Get free seeds from the BWG Seed Library! There are easy to grow vegetable seeds that you can plant in your garden and still have extra to donate to others, like the Helping Hand Food Bank.
This year The Helping Hand Food Bank in Bradford West Gwillimbury is partnering with The BWG Food Bank to participate in the ‘Plant∙Grow∙Share a Row’ program to encourage local residents to grow and share extra vegetables. Add an extra row of vegetables to your garden to share with the food bank and help others in your community have fresh nutritious vegetables. Details are available on the BWG Library website.
Place reservations on seeds through the BWG Library catalogue, via email [email protected] or phone 905-775-3328 ext 6109. Available seeds include:
Beets – Plant beet seeds directly in the soil anytime, just not in cold soil (below 10 degrees C). They germinate quickly but do not like to be crowded, so be sure to thin them to 10-15 cm apart. Enjoy the greens or wait for two months to harvest the beets.
Kale – You can direct seed kale from early spring to mid summer. Give them a sunny spot and thin the seedlings to about 20 cm apart. Kale can be seeded every few weeks for a continual harvest of leafy green leaves.
Pumpkin, squash and spaghetti squash – If you have a bit more room for sprawling plants try pumpkins or one of our squash varieties. Direct seed them in late May, early June in hills of 3-4 seeds, in a sunny spot, but give them plenty of space. Enjoy their bright yellow flowers and in late summer/ early fall you can pick your squash.
Roma Beans – Plant a row of roma beans in warm soil in early June and then two months later you can start harvesting tender 12 cm long green flat beans.
Swiss chard – There are a couple of varieties of this easy to grow leafy green. You can plant them from early spring until mid summer and harvest them all summer long. They like sunny or partly sunny locations with well drained soil. You can eat them as raw as baby greens or cook leaves them like spinach. They are related to spinach and beets.
Zucchini – Direct seed zucchini seeds in warm soil in late May or early June in hills of 3 to 4 seeds in a location in full sun. Remember to water them and 50 – 60 days later you should have your own zucchini. You can also take pictures of the bright yellow flowers as part for Communities in Bloom - #hopeis growing.
