One of my personal favourite catalogues is from William Dam Seeds (damseeds.com), a Canadian family business whose personal notes in every catalogue鈥檚 introduction reveal a听devotion to sustainable agriculture as well as to a variety of poverty-reducing humanitarian efforts. None of their seed is treated with chemicals. The prices are good, as is their interesting selection of vegetable and flower varieties.
I was introduced to the catalogue decades ago by Andrea and Nick, old friends and longtime gardeners, who immigrated from Holland as a young couple in the same post-war wave of European immigration that brought William and Maria Dam to sa国际传媒.
The Dam family settled in听West Flamborough, Ontario, and began growing their traditional vegetables. This led to sharing and acquiring seeds for friends and neighbours. The seed company grew from there, and the generations that have followed now manage the company. Maria, who died in the winter before last, lived in her own home, gardened, and worked at the company into her 100th year.
It was from Andrea and Nick that I learned about growing such vegetables as witloof chicory (Belgian endive) and greenlof (sugar loaf, sugar hat (chicory). I听still grow greenlof, an easy autumn leafy vegetable that forms romaine-like heads of听tart greens. I sow greenlof outdoors in May.
William Dam Seeds was the first (among the catalogues I receive) to introduce Taunus, the best cylindrical beet I鈥檝e grown, and Rhodos, my staple lacy (frisee) endive. Rhodos forms a dense, self-blanching head of serrated cream and green leaves. The plants stand up superbly to both heat and cold and can be grown close to year round.
Every year I grow several compact cherry tomatoes for听pots on the patio and every year I look for new ones to try. I鈥檝e yet to find one as flavourful as Siderno, from William Dam Seeds. The plants grow about 45听centimetres high and stay nicely contained within a听tomato cage stuck into the pot. So far, Siderno has routinely produced the first ripe tomatoes of the year, typically in the second week of July.
Here are a few of the varieties in the 2016 catalogue that I鈥檒l be trying this year.
鈥� Pluto basil is described as the 鈥渕ost dwarf and smallest leaf variety in our trials鈥� at 20 centimetres. I听want to compare it with Pistou (Veseys Seeds, Richters Herbs) a neat little, fragrant hedges in window box style planters.
鈥� Belton is a newly listed, strong-growing leek with blue-green foliage and 20 to 25 centimetre white shafts.
鈥� Cassia, an improved Italian Romanesco (ridged) type zucchini, is said to tolerate cool conditions. The flowers stay attached longer than usual, allowing young fruits to be harvested with the blooms still clinging to them 鈥� the way I remember buying zucchini as they were brought in by the donkey-load from nearby fields to the Greek village I lived in for a year.
鈥� Rhythm and Blues is a Linaria mix of violet and red, with tiny snapdragon-like flowers on 50-cm stems. It will be a good 鈥渇iller鈥� flower, easy to grow from a direct seeding.
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GARDEN EVENTS
View Royal meeting. The View Royal Garden Club will meet tonight at 7:30 in Shoreline Community School, 2750 Shoreline Dr. Amanda Evans of Victoria鈥檚 Green Team will discuss invasive plant removal and restoration in听the Portage Park Project. The evening will also feature a judged mini-show and a sales table. Visitors and new members are welcome. Details at 250-220-5212.
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Sooke meeting. The Sooke Garden Club will meet tonight at听7听in St. Rose of Lima Church, 2191 Townsend Rd. A Club Brainstoming session will focus on Growing the Best Veggies and Berries Ever. Newcomers are welcome.
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Chrysanthemum meeting. Victoria Chrysanthemum Society meets Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in听St.听Matthias Church Hall, 600听Richmond Ave. The group try听to identify varieties of mums as听members鈥� photos are shown.
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Seedy in Sooke. Gear Up For Gardening will be the theme of Sooke鈥檚 Seedy Saturday, 10 a.m. to听3 p.m. in Sooke Community Hall, 2037 Shields Rd. A hearty lunch, with the focus on pulses, will be available throughout the event. Details at sookefoodchi.ca.
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Bees in the garden. Dinter鈥檚 Nursery, 2205 Phipps Rd. in Duncan. is offering a free, drop-in seminar on Managing Bee Habitat in the Garden on Saturday at听10听a.m. Steve from Busy Bee Creations will speak about mason and other native bees and their garden needs.
