You don’t have to be too serious a gardener to get the itch this time of year for getting your hands dirty in the soil. Whether it’s in small deck planters or full multi-row garden beds, green thumbs are anxious to get growing.
But there’s a better way to ensure your toil in the soil will bring a bountiful harvest rather than just ordering some seed packets online. The answer; local seed shows.
Pat Joslin, one of the partners in Bearroot Gardens in Verona, and a veteran seed seller gives us just some of the reasons to get out and meet your local seed producers as well as the gardening community.
If you’re going to take the time and toil to plant veggies or fruits for your table, it only makes sense to start with the best seed available. Joslin said proven locally source seeds give you the best harvest.
When you consider that the season for indoor seed starting is just a few weeks away, it’s great that local seed show season starts now.
Some plants benefit greatly from an indoor start such as tomatoes, peppers, and certain flowers, often needing to be started 6-8 weeks before transplanting them to the outdoors. Others such as carrots, beets, different greens, kale, and broccoli can be direct-seeded outside.
Based on Joslin’s decade of experience in producing produce and seeds for the area, he says certain plants are at the top of gardeners’ wish lists.
Area seed shows start on February 21st in Picton at the PECI, Belleville’s is on February 28th at the Centennial Secondary School, and in Kingston the date is March 14th at the Cookes Portsmouth United Church. Find complete listings with details at seeds.ca/events.
Story by Brian Turner
