Testimonials

Dear West Coast Seeds,
I just wanted to write a small letter of thanks on behalf of myself and the people of Nepal.  For the last number of years I have been working among the resource poor of Nepal.  I have primarily worked in remote villages and leprosy hospitals, helping locals grow their own nutritious produce for their own consumption and sale.  By bringing in the seeds from WCS, I have been helping farmers diversify their production as well as help them sell new things in the market.  The trend among farmers here is towards expensive hybrid seeds imported from China or India but by bringing in high yielding and disease resistant open pollinated varieties from WCS, farmers have not had to spend such a large proportion of their income on seeds from abroad.
In one area the locals call me the “seed man” because of the various seed trials that I have done in conjunction with farmers.  We were trying some new squash varieties and one variety in particular was extremely productive.  When the farmer brought his produce to the market, nobody knew what to think.  So there he sat on his big pile of squash waiting for customers and then finally a brave soul bought and tasted one of his wares…and then he was sold out almost instantly.   Several hundred kilometers away a lady in a different and more remote area was given some seeds including some pea seeds from WCS.  The area that this lady was living in is famous for food shortages and droughts.  A year later I heard reports that the peas were unbelievable, both high yielding and possible to grow for a longer season than the local peas.
Admittedly not every vegetable from WCS has performed as well as the two above stories would indicate.  Vegetables can be pretty particular to site and conditions and that is something that I and the Nepali people have been figuring out.  Over the years we have been selecting among the donated WCS seeds for those vegetables that will improve the livelihoods of those who grow them.  It has been fun and challenging and I wouldn’t trade my work for anything else.  Memories like that of an amazed Nepali friend jumping to try to touch the top of an Alderman Tall Telephone Pea will last a long time.  We would like to express our heartfelt thanks for the donated seeds and the memories that they have created.
Andrew Burkinshaw    
 

Although I live in Northwestern Ontario - a vastly different climate from the West Coast - I have found your seeds produce the best results in my garden, year after year. Last summer was very wet and cold here, and likely because I had varieties selected for a similar coastal climate, I had the most amazing, bountiful garden I've ever had while other veteran gardeners here had complete failures. You provide the greatest selection of organic and heirloom seeds - great for my bees, great for my family! I LOVE WCS!!!

Thank you for your great service! Your website is amazing and an absolute pleasure to look at, browse through and find all sorts of interesting vegetable varieties. Very insightful. Lots of pertinent information. I love the companion planting tab. I used the seed longevity to base the amount I purchased in my order. Thank you for having all this in one location. Tremendous amount of research done here, and it was all helpful. The pictures sold it for me. Michelle

Thanks so much for what you do! You help me, a novice gardener, and take quite a bit of guesswork out of what will and won't work here.

Dear Ms. Ballon,

I wish to thank you for the recent opportunity to explore your beautiful farm and research centre. Your generosity in allowing me to harvest some of the vegetables from the fields is much appreciated.

I found the visit to your farm a hugely soul-satisfying time for me. This experience was a beautiful gift in both seeing the beauty of the season, as well as feeling the rhythm of the circle on the land. As I have recently re-entered the unemployment line, the trip to our farm really helped centre myself toward my goals ahead.

This summer I had a 'trial' garden on the balcony of my high-rise apartment. I grew some bush beans, snow peas, Swiss chard, strawberries, and herbs, along with a few flowers. This was a positive growing experiment with the gradual harvest, as well as the grounding effect of nurturing these plants.

With the recent visit to your farm and research centre, I have seen some of your exciting achievements. In having the chance to taste the many different tomatoes you grow, I now will search for a shady place to grow those robustly delicious Tumbler tomatoes on my south-facing balcony.

Once more I wish to express my gratitude to you.

Yours truly,
Cyndie

Thank you very much for your generous donations and support of our project. A very special thank-you for letting us glean some of your beautiful organic vegetables for the Food Bank and our Harvest Fair fundraiser.

Your contributions have been an important part of our successful harvest season. Thanks to all the folks at West Coast Seeds!

From all of us at the Richmond Fruit Tree Sharing Project

Dear Mary,

Thank you so much for coming to speak to our Club members this evening. Our group of keen gardeners really enjoy the type of information you gave them tonight. Your energy, vision as well as the distribution and availability of your top seeds is what makes you a success. Thank you for sharing that passion with us.

Sincerely, Josee

Thank you for your donation of zucchini seeds for our students. The students are looking forward to growing their own zucchini plants over the summer. We will expect the children to bring in many zucchinis during Open House in September.

Thanks again,
Linda.