity of plants through seed saving. With over 2900 varieties of seeds in our seed library, we are able to play a role in Canada’s seed saving landscape, but there’s no way we could do it alone. Our members, volunteers, and supporters are the real driving force behind our continued existence and we love to hear from you.
Over the past couple of years, we asked the question, “Why do you save seeds?” on our social media pages and got many beautiful, thoughtful responses from our followers across Canada. So, this post is dedicated to sharing some of them. After all, we all are people protecting the people’s seeds.
6 Seed Saving Efforts from Around the World
As Seeds of Diversity heads towards its 40 year anniversary next year (we started as COG’s Heritage Seed Program in 1984), we are reflecting on the journey that has led us from that time to what we are today: a national charity working to preserve crop genetic diversity through seed saving and education.
As many reading this will know, our seed library is home to over 3000 varieties of rare and endangered food plants, many of which can’t systematically be found anywhere else. This is a big deal, and something we are grateful for the chance to do, thanks to our members and volunteers.
While we are one of the more prominent organizations in Canada doing this work, we are far from alone in our mission. Across the globe there are, quite literally, hundreds of “official” initiatives and many thousands of “unofficial” ones also working to save seeds and keep our food systems diverse and resilient. Seeds are heritage. Seeds are culture. Seeds are life and growth and hope. Saving them is one of the oldest agricultural practices.
In this issue
6 Seed Saving Efforts from Around the World
Not yet a member?
An annual membership to Seeds of Diversity gives you access to our seed exchange, seed grow-out programs, and our online news.
We depend on donations to do our work.
Thank you for your support!
Stay in Touch!
