If you're trying to figure out whether your potato plants are determinate or indeterminate, you can breathe a sigh of relief. It's not as critical as it might seem. In the world of potato growing, the lines between determinate and indeterminate varieties are not as clear as they are with tomatoes or beans.
Continue ReadingAs the festive energy of the holidays gives way to the quieter days of early winter, it's a prime time for gardeners to engage in contemplative planning and to dream about the upcoming season's garden. This period, marked by a...
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Discover the unique qualities of our Certified Organic Seed Potatoes, a hallmark of sustainable agriculture from the fertile Pemberton Valley. These potatoes are more than just a crop; they're a testament to the sustainable and organic practices followed by our trusted growers. What makes seed potatoes from West Coast Seeds so special?
Continue ReadingWhether you've harvested a bumper crop or picked a bunch of carrots from your local market, storing them properly means you can enjoy their crisp, earthy goodness well into the cooler months. Let's walk through the ins and outs of carrot storage,...
Continue ReadingThis is the first year I planted my entire garden with West Coast Seeds. Having a five-acre homestead, we maintain a very large garden with individual beds for each vegetable and 3 greenhouses for our warm season crops. As you...
Continue ReadingEverlasting dried flowers are having a glow up. Because the secret’s out — this “grandma craft” is grandma chic! A dried flower arrangement can be classy with whimsical soft pastels or energetically bursting with vibrant tones. And they have so...
Continue ReadingThere are plenty of options for seeds that thrive when sown in late summer. The average first frost date for regions like Lower Mainland BC and neighbouring areas (Sunshine Coast, Gulf Islands, coastal Vancouver Island, Puget Sound, Willamette Valley) is around November...
Continue ReadingLove it or hate it, Cilantro can be a tricky yet rewarding crop to grow, especially when you have a continuous supply in the garden. Cilantro is an annual plant, unlike many other perennial herbs, so it needs to be...
Continue ReadingPeas, Pole Beans, Indeterminate Tomatoes and Cucumbers make great vegetables to grow along an arch or trellis. By growing vertically, you’ll get more sun, better air circulation (which also means less chance of disease), and you’ll produce more tomatoes and...
Continue ReadingEverybody can grow a salad green garden. Small space gardeners, low-light gardeners, even indoor gardeners can plant seeds to grow a continuous supply of salad through the gardening season. Watch the video below to learn all about growing lettuces and...
Continue ReadingThe Monarch butterfly's fascinating journey and precarious situation has been capturing hearts and headlines recently. If you search "Monarch butterfly" on YouTube, you'll discover a multitude of videos dedicated to preserving this unique species. The Monarch's distinctive migration pattern, spanning...
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 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 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 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.
Continue ReadingThe purpose of this cover crop is not to build soil as much as to generally benefit the garden. This is exactly the same seed that we sell for flower gardens, only in bulk sizes with cover crop instructions.
Continue ReadingThis 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 Spring Field Peas from seed
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