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Spring Seed Campaigns

By Suzanne Hanna

Poppy Seed Campaign
A month or so ago I received a tsunami of emails encouraging me to embrace Teresa Glover’s personal campaign to encourage mayors across Canada to plant red Flanders poppies (Papaver rhoeas) in their communities to celebrate the 100^th anniversary of World War I. The flowers of these fast-growing annuals are dramatic and breathtaking and very easy to grow in disturbed soil.

Consequently it was no surprise that poppy seed sales have been brisk this spring. My friend Abby Obenchain from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, recently purchased some 300,000 seeds. She has been using every opportunity through community events and social media to distribute little seed packets to schools, churches and local businesses and, of course, to interested citizens who wish to demonstrate their patriotism by honouring the men and women who have served.

Got Milkweed Campaign
Have you been encouraged to serve as a “butterfly block captain” yet? The David Suzuki Foundation organized a #GotMilkweed campaign last month to encourage Toronto residents to plant a butterfly corridor in the heart of their busy city. Given that milkweed is needed by monarch butteries to survive, and buoyed by recent news that the Ontario Agricultural Ministry is removing this plant from its list of noxious weeds, this environmental initiative has gone viral in Ontario and it is near impossible to buy milkweed plants anywhere.

I am lucky. My fellow guerrilla gardeners and I have been collecting milkweed seeds every fall in an effort to distribute the seed far and wide despite agricultural regulations and to increase biodiversity in our communities. There are numerous varieties of milkweed to choose from, and provided that you harvest mature pods that open easily and reveal deep brown seeds, they will germinate the following spring. After separating the seeds from the coma (the silky white fluff attached to the seed), it is recommended that these seeds be subjected to stratification and soaked in warm water for 24 hours before planting to increase germination rates. 

Rhubarb Swiss Chard Campaign
Seed campaigns may also sometimes be mounted to encourage gardeners to embrace certain gardening trends, such as the heightened interest in community gardening and the growing of veggies. This past March, the President of the Ontario Horticultural Association, James Graham, distributed OSC packages of Rhubarb Swiss Chard seeds to all 283 societies.

Rhubarb Swiss chard is an heirloom variety of Swiss chard that is not only edible but also a very attractive ornamental, especially in planters. According to Mr. Graham, “it will sometimes overwinter and it is possible to get a couple of early pickings before the seed heads form.” This underrated vegetable is a beauty in my estimation.

Good luck with your gardens!

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_{Photo credit: Tony Hisgett/Wikimedia Commons/CC-BY-2.0}

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