| Mar 01, 2017


This Sunday in Perth and the following Sunday in Kingston, small scale organic seed companies will be attending Seedy events. It’s too early to muck about in the garden in the first week of March, but it’s not too early to start seeds indoors and to dream about planting a spring and summer garden.

Two seed companies from Frontenac County will be at both events, Mountain Grove Seed Company and Bearroots gardens from Verona.

Pat and Kate Joslin of Bearroots are participating in 8 Seedy Saturdays or Sundays this year. They are transitioning from selling seeds and produce at the South Frontenac Farmers Market to selling only seeds.

“The events have been pretty good. Some of them are newer events and we are there for the first time so people need to get to know us,” Pat Joslin said, when interviewed this week over the phone from Verona, “but the Perth and Kingston Seedy events are pretty well established.

Bearroots will be participating in the Frontenac Farmer’s Market in Verona this year, mainly on long weekends, with 40 varieties of vegetable seed and a few flower seed varieties as well.

They have also launched, just this week in fact, bearrootgardens.com – a website and online store.

Of the vegetable seeds they have available, there are 10 tomato varieties, including some lesser known but easy to grow varieties such as German Johnson, Green Zebra and Pink Boar in addition to cherry and pear tomatoes and others.

Going forward Pat Josling said they are planning to start selling White Globe Turnip seed and by next year should have Kohlrabi seed available. They are planning to hold an open house in August at their home/garden in Verona.

Dawn Morden of Mountain Grove Seed Company also participates in Seedy events in the late winter season.

The company now has over 150 vegetable seeds including 40 varieties of tomatoes, including such notables as Black Prince, Green Moldovan and the ever popular Mortgage Lifter. Seeds are also available online through mountaingroveseedcompany.com

At the Seedy Sunday in Perth, which runs from 10 to 3pm at the Royal Canadian Legion on Beckwith Street near Herriot, admission is free and there will be a seed swap table for seed sharing. As well, seminars on vermicomposting, cover crops, beekeeping, fibre and spinning, and holistic orcharding will be spread out throughout the day.

Seeds of Diversity and Rare Breeds Canada will be on hand with information about saving seed, along with a number of diverse garden friendly companies, and a half dozen seed companies including Mountain Grove and Bearroots, and Terra Edibles from Hastings County.

Details about Seedy Saturday in Kingston on March 11, which is being put on by the Kingston Area Seed System Initiative, are available at seedsgrowfood.org. The event takes place at Loyalist Collegiate Vocational Institute, 153 VanOrder Drive between 10am and 3pm.

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