Just started to grow. This year is very late in the east central Saskatchewan.
Chives (Allium schoenoprasum) Chives have been in cultivation since at least the Middle Ages in Europe, and there are references to their use in ancient Rome, but primarily as a medicinal herb. They were...
Asparagus (Asparagus officinalis) Asparagus has very few close botanical relatives in its own family, Asparagaceae. The name “asparagus” simply comes from the Latin botanical title, with its roots in Greek and the original Persian,...
About Arugula Arugula is a low-growing member of the Brassica family that forms rosettes that resemble a cross between lettuce and dandelions. Its leaves have deep, round indentations reminiscent of oak leaves. These, as...
Artichokes are heat-loving plants of the large family, Asteraceae. The genus Cynara includes eight other wild, thistle-like plants, including C. humilis, which was grown as a food crop in North Africa. Some people grow...
Not so much an official trial, as an effort to grow out each of our sweet peas for comparative study. We grew out fifteen varieties among the other flowers and vegetables at our Kirkland...
Garlic is an incredibly economical crop. Planted in the fall, it grows very slowly over winter, and is ready to harvest in late spring to early summer the following year. If it is dried...
Farm Box Pickup Week Two After learning how the system works, it becomes immediately a routine part of our week. Every Tuesday we look forward to finding out what’s in this week’s CSA farm...
After years of promoting Community Supported Agriculture, I finally broke down and joined a CSA program at one of the local organic farms. What a great decision it was, too! Back in February we...
Basil is a heat-loving annual plant grown for use as a culinary herb. Many varieties exist, with subtle differences in flavour, growth habit, leaf colour, and so on. All have a rich, pungent taste...
The first two weeks of May is the ideal time window for starting squash seeds (including zucchini and pumpkin) indoors. By starting the seeds indoors, there is less risk of the seedlings being damaged...
We hear so much about ants farming aphids that we thought we should answer the question, “Do ants farm aphids?” It’s natural for human beings to try to explain an observation of the natural...
It may seem counter-intuitive for a gardener to actually plant what must be the world’s commonest weed. But dandelions have lots of culinary potential, they feed pollinators, and they cultivate the soil with their...
Spring and summer, 2015… Hot and dry! The whole west coast of North America has been deprived of our spring rainfall and exposed to really unusual heat. From California’s record breaking drought right up...
With careful planning, seeds can be sown from winter to autumn in order to keep the garden productive pretty much all year round. Here are some tips for seed sowing for the longest harvest...
Do you run a market garden or a small organic farm? Are you growing any West Coast Seeds products? Send us some photos! Use your cell camera or your fancy SLR, but take some...
Most fertilizers (and many soil amendments) show this formula somewhere prominently on the package: N-P-K. This shows the ratio of the three most important plant nutrients, Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium. Potassium gets a ‘K’...
In our 2015 Growing Guide is Brian Campbell on Pollination and Bee Diversity: Lack of pollination is an unfortunate trend in the plant world. In the late 1960s, the first global review of pollination...
Here is all the information you need on how to grow hops. Hops make a dramatic addition to ornamental gardens. Highly decorative, fast growing, trouble free, and cold hardy, hops give a flare and...
Follow this how to grow Dahlias guide for summer bloom success! Plant your Dahlia tubers well after any threat of frost has passed. Preferably when the soil has warmed up to 14-15 ° C (58-60° F). Choose a...
Below is a list of the ingredients in our Beneficial Insect Wildflower seeds. This blend was designed to include the maximum number of flowers known to attract pollinators and predatory insects that feed on...
Among the flowers in the Partial Shade Wildflower seeds ingredients are a host of plants that will do perfectly well in partial shade to full sun. None of these plants will thrive in full...
Feed wild and domestic bees with the Bee Garden Blend of Wildflower seeds. Honeybees have been in decline in recent years due to colony collapse disorder. Meanwhile, the habitat of wild bees like bumblebees,...
Please review the list below for the seeds that are included in our Pacific Northwest Wildflower seeds blend. These flowers will thrive in most garden settings, but they have been selected due to their...
The wildflower seeds in our Deer Resistant Blend were selected because, in most years of good forage, deer will wander past rather than graze on them. Many of these plants have texture, aroma, or...