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The cheapest seed is not always the best seed. When buying in bulk, the real value comes from comparing the cost per gram, cost per seed, germination rate, shipping, currency conversion, and how much seed you can realistically use before it declines in viability. A $3 packet can be expensive if it only contains 15 seeds. A $20 bulk packet can be affordable if it contains hundreds or thousands. At the same time, a 25 lb bag is wasteful if you only need a few hundred plants. Bu

If you're struggling to put food on the table, you're not alone. Many individuals and families across Ottawa rely on community programs to help make ends meet. Finding the right resource, however, can be overwhelming, especially during a difficult time. This guide was created to make that process easier by organizing food assistance programs into three categories: Need Food Today: Free meals that can often be accessed the same day. Groceries for Home: Food banks and community

Golden Summer Crookneck Squash Scientific Name: Cucurbita pepo Plant Type: Annual Difficulty: Easy Sun: Full Sun Height: 2-3 feet (60-90 cm) Spread: 3-4 feet (90-120 cm) Seeds Produced: Approximately 200-500 seeds per mature squash What Is It? Golden Summer Crookneck Squash is a classic heirloom summer squash recognized for its bright yellow skin and distinctive curved neck. The fruits are harvested while young and tender, offering a mild, buttery flavor that is excellent for

Wild Strawberry Scientific Name: Fragaria virginiana Plant Type: Perennial Difficulty: Easy Sun: Full Sun to Partial Shade Height: 4-8 inches (10-20 cm) Spread: 12-24 inches (30-60 cm) through runners Seeds Produced: Approximately 150-300 seeds per berry What Is It? Wild Strawberry is a low-growing perennial native to North America and the ancestor of many modern cultivated strawberry varieties. It produces white five-petaled flowers in spring followed by small, bright red be

Motherwort Scientific Name: Leonurus cardiaca Plant Type: Perennial Difficulty: Easy Sun: Full Sun to Partial Shade Height: 3-5 feet (90-150 cm) Seeds Produced: Approximately 1,000-5,000+ seeds per plant What Is It? Motherwort is a hardy perennial herb in the mint family native to Europe and Asia that has become naturalized throughout much of North America. It produces square stems, deeply lobed leaves, and clusters of small pink to pale purple flowers that bloom throughout t

Acorn Squash Scientific Name: Cucurbita pepo Plant Type: Annual Difficulty: Easy Sun: Full Sun Height: 12-24 inches (30-60 cm) with vines reaching 8-15 feet (2.4-4.6 m) Seeds Produced: Approximately 200-500 seeds per mature squash What Is It? Acorn squash is a winter squash recognized for its distinctive ribbed, acorn-shaped fruit and sweet, golden-orange flesh. Despite being harvested in autumn, it is called a winter squash because of its excellent storage ability. The fruit

Empress of India Nasturtium Scientific Name: Tropaeolum majus 'Empress of India' Plant Type: Annual Difficulty: Easy Sun: Full Sun to Partial Shade Height: 10-16 inches (25-40 cm) Spread: 12-24 inches (30-60 cm) Seeds Produced: Approximately 100-500+ seeds per plant What Is It? Empress of India Nasturtium is a striking heirloom variety of garden nasturtium known for its deep crimson-red flowers contrasted against rich blue-green foliage. Introduced in the late 19th century, i

Straight Eight Cucumber Scientific Name: Cucumis sativus Plant Type: Annual Difficulty: Easy Sun: Full Sun Height: 12-24 inches (30-60 cm) with vines reaching 6-8 feet (1.8-2.4 m) Seeds Produced: Approximately 200-500 seeds per mature cucumber What Is It? Straight Eight is a classic heirloom slicing cucumber introduced in the United States during the 1930s. It produces uniform, dark green cucumbers approximately 8 inches (20 cm) long with crisp, mild, and refreshing flesh. Kn

Green Shelling Pea Scientific Name: Pisum sativum Plant Type: Annual Difficulty: Easy Sun: Full Sun to Partial Shade Height: 2-6 feet (60-180 cm), depending on variety Seeds Produced: Approximately 100-400+ seeds per plant What Is It? Green shelling peas are cool-season legumes grown for their sweet, tender peas, which are removed from the pod before eating. Unlike snow peas or snap peas, the pods are generally too tough to eat and are discarded after shelling. Green shelling

Black Beauty Zucchini Scientific Name: Cucurbita pepo Plant Type: Annual Difficulty: Easy Sun: Full Sun Height: 2-3 feet (60-90 cm) Spread: 3-4 feet (90-120 cm) Seeds Produced: Approximately 200-500 seeds per mature zucchini What Is It? Black Beauty Zucchini is a classic heirloom summer squash introduced in the early 1900s. It is prized for its glossy, dark green fruits, vigorous growth, and exceptional productivity. Unlike vining squash, Black Beauty grows in a compact bush

Fenugreek Scientific Name: Trigonella foenum-graecum Plant Type: Annual Difficulty: Easy Sun: Full Sun to Partial Shade Height: 12-24 inches (30-60 cm) Seeds Produced: Approximately 500-2,000+ seeds per plant What Is It? Fenugreek is an annual legume native to the Mediterranean region, Western Asia, and the Indian subcontinent. It produces trifoliate leaves, delicate cream to pale yellow flowers, and slender seed pods filled with aromatic golden-brown seeds. Both the leaves a

Lemon Honey Cantaloupe Scientific Name: Cucumis melo var. cantalupensis Plant Type: Annual Difficulty: Moderate Sun: Full Sun Height: 12-24 inches (30-60 cm) with vines reaching 6-10 feet (1.8-3 m) Seeds Produced: Approximately 200-600 seeds per fruit What Is It? Lemon Honey Cantaloupe is a sweet heirloom muskmelon prized for its golden-yellow rind and exceptionally juicy, fragrant orange flesh. Like other cantaloupes, it belongs to the cucumber family and produces sprawling

Roman Chamomile Scientific Name: Chamaemelum nobile Plant Type: Perennial Difficulty: Easy Sun: Full Sun to Partial Shade Height: 4-12 inches (10-30 cm) Seeds Produced: 500-5,000+ seeds per plant What Is It? Roman chamomile is a low-growing, aromatic perennial herb native to Western Europe and North Africa. A member of the daisy family, it produces delicate white flowers with bright yellow centers and fern-like foliage that releases a pleasant apple-like fragrance when crushe

French Marigold Scientific Name: Tagetes patula Plant Type: Annual Difficulty: Easy Sun: Full Sun Height: 6-18 inches (15-45 cm) Seeds Produced: 500-2,000+ seeds per plant What Is It? French marigold is a compact flowering annual native to Mexico and Central America. It is widely grown for its bright yellow, orange, red, and bicolored blooms. Beyond its ornamental value, French marigold is prized by gardeners for its ability to help suppress certain species of harmful root-kn

Chia Scientific Name: Salvia hispanica Plant Type: Annual Difficulty: Easy Seeds Produced Per Plant: Approximately 5,000-15,000+ seeds under favorable growing conditions. What Is It? Chia is a flowering member of the mint family grown primarily for its edible seeds. Native to Mexico and Central America, it produces attractive spikes of blue, purple, or white flowers that attract bees and other pollinators. Historical Uses Chia was a staple crop of the Aztec and Maya civilizat

Rabbits can be charming visitors until they begin eating lettuce, beans, strawberries, seedlings, flowers, and young fruit trees. In Ontario gardens, rabbit damage often shows up as clean, angled cuts on stems, missing leafy growth, chewed shoots, clipped flowers, and bark damage on young shrubs or saplings. Unlike some animals that tear or shred plants, rabbits often leave behind a neat cut because of how their teeth work. This can make the damage look like someone snipped t

Squirrels are some of the most familiar wildlife in Ontario. They are quick, intelligent, adaptable, and extremely skilled at finding food. They can remember food locations, recognize safe travel routes, and adjust their behaviour around people, pets, feeders, gardens, and buildings. This is why they often seem one step ahead of gardeners. While it can be frustrating to find holes in planters, missing berries, dug up bulbs, or half-eaten tomatoes, squirrels should not be view

Wild strawberry (Fragaria virginiana) is one of Ontario’s most useful native edible groundcovers. It stays low, spreads naturally by runners, flowers in spring, and produces small red berries with a sweet, concentrated flavour. It is not the same as a large grocery store strawberry, and it should not be judged by the same standards. Wild strawberries are smaller, softer, and more delicate, but they bring far more value to a naturalized garden than fruit size alone. This plant

A garden fountain is constantly exposed to water, weather, and temperature change, which means the material is not just decorative. In Canada, it determines whether the fountain lasts for decades or fails after a few winters. The main issue is that many fountain materials are designed for appearance first and climate performance second. A fountain may look heavy, stone-like, or durable in a store, but if the material is porous, thin, poorly sealed, or made with weak coatings,

A no waste garden system only works well when the inputs are balanced, measured, and processed properly. Kitchen scraps can absolutely become valuable soil amendments, but they should not be treated as something that can be endlessly dumped into garden beds without consequence. Even natural materials can create problems if they are applied too heavily, too often, or before they have been broken down into a stable form. Soil is a living system. It contains bacteria, fungi, ins