Wasn’t 2020 a wild one? While I had already been growing in my passion for learning about the diversity of heirloom seed varieties, I was locked down inside a half acre dream of a garden that year and two more after it. During that time I became a completely unhinged plant lady that amassed a collection peaking near 500 varieties of seeds from both heirloom seed companies and seed exchange Facebook groups where I swapped with many other gardeners from all across Canada. You name it, I probably tried to grow it from annual and perennial flowers, herbs and vegetables to fruit shrubs and nut bearing trees.
I also ran a garden stand that sold of thousands of seedlings in hundreds of varieties to friends and neighbours in my former small island community on Mayne Island, BC. Last year we moved to Nanaimo but I’ve been reminiscing about the joy and discovery I experienced when my all day, every day was out in the yard with the plants or in the house playing with my seeds with my babies running around under foot. Now being cooped up in an apartment with container only growing space has been a challenge, but I have discovered an incredible agricultural community right here in the City of Nanaimo. You can read more about that in my post Nanaimo: An Urban Agriculture Paradise.
Today I wanted to give a quick introduction to the 10 Canadian Heirloom Seed Companies I Would Order from Again.
The Short List (in alphabetical order) includes:
Let’s dig in for more about these awesome folks because each company was among my favourites for a different reason, and you’ll see some cool pictures of the plants I grew and harvested from them!
Annapolis Seeds (Nova Scotia)
The diversity of heirloom varieties and unique types that I didn’t see elsewhere made Annapolis Seeds a real gem of a find. I had been on the hunt for an heirloom alternative to the popular Sungold hybrid that is generally available in garden centres at the request of patrons at my garden stand and stumbled across their Sungold Select in the pursuit. Once I had what I was looking for in my cart, I just couldn’t help but load more.
Sometimes I grow things more for the novelty of knowing I can than the consumption value and admittedly, while the Purple Tomatillos were a prolific producer, they weren’t preferred by my children when the tasty Cossak Pineapple ground cherry was nearby. The lentils were unique and surprisingly easy to grow using winter sowing, if not a bit tedious to deshell. I was also able to grab some other coveted items like the Sugar Rush Peach hot peppers and Mugwort herb so it was overall a delightful haul of seeds.
Brother Nature Seed (Vancouver Island, BC)
This time I was on a search for Walla Walla Onions as they are popular for overwintering in my wet west coast climate. Then I discovered dahlias in seed form rather than the usual tubers and took on the challenge to try them. Then I saw some herbs and some more flowers and next thing you know I have a lot more seeds. If I was on the hunt for herbs and flowers, I would have another gander through their collection and probably discover more that I missed the first time around. Unfortunately I didn’t capture any good photos to accompany this recommendation.
Dizzy Bees Urban Garden (Vancouver Island, BC)
This little Etsy based seller from Nanaimo, BC had a limited selection and handmade packaging – trademarks for the backyard gardener with an abundant space looking to grow beyond their own back yard. Don’t underestimate the smaller sellers though, because Dizzy Bee’s seeds were great germinators and I especially loved a few unique flowers like the Back to Black Viola in the photo. The Black Krim and Tumbler tomatoes were big hits at my garden stand and the sweet peas put on a deliciously fragrant show in a planter on my deck through the summer. Now that I’m living in the same city, I might reach out to see if I can visit where the seeds grow in person this summer.
EcoSeedBank (Montreal, QC)
EcoSeedBank was among the last of my orders amid the obsessive hoarding of seeds phase, and I think the reason for that was because they had plenty of the staples I had already come to love (and that were popular sellers at the stand) in one place so I was able to restock on my basic garden favourites and try a few new things at the same time. Among the staples I would recommend any veggie gardener should have in their collection include Royal Burgundy beans, jalapenos, popcorn, Mammoth Melting Sugar Pod peas, and highly sought tomato varieties like San Marzano for canning and Sweetie cherry tomatoes for the kids to munch on. A well rounded selection of tried, tested and true gardener favourites.
Metchosin Farm (Vancouver Island, BC)
Hands down winner for the best packaging because there is nothing sweeter than seeds showing up encased by a child’s lovingly drawn rainbow. Another great farm offering a solid range of garden favourites, but what stood out for me from their collection was their selection of plants native to the Vancouver Island region including fruit bearing varieties like salmonberry, huckleberry, and salal.
Revival Seeds (Nova Scotia)
While I had initially come across Revival Seeds in search of a few special tomato varieties (like Paul Robeson, Magnum Beefsteak and Jaune Flamme which all were top sellers at the stand) I also discovered the most prolific hot pepper of the dozen or so varieties I trialed. The Black Hungarian hot pepper was mild enough for the kids to much on before they ripened but had enough kick for spicier recipes once they started to turn red. I long struggled to “get it right” with peppers but it was worth all the trouble just for these particular beauties.
Salt Spring Seeds (Gulf Islands, BC)
Salt Spring Seeds deserves a whole post of it’s own which I will likely write in the coming weeks as owner Dan Jason has been a real life/in person part of my seed loving journey. Simply put I will always check his site first if I’m on the hunt for something in particular. While his garden veggie and herb selection is on par with most of the others I’ve mentioned, he has a particularly wide selection of pulses, legumes and grains. I’ve been hoping I will see his Japanese Climbing Snow Peas in stock again one day because they were by far the largest, juiciest, sweetest snow peas I’ve tried and the buttercrunch lettuce reigns as my all time favourite for salads. Salt Spring Seeds also offers a reliable garlic selection in the fall.
The Incredible Seed Company (Nova Scotia)
I had first come across a few varieties of seeds from The Incredible Seed Company that were available at one of the Mayne Island Seedy Saturday events I attended over the years, and having their packet in hand I looked them up only to discover they REALLY ARE INCREDIBLE. While I did stock up on some veggies, herbs and flowers when I was browsing their deliciously diverse site, what really made their selection irresistible was the fruit and nut bearing shrubs and trees. This was next level to my typical garden annuals and I was impressed that I managed to sprout a number of Saskatoon berries, plum trees and hazelnuts that are happily growing in gardens around Mayne Island, BC.
Twining Vine Gardens (Vancouver Island, BC)
Twining Vine had an especially unique range of seeds and I was so happy I found them. While the veggies selection isn’t as robust as some of the others, what was there grew amazingly well. The Winter Giant Spinach was a huge winner compared to several other varieties I’ve tried and the Speckled Roman, while very similar to the popular Roma variety, had much prettier colouring, produced more vigorously and also was much easier in the process of removing skins for canning. But garden yummies aside, Twining Vine has an especially abundant collection of tree and shrub seeds, both edible and non-edible, as well as numerous native varieties. The Yamhill Hazelnuts were happy growers, and I was most especially intrigued by getting more than a dozen Ginkgo Biloba trees to a good size for selling through my garden stand. This one really pushed me to try new challenges in tending and nurturing little seeds to sprout.
Is there an heirloom seed company in Canada that you really love? Drop a link in the comments and tell me what your favourite things to grow were!
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