Buy vegetable seeds online?

UPDATE

Seeds Now! is once again open for business. They have caught up with their orders, and are accepting new orders now (US delivery only)!

AND! There is a contest on to win a HUGE gob of seeds and seed starting pods, and more!

AND AND! They have weekly draws for super prizes!

Just ignore that stuff below. It was regarding the temporary closure of the shop, due to being swamped with business due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and people realizing that they need to have more control over their food. And that’s a good thing. : )

In my past articles, I have suggested that you can buy vegetable seeds online from Seeds Now!

I have just found out that they are not accepting orders at this time. They are swamped with orders that they are trying to fulfill,. You can sign-up to be emailed when they are once again taking orders.

And it looks like most other seed companies are in the same boat. Botanical Interests in the US is still taking orders, although they say their delivery times are a bit slower than usual.

West Coast Seeds in Canada (where I buy my seeds) is also reporting slower delivery times – up to 45 days! And I’m sure it’s the same all over.

Many local nurseries are offering online, email or phone ordering, and curbside pick-up. That way you can support a local business, without the risks of in-store shopping. I think that’s a great way to help your local economy and keep small businesses afloat during these difficult times.

Tempting as it might be to order your seeds online, the delays could put you past your local planting times. So it might be worth your while to phone your local nurseries to see if they are offering curbside pick-up, and support them with your business.

I hope everyone is staying home and staying safe.

Health, Hope & Happiness

Tracy

 

The Survival Garden: Gardeners in a dangerous time

Black Turtle Beans seedlings
Dried beans are an excellent survival food, and are easy to grow and store.

I had the most wonderful dream the other night. I dreamt I had a beautiful piece of property, and was busy working in my gardens. I had a grape arbor, and one of those arched trellises for growing squash on.

Someone had given me eight chickens, and they followed me around like puppies. And I believe there was an actual puppy in there somewhere too. Rich had a wonderful natural swimming pool dug, and I was transplanting corn plants.

It was idyllic; and I was crazy happy. First dream I’ve remembered so vividly in a long time.

Then I woke up. Continue reading “The Survival Garden: Gardeners in a dangerous time”

5 things to put in your permaculture fruit tree guilds

permaculture fruit tree guilds

As with most things permaculture, exactly which plants you should put into or leave out of your permaculture fruit tree guilds…depends. It depends on where you live, what your climate is like, what your property aspect is, what your soil is like, what you like to eat, etc.

So instead of asking which plants to use, let’s look at what types of plants you need in a guild. This will give you an excellent foundation to work with. Continue reading “5 things to put in your permaculture fruit tree guilds”

Thoughts on self sufficient gardening

how self-sufficient do we want to be?

 

I have heard this argument quite often in permaculture circles, from people trying to ‘disprove’ permaculture:

“Permaculture can’t provide ALL of your food. You can’t grow coffee, bananas, etc. etc. everywhere. So how can permaculture provide all of your food? What if you live up north?”

Well, the answer seems obvious to me, but apparently it’s not to everyone. Continue reading “Thoughts on self sufficient gardening”

Permaculture garden design ideas for every situation

Sweet alyssum in the garden
I love growing sweet alyssum in the garden. Besides attracting beneficial insects, it makes an excellent ground cover, and smells heavenly as I brush past it.

Permaculture is a design system, and within that system are a multitude of techniques and strategies that we can use. Which ones we use to build a garden will depend on many things: where we live, what our climate is like, what we want to grow, how much space we have, and the list goes on. Continue reading “Permaculture garden design ideas for every situation”