Lemon Cucumber
Recently, I gave a tour through the garden to a group of ten children (ages 4-13) and their parents. We looked at a variety of the heritage plants that are ready to harvest in the garden. We crunched some Dragon’s Tongue Beans and Atomic Red Carrots. I think the biggest hit was this unusual looking […]
Svalbard Seed Vault
The varieties of wheat, corn and rice we grow today may not thrive in a future threatened by climate change. Cary Fowler takes us inside a vast global seed bank, buried within a frozen mountain in Norway, that stores a diverse group of food-crop for whatever tomorrow may bring. cary_fowler_one_seed_at_a_time_protecting_the_future_of_food.html
What’s growing in the garden?
I purchased all of my seeds at Van Dusen Garden’s Seedy Saturday event. It’s an annual seed exchange so you can come and trade seeds you’ve collected from you garden or you can purchase from local suppliers. Vendors focus mostly on heirloom varieties. I spent over two hours reading seed packets and talking to producers. […]
Growing Up
Almost all of the seeds have sprouted now. I wrote down what I planted in each crate, but I like to test myself to see if I can identify each seedling without checking. Some are easy to recognize such as the radishes, squash, corn, and beans but the grains are a bit more mysterious. I believe […]
Planting
On a rare sunny day this June, I planted the seeds. I’m always eager to tear into the seed packets to see the shape, colour and texture of the seeds. These Dragon’s Tongue Bush Beans have a distinct speckled appearance. The bean pod will mature in a way that resembles the seeds. Purplish/red stripes on […]