OSC Seeds
77 Wellington Street South N2G 2E6 Kitchener, ON, Canada

We have a few cold-tolerant veggies that are still growing strong in our rooftop garden! Anyone else out there still growing food this late in the season?

Lest We Forget

We had our first little snowfall this morning in Waterloo. That means it’s almost time for our new seed catalogue to begin shipping! Make sure you’re on our list! https://www.oscseeds.com/request-catalogue/

Do you have a "Covid garden" story? With so many new and returning gardeners in this unusual year, there are a lot of great garden stories being shared with us lately. From a tortoise’s snacking garden to an outdoor classroom to the backdrop for an impromptu wedding it has been wonderful to see the many ways gardens have brought joy and purpose to lockdown.... We shared 3 stories on our blog this week and we hope you'll share yours in the comments. Happy harvest!

WINTERIZING THE GARDEN Think about the way Mother Nature winterizes her gardens: Fallen leaves blanket the ground (insulation). Ground covers like clover break down to feed the soil (nutrients). Native grasses and shrubs provide food and habitat for overwintering animals (ecosystem support). Try to imitate nature as best you can in your gardens. Leave fallen leaves (insulation). Top dress with compost and/or plant cover crops (nutrients). Don’t cut back your native grasses/keep bird feeders full to support wildlife year-round (ecosystem support)

WOW can you believe it's already the first day of fall? What's your favourite part about this beautiful season?

It's almost that time of year again! Are you on our mailing list yet? Click the link to sign up

In the garden, September is a busy month full of bountiful harvests and winter prep. Cooler weather signals an end to the regular growing season and avid gardeners are beginning to plan their fall and overwintering crops. One of the most popular choices for overwintering is fall garlic. Many gardeners actually believe that fall garlic grows to be larger, stronger-flavoured, and better-suited to long term storage than spring garlic!

It's Canada's National Organic Week!! In Canada, there is a federally-regulated organic standard. Canadian organic standards aim to ensure that all aspects of farming are conducted in a way that promotes the overall health of soil, plants, animals, humans, and the planet. Organic practices use a proactive, rather than a reactive approach to farming, minimizing or avoiding expected problems in the farm system. The health of the land is prioritized. Potentially harmful inputs ...are restricted or forbidden. Ontario Seed Company is certified organic in two ways: Firstly, we have a line of certified organic seed. This means the seed itself is certified organic and has been produced by a certified organic system (yay!) Secondly, we are a certified organic processor. This qualifies us to package and distribute certified organic seed, ensuring its organic integrity is never compromised. While some consumers develop close relationships with their food producers, many others do not. In Canada, when an organization obtains organic certification, consumers can be confident these standards have been met without meeting the farmers and/or touring the facilities. We are honoured to be your choice for certified organic seed <3

If your lawn needs overseeding this year, it's time to get it done! Use a starter fertilizer to promote roots and achieve a mature, well-established lawn. After 2-3 weeks, apply a high potassium "K" fertilizer to toughen up plants before winter. If you won't be overseeding, now is a great time to apply a high potassium "K" fertilizer. The potassium-intake strengthens plants, improving winter survival.

Who else can’t get enough of Morning Glories?! These look lit from within and are even more beautiful in person These are our Dacapo Light Blue Morning Glories. Linked here: bit.ly/3g0a0UR Soak seed overnight before sowing directly in the garden in mid to late May, 6 mm (1/4) deep and 7.5 cm (3) apart. Thin to 15 cm (6) apart when the vines are 7.5 cm (3) tall. Morning Glories don’t transplant well so there is no real advantage to starting seed earlier indoors. Vines may grow up to 4 m (13’) long. Prefers moist, well drained soil. In naturally rich soil, fertilize if you notice a lack of vigour or poor foliage quality. In poor soils, vines benefit from frequent, dilute fertilizer applications. Avoid high nitrogen fertilizers as this leads to rampant vegetative growth at the expense of flowering.

What’s going on with Beans?! A lot of you have beautiful pole bean plants but not one bean to be found! First, check for issues like infection, disease, infestations, discolouration, or any other damage. ... If there’s no sign of trouble and plants are robust, green, and healthy, the most likely culprit is heat stress. We’re having one of the hottest years on record, and it looks like pole beans are conserving their energy rather than producing fruits. Keep watering deeply and give them a dose of water soluble all-purpose fertilizer if you haven’t fertilized in a while. When conditions become more favourable, your plants should begin production

What's going on with Peas?! We've been getting feedback from you about uncharacteristic pods and we're seeing the same results in our trial garden. We picked these 4 from the same plant and as you can see, they look quite different from each other! Heat stress is causing them to grow too quickly and lose some of their characteristic shape and taste. Unfortunately there's not much you can do until the weather cools down a bit. Until then, harvest peas early and small

Anyone else preserving bumper crops as fast as you can?? We're looking for a great chutney recipe if you're willing to share!

We’re well into summer now and your plants are full-sized! They may have grown larger than you expected and could do with a little pruning Trim areas where airflow is blocked, as humidity can get trapped in dense growth and cause all kinds of trouble Be careful: never prune away more than 1/3 of a plant at one time

Did you know... Picking the first few fruits early can encourage plants into heavier production! We’re heading into harvest season and you can expect plants like tomatoes, peppers, and zucchinis like this one to begin producing fruit All your hard work is about to start paying off!

Diversity in nature builds resilience These PEI potato farmers are planting pollinator refuges of wildflowers. Not only does this support pollinators, "There's beneficial beetles and other insects that would also be living in these types of refuges, that eat Colorado potato beetles or other types of insects that we don't want in our fields." -Ryan Barrett, research and agronomy specialist.... Beneficial Insect Mix bit.ly/322JW8e Bee Pollinator Mix bit.ly/38LyzmM Butterfly Mix bit.ly/2Zh9Xz5 Hummingbird Mix bit.ly/3gMkmsp

Heat Wave, meet Lawn DO - Stay off the grass (you'll damage it) DO - Water if possible (respecting regional water restrictions) DO - Choose drought-tolerant varieties (if heat waves are common in your area)... DON'T - Cut it (you'll stress it) DON'T - Fertilize (you'll burn it) DON'T - Worry! It's just dormant, it'll come back

Radishes as pest control? We gave it a try this year with good results so far! Compare the Radish leaves (at the bottom) with the Tomato and Pepper leaves above them. The Radishes are proving to be a feast for insects, while the Tomato and Pepper leaves are completely unblemished!