Now is the Time to Sow Seeds!
Spring is here, and summer is just around the corner, but in most of Canada it's still too chilly to plant out tomatoes and peppers. That doesn't mean your garden should be bare though. It's time to sow greens, onions, root vegetables, and cool-season flower seeds.
At Seeds of Diversity we've just finished sending about a hundred packets of "old beans" to prospective seed-rescuers, following a similar number of old tomato samples. Thanks to all our seed growers who are helping us rejuvenate our Seed Library collection!
Seedy Saturdays and Seedy Sundays have wrapped up for the season, and what a season it was. Back in the fall, we all felt a little doubtful that our favourite seedy events would happen at all. But they did! Read our summary of how they happened.
And from all of us at Seeds of Diversity, best wishes for a safe and happy gardening season this year!
Now is the Time to Sow Cool-Season Seeds!
Growing up, I was always told to plant the garden after Victoria Day because the seeds would be safe from frost. Now I know better: lots of vegetable seeds grow perfectly well through a light frost so you can sow them several weeks earlier. Your geography may vary, and climate change is confusing us with earlier heat waves, and later frosts, but in most parts of Canada this is the time to sow your cool-season seeds.
Seedy Saturdays and Seedy Sundays - They Happened!
In 2020, almost half of Canada’s Seedy Saturday events had to cancel, many at the last moment, and there was no time for a “Plan B”. For 2021, we were all prepared to adapt, so that’s what we did! Of the 190 organizers we reached out to in October, we heard back from and worked with 104 in some capacity over the last five months. If you recall, we mentioned a few things that we would do to support the events: hold organizer meetings, put together a series of virtual webinars, work on ways to safely exchange seeds, help to promote local seed companies, and provide tech support. Well, we are delighted to say that we were able to check, check, check, check, and check all of those boxes. And we are equally delighted to say that we know of over 80 events that happened from January - May of this year.
School Food Gardens Are Taking Hold ... Again!
School gardens are currently seeing an impressive resurgence in popularity, and are popping up more and more across Canada (and beyond - the US, UK, Sierra Leone, Niger, and Bolivia too, just to name a few). It makes sense; in a world growing increasingly concerned about the state of the planet, we want today’s generation to develop appropriate competencies and a connection to nature in order to have the skills and motivation to save it. School gardens can do just that, along with providing a whole host of other benefits.
The Most (and Least) Rare Vegetable Seeds in Canada
Our Canadian Seed Catalogue Index shows all the garden vegetable seeds offered from 103 Canadian seed companies in 2021. You can use it to find your favourite seeds, but at Seeds of Diversity we use it for another reason - to learn which seed varieties are easy to find, and which we need to save.
In this issue
Now is the Time to Sow Cool-Season Seeds!
Seedy Saturdays and Seedy Sundays - They Happened!
School Food Gardens Are Taking Hold ... Again!
The Most (and Least) Rare Vegetable Seeds in Canada
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