* heirloom and heritage seeds

The Healthy Harvest Co-op is a group of physically and mentally challenged adult gardeners who garden on Glamorgan Farm all year and sell their delicious seasonal organic produce, fruit and flowers from the farm and at local markets.

The co-op grows only organically and prefers to use heirloom seeds.*

They practice water conservation and proper manure management creating rich fertile soil from their hot compost pile which in turn makes their vegetables lush and nutritious!

The Healthy Harvest welcomes new members and/or volunteers.
Call Andria Tetlow, 250-479-1947 or us at Glamorgan Farm for more information.

The farm garden is open Tuesdays and Thursdays for sales (please enter off Glamorgan Road through the farm gate).

The co-op is a member of “Fresh From The Islands”,
Aka: Island Farmers ’Alliance
Link: www.islandfarmfresh.com

Heirloom plants from original seed are sometimes called “hand me down plants”. The seeds have been passed down through generations and are usually more fragrant, tasty, colourful, disease resistant and vigorous than commercially produced, genetically modified modern seed.

Heirloom plants are generally thought of as having their seed cultivated for one hundred years or more.
Cuttings and divisions are also methods of growing heirlooms.
Some heirlooms which we grow on Glamorgan Farm are
sunflowers, hollyhocks, rosemary, ‘Black-Seeded Simpson’ lettuce, and a variety of edible flowers and apple trees such as ‘the Lady Apple’, a small sweet succulent apple thought to have first been grown by Louis XIV and used as wreath and wig decorations.
Another version says that the little nutritious apples were Italian, used to give quick sustenance to the Roman soldiers in battle.
The stories of how heirlooms originated are as entertaining as growing them!

One of our favourite books on the subject is
“Heirloom Gardens” by Mimi Luebbermann (chronicle books, 1997). It’s full of resources, rich photography and good information.

For more information on heritage fruit trees, contact The British Columbia Fruit Testers Association, box 48123, 3575 Douglas Street, Victoria, B.C. V8Z 7H5.