Hello and Welcome to our Website! We are local people, seed growers like yourself. We began from humble beginning and we continue to respect the beautiful diversity, genetic magic and history of seeds. We have been growing, collecting, cataloguing, researching and selling seeds for about 20 years now, and we are expanding every chance we get.
Selling seeds at local Alberta Seedy Saturdays
Our family farm is located in Northwest Alberta, one hours drive from Edmonton. We are Zone 2b where we get about 90 to 110 days of frost free growing yearly and we believe that if we can grow it, most of the rest of the world can grow it. But growing is not the whole story. For us, seeds must be saved and preserved to help battle the loss of genetic diversity and selection. The idea is that I get you started and then you save seed from the varieties you like and continue to spread the word by sharing to others. It is worth the effort.
You may be interested to know that the loss of seed varieties is growing at an alarming rate. This may not seem to be the case, since seed catalogues seem to be offering new and improved varieties all the time. The problem lies with a monopoly on seeds, the tiny little bits of magic that nature created and continues to create yearly that provides the food we eat, the air we breathe and the solar energy converting factories without which life would not be possible. Plants and vegetation are crucial to our survival in ways we are just beginning to realize.
Decline in offered varieties since 1903
There is a battle going on to take this heritage of seed saving from you, and I have joined in the effort to stop this monopoly from taking over. You can help by educating yourself about where your food comes from and whether it is ‘natural’ or tampered with by big business for the sake of profits and not health or longevity of humankind. If you control the food source, you control the people.
We grow our own seeds. We make every effort to source sustainable, hard-to-find, authentic, heritage and heirloom seeds and plants to grow out that will do well in this environment, with a heavy clay soil. We actively work with other growers to provide a sustainable future for all. My family has been working and farming this land since 1910 and my great grandfather was a proud seed grower. I am very happy to keep up the tradition.
Alberta Pear tree
We are committed to helping you find food that nature and not big business designed for your family. We know that declining health is directly linked not only to our food, but to our environment. We do not use chemicals or fertilizers. We grow sustainably and although I cannot use the word ‘organically’ this is how we grow and have signed the safe seed pledge. We hope that you will research some of the issues we refer to and support the seed sustainability movement wherever you are.
Look for us at local events and Seeds of Diversity sponsored Seedy Saturdays and Sundays starting in February and March. We can also be reached any time at smileyo at xplornet dot ca. Or you can call us at 780 785 2622. We cannot ship to the US due to problems with border security. Sorry for this, but letter writing might help. If you have an alternate address in Canada, we are happy to ship there. We accept etransfers, paypal and cheques. Our latest catalogue can be searched at this site and downloaded along with the order form (which also prints out on the last page of the catalogue). If you want to use a visa or mastercard, you can do that through a paypal account. Paypal charges a transaction fee, which we hope you will understand will be added to the total. We are working on a more user friendly website with a shopping cart, but that is still in the works and apologize for the delay.
We are happy to answer any questions, any time. Contact us at any of the above methods or by mailing us at Box 127, Cherhill, Alberta T0E0J0.
Thank you and happy growing.
