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Seeds, Where the Journey Begins.

© Bob Ewing

So it is in the beginning, so it is in the end: an apt description of a seed if ever I have heard one. The seed catalogues began to arrive just before the Christmas break. This gave me time to sit back and slowly look through them.. Seed catalogues are wonderful things, full of possibilities and dreams. I get considerable pleasure of going page to page several times. This year I don't plan on ordering much. I'm using seedballs (more in future article) to plant my backyard this year. It is part of an ongoing experiment in natural gardening. I will buy some heritage seeds for my growing seed bank and some for this year's balcony garden, although I haven't made any final decisions, as yet.

Here in Thunder Bay, it still too early to start seeds inside, unless you have a greenhouse to transfer the seedlings to before planting them out. While seeds may be inexpensive to buy and even cheaper if you save them, they still are the heart of your food system. Any threat to the integrity of the seeds that bring us Life is a threat to our security. If you have not yet purchased the seeds that you want for this year, it is not yet too late to do so.

Be sure to consider a few edible, heritage and open-pollinated varieties so that you not only enhance the beauty of your yard but also your dinner table while preserving the past and protecting the future. Heritage varieties provide diversity which helps insure the crop's and your garden's productivity .Open-pollinated seeds will breed true to form so that you can be sure that succeeding plant generations are similar to the parent, useful knowledge when you come across a variety that you like.

If you are seeking a healthy, thriving garden then, you need to aspire to keep your home garden, both the plants you grow to nourish your body and the ones for the soul, as natural as possible. Keep your interference to a minimum and you will be rewarded. This does not mean that you don't have a plan or some work to do. Plans help insure success, especially in the early years as the garden begins to develop a life of is own. You may need to move some plants from one location to another as you learn more about their needs. You will add new ones and have to make room, but none of these activities need disrupt the natural process you set in place when you put the first seed in the ground and add some water. Take time and watch your garden grow. This can be the best work there is.

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