Seeds to sow directly in the garden

The Oka netted melon is a heritage variety deeply rooted in Quebec's agricultural history. In 1893, four Trappist monks settled in the parish of Oka, where they began the patient work of selecting and adapting crops to the local climate. It was from a cross between the famous Montreal netted melon ( Cucumis melo 'Montreal') and the old American cultivar Banana ( Cucumis melo 'Banana') that Trappist Father Athanase obtained the 'Oka' melon.

From this crossbreeding emerged an early-maturing variety, well-suited to relatively short growing seasons, which can be successfully cultivated in most regions of Quebec. The fruits are recognizable by their heavily reticulated, or netted, skin and their thick, beautiful orange flesh. When ripe, the melon releases a characteristic sweet aroma and offers a rich, balanced flavor, highly prized when eaten fresh.

In the garden, the Oka netted melon needs warmth, sun, and rich, well-drained soil. The plants are vigorous and trailing, requiring space to reach their full potential. Its earliness is a significant advantage in northern climates, allowing for a satisfactory harvest even when summers are shorter or unpredictable.

In the local community, this melon is seen as a plant of transmission and patience. It embodies the ingenuity of gardeners and seed producers who have crossbred, observed, and selected varieties capable of sustainably feeding local communities, while offering remarkable taste.

The Merveille des 4 saisons head lettuce is a heritage variety cultivated in France since the late 19th century. Sometimes called "Besson with black seeds", it is recognized for its beauty, versatility and remarkable tolerance to climatic variations.

It produces beautiful, large lettuces with tightly packed hearts, composed of two-toned leaves whose apple-green base contrasts elegantly with coppery-red tips. This coloration often intensifies with cool nights, adding striking visual interest to the vegetable garden.

It owes its name to its ability to tolerate summer heat better than many other head lettuces. Even when temperatures rise, it retains a mild and pleasant flavor, without any pronounced bitterness. However, it is still best to harvest it as soon as the head is well formed to prevent it from bolting (going to seed).

In the garden, Merveille des 4 saisons proves reliable and adaptable. It thrives in cool, rich, well-drained soil and prefers a sunny to partially shaded location. A common practice is to sow several consecutive seeds a few days apart. This approach staggers the harvests and prevents having too many lettuces ready at once.

Native to the mountainous regions of Europe and Asia, mountain lovage, often called common lovage or mountain celeriac, is a large umbellifer that naturally finds its place in a living garden. Its glossy green, deeply cut, and fragrant foliage is reminiscent of celery, while its upright stems bear, in summer, large umbels of small greenish-yellow flowers.

Planted in welcoming, cool, and well-drained soil, this robust perennial faithfully returns year after year, offering both a welcoming presence and a generous harvest of aromatic leaves. Its tall stature structures the edges of a vegetable garden or a quiet corner of the garden, where it participates in the cycle of seasons with admirable consistency. In a deeply rooted approach to respectful cultivation, lovage is a reliable plant, discreet yet essential in the garden.

Originating in Italy , the Costata Romanesco zucchini is an heirloom variety with an elegantly ribbed shape that evokes rustic markets and the bountiful gardens of the Mediterranean basin. Highly prized for its tender flesh with a mild and fragrant flavor , it holds a place of honor in Italian cuisine, whether roasted, stuffed, sautéed, or eaten raw in salads .

In the garden, it stands out for its compact, bushy habit , vigorous foliage , and ease of cultivation , even in more temperate climates. Its light green skin, marbled with dark streaks, gives it not only a distinctive appearance but also makes it suitable for cooking . It produces abundantly throughout the summer , and its young fruits can be harvested early for delicate and easily digestible dishes.

Rustic, productive, and rooted in a living tradition, Costata Romanesco is a valuable ally for organic vegetable gardens . It inspires simple, fresh, and colorful cooking, while nourishing the garden and the family with elegance and generosity .

Lamb's lettuce, also known as corn salad or lamb's lettuce, is a small salad green native to Europe and Western Asia. It grows wild in fields and wastelands before becoming a common vegetable in gardens. The term " Green Lamb 's Lettuce" refers to varieties with compact rosettes and tender green leaves, well-suited to late summer and autumn sowing in gardens with cooler climates.

Its low-growing rosettes easily weave their way between other crops, carpeting the ground with a perennial ground cover for the cooler months. Its modest and steady growth makes it an ideal companion for kitchen gardens that prioritize continuous harvests. Mild in flavor and cold-hardy, it consistently accompanies the cycle of the seasons, offering gardeners a comforting salad green as the days grow shorter.

Native to Europe and Eurasia , cornflower (Knaurium spp.) is an iconic annual plant of wildflower meadows and cereal fields . It is easily recognizable by its deep, almost electric blue hue and its star-shaped flowers borne on slender stems . Long celebrated in rural landscapes, it is now making a strong comeback in ecological gardens where it expresses all its wild simplicity and understated beauty .

It blooms from June to August , attracts a variety of pollinators (bees, butterflies, hoverflies), and integrates readily into vegetable gardens , kitchen gardens , or field edges . Undemanding, it thrives in sun or partial shade, in poor, well-drained soils , and tolerates drought very well . Disease-resistant and unaffected by deer, it requires little maintenance and enriches biodiversity without being intrusive.

Found in the wild across much of Eurasia and naturalized in North America, stinging nettle ( Urtica dioica ) readily finds its place in natural gardens. A vigorous plant of rich soils, it creates deep green clumps and, wherever it is given space, forms a veritable haven of biodiversity.

Its toothed leaves and stinging hairs require careful handling, but behind this defense lies an edible plant and an excellent indicator of fertile soil. In a garden in harmony with the seasons, nettle can become a valuable ally: young leaves to harvest in spring, refuge for numerous insects, and a resource for preparing fermented extracts useful in the vegetable garden.

Growing wild on heaths, sunny embankments, and rocky outcrops across Europe, creeping thyme ( Thymus serpyllum and related species) is a small, creeping perennial that forms dense mats. Its slender stems grow close to the ground, taking root wherever they can and gradually weaving a fragrant cushion that gently accompanies the changing seasons.

Its tiny, green to grayish-green foliage releases a thyme fragrance at the slightest touch. In the heart of summer, a myriad of small pink to mauve flowers cover the clumps, attracting a swarm of bees and other pollinators. In a thriving garden, creeping thyme provides a discreet yet essential presence: it protects the soil, tolerates drought, and naturally finds its place in a supportive vegetable garden, along pathways, or in a quiet corner left to attract bee-friendly plants.

Hardy and well-suited to poor, dry soils, it integrates easily into a respectful cultivation approach, where observation, understanding, and gentle action are taken to support the plant rather than force it. Once established, this fragrant carpet becomes a reliable plant, faithful year after year.

Italian rocket Sylvetta is a small leafy vegetable, known for its high cold resistance and remarkable stability in cultivation. Unlike common rocket, it has very little tendency to bolt, making it a particularly interesting variety to grow in Quebec.

Its finely cut leaves develop a pronounced nutty flavor, more intense and deliciously peppery than that of annual rocket. This aromatic richness is fully expressed when the leaves are harvested young, between 10 and 15 cm tall.

In the garden, Sylvetta stands out for its rapid growth and great versatility. It allows for successive sowings every two weeks, ensuring a continuous harvest over a long period. Very hardy, it adapts well to outdoor cultivation in spring and autumn, as well as to container gardening. It can even be grown indoors during the winter, providing fresh greenery out of season.

Native to East Asia, purple shiso ( Perilla frutescens var. crispa ) has long graced the gardens and kitchens of Japan, China, and Korea. In a vibrant garden, its deeply serrated, dark purple foliage, sometimes tinged with green, immediately catches the eye. It establishes itself as a light and airy aromatic annual, discreetly accompanying the cycle of the seasons.

In the vegetable garden, purple shiso thrives in borders or among leafy greens. It appreciates welcoming soil rich in organic matter and the gentle warmth of summer. Its fragrance, somewhere between basil, mint, and anise, makes it a valuable companion for a diverse and productive garden. In an environmentally conscious approach, it is often allowed to flower for pollinators before harvesting a few seeds, in an age-old practice of seed stewardship.

Giant Winter spinach is a hardy variety known for its high cold tolerance and ability to produce early in spring. It forms large, thick, dark green leaves with a fleshy texture and mild taste, particularly appreciated after cool periods.

Designed for late-season cultivation, this spinach slowly develops its rosette before winter, then resumes vigorous growth as soon as conditions improve. This strategy allows it to offer early harvests at a time when few other leafy vegetables are available.

In the garden, Giant Winter thrives in rich, well-drained soil that is kept consistently moist. It adapts very well to late summer or early autumn sowing, as well as to protected cultivation. Its slow but steady growth promotes thick, well-structured leaves that are less prone to bolting than summer varieties.

Originating in the South of France, the Round Courgette of Nice has naturally found its place in kitchen gardens, where its round, light green fruit has long been a staple in stuffed vegetable recipes. An old variety of courgette, it forms bushy plants that thrive in warm, fertile soil, helping to create a bountiful garden.

In the vegetable garden, this zucchini quickly produces a succession of round fruits, generally harvested young when their tender skin and delicate flesh are at their best. In a harmonious garden, it thrives alongside other summer vegetables and, with its foliage, helps to cover the soil and retain moisture. It is a reliable plant, productive throughout the growing season when harvested regularly.

Under the evocative name Food Not Lawns – Remix , this poppy mix finds its natural place in a bountiful, productive garden. The delicate, silky poppy flowers sway in the breeze, marking the rhythm of the seasons with their colorful blooms. Their presence brings a touch of lightness to both vegetable gardens and flowerbeds, in a living garden approach that embraces diversity.

In welcoming, well-drained soil, poppies quietly make their way to the top, creating vibrant little scenes day by day. Once established, they require little but offer much: consistent flowering, a graceful silhouette, and a unique way of evoking the simplicity of traditional direct sowing in the garden. They integrate naturally into any harmonious space, whether it be a vegetable patch, a border, or a more natural corner, and contribute to the creation of a rich and diverse ecosystem.

Native to Asia, the Snake Cucumber fascinates with its sinuous and slender silhouette , evoking the discreet gliding of a reptile through the greenery. Botanically, it belongs to the same family as the melon ( Cucumis melo var. flexuosus ), although it is eaten young, like a cucumber. Its mottled skin of light and dark green , its crisp and delicately fragrant flesh , as well as its astonishing length—sometimes more than 60 cm—make it a unique fruit-vegetable.

In the garden, it thrives on trellises or fences , where its long stems climb gracefully, adding verticality and elegance to summer crops. Hardy and vigorous, it offers a generous harvest throughout the summer, particularly in warm, sunny climates .

Red Oak Leaf Lettuce, native to Europe and highly prized in organic vegetable gardens, is admired for its finely cut leaves in deep purple hues. A symbol of freshness and elegance, it displays a light silhouette in the garden that sways in the summer breeze.

In the vegetable garden, it is generous and quick-growing, offering an early harvest of tender leaves, perfect for adding a burst of color and sweetness to the plate. Its discreet yet assertive nature makes it a faithful ally for gardeners attentive to the diversity and beauty of their crops.

Drawn from a diverse selection of several types of head lettuce, this colorful composition celebrates the natural diversity of textures and hues. From tender green to deep red, each plant becomes a visual accent in the garden space, enriching neighboring crops with its calming presence.

In the garden, the Colorful Mix is ​​a reliable choice. Its compact habit and well-formed heads make it an ideal variety for sunny spots, dense flowerbeds, or container gardening. Thanks to its varying maturity dates, it offers a staggered harvest, combining daily enjoyment with a respectful rhythm. If you love ultra-crisp lettuces, this mix will become your go-to. With their compact, protected hearts, head lettuces keep longer than leafy varieties, allowing you to enjoy their freshness for several days while reducing waste. Resilient and generous, this lettuce thrives in welcoming, slightly moist soil, revealing its full potential in a garden that is rooted and in harmony with a living garden.

The Early Violet kohlrabi of Vienna is an old variety renowned for its earliness and the delicate texture of its flesh. Its spherical bulb, a luminous purple on the outside, encloses a white flesh that is juicy and delicately sweet when harvested young.

The plant develops upright and elegant foliage, borne on slender stems that give the kohlrabi a light and well-structured appearance. This variety is particularly valued for its consistency and its ability to quickly produce tender kohlrabi that does not become fibrous if harvested at the right time.

In the garden, the Early Violet of Vienna thrives in cool to temperate conditions. It prefers rich, well-loosened soil that is kept consistently moist. Its rapid growth allows for staggered sowings, providing continuous harvests for much of the season.

Leaf lettuce trio is a captivating composition that brings together several varieties of leaf lettuce, often from mixes chosen for their differences in color, texture, and flavor.

The result of ancient European selections, chosen for the beauty of their foliage and the richness of their textures. Tender green, coppery bronze, or deep red intertwine in a plant mosaic that revitalizes the garden from the very first weeks of growth.

Vigorous and fast-growing, this trio of leaf lettuce forms a nourishing and colorful carpet that complements the gardener's daily tasks. Its continuous growth allows for a prolonged harvest, leaf by leaf, as desired. It's a reliable plant, perfectly suited to quiet corners of the vegetable garden, sunny flowerbeds, or balconies where it thrives without requiring excessive space or maintenance.

This generous cultivation offers a balance between utility and aesthetics, contributing to a living, beautiful and nourishing garden, in connection with the gentle rhythms of daily life.

The Arikara sunflower is an old variety of Helianthus annuus associated with the Arikara people, who settled in the Great Plains of North America. In an ecological garden, it evokes both the ancestral act of sowing for food and the simple joy of watching, day after day, the large flower heads follow the sun's path.

This variety is distinguished by its imposing stature and typical sunflower flowers, which dominate the vegetable garden and provide a bright marker in the cycle of the seasons. The abundant seeds serve as valuable food, both for the table and for the birds that visit the living garden.

Placed on the edge of a vegetable garden or in a quiet corner, the Arikara sunflower quickly becomes a benevolent presence: it structures the space, shelters small useful fauna and participates in this harmonious garden where each plant finds its place in a rooted and respectful approach to life.

The Petrowski turnip is an old variety highly prized by gourmets for the exceptional tenderness and sweetness of its flesh. It is recognizable by its round root with golden-yellow skin, enclosing a fine, creamy-white to very pale yellow flesh , accompanied by a delicately fragrant aftertaste that clearly distinguishes it from other turnips.

Originating in Northern Europe and associated with Berlin, this very hardy variety has proven particularly well-suited to cooler climates. Around 1915, it was being cultivated as far away as Alaska by Russian immigrants, a testament to its robustness and early maturity. It is generally harvested between 1.5 and 2 months after sowing and expresses its best flavor when picked young.

In the garden, Petrowski grows quickly in loose, cool, and well-drained soil. Its steady and reliable growth makes it an excellent choice for northern vegetable gardens and short growing seasons.

In the local world, this turnip is seen as a plant of refined simplicity. It serves as a reminder that certain old varieties, carefully selected and harvested, offer a richness of flavor that far surpasses their apparent modesty.