"Every seed saved will set us free" ーNaima Penniman, in their poem Gardens are Blueprints
Do you have a small balcony? A garden? Are you already dreaming of crunchy and sweet sugar snap peas and juicy cucumbers, whether it be your first or your fourteenth gardening season? February is the perfect month to snap up your seeds for the season!
At the Roulant, Virginie and I are chomping at the bit to receive our seed order for the farm and our urban gardens. New on the docket this year: Mouse Watermelons and Strawberry Blonde Calendula!
And guess what? After a few years hiatus, the Roulant Seed Library is back! Open to staff and current volunteers, this seed library encourages building resilience in our social and food systems. Preserving seed is indeed an act of resistance in face of multinationals such as Monsanto that wipe biodiversity and violate farmer’s rights, and is a powerful act of reconnection to our heritage.
If you’re not a current volunteer of the Roulant, you can always check out the Seed Library at Prévost Library.
To buy your own seeds, here are some producers that we work with… but don’t delay, they’re flying off the shelves!
Don’t know the right time to start your seeds? Download this free calendar from des Jardins de l’Écoumène; in March, you’ll see that some nightshades, such as eggplants and ground cherries, and celery are ready to be planted!
Let’s celebrate the sowing of the seed – among our richest of heritages!
Magali, Manager of the Urban Agriculture Program
Photo: Ivan Arturo Escobar