Welcome to the new season !
What's New from our Growers:
We are pleased to welcome our newest growing partner, Sassy Seeds. Grace trained with us in 2025 thru the seed Mentorship program sponsored by Farm Folk City Folk, based in Vancouver BC. Grace and family are bringing some unique varieties.
Grace's Picks:
These are some new, choice Japanese vegetables we are pleased to offer.
Grow it for Seeds:
Sarah continues to manage the IWAV community garden and was our first mentee. These are her Picks.
Spring Gold Farm:
Christina is managing our vast heirloom and endangered Pepper collection. If you are a hot sauce fan, does she offer some exciting new varieties.
Tardigrade Seeds:
Skye was also a participant in the Seed Mentorship Program and has become our local expert on what we refer to as Dry Farming. Water resources are becoming scarce. Making the appropriate selections, we can still manage to produce fine crops.
2 New and 2 old favourites from Tardigrade:
Dan's Picks:
Our web manager is passionate about hot sauce. His favourite to grow is Chile de Arbol. A new offering, it is the main ingredient in the hot sauce Cholula. It is also perfect for your favourite spicy salsa! Dan says his hot sauce technique is to lacto ferment mix fresh, dried and smoked peppers with whole garlic cloves. He then boils with carrots, water and salt enough salt (to maintain 2.5% by weight) to taste and spice preference, sieves through a chinois to remove seeds and skin for a deeply rich flavour with a healthy amount of spice and sweetness to balance.
Mullein: This classic stately Medicinal was collected by Dan from his own stunning specimen. The seed stock is so beautiful, we are featuring it. Mullein has a mind if its own and shows up so often by surprise. In the first year, a beautiful rossette of soft grey leaves. In the second, tall thick spikes of a multitude of tiny yellow flowers. Deer proof, drought tolerant, and grows in every kind of soil. Loved by beneficial insects. No fuss needed, just broadcast the tiny seeds in an area you would like them to establish. This is an extra large packet.
Marsha's Picks:
Our Tomato collection was a real standout this year. Our visitors' favourite was Blueberries, a beautiful dark blue cherry with a green flush on the bottom. Wait for the green to change to peach coloured for perfect ripeness. A huge producer
Cardoon- An ancient Perennial and stunning garden addition. Early emerging leaves are highly prized in Italian cuisine.
Sylvetta Arugula - Often referred to as Wild Arugula, this is the original Italian heirloom. For Arugula lovers, this variety handles the summer heat. Classed as a tender Perennial, provide a mulch cover to over winter.
Website News:
We are pleased to offer a new Bulk section for many of our best sellers. Market Growers, Community Gardens, and for all of those who have requested larger sized packets we are pleased to offer varieties in all categories.
Look for the "NEW" banner throughout the website from all of our growers. Most of our sold out varieties have been restocked, especially in our Endangered section .
Walking Onion Fall shipping season has drawn to a close due to the freezing night temperatures. Shipping resumes in Spring 2027.
About our Prices:
Market pressures and rising costs are impacting our packet prices. Postage and handling will change in 2027 with the announced large increases in postal rates in the Federal budget. For now, we are maintaining our current prices to the end of 2026.
Our Feature Article from Marsha:
Revisiting the Victory Garden
As a child, growing up after the world settled down following World War ll, I heard stories about Victory Gardens . A movement that swept over North America in its time of need. It was a time of severe food shortages and rationing, as the war effort consumed so much to support our soldiers. Our Grandparents response was truly brilliant ! Lawns everywhere disappeared to grow vegetables. Neighbours helping each other by sharing this bounty and preserved it together to get thru the winter. The seed packet business exploded overnight, charging 2 to 5 cents each. Families were all involved planting cabbages, carrots, beans onions, beets, potatoes, corn and squash.
Sounds pretty amazing.
Today food gets shipped thousands of miles. Tariffs and fuel prices are causing prices to skyrocket. Food banks are being relied upon in record numbers.
I think it is well past time to bring back Victory Gardens ! The possibilities are endless. How can we practically create the time to do this? Our lives are very different now. Most families need 2 parents working .
For one thing, start small. A 12 x12 plot can produce alot of your favourites, right at your fingertips. As fresh as fresh can be. Try a few rows of carrots, onions, greens and fresh herbs. Let's not forget tomatoes! Getting your kids involved is easier once they taste how good a carrot is straight from the garden . Join with your neighbours to pool your resources and manage available time. Trade your produce, organize planting and harvest parties and do preserves . Select Perennial Vegetables, they are easy care and become more productive with time. Plant self sowing varieties that you allow to go to seed . Scatter the seeds in their spot. You can have Lettuce Kale and Parsley coming up the following spring.
Use water saving techniques like applying mulch which suppresses weeds and brings loads of earthworms, aeration and free fertilizer ! Lots of vegetables thrive in pots if your space is limited. Try tomatoes, peppers, onions, greens and herbs.
I hope this idea catches on in your neighbourhoods !
Thank you for your support of our Living Seed Bank. We look forward to sharing our bountiful harvest with you.
Marsha , Skye, Sarah, Christina, Grace and Dan.