Use the winter weather to plan your seeds
Do you enjoy saving money? Do you want to pursue a healthier lifestyle? We can help with an answer to both questions: Grow your favourite food plants from seed.
But before you lay down a single carrot seed, start with a plan. We’re working on ours right now. It is important in winter to think through the space you’re planning 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 — seed-starting season is here. Ben will be growing a tea and herb garden, as well as a selection of new varieties and heirloom seeds to round out his “five daily servings” of fresh, grown food. Mark will repeat his mass planting of 200 tomato plants, 50 peppers, plus an assortment of other favourite veggies that has evolved over the years. Families, explained: There is some confusion about the many families of seed types on seed racks and catalogues. Here is a guide to the top six terms:
1) Heirloom (or heritage) have been cultivated for over 100 years, and are typically open-pollinated — fertilized by other varieties of the same species. This is how a pumpkin and cucumber, members of the cucurbit family, can produce a “pumpumber.” All heirlooms are open-pollinated, but not all openpollinated plants are heirlooms.
2) Hybrid seeds are created when two parent varieties are crossbred by human intervention to create desirable traits in the offspring. This is called “hybrid vigour.” The downside is that the seeds produced by hybridized plants are genetically unstable and cannot be saved for future crops. If you like a hybrid variety, you will have to buy fresh seeds each year.
3) GE means Genetically Engineered and this occurs when plants are bred using a man-made process — such as inserting a gene — for desired traits. For example, the majority of corn and soy grown in North America is genetically engineered to be herbicide-resistant. But there are no garden variety seeds on the retail market that are GE, that we are aware of.
4) GMO refers to Genetically Modified Organism, which can include GE but also includes hybridization. It is more of a catch-all term. For example, a hybrid pepper plant in your backyard is considered GMO.
5) Organic seeds have been produced in accordance with organic-growing practices, and the seed has not been coated with any pesticides or fungicides.
6) Treated seed is coated with a fungicidal treatment to protect against soil-borne pathogens and pests during germination. Some of our top picks for 2018: 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, it will be interesting to see how it performs in homemade kimchi, the traditional Korean side dish. Available from johnnyseeds.com.
Common camomile 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, oscseeds.com.
Cumin — it is not a common herb for most Canadian gardeners as it requires a long, warm growing season, so their heirloom seeds will definitely be started indoors. Avail- able through your local retailer by Ontario Seed Company.
A pollinator mixture to create a colourful garden boundary and draw in pollinators. The best mixtures contain nectar- and pollenproducing native heirlooms such as New England Aster, Black Eyed Susan, Butterfly Weed, Eastern Columbine, Forget-me Not and White Clover. Available through your local retailer by Ontario Seed Company.
Gold Rush yellow beans and Prevail green beans are two bush-type hybrid beans that are dependable for 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 gardening is the best opportunity to plan a healthier, more economical garden.
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, @markcullengardening, on Facebook and bi-weekly on Global TV’s Morning Show.