Our Seed Farm Hub Sites across BC support local seed production, crop trials, and research that help strengthen seed security in our province.
Here are some updates from our Seed Hub Sites on Vancouver Island, in the Lower Mainland, and in Northern BC.
By the end of July, our farm enters a slower rhythm. Everything is planted, harvests are still pretty small, and the weeds have not yet grown too far out of control. After busy months of preparing beds, transplanting, and getting the last seeds in the ground, we have more time to observe the new growth around us and listen to the buzz of summer pollinators.
Wet field conditions this spring delayed soil preparation. Last fall, we planted a hardy daikon radish cover crop to help reduce soil compaction. The plants bloomed early in the spring, adding a beautiful burst of flowers to the farm.
A perennial bed established through our earlier medicinal plant trials also provided flowers that will be used as ingredients for future salves.
We were pleased to welcome visitors from Iye Creative to the site and look forward to continuing to build connections with the Victoria Native Friendship Centre and the South Island FarmHub.
We are also growing several varieties for Seeds of Diversity, including tomatoes and beans. The Citizen Seed Trial hot crops are now planted, and we are excited to see and taste the diversity of tomatoes bred by Karen Olivier.
On August 5, Iye Creative came to visit the Hub Site and harvest some of our cultural crops (Photo of Ariel, Lisa, Nicola and Teale at the Sandown farm)
By the first week of July, we had planted our final bed of the season with three carrot breeding populations: orange, red, and purple rainbow varieties.
We are now preparing for our first seed harvests of the season: Kalibos cabbage and a purple bok choy breeding population. We are mostly caught up on weeding, but we know that in another month, the garden will have exploded with growth and there will be plenty to do again.
Seed production follows a different rhythm than summer vegetable production. Vegetable producers harvest regularly, often multiple times a week or even every day, to meet market demand. Produce is perishable, and planning harvests to match sales dates can be a tricky balance.
As seed producers, we are lucky to have some summer lulls between field preparation, planting, and harvest. Our crop is still perishable, but once harvested, it can last years.
This spring, slugs affected several crops and required multiple rounds of replanting. We also fenced our field this season after losing our entire lettuce crop to a hungry deer last year.
With larger pests kept out and slug pressure decreasing during the warmer weather, we are enjoying this season of intense growth and hoping for timely rainfalls as our water table drops.
In June, we were happy to host the UBC Farm Practicum students along with members of the African Canadian Farmers Society. We value opportunities to share the importance and joy of seed production and stewardship with the next generation of farmers.
Spring arrived slowly in Northern BC, with steady moisture through June and July. We are now experiencing our first stretch of hot, sunny weather and doing our best to keep up with greenhouse tomatoes and zucchinis.
We have started tasting the first Citizen Seed Trial tomatoes bred by Karen Olivier. The cherry tomato variety “Cinnamon Girl” was the first to mature, and we love its sweet, rich flavour. We cannot wait to taste the remaining five varieties.
This season, we are one of eight demonstration farms participating in a research project across the North Cariboo, Omineca, and Skeena regions. Together, we are growing the same varieties of five crops: sweet corn, faba beans, squash, camelina, and teff. The goal is to see how they perform under different soils and growing conditions. By comparing results across participating farms, we hope to identify crops that are best suited to northern BC and improve management practices for future seasons.
Our trial plots are relatively small, making it easier to monitor crop performance, manage weeds, and collect meaningful data. This first year is focused on evaluating crop viability and will help guide larger trials and improved management approaches in 2027.
It has been fascinating to watch these crops develop. Camelina, an oilseed crop with delicate yellow flowers, has moved into seed production, with plump seed pods forming across the plants.
Teff, a tiny grain from Ethiopia where it is traditionally used to make injera (flatbread), has faced more challenges. It has struggled to compete in our northern climate and has not yet produced seed heads. Given how different our growing season is from its native environment, we are not expecting a large seed harvest this year. We may pot up a few plants, mainly to admire their distinctive flower heads and learn a little more about the crop.
One of the most rewarding parts of this project is contributing to a broader effort to identify resilient crops and production systems for northern growers. We look forward to comparing results with other participating farms and learning how these crops perform across Northern BC.
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