Garden Knowledge is the accumulation of years of tips, tricks, and techniques from West Coast Seeds. It is timeless, and it is cyclical. It follows the calendar year closely as the seasons change. It follows us into the kitchen with recipe ideas and it taps us on the shoulder with gentle reminders. These articles and blog entries cover many subjects, but we hope they help uncover new ideas and solve garden challenges. There is no “correct” way to garden, but there are many wise ways to garden.
Corn, beans, and squash have been grown together for centuries in the Americas, and for good reason: they naturally work in concert with each other. Corn provides a growing support for the beans, which in turn provide nitrogen for the...
Continue ReadingOne stalk of cooked broccoli gives you 75mg of vitamin C, 1300 IU of beta carotene, 3g of protein and 5g of dietary fibre with only 40 calories. The crown portion tastes great when cooked or steamed. You can eat...
Continue ReadingPractice mindful gardening with our new Gardening Journal. Complete with printable pages, this journal serves as a practical reference to guide you from garden planning through harvest. Pages include plant profiles, seed tracking charts, a checklist, even a budgeting page, and...
Continue ReadingEarly this year I was so excited to get a hold of African Violet seeds, I wanted to start growing them right away! However, African Violets need warm temperatures (20°C or higher) for germination, so I needed to wait patiently...
Continue ReadingThe first average frost date for Lower Mainland BC is November 2. This date is reflected pretty closely from the Sunshine Coast and Gulf Islands, coastal Vancouver Island, Puget Sound, and down to the Willamette Valley in Oregon. That means...
Continue ReadingWater close to the soil, and avoid overhead watering. Place your irrigation near or beneath the soil surface rather than spraying the top of the plant. The plant’s leaves will act as a sun umbrella, reducing evaporation so that more water has an opportunity to soak into the soil. Many plants, like tomatoes and squash, will be at increased risk to diseases like Late Blight and Powdery Mildew if their leaves are frequently soaked by overhead watering.
Continue ReadingGarlic is a perennial member of the onion family, Alliaceae, and is closely related to leeks, onions, shallots, and chives. All of these plants send up hollow, tubular (sometimes flattened) leaves from a bulb that grows below the ground. The leaves are followed by a flower stalk (scape), and then by the flower itself. Garlic may also produce “bulbils” – tiny bulbs that may begin to sprout, on the flower head. All parts of the garlic plant are edible, but the bulb is the most prized and useful in the kitchen.
Continue ReadingEven in large scale, chemically dependent farm systems, Integrated Pest Management can reduce human and environmental exposure to chemical pesticides, and save a great deal of money. For the organic grower IPM is the obvious logical way to manage pests.
Continue ReadingPlanting for fall & winter harvests has to start in the summer and fall. Just like we sow summer harvest crops in the late winter and spring – it’s the same concept. Did you know that many crops can be...
Continue ReadingWhy limit your garden’s production to just the summer? There are still lots of seeds to start in July, particularly in regions with mild winters. Many of these varieties can be enjoyed as mature plants for fall and winter harvests,...
Continue ReadingThe Perennial Wildflower Seeds ingredients are listed below. This is the right blend to establish where flowers are needed to come back year after year. Perennial flowers are often drought resistant and very winter hardy, so they can be relied...
Continue ReadingHow do you know when to harvest garlic bulbs and if they have matured to the right point for harvest? Each leaf on the above-ground garlic plant represents one potential papery wrapper around the mature bulb. Having well developed, fully intact...
Continue ReadingAlthough they arrived from Europe, they’re well at home now in BC’s Lower Mainland and many other regions. This lively beetle (Amphimallon majalis) has an annual life cycle that is worth understanding in an attempt to control it. The beetle...
Continue ReadingCarrots are biennial plants, and store all of their first year’s energy in the long orange taproots we know so well. If left in the ground, they will flower in their second year, and produce quite pretty white umbels resembling yellow dill flowers.
Continue ReadingThe Chafer Beetle Resistant Lawn Blend is one lawn solution for home owners challenged by the animals that feed on the European chafer beetle, and dig up lawns in the process of hunting them. Continue reading below for some tips on how to grow Chafer Beetle Resistant Lawn Blend from seed.
Continue ReadingCilantro and dill are both good examples of umbelliferous plants. When these plants bloom, the flower structure is in a shape called an umbel — scores of tiny flowers arranged on a more or less flat or umbrella-shaped plane. Other...
Continue ReadingWest Coast Seeds has conducted significant research into the companion planting guidelines and has defined the best possible results and reasons for each of our recommendations in our companion planting chart, below are a few thoughtful suggestions for you while planning your garden this year.
Continue ReadingThere are fundamental gardening basics that all new gardeners need to learn for the best success. Understanding the needs of plants — as living organisms — is essential to cultivating their health and productivity. When we provide the right amount of light, moisture, nutrients, and space, plants reward us with vigorous growth, defence against disease and pests, and fresh, nutritious flowers, fruits, and leaves.
Continue ReadingPredatory nematodes can be applied in the spring to combat chafer beetles, wireworm, and other soil dwelling beetle larvae. Predatory nematodes are effective against over 250 species of insect pests.
Continue ReadingThis biennial relative of White Dutch clover improves soil structure, fixes nitrogen, provides nutritious pasturage, and feeds honey bees. Its widely branched taproots penetrate the subsoil deeply, drawing up nutrients unavailable to other plants. Continue reading below for tips on how to grow Yellow Sweet Clover from seed.
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The benefit of winter wheat is its hardiness. It all but eliminates winter soil erosion, and then supplies a source of carbon-rich organic matter to till under before planting vegetable crops. Continue reading below for information on how to grow winter wheat.
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This fast-growing annual produces ample organic matter that can be used as a mulch on the surface, or tilled under to improve soil texture and promote soil health. Continue reading below for tips on how to grow winter field peas.
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Are chafer beetles causing your lawn grief in early spring? Consider replacing your lawn with White Dutch clover, or at least inter-planting with your grass seeds. This clover is very hardy, and will stand up to foot traffic. It can be mowed with regular lawnmowers.
Continue ReadingWhen rye pollen is used to pollinate wheat flowers, the result is the remarkable hybrid known as triticale. It has a similar, albeit weaker, allelopathic effect to Fall Rye, but without the dense root system. Its grains are more nutritious than wheat, with less glutenin.
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