Not Too Late To Plant

Where did the time go? You were so eager to get started in the garden then suddenly it’s June. That well-planned garden (painstakingly planned during the dreary winter months) was only partially accomplished. Life just kind of got in the way – graduation parties to plan, Mother’s Day, school events, soccer games, waterlogged soil. Here’s

Can’t Go Back In Time

John Fefchak made a good point in outlining the process of producing (grain) to product (bread) in his May 12 letter. However he failed to point out that the seed used to grow the grain undergoes the route of


Wildflowers For The Home Garden

Wildflowers are one of Mother Nature’s loveliest gifts. In the home landscape they are ideal for creating colourful beds and borders, as well as offering a lower-maintenance alternative for large areas or for replacing turf grass. A garden of wildflowers offers several benefits to both the gardener and the environment. Once established, wildflowers require less

Garden Hideaways

Children love to play and hide in “secret” places and a sense of thrill accompanies creating a fort from scratch. This summer, why not create a special place for your child or grandchild in your garden? Go beyond the traditional roads and pathways to create a miniature town or “main street” for the little ones


South Africa Balks At Seed Company Consolidation

The derailment of DuPont’s intended acquisition of a top South African seed company – a deal that would have doubled DuPont’s African seed business – is emboldening activists opposed to creeping control by both DuPont and rival Monsanto of the lucrative emerging market. Citing unfair control in South Africa by the two dominant U.S. seed

FAO Starts Wheat Seed Distribution In Pakistan

The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organizat ion has started distributing more than 20,000 tonnes of wheat seeds in Pakistan where floods have threatened a key wheat-planting season, an FAO official said. The food security of tens of millions of Pakistanis is at stake with the current planting season after floods earlier this year destroyed


McKenzie Seeds Shows Off Its New Location

The recession has actually helped Canada’s largest packet seed company and the local-food trend and food scares are also boosting business. “We have noticed that there has been an increased interest in gardening in the last couple of seasons, which may be attributed to the uncertain economy and contributing factors such as food safety,” said

Noxious Weed Or Crop Of The Future? – for Jul. 29, 2010

If he wasn’t so busy trying to help farmers snuff it out, University of Arkansas weed scientist Ken Smith says he would be studying Palmer amaranth out of pure interest. Some of the very things that make amaranth – known as pigweed – such a formidable weed also flag its potential as a food crop.


Thoughts On Father’s Day

A man bought a house and decided to plant a special tree seed to commemorate the date when he bought the place. However, the seed did not sprout even though he watered it faithfully every day. He thought that maybe the following year it would start to grow better and faster. To his surprise, the

Early-Season Scouting Pays Off

Early scouting can help ensure canola crops make it through the first few weeks in good shape. “With the wet conditions, many growers across the Prairies are struggling to get all their canola acres seeded. In the rush to finish seeding, they must remember to scout those fields that have already emerged,” says Troy Prosofsky,