It’s seed starting season
Now is the time to plan next spring’s garden
Do you enjoy saving money? Want to pursue a healthier lifestyle? We have an answer to both questions — sow seeds of your favourite food plants.
Before you lay down a single carrot seed, you should start with a plan. We are working on ours right now. It is important in winter to think through the space that you plan to grow veggies, fruit and herbs. Come spring, the demands on your time and energy are so great that you will be glad you did this now.
We begin with a shopping list of seeds for 2018, as ‘seed starting season’ is here. Ben will be growing a big ‘tea and herb garden’ for drying, as well as a selection of new varieties and heirloom seeds to round out his “five daily servings” of fresh, healthy food. Mark will repeat his mass planting of 200 tomatoes, 50 peppers, plus an assortment of favourite vegetables that has evolved over the years. Here are some of our top picks for 2018:
Ben
Red Dragon Chinese Cabbage (Napa cabbage) A new variety of hybrid Chinese Cabbage that has a deep red colour, inside and out. With a slightly stronger flavour than green types, I am looking forward to how this will perform in homemade kimchi, the traditional Korean side dish. Available from http:// www.johnnyseeds.com/.
Common Chamomile seeds are easy to come by, and easy to grow. This heirloom is a favourite after-dinner tea, and is easily prepared by drying the flowers. Available through your local retailer by Ontario Seed Company, https://www. oscseeds.com/.
Cumin appears in more of the recipes we make at home, however it is not a common herb for most Canadian gardeners as it requires a long, warm growing season. To address this, I will be starting my heirloom seeds indoors. Available through your local retailer by Ontario Seed Company, https://www. oscseeds.com/.
Mark
Gold Rush Yellow Beans and Prevail Green Beans are two bush-type hybrid beans that are dependable for delicious plentiful harvest. Available through local retailers by Ontario Seed Company.
Ingot Carrot is a crisp and sweet hybrid variety, which resists cracking and maintains a great shape. Available through local retailers from Ontario Seed Company. What seems like a slow time of year for gardeners is indeed the best opportunity to plant a healthier and more economical garden. Today we order our seeds and peruse the seed racks. Tomorrow we sow. Mark Cullen is an expert gardener, author, broadcaster, tree advocate and holds the Order of Canada. His son Ben is a fourth-generation urban gardener and graduate of University of Guelph and Dalhousie University in Halifax. Follow them at markcullen. com ,@ mark cullen gardening, on Facebook and bi weekly on Global TV’s National Morning Show.