Seeds to sow directly in the garden

Designed for small spaces , the Spacemaster cucumber is an ideal choice for urban gardeners , sunny balconies, and small vegetable gardens. Developed using modern breeding methods focused on compactness and productivity , it combines a bushy habit , easy cultivation, and bountiful harvests.

Whether in the garden or in containers, its short, branching plants adapt perfectly to pot culture without sacrificing the harvest. It offers an abundance of crisp, refreshing fruit , perfect for eating raw or slicing into summer salads. Undemanding and quick to produce, it's a practical, easy-to-grow, and truly accessible variety that allows you to cultivate freshness even where space is limited .

In soil that has already warmed up, mixed radishes appear as a simple joy in the vegetable garden: a small seed sown at the beginning of the season that quickly offers a diversity of shapes and colors. Round or elongated, white, pink, or red depending on the varieties included, they dot the first rows of the vegetable garden and invite close observation of the cycle of the seasons.

In the garden, this mixture acts like a partner in sowing: by carefully thinning, you first harvest a few crisp young roots, then others follow, spreading the harvest over several weeks. Their presence encourages soil -friendly cultivation : sown shallowly, they take advantage of loose, well-watered soil, while then making room for other crops when the summer heat becomes more intense.

Shanghai pak choi is a variety of Chinese cabbage prized for its delicate texture and rapid growth. It forms a compact rosette of light green leaves, borne on short, fleshy, and very tender petioles. Its bright and neat appearance makes it a vegetable that is as pleasant to grow as it is to cook.

This variety is distinguished by its mildness and delicate texture, both in taste and feel. Unlike other, more robust pak choi varieties, Shanghai develops thinner stems and supple leaves, ideal for early harvests. It is particularly well-suited to cooler growing seasons, where it fully expresses its quality without bolting too quickly.

In the garden, Shanghai pak choi is a crop of precision and timing. It prefers cool, rich, and well-drained soil, as well as steady growth. Successive sowings allow for staggered harvests and maintain consistent quality throughout the season.

The Aunt Alice cucumber is an old variety that will appeal to gardeners looking for a generous and easy-to-grow plant. Originally from Europe, it has become a staple in vegetable gardens thanks to its abundant yield and relative resistance to common cucumber diseases.

With its vigorous growth habit, this variety produces elongated, deep green fruit, perfect for summer salads or pickles. Aunt Alice proves to be a valuable companion in the garden, bringing a touch of freshness during the warm season. Its vigor makes it an excellent choice for trellis cultivation, where it forms productive green screens.

In the perennial garden, it encourages biodiversity by providing shelter for the soil and contributes to the rotation of vegetables in the vegetable garden, thus participating in a sustainable ecological cycle.

Native to Europe, the Sucrine head lettuce is a prized variety for its delicately sweet taste and crisp texture. Its dense heart and thin leaves give it a mild flavor that makes it a favorite in fresh salads.

In the garden, Sucrine produces small, compact, robust, and resistant heads, perfect for early or late harvests. With its tender green foliage and compact habit, it blends harmoniously into vegetable gardens, bringing freshness and vitality.

This lettuce stands out for its ease of cultivation and its delicious contribution which delights gardeners and gourmets, embodying sweetness at the heart of the vegetable garden.

An old variety originating from Northern Europe, the 'Blanc de Hollande' cucumber is mentioned as early as 1835 in a French agricultural work. Having fallen into oblivion for a time, it was preserved by heritage seed producers concerned with biodiversity.

In the garden, it displays a vigorous climbing habit , clinging to supports with its tendrils like any classic climbing cucumber. Ideal for trellises and vertical gardening, it saves ground space while producing generously throughout the warm season .

Its creamy-white fruits, devoid of bitterness, were traditionally used for pickling (preserved in vinegar) or eaten fresh in salads, adding a touch of originality to summer dishes. This rare and hardy variety is now attracting the attention of gardeners seeking forgotten flavors and botanical curiosities.

Originating in the United States, Buttercrunch Bibb lettuce is a head lettuce variety prized for its tender texture and thick, slightly crisp leaves, offering a delicate crunch. Valued for its moderate heat resistance and its ability to form a firm yet supple head, it embodies the perfect balance between sweetness and freshness, ideal for refined salads.

In the garden, Buttercrunch Bibb reveals its hardiness by adapting well to longer, warmer seasons. Its compact shape makes it a valuable ally in organic gardens, where it occupies a prominent place in crop rotations and blends harmoniously with other leafy vegetables. This lettuce is a generous companion, both productive and delicious, appealing to novice and experienced gardeners alike.

Luxury Mesclun, a blend of delicate young leaves, is a true delight for the senses. Originating from Provençal tradition, this diverse mix of lettuces, arugula, and mustards produces a medley of colors and flavors, offering a varied palette that lends itself to fresh salads and light dishes.

In the garden, this diversity of crisp and tender flavors unfolds with elegance, inviting the gardener to a continuous and generous harvest. It is a variety prized for its moderate hardiness and its ability to extend the enjoyment of the garden until the first frosts.

A partner in colorful tables and gourmet moments, luxury Mesclun is a symbol of diversity and abundance in the vegetable garden, perfectly in line with the écoumene approach.

Selected by Rod Lamborn, son of the renowned Dr. Calvin Lamborn — creator of the Sugar Snap pea — Royal Snap II perpetuates a lineage of family expertise, combining innovation and traditional gardening. This deep purple snap pea is distinguished first and foremost by its spectacular flowering, composed of two-tone violet and purple flowers, which give way to beautiful, firm, and crisp pods measuring 7 to 8 cm.

In the garden, its bushy, compact, and graceful plants readily thrive without support. Ideal for small spaces, containers, or sunny balconies, they establish themselves easily in cool, well-drained soil. With its easy-to-root and welcoming nature, Royal Snap II integrates perfectly into the rhythm of spring plantings, where it helps enrich the soil thanks to its nitrogen-fixing capacity. A true partner in the living garden.

The Fortin rutabaga is a heritage variety from Quebec, selected by the Fortin family of Cap-Saint-Ignace , using gardening and market gardening practices adapted to northern conditions. This selection work has resulted in a particularly robust, reliable rutabaga that is well-suited to the region.

This variety is distinguished by its production of large roots with purple skin and firm, nutritious yellow flesh . It exhibits excellent resistance to insects and diseases, contributing to consistent harvests even under less favorable conditions. Its slow, steady growth allows the root to fully develop its flavor.

In the garden, Fortin is prized for its consistency and hardiness. It thrives in deep, well-drained soils and benefits from the cool temperatures at the end of the season, which enhance the sweetness of its flesh. This variety is particularly well-suited to self-sufficient vegetable gardens, where reliable and long-lasting crops are desired.

Luxury mesclun is a delicate and flavorful mix that originates from a blend of young leaves from plants in the Brassicaceae family. Native to Europe, this mix is ​​prized for its tender leaves with varied flavors, ranging from mild to peppery, and is often used in gourmet cuisine to add freshness and character.

In the garden, it offers a promise of gustatory and horticultural diversity, boasting dense, often variegated foliage that develops into a modest, bushy habit. It is a valuable ally for attentive gardeners who want to quickly grow a salad full of nuances and encourage biodiversity thanks to its discreet flowers and seeds.

Native to Europe, oak leaf lettuce is distinguished by its finely cut, soft leaves reminiscent of oak leaves, hence its evocative name. Prized for its tender texture and mild flavor, it naturally finds its place in modern vegetable gardens, offering a quick and renewable harvest.

In the garden, it proves generous and easy to grow, with a spreading habit and fairly rapid growth. Its fine foliage is an invitation to refresh salads throughout the summer season. A valued companion plant, it integrates harmoniously into diverse plantings.

Among the most familiar root vegetables in peasant gardens, the white turnip with a purple collar is one of those unassuming companions that faithfully return with each passing season. Its round, white, and smooth root, topped with a purple collar where it receives sunlight, provides a simple yet firmly rooted presence in the welcoming soil of the vegetable garden.

Originating from a vast Eurasian basin where turnips have been cultivated since antiquity, this bicolored variety has become popular for its rapid growth and tender flesh. In a vibrant and diverse garden, it integrates easily into the edges of planting beds or between longer crops, contributing to the garden's cycle through its roots that loosen the soil and its foliage that covers the ground.

In the garden, it's a reliable plant for cooler seasons: sown early in spring or late summer, it develops round roots within a few weeks, ready to be harvested for simple and nourishing cooking. Its remarkable resilience makes it a valuable ally in an approach to respectful gardening and connection with nature.

Probably originating from southern Europe , this mixed kohlrabi brings together up to five varieties in a range of hues , from tender green to deep purple , creating a vegetable garden that is as colorful as it is bountiful . Its swollen part, emerging from the stem, forms a fleshy head that sits just above the ground, while its vigorous foliage can also be harvested.

A hardy, quick-maturing biennial plant, kohlrabi adapts well to short growing seasons . Its compact shape , early growth , and discreet flowering make it an ideal crop from spring to autumn , particularly in communal and shared gardens .

At Jardins de l'écoumène , this blend is carefully produced despite the challenges of seed production in cold climates. Each seed is the fruit of patience nurtured by a passion for life.

Originating from the Mediterranean region, Fino fennel is a refined variety, renowned for its delicate, aniseed aroma. It is distinguished by its flattened white bulbs and slender silhouette, which adds lightness and elegance to the garden.

Easy to grow in our latitudes, this fennel exhibits good resistance to bolting, making it a reliable choice for climates like Quebec's. Its airy flowers attract numerous pollinating insects, and its fragrant foliage acts as a natural repellent for certain pests, making it a beneficial companion plant. Robust yet graceful, it integrates perfectly into a productive and biodiverse garden, in full sun and loose soil.

Originating in temperate regions, the 'Reine des Glaces' head lettuce is distinguished by its vibrant freshness and mild flavor. Following the tradition of lettuce-based varieties, it embodies an admirable balance between crisp texture and delicate taste, making it ideal for organic gardens and diverse vegetable patches.

In the garden, it stands out for its relative heat resistance and rapid growth, producing tightly packed, bright, almost translucent heads. It integrates perfectly into a leafy vegetable arrangement, bringing vitality and freshness to summer and autumn harvests.

The Prague Giant celeriac is an heirloom variety renowned for its impressively large root and high-quality flesh. It forms a large, uniform, and dense bulb with a fine texture and fragrant flavor, becoming less fibrous when its growth is properly controlled. Its flavor, both mild and pronounced, makes it a benchmark for celeriac enthusiasts.

Originating in Central Europe, this variety was selected for its hardiness and ability to produce large roots without compromising flavor. Its abundant and vigorous foliage complements the slow but steady development of the root, the true heart of the plant.

In the garden, the Giant Prague celeriac requires attention and consistency. It thrives in deep, rich, and consistently moist soil, as well as with steady growth. Any variation in water or nutrients directly affects the texture of the root. When properly cultivated, it yields abundant and uniform harvests, ideal for preserving.

Native to the Mediterranean basin, borage (Borago officinalis) has long been a prized companion plant, valued for both its beauty and its traditional culinary and medicinal uses. Its star-shaped blue flowers attract bees, creating a vibrant display in the heart of the garden, hence its nickname, "the star of the garden."

In the garden, its hardiness and bushy habit make it a valuable ally for enriching biodiversity while offering edible foliage and flowers with a slightly briny fragrance. Its flowering period extends from spring to late summer, bringing color and life to mass plantings or borders. Borage, a faithful companion, integrates naturally into a garden that provides sustenance and respects ecological balance.

Native to North America, the Black Valentine dwarf bean is a heritage variety that combines refinement and efficiency in the garden. Prized for its glossy black beans, resembling small ebony pearls, it evokes both the aesthetic simplicity and the bounty of traditional vegetable gardens.

Its bushy, compact, and elegant habit makes it a wise choice for small spaces, containers, or mixed planting borders. It offers discreet flowering followed by short, light green pods containing shiny seeds when ripe. Early-maturing and robust, it tolerates varying conditions well and is easy for gardeners to grow without staking. Its ability to fix nitrogen also makes it a valuable ally for naturally enriching the soil.

A familiar companion to European grain fields, cornflower ( Centaurea cyanus ) has carved out a place of honor in organic gardens. In its mixed form, it offers a palette of simple flowers in shades of blue, pink, white, or purple, like a swarm of butterflies alighting on the vegetable patch. Its finely cut, grey-green foliage allows the delicate flower heads, which shimmer in the breeze, to take center stage.

In a harmonious garden, this annual self-seeds readily and accompanies the seasons with remarkable consistency. It thrives in welcoming, well-drained soil, is undemanding, and attracts a multitude of pollinators that enrich the garden. Whether planted along the edge of a vegetable patch, in a quiet corner, or as part of a flower border, it becomes a welcome presence, both ornamental and useful.