Blog Category: Seed

AUG 25, 2024: KRESTOVA, BC – Winnow Seed Co. Farm Tour

Posted by Kim Watt on July 30, 2024

Ever wondered what a seed farm looks like at harvest time, or what your vegetables would look like at the end of their life cycle? Join us for a tour of the gardens at Winnow Seed Co. to learn how seeds are produced! Winnow Seed Co. is a seed farm that produces certified organic, open-pollinated vegetable, herb, and flower seeds in Krestova, BC. There are very few local seed growers, and even fewer that both produce and market all their own seeds direct-to-consumer, as Winnow Seed Co. does. This is a rare opportunity to tour a seed farm in the … Continue reading AUG 25, 2024: KRESTOVA, BC – Winnow Seed Co. Farm Tour →

Kootenays, BC: Biodynamic Heirloom Seed Collection for Sale

Posted by JoHana Harcourt on July 05, 2024

FOR SALE: Seed collection from the first biodynamic heirloom seed company in North America (Aurora Farm Seeds) to aspiring seed steward(s) who have an appropriate land base for cultivation. Many of these seeds have been through the ground for 30 years, are family tried and true nutrient-dense favorites where the words “nutrient” and “spirit” are one and the same. They have been kept cool, dry, and dark in green and blue glass jars under energetically protective and enhancing conditions. Training the new steward is included in the cost. This will involve learning biodynamic principles fundamental to cultivating, harvesting, and storing … Continue reading Kootenays, BC: Biodynamic Heirloom Seed Collection for Sale →

Local Seed Producers in Canada

Posted by Alex on February 14, 2023 13 Comments

Photo Credit: Patchwork City Farms It’s spring and you know what that means…SEEDS!! In the same way that we promote buying local food, we also promote buying local seeds. Seed sovereignty is, of course, foundational to food sovereignty! Virtually all vegetable seed planted in Canada is imported. Buying, planting, and saving local seed is one way to support local growers and strengthen our food system, starting with regionally adapted seeds. Steph Hughes, from The Bauta Family Initiative for Canadian Seed Security, talks about five reasons to buy local seed: Seeds learn as they grow. By saving seed, farmers adapt their crop varieties to their growing conditions, and improve … Continue reading Local Seed Producers in Canada →

[FILLED] FARM JOB: COMOX VALLEY, BC – Good Earth Farms, Farm Helper

Posted by Michalina Hunter on March 09, 2022

This position has been filled. View more Farm Jobs and Apprenticeships on our Job Board Good Earth Farms in the Comox Valley, BC is seeking a Farm Helper! ABOUT Good Earth Farms We are a small, certified organic seed farm located in Black Creek, Comox Valley B.C. We produce high quality open pollinated seed. We have been saving seed since 2001 and got our own farm in 2004. We sell through an on-line store, various retail outlets, Seed Saturdays and the Comox Valley Farmers Market. Our goal is to provide a safe, fun, and inclusive work environment. We are on … Continue reading [FILLED] FARM JOB: COMOX VALLEY, BC – Good Earth Farms, Farm Helper →

How to Select Vegetable Varieties for Greenhouse Growing

Posted by Michalina Hunter on June 04, 2021

Got a new greenhouse or poly tunnel and wondering what varieties to plant? Experiencing issues with low yields or disease in your greenhouse? Check out this interview with Gemma McNeill, Owner-Operator of Zaklan Farm, a suburban microfarm in Surrey, British Columbia. Once you’ve gleaned some wisdom from Gemma, you may want to learn more. We recommend you follow up by reading an outline on how to select vegetable varieties for greenhouse growing, plus recommendations for the best greenhouse tomato, pepper, cucumber, eggplant, and lettuce varieties to try, from Johnny’s Selected Seeds. Photo above is of Gemma by Zaklan Farm. Greenhouse … Continue reading How to Select Vegetable Varieties for Greenhouse Growing →

[FILLED] FARM JOB: COMOX VALLEY, BC – Good Earth Farms, Farm Helper

Posted by Michalina Hunter on March 03, 2021 1 Comment

This position has been filled. View more Farm Jobs and Apprenticeships on our Job Board Good Earth Farms in the Comox Valley (near Courtenay & Campbell River, B.C.) is seeking a Farm Helper! ABOUT Good Earth Farms We are a small, certified organic seed farm located in Black Creek, Comox Valley B.C. We produce high quality open pollinated seed. We have been saving seed since 2001 and got our own farm in 2004. We sell through an on-line store, various retail outlets, Seed Saturdays and the Comox Valley Farmers Market. Our goal is to provide a safe, fun, and inclusive … Continue reading [FILLED] FARM JOB: COMOX VALLEY, BC – Good Earth Farms, Farm Helper →

How to Plan a Market Garden

Posted by Michalina Hunter on February 04, 2021

This post covers the basics of planning a market garden (or backyard garden), including tools from Johnny’s Seeds for calculating the amount of seed you’ll need and crop yields. An Intro to Johnny’s Seed Quantity Calculators & Yield Charts • How to measure • How much of what to plant • How far apart • To produce just so much? Planning your market garden layout is one of the more challenging annualized tasks of vegetable production, because multiple goals must be rolled into the planning process. Rotations, planting dates, days to maturity, duration of harvest, labour resources, and even microclimates … Continue reading How to Plan a Market Garden →

Support Sovereign Seeds: Indigenous-led Seed Crisis Response Circle

Posted by Michalina Hunter on September 03, 2020 2 Comments

Covid-19 has had tremendous impacts on food security, with disproportionate impacts on Indigenous people due to pre-existing injustices. Sovereign Seeds has responded by launching a Covid-19 Indigenous Seed Crisis Response Circle to collaboratively grow ancestral seed crops and lovingly re-distribute them to Indigenous individuals and initiatives who need them. About the COVID-19 Indigenous Seed Crisis Response Circle “In response to the preexisting food insecurities intensified by COVID-19, Sovereign Seeds is facilitating the COVID-19 Indigenous Seed Crisis Response Circle, an Indigenous seed stewardship collective operating with a commitment to nurture Indigenous seed varieties for improved seed health and access through and … Continue reading Support Sovereign Seeds: Indigenous-led Seed Crisis Response Circle →

OCT 9, 2019: Sooke, BC – Apprenticeship Enrichment on Seed Saving

Posted by Michalina Hunter on October 04, 2019

Join ALM Organic Farm in Sooke on October 9, 2019 for an apprentice enrichment day about seed saving, selection processing and marketing for apprentices and others who are interested in seed saving for farms. It’s a potluck and at the end of the day folks can stay on and help us process seeds. When: October 9, 2019 from 10am-2pm Where: 3680 Otter Point Rd, Sooke, BC Schedule: • 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. Seed workshop and walk around. • 1 p.m. – 2 p.m. Potluck RSVP: Email mary@almfarms.org Mary Alice Johnson, owner of Full Circle Seeds, will be facilitating the event with … Continue reading OCT 9, 2019: Sooke, BC – Apprenticeship Enrichment on Seed Saving →

Chris Thoreau on Growing Seed on Leased Land

Posted by Michalina Hunter on September 23, 2019

Chris of the FarmFolk CityFolk Research and Education Seed Farm is a participant in the B.C. Land Matching Program, which provides land matching and business support services to new farmers looking for land to farm, as well as landowners interested in finding someone to farm their land. Visit the B.C. Land Matching Program page to learn more about the program and to find a Young Agrarians Land Matcher in your region. Please introduce yourself and tell us a bit about your farm. I’m Chris Thoreau – former Seed Security Program Director at FarmFolk CityFolk. Our farm is a 3.5 acre site in Abbotsford, BC that is dedicated … Continue reading Chris Thoreau on Growing Seed on Leased Land →