Seeds
Growing your own plants from seed, buying seeds, trading seeds, and saving your own seeds for the future.
Kokopelli Seed Foundation
I want this book! We took a week off last month, staying at the home of an avid tomato gardener whose name I have not sought permission to reveal (and therefore will not). While there she introduced me to the Kokopelli Seed Foundation, a non-profit organization based in France who are working to actively address …
Kitazawa Seeds
Sure we’re already mid-way into the growing season but it’s not too late to plant seeds and it is certainly not too late to buy seeds with pretty packaging. I found these Asian seeds by Kitazawa Seed Co. at Soko Hardware in an Francisco’s Japantown and could not resist their understated but well-designed packages for …
Public Service Announcement
Gaze upon this lineup of vine-ripened tomatoes I photographed last fall in my pal Amy’s garden. Remember fresh, ripe, sweet, rich, juicy tomatoes? On toast. With fresh, homegrown basil. Don’t forget to get your tomato seedlings started so you can enjoy these babies come August! And if you’re in Toronto next week I’ll be giving …
Toilet Roll Seed-Starter
UPDATE March 2014: I see each growing season as an opportunity to do better than the last and as a result I rarely stick with one “right way” to do things. I wrote this article back in 2007 (7 years ago) and it reflects how I used toilet paper rolls as seed-starting cells at the …
This is What $80 in Seeds Looks Like
Sooooooo……….. I’m ready for my intervention. Approximately $80 worth of seeds (plus duty charged by Canada Post) showed up in the mail over the last few days. That would be in addition to the COUNTLESS seeds I already have. And the ones that are turning into little seedlings under lights. And the seeds I will …
Seed-Starting Tags/Chart
As per usual I did not read instructions and jumped headfirst into converting Goldtop’s cute Seed-Starting Chart into little seedling pot tags. Turns out they are great for either purpose. I printed mine on cardstock, cut them out, and attached to tongue depressors. I did not have anything important to write in the notes section …
Tomatoes to Grow in Containers (or anywhere else for that matter)
Since I have begun talking about seeds and showing photos of my little seedlings, people have been writing in to ask me what I’m growing. I have been purposefully avoiding saying too much about my choices this year because a large number of the varieties I am growing are new-to-me. I have a tendency to …
Blast From the Past
Jennifer Perkins of the famous Naughty Secretary Club just reposted this interview we did… a whole bunch of years ago. I have to admit that when I saw her message in my inbox my first thought was, “Oh [insert expletive here], what did I say to embarrass myself?” Thankfully there is no blackmail material in …
Lee Valley Windowsill Seed Starter
Last spring the world aligned in such a way leading to what I can only describe as a collapse in judgement wherein I purchased an actual device to start my seeds in. Firstly, I am a gluttonous gardener and had compiled a frightening collection of seeds to grow, and then Lee Valley had the gall …
Seedy Saturday 2007
Another Seedy Saturday has come and gone and as usual I went in with big ideas but didn’t quite make it to all the booths. However, this year I can proudly say that I made a list and mostly stuck to it! What’s more, most of my items were trades — a staggering four packs …
It Has Begun… Seeds 2007
Have you started your seeds yet? This has been the most common topic on everyone’s mind lately and the question I have been asked most in the last few weeks. People should know by now that I’m a late start. I rarely get my seeds started on time… you know, for the experimenting and the …