Spring Traditions - Candlemas and Imbolc

According to Phil the Groundhog and our local Shubenacadie Sam, they didn't see their shadow and therefore we will have an early Spring. What am I talking about? Today is February 2nd, and all over the Northern Hemisphere there are traditions and festivals celebrating the long awaited return of Spring. Crepe day in Belgium and France (not to be confused with pancake day in the UK next week), Candlemas, the end of the Persephone period and in North America Groundhog Day. While there are religious roots in many of these festivals, it being 40 days since the birth of Christ and therefore his presentation at the Temple etc. The universal appeal comes from the fact that Spring is approaching and the days are getting noticeably longer again and so many folk traditions have developed around the arrival of Spring or another 6 weeks of Winter. The story of Imbolc is one I know from my Celtic ancestors. It bears strikingly similarity to other stories. 

It's still not a lot warmer here in Nova Scotia although it's been a mild Winter so far. We're all a little bit paranoid though because last Winter was pretty nice until February when we just got one dump of snow after another until we had over 15 feet. And there's a legendary storm that hit Nova Scotia in 1977 on this date. But this morning has dawned calm and is now beautiful and sunny and it's hard to be grumpy and pessimistic sitting in the sunshine which is just a little higher in the sky and holds a little more warmth. Local tradition shows the practical side of Maritimers, they say that by Groundhog Day you should have half your firewood and half your hay. Last Winter we did, and we actually ran out of hay and had to buy a lot in because we had such a late Spring. Our fields weren't starting to grow until well into May. It's good advice, and we do have about half our firewood still left at the moment. The good thing about that is if it doesn't get used up then it'll be lovely and dry for next Winter.

I'm really looking forward to getting seeds started soon. But resisting the temptation to plant too many too early can be really difficult. If you know you can't plant your stuff out until May, then you don't really want to be planting until the end of March or into April. It's far better to have younger shorter seedlings than to have them all be root bound and tall and leggy. SOme of the seeds I start in February are cool season veggies for planting out in the greenhouse and some of the tomatoes I will use for grafting later. There are also some seeds that can take up to 3 weeks to germinate and they need the extra time. Being organized involves checking the dates you want to transplant and then working backwards to figure the rest our.
     For example: I want to plant my pepper plants out in the field on May 25th. I know that my seedlings will be 8 weeks old when they're transplanted so that brings us back to about March 28th, and I know that typically peppers germinate in 10-21 days so that brings us back to the middle of March. Therefore I know that to have my peppers ready for the end of May I need to plant them around the middle of March. Does that make sense?

So why don't we just start them all now and wait for the weather to be warm enough to plant out? Well, for one we'd quickly run out of room in the greenhouse. Having all those peppers in increasingly bigger pots takes up a lot of room, and they would suffer from not having properly grown out roots. 92 little seedlings in a tray don't take up much space but 92 plants in half gallon pots sure do. The more mature the plant, the more likely it is to suffer transplant shock which can delay plants by several weeks and thereby negate the fact that you started it early. My personal preference is to let plants continue to grow at an even rate and not stump their development along the way. It makes for healthier and more disease resistant plants and better yields.

Planning ahead and writing these things down will really help as we get into the gardening season.


My seed order still isn't in but I'm almost done. Hopefully today or tomorrow. I'm still sick if you can believe that, and it's driving me batty. I'm looking forward to my first greenhouse being built so that I can get more fresh air and sunshine, maybe that will help my lungs. In the meantime I'm just going to dream about warmer days to come and enjoy the sunshine.


Just ten more days to get your entry in for the Spring Contest. What better way to beat the February Blahs than to win something? Just check back a couple of posts ago for the easy contest details.

"The Earth Is Where We Make Our Stand..."

That's a quote from Carl Sagan. He's not talking about some movie to defeat aliens and save the planet from invasion. He's talking about making the most of life on Earth right now. February is nearly finished and so winter is drawing to a close for another year. The Vernal Equinox, when the sun is half way between the summer and winter solstice, is coming in 3 weeks and we can clearly see the days getting longer here in the northern hemisphere. It's now light when we go to work and school and when we come home. The long dark is over.



With the growing height of the sun in the sky we're starting to feel more warmth from the light even on days that are bitterly cold. So it's time to think about the early plants for the garden. March in Nova Scotia is always a mix of bitter cold winter weather and warm springlike days. So planting things out into regular garden beds is still impossible because the tender young plants would just freeze solid on a bad day. But to get a jump on gardening we're starting our seeds indoors and thinking about setting up a lean-to greenhouse or some other way of having our seedlings get the light and warmth from the sun during the day and still stay warm at night. The reality for us at the moment means we'll be moving trays indoors at night and outside to the lean-to when it's warmed up. That's not for another week at least though as we just had a -14 night. We're not our of winter yet. But we're hopeful. Next year we will have a year round greenhouse located behind our home and that will allow for a lot more out of season growing so stay tuned for more details as the year progresses. Our first plastic greenhouse covers will be here shortly and we'll let you know how they work out.

Meghan's lettuce seeds and radishes she planted in cups have come through and their little green heads have brought her a huge amount of joy. There's something that's always amazing about seeing a dried up little seed put forth it's first root and leaves and it never fails to strike me as glorious! She'll no doubt have pics up soon.

This year I'd like to encourage you to try one thing each week that's good for the environment. Or maybe something that's good for mankind. Maybe you'll switch laundry detergent to something less polluting or grow lettuce for one meal. Maybe you'll participate in Earth Hour and switch off some lights or hang your clothes out on a clothes line to dry instead of using the dryer. Whatever you do, can you imagine how great it would be if a billion people were doing something at the same time? Each person on the planet, one time per week. That's 7 billion things each week.

Sometimes we have to start small with the world around us. Teaching our children, exploring new ideas, being kind to someone else. It was Mother Theresa who said "we can do no great things, just small things with great love" and she was right.

Seed Companies In Canada

As you know (if you've read our blog for a while) we really concentrate on growing open pollinated and heirloom seeds. We try to use as few hybrids as possible, not because they are bad or because they don't have great characteristics...they do, that's the whole point of making a hybrid is to improve something. No, we don't use them much because we keep seed from one year to the next in many cases and that means using open pollinated seeds. If we keep seeds from a hydrid they never breed true and you can have some unexpected results or none at all. So for that reason we buy heirloom or heritage seeds where we can. Make sense?

Here's a beautiful picture of some varieties of tomato you can grow at home.

In Canada there are many many seed companies. Some better than others. It's one of those areas where you get what you pay for. Generally the more expensive the seed, the better the germination rate. Dollar store special seeds may germinate at a rate of less than 25% compared to many other seed companies guaranteeing nearly 95%. A lot depends on how seeds are gathered and stored. One area this 'get what you pay for' does NOT apply is boutique seeds. You know the ones...fancy packaging, fancy display stands, expensive signage and marketing. Often those seeds are no better than ones from a large reputable organic seed company like West Coast. But supporting local business is important too so if that's your goal then by all means may a little more. There are plenty of local companies who charge really reasonable rates for their seeds and have varieties not available commercially so you just have to decide what you want and then go find it. Do your research. Seed research in the cold winter months is a great way to pass the time.

In my experience, companies that have a focus on organic or heritage seeds deliver good consistent quality for a reasonable price. Yes my lettuce seed packet may cost $4 compared to a cheaper brand for $2.29, but the germination rate will be good and if you divide that $4 up between the 5,000 seeds that are inside, it works out to a fraction of a penny per plant. Why do I even worry? Well, I worry because all those little $'s add up! Especially when you only get 20 seeds in a packet for some varieties. I want value for my money. And I feel that I get it from some companies more than others. Companies that offer different size packages will often offer 25g for $4 and 100g for $5.25 just as an example. Now if it's a seed I use a lot of or if I know that it's storage life is 3 years I'll buy the larger package and save half of it for next year, or I'll concentrate on growing only one type of pea instead of two. That sort of thing. But each of you will garden differently than I do. I try to have a years seeds in advance and to save seeds where I can, particularly from rare or Heritage breeds that have grown well in my area and that I want to grow again. The other part of this money saving thing is this...even if I spend $2 per seed for let's say a rare and wild tomato that I really want to grow. It produces 10 lbs of delicious tomatoes. That still only works out to about 20 cents for a pound of tomatoes, plus a bit more for labour and watering. Suddenly growing your own stuff seems like a really good deal. It's all a matter of perspective.

Here's a list of seed companies that I've heard are good or that I have first hand experience with. I believe that they will all ship across Canada but I'm not sure what the rules are for exporting to other countries. All I know is that there are strict rules because the governments want to control the spread of diseases and pests.

West Coast Seeds located in British Columbia. Started out small but now growing under new ownership, they've been the mainstay of seed companies for organic growers for many years. An excellent selection of heritage and open pollinated seeds with many certified organic. They offer a catalogue, subscription newsletter and gardening guides and tips. Great for a novice to advanced gardener. Many seed package sizes available from single packet to commercial quantities. Excellent website and good customer service. A Medium sized commercial company.

Salt Spring Seeds. Located on Salt Spring Island, home of many organic and alternate lifestyles, this terrific company have an interesting and diverse line of seeds focusing on non-GMO and organic seeds from smaller suppliers that they know. Nice people, but not a visually stimulating website as it's all text. The descriptions are clear and accurate but there are no pics so you need to know what you're looking for. Fine if you're an experienced gardener but maybe less so for a novice.

Veseys located on PEI have been serving the market in the Maritimes since 1939. Their website has online ordering, growing tips and they also have a catalogue. I will be ordering a few packages from then this year and I've heard good things about them from our friends and neighbours here in Nova Scotia. They have lots of gadgets, tools and supplies listed.

OSC Ontario Seed Company. Good selection, catalogue, website and good quality seeds. They seem to be widely available in some of the big box stores but the racks will be limited to the most popular varieties and not necessarily the best seeds for your local region. I'm not sure about that though so don't take my word for it. They do have a good selection of native plants and grasses worth a look if you're landscaping.


Annapolis Seeds A new company in it's 4th year of business, this little company prides itself on providing good quality seed at a reasonable price. Located just a few miles from my home it's one place I definitely want to visit, along with Incredible Seeds listed below. They've taken our local farm model and branched off into seed growing...much the same way we branched off into vegetable deliveries. It'll be interesting to see where they're heading in the next few years. One thing I'm for sure going to buy are some of their amazing tomato seeds. They have some spectacular varieties of tomato bred by wild boar farms in the US. Sure to be a show piece in my tomato garden this year. I'm hoping to grow pink, striped, yellow and purples...you'll just have to wait for the pics of these babies! Tomatoes don't just come in red and green...and the differences in flavour vary as much as they do between types of apple. There are way more out there than are ever found on the grocers shelf. Just look at the photo above!

Incredible Seed Company This local to me company is a relative newcomer to the seed industry but they focus on open pollinated and heritage seeds so for a person like me, they're terrific. They sell many of the same seeds as the big companies but fewer selections. Not necessarily a bad thing to have 4 varieties of corn to choose from instead of 30. You'll also fine some weird and wonderful old heritage seeds such as their Shamrock winter squash. We'll be getting some seeds from them, particularly those we buy in small quantities like squash, melons and some tomatoes. I've got some more exploring on their website to do first. They are located in the Annapolis Valley, I'm hoping I can go and see their set-up and write more about them later.


Both of the smaller local companies, Incredible and Annapolis, have been wonderful to communicate with. I think that as the months go on we'll have to go for a visit, take a bunch of pictures, and show you what seed saving is really all about. But in the meantime I'm looking into getting all my seed starting supplies bought so I'm ready for my seeds when I get them. Woo Hoo! I'm so excited! Fuzzy pink tomatoes here we come!

Handy Farm Devices And How To Make Them

As you know, many libraries, organisations and private citizens are in the process od digitizing old books that are not covered by copyright restrictions. This makes them available for free and easy access on the internet, and for we preppers and farmers who are trying to combine the best of traditional ingenuity with modern techniques, it's such a terrific source of knowledge. Books like "The Book Of The Farm" and old cookery books a=provide an insight into everyday domestic life and farming techniques. Well, now I'd like to add to your collection by suggesting this book to add to your collection.



Have a look and see if there's anything in there that inspires you to go ahead and build something that you can use. Or maybe you just want to keep it for a rainy day. Either way it may prove useful while not taking up much space in your computer.

I'm going to finish my order to West Coast Seeds today. Not actually buying them, just finishing up the order form. I recommend that if you use this company you sign up for an account because then you can save your cart as you go along which means you can take your time.Today is going to be cooler than the 17 degrees we enjoyed yesterday but as Chris is home today he's going to help me clear up the little tomato garden by the side of the house and plan the flower and veg garden for next year. I'm using vegetables and flowers to create a micro-climate and some privacy from my neighbours, things like runner and pole beans, sunflowers, and corn. They're all fairly heavy feeders so I'm going to spend the rest of the nice weather putting down manure and leaf mold in preparation for spring planting and the greenhouse, which will go in in March probably. The greenhouse will be my usual poly tunnel but with more permanent wood framing on the end to give a good wind-resistant result. The soil isn't that great here so we're debating about also adding some raised beds and filling with bought in soil...but that's big expense for a garden we'll only use for one or two years. I guess that as long as the lawnmower can still fit between beds then it'll be fine. First things first. Clean up the side yard and measure.

Hope you enjoy the book and have a great day.