Garden Wisdom Blog — category: Organic Growing

Cilantro and dill are both good examples of umbelliferous plants. When these plants bloom, the flower structure is in a shape called an umbel — scores of tiny flowers arranged on a more or less flat or umbrella-shaped plane. Other umbeliform plants include carrot, Ammi, parsley, parsnip, celery, and fennel. Using these plants for this purpose is known as companion planting with umbellifers. Because of their flowers, all of these plants attract beneficial predatory insects. Because dill blooms relatively early in the year, it is particularly useful as a companion plant. Watch for ladybug larvae and adults hiding along the...

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0011/2341/8172/files/V3.mp4   Take an Earth Day peek at our new facilities. Sincere thanks to everyone who has joined us for these Twenty-one Days of Green leading up to Earth Day. We’ve tried to show that there is reason for hope and optimism, from classroom to farm to grocery store. But your participation is part of the process of healing this planet. This is a group effort. In today’s video, WCS President Orrin Morishita talks about the values of sustainability that went into the design of our new space, and those that guide our business model moving forward. We want our...

In nearly any gardening situation, we have the opportunity to mentor — and to be mentored. Growing food organically is a life-long learning curve. Newbie gardeners sometimes feel shy about asking questions, but this is the way to learn. Master gardeners understand that there are always more innovations and ideas that will help us rethink and reshape our gardens. At West Coast Seeds, we are very proud of our staff mentoring program. Raised garden beds were offered to all staff as both a hands-on teaching tool and a way to break up the day and relax for a moment. Our...

CSAs represent one of the ways that small organic farmers are changing the way we think about food, the way we access food, and how we, as consumers, participate with food production. CSA stands for Community-Supported Agriculture, and we’ve talked about this before. The basic idea is that a farm sells shares in its produce early in the season. The shareholders are guaranteed boxes of fresh produce from the farm to be picked up at regular (usually weekly) intervals. Sometimes the farmer arranges to have the shares delivered to central pickup spots like farmers’ markets. Farm Box Pickup   The...

Food miles measure the literal distance in mileage between the producer and the consumer. They’re used to demonstrate the relative carbon footprints of conventionally farmed and imported groceries. This isn’t an effort to make consumers feel guilty. It’s about better understanding the burden our regular food consumption places on the environment. What it might compel some people to do is to be more proactive about growing some of their own food. We think that growing some of your own food is a pretty good idea anyway. Although food miles are a good measure of how shipping food impacts the environment,...