Let's face it, traditional lawns can be a real resource hog. They guzzle water, demand constant trimming and generally return very little for your efforts. Plus, they take up space that could be transformed...
Seed varieties on the West Coast Seeds website are marked to indicate whether they are Hybrid Seeds (F1 or F2) or Open Pollinated Seeds (OP). Open Pollinated Seeds (OP) When two plants of the...
Comfrey is the perennial cousin of borage and their pink and blue blooms attract just as many pollinators. This fast-growing herb has multiple utilities. Learn how to grow comfrey below. LatinSymphytum OfficinaleFamily: Boraginaceae DifficultyEasy Season...
About Stinging Nettle Although maligned in modern times due to its hairy leaves that cause skin irrititations, Stinging Nettle actually has many favourable attributes. It is a nutrient-rich food (cooking neutralizes the stinging) and both...
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...
One 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...
Practice 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...
Early 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,...
Water 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...
Garlic 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...
Even 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...
Planting 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...
The 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...
How 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...
Although 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...
Carrots 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...
The 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...
Cilantro 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...
West 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...
There 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....
Predatory 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.
This 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...
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...
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...
