West Coast Seeds

This early maturing popcorn has tall plants with two ears each, that average 13-15cm (5-6") long. Pink Popcorn corn seeds produce excellent popping corn that yields lots of fluffy white kernels with a great rich flavour. The beautiful pink to mauve kernels are attractive for decoration. This is not a variety for eating corn on the cob, but rather for drying and popping. The stately tall plants are attractive in the summer garden.

To harvest popcorn, allow the plants to turn brown and the ears to dry for as long as possible in the field. When harvested, the husks should be completely brown and the kernels hard. Harvest the ears and remove the husks. Hang the ears in mesh bags in a warm, dry, airy room, and let dry for several weeks. The ideal moisture content for popcorn is 13 to 14%. Once a week, extract a few kernels and try popping them. If the popcorn is jagged or chewy, it still has too much moisture. If the flavour and texture are good, remove all the remaining kernels and store them in airtight containers. They should remain in good popping form for several years.

Matures in 85 days. (Open-pollinated seeds)

Ramrod is a white bulbing Lisbon type scallion (or bunching onion) with stiff, erect leaves. Unlike Pacific 22, the bulb is small and forms late on this variety. Sow Ramrod scallion seeds successively through spring, summer and autumn. September-sown seedlings are very cold-hardy and overwinter well for early spring harvests. A high-performance, boldly flavoured scallion bred for English gardens, but perfect for the coast. Recommended by Alan Titchmarsh as a favourite scallion or "salad onion." To increase the blanched white lower portion, simply sow or transplant into a shallow trench and hill soil up around the stems as they grow.

Matures in 65 days, 150 days overwintered. (Open-pollinated seeds)

This great tasting heirloom spinach has thick, succulent, dark-green savoyed or crumpled leaves that are very sweet in salads or cooked. Bloomsdale Savoy is best planted in early spring and fall. If Bloomsdale Savoy spinach seeds are fall-planted, it will overwinter and produce much earlier than if it is spring-planted. Very fast growing plants with upright growth that can be mechanically harvested when necessary. This spinach has high resistance to blight and blue mold (BM). We recommend sowing spinach seeds in the third week in August on the coast. Enjoy a fall harvest, but only cut the leaves from the ground level. The following spring, you will get a huge harvest of incredibly early, tasty spinach before there are any pests around to compete with.

Matures in 50 days. (Open-pollinated seeds)

Dukat dill seeds produce dill with a particularly fine bouquet and flavour. The darker-than-usual leaves are excellent fresh or dried. Dukat has exceptionally large seed heads. Dukat is the variety to grow for homemade dill pickles, and can be grown in a large container in full sun. This dill stays relatively short at 45-60cm (18-24").

The structure of dill's flowers is known as an umbel. Thus dill is considered an umbelliferous plant. Other umbellifers include carrots, cilantro, fennel, parsnips, and Ammi. All of these plants are attractive to predatory insects such as lady beetles, Syrphid flies (hover-flies), lacewings, and tiny parasitoid wasps. West Coast Seeds encourages organic gardeners to grow dill precisely to attract these beneficial insects, for they will control pest insects like aphids, thrips, whitefly, and the caterpillar of the Small White Butterfly (cabbage moth).

CERTIFIED ORGANIC. Dating back to 1930s West Virginia, this classic heirloom beefsteak has pinkish skin, few seeds, and superb tomato flavour. Mortgage Lifter fruits are generally free from cracking and average 454g (1-2lbs) each. They mature a little later in the season, but the classic heirloom tomato flavour is worth the wait. Provide sturdy support for this climber that usually grows over 90cm (3') tall.

Indeterminate (vine) Matures in 85 days. (Open-pollinated seeds).

Tagetes patula. Red Cherry is an ornate, bi-coloured marigold. The yellow centres of these long-blooming flowers are framed by red petals that feature yellow edging. The foliage on the plants are full and grow 25cm (10") tall. Perfect for patio containers, beds and borders. Marigolds are great companion plants and act as a deterant for some pests.

Annual

Cosmos bipinnatus. Reliable and well-loved single daisy shaped flowers with yellow centers bloom in white and various shades of pink. Pinching off the growing tip when the plant is about 15cm (6") tall will help keep this tall lacy plant bushy and erect. Do not overfeed, as rich soil will delay flowering. Sensation Mix cosmos seeds plant height 1.2-1.8m (4-6'). Stake these tall Cosmos in windy gardens, but in sheltered areas, this is not necessary. Deadhead (remove spent flowers) to extend the flowering period and keep plants looking their tidiest. Cosmos is quite drought tolerant so it makes a good candidate for xeriscaping. Provide some water in extreme drought. Sensation Mix won an AAS Award in 1936.

Annual

Mentha spicata. Compared to peppermint, spearmint has a less aggressive flavour that has fruity undertones. This mint is easy to grow, and it's fast, too. In boggy settings it can spread by underground rhizome, but this is easy to control by growing it in containers. The leaves dry well and even fresh they make a nice tea — an even nicer mojito. Sow the seeds indoors a month or two before the last frost date, and transplant out when night time temperatures are steadily above 10°C (50°F). Ninety days later, expect white to lilac flowers that are both edible and highly attractive to bees. This mint is perennial and hardy to Zone 4.

Pomegranate Crunch Pelleted Organic romaine lettuce seeds are CERTIFIED ORGANIC! This petite lettuce is like a cross between a romaine and a butterhead, with small, dense heads with cherry red leaves and light green hearts with a splash of red. The leaf ribs are very clean and uniform. The colour transition from the outer leaves to the heart is very smooth, creating a beautiful contrast. The heads of this variety have very uniform size and shape. Seeds are pelleted and sold by seed count. Be sure to keep the seed bed constantly moist until germination. Pelleted seeds require constant moisture.

Matures in 45 days. (Open-pollinated seeds)

Olympia spinach seeds probably produce the best dark green plain leaf type for year round sowing and harvest. This fast growing spinach holds its leaves up off the ground and is an excellent choice for cooking and salads. Harvest promptly in mid-summer to preempt bolting. This variety was bred in the Pacific Northwest and is tolerant to downy mildew races 1, 2 and 3, 5, 8 and 9, 11, 12, and 14. Depend on Olympia for upright growth and attractive round leaves for spinach salad nearly any time of the year. Try this spinach in containers for baby leaf production in your patio garden.

Matures in 45 days. (Hybrid seeds)

The Queeny Series offers a step above the standards with their elegant colour combinations. Queeny Lime Red is a stunner with dark pink outer petals that become paler, transforming into a lime green ring around the pink center. Mostly double and semi-double blooms with a small percentage of singles, yielding multiple cuts throughout the season. Plants are 75-100cm (30-40”) tall.

The Queeny Series offers a step above the standards with their elegant colour combinations. Queeny Lime with Blotch has pale yellow to chartreuse petals with a pop of pink in the center. Mostly double and semi-double blooms with a small percentage of singles, yielding multiple cuts throughout the season. Plants are 75-100cm (30-40”) tall.

Zinnia elegans. We grew a wide range of Zinnias in the summer field trials, but this one really stood out. Queeny Lime Orange Zinnias have branching stems that grow to about 90cm (36") tall. Atop each stem is a flower of immense beauty that starts out lime green, but as its petals unfold they turn to deep peach and then orange. This colour range looks wonderful in bouquets. As cut flowers they are long lasting and luxuriant, and in the garden they are abuzz with bumble bees. The plants respond well to cutting, with more flowers forming all the time. The bloom period is from mid-summer right into September.

Annual.

Lathyrus odoratus. Striking shades of crimson, lavender, deep rose, navy blue, rose pink, and salmon, these climbers are 1.6m (6ft) and perfect for cut flowers. Sow Mammoth Blend sweet pea seeds for the earliest sweet peas to bloom from late spring to early summer. Direct sow sweet pea seeds at three week intervals for an extended bloom period. This variety has particularly large flowers on particularly long stems, so they're a great cut flower for the farm table or the home garden. While they have a distinct fragrance, they are not like the intense Spencers or High Scent, so they will appeal to growers who prefer subdued scents.

Annual

Personal size mini melon with a wonderfully sweet flavour. Tasty Bites’ .5kg (1#) fruit have light yellow netted skin and deep orange flesh, developed by crossing an ananas and a Charentais. Vigorous plants with good disease resistance produce high yields of these tasty treats. Fruit ripens over a long period making this a good choice for gardeners and market growers.

Matures in 75-80 days

Exposure Full Sun

C. maxima. Burgess Buttercup squash seeds were first introduced by the Burgess Seed Company in Illinois in 1932. Since then, this reliable heirloom has been producing small, 1.5kg (3 lb) turban shaped fruits with dark green skins and the unmistakable navel or dome at the blossom end. The golden orange flesh inside each fruit is sweet and finely textured, never watery. The thin skins are extremely hard, but that is key for long term storage. These popular squashes won't last right through winter the way a hubbard or delicata might, but you should bring one to Christmas dinner, and impress your friends and family.

Matures in 115 days. (Open-pollinated seeds)

Ferrari is considered a French filet type bean and has a wonderful flavour. The slim, stringless, round pods develop early on compact plants, and grow to 13cm (5”). This variety has good potential for early starting under cloche protection, and is compact enough for container growing. Ferrari bush bean seeds are resistant to Anthracnose and BCMV, and tolerant to Cucumber Mosaic Virus.

Matures in 55 days. (Open-pollinated seeds)

Lathyrus odoratus. Its rich colour range is dominated by blues and purples, but accented by the occasional highlight of scarlet or pure white. The stems are long, sturdy and uncommonly straight for excellent cut flowers. The vines are not huge at five feet tall, but larger than described them in our catalogue. We have them on a trellis growing quite upright, and they are still very much in bloom in early August. We rate the fragrance at medium-strong (6/10), but as cut flowers, they are among the best. Keep cutting flowers or removing any seed pods that form in order to prolong the flowering period. Try Bijou sweet peas in large containers to bring colour and fragrance to your patio garden.

Annual

Helianthus annuus. This selection of our loveliest short-growing sunflower seeds brings a mix of variety and spontaneity to the sunflower patch. Ideal for small city gardeners, they can also be grown in containers. The Short Blend Sunflowers contain a variety of field grown sunflowers ranging from 60-120cm (24-48") tall. Plant and enjoy all these lovely, height-challenged sunflowers. Even when they're small, sunflowers are extremely attractive to pollinators, so they are perfect for the edge of the organic vegetable garden, and will bring in scores of honeybees and other beneficial insects. Though their tiny seeds are, in theory, edible, they make better food for the wild birds that will frequent the garden in late summer.

Annual

Alcea rosea. Sow Indian Spring hollyhocks seeds in full sun. This is a selection of our most popular Hollyhocks seeds, blended for planting en masse to create a beautiful cottage garden. Tall spires grow to 2m (6') or more, with single, double, and ruffled flowers that fill in empty garden spaces with blooms in rose, pink, white, chocolate, purple, and lavender. This blend looks sensational from late spring to frost. Hollyhocks are both tall and drought tolerant, so they are a nice choice for xeriscaping. Avoid overhead watering with hollyhocks in order to delay foliar diseases, including rust and powdery mildew. These are not uncommon problems for hollyhocks, but rarely make much impact.

Biennial

C. pepo. These beautifully shaped, bright orange pumpkins have strong, dark green handles and make perfect Jack-O-Lanterns. Plant Neon pumpkin seeds for productive, semi-bush plants that take up less space in the garden or field, and produces higher yields per acre if grown commercially. The uniform fruits average 3kg (7-8 lbs). If grown in a cool summer, fruit may be faintly bi-coloured when immature. By harvest time they become the normal golden colour as shown. Pumpkins thrive in any region with hot summers.

Matures in 70 days. (Hybrid seeds)

Cymbopogon flexuosus. Lemongrass is a tropical plant from the grass family (Poaceae) that will grow well in temperate regions if given the right conditions. Sow Lemongrass seeds indoors in late winter using bottom heat or a seedling heat mat. Maintain moist conditions and a temperature around 21°C (70°F), and the seeds will germinate in 5 to 21 days. Be sure to use sterilized seed starting mix, and either a clear dome over your seedling tray, or sealed into a plastic bag to maintain moisture. Transplant outdoors or into containers in full sun once the weather has warmed up in early summer. At the end of summer move container plants into a frost free environment with good air circulation. Reduce watering to almost none, making the soil barely moist once a week.

When using Lemongrass in the kitchen, remove any loose, outer layers. Either use whole pieces, crushed slightly with a pestle or under the back of your cleaver, or slice sections very thinly in cross section. This will help break up the strong fibres of the grass stalks.

Tender Perennial

Hilda Romano pole bean has flat pods, no strings, and great flavour. This bean is one of the first to produce in the summer and keeps going until frost if kept picked. It needs a strong support, but produces an incredible harvest. The pods grow to 23cm (9”) long and the plants are BCMV resistant.

This is a similar bean to Helda, bred in southern Europe, but Hilda produces a slightly longer bean that stays tender for longer as the pods mature.

Matures in 60 days. (Open-pollinated seeds)

Gorgeous peach blossoms top the vigorous 2m (6.5') vines of Sunset runner bean. Worth growing for the eye-catching blooms alone, it is equally rewarding to grow for its prolific harvest of beans that can be used as fresh green snap or dried shell beans that are lavender with black speckles. Enjoy the dried beans all winter in savory soups and stews.

A blend of wildflowers that are not preferred food sources for deer or are resilient to being foraged. In times of weak grazing, deer may still nibble on these plants, but the contents of Deer Resistant wildflower seeds were chosen for their resilience to deer. Great for planting on the Gulf Islands and BC Interior, where deer can be a real nuisance. The mix will also work in any other North American setting, attracting pollinators like bees and butterflies, but foiling marauding deer. Recommended rate of application: 115g per 1,000 square feet.

Fresca strawberry seeds are so tiny it's hard to believe that these miniature seeds produce big, mouthwatering traditional strawberries. Start the seeds indoors during the winter and place the seedlings out after the last frost. While they may not produce much fruit the first year, these sprawling plants will eventually yield heavily over a long season. They are considered everbearing, and will flower over and over if plants are kept picked. This strawberry is ideal for containers, raised beds, or hanging baskets. For fruits the first year, give them a really early start in December or January. Follow the growing instructions below, and then grow the seedlings on under bright artificial lights.

Matures in 150 days. (Open-pollinated seeds)

Centaurea cyanus. A mix of purple, blue, pink, and white papery blossoms bring summer colour to the garden. Try planting some Tall Mixed Cornflowers in a big clump at the edge of the yard for stunning summer colour. They are an excellent cut flower and they dry well, looking fresh for ages. Cornflowers are highly attractive to pollinators and beneficial insects like Syrphid flies. The flowers are edible, and the plants are drought resistant for xeriscaping. Deadhead spent flowers to prolong the bloom period, and to keep plants looking tidy. Tall Mixed Cornflowers seeds are easy to save from year to year.

Annual

Thymus vulgaris. This woody little green plant spreads steadily over the years and has pretty pink flowers which bees love. English Thyme seeds plants grows to heights of 30cm (12"). Wonderful in Mediterranean cuisine, teas, potpourri and a key ingredient of bouquet garni. Thyme dries well, too - cut sprigs and tie them with thread for hanging out of direct sunlight. They remove the brittle leaves from the stalks and store them in a cool, dry, unlit place. Plants do well in containers, and they're drought tolerant, so consider them for xeriscaping. Cut thyme back by a third at the end of the season to encourage lots of spring growth and flower set.

Perennial

Sunrise Bumble Bee Organic tomato seeds are CERTIFIED ORGANIC! Along with Pink and Purple Bumble Bee tomatoes, Sunrise has orange skins that are streaked with bright gold. They are strikingly beautiful, but also boast tremendous sweet flavour. The texture is succulent and the small cherry fruits are resistant to cracking. The Bumble Bee series will work in a 5 gallon (or larger) container, but be sure to keep the vines well picked so they keep producing right through late summer. And provide strong support for the vigorous plants to lean on.

Indeterminate (vine) Matures in 70 days. (Open-pollinated seeds)

Fordhook Giant Swiss chard seeds produce dark green, very savoyed leaves are borne on thick, greenish-white stalks. This cold-hardy variety is versatile, reliable, decorative and flavourful. It can also stand up well in summer heat. The Fordhook in its name refers to Fordhook Farm, which was a research farm run for the Burpee seed company from the 1750s until 1981. It's called Giant because the leaves rise a full 60 to 70cm (24-28") above the ground, with stalks that are 7cm (2.5") wide. Fordhook Giant Swiss chard seeds perform well, and provide abundant crops all season, even after light frost. It is noted to be particularly good for poultry feed as well. Winner of the RHS Award of Garden Merit.

Matures in 60 days. (Open-pollinated seeds)