Where to Source Seed Starting Supplies in Toronto
You are doing it this year! You are going to grow your own plants from seed! You hit the internet and found loads of information on what to get and what steps to take.. but where in Toronto, can you find seed starting supplies?
I love to support local whenever possible, but I am also not immune to the lure and convenience of Amazon or Big Box stores. The following will be a bit of all three.
Seeds
Beyond supporting the local economy there are many benefits to sourcing your seed stock from the local region rather then importing it. Plants adapt to the local conditions and imprint that information into their seeds, becoming hardier and better suited to the region. This is also why saving your own seeds is a great practice to adopt.
Southern Ontario Seed Suppliers:
AgroHaitai Ltd. - Lynden, Ontario. Specialize in oriental vegetable seeds.
Backyard Seed Savers - Guelph, Ontario.
Bear Root Gardens - Verona, Ontario.
Bird & Bee - Ottawa, Ontario
Ellenberger Organic Farm - Coe Hill, Ontario. Organic seed potatoes
Florabunda Seeds - Keene, Ontario
Gaia Organic Seeds - Ottawa, Ontario
Greta’s Organic Gardens - Gloucester, Ontario
Hawthorn Farm - Palmerston, Ontario
Heritage Seed and Produce - Westport, Ontario
Kitchen Table Seed House - Wolfe Island, Ontario
Matchbox Garden and Seed Company - Haldimand County, Ontario
Norton Naturals - Eastern Ontario
OSC (Ontario Seed Company) - Kitchener, Ontario.
Richter’s Herbs - Goodwood, Ontario
Terra Edibles - Foxboro, Ontario
The Secret Garden - Blyth, Ontario
Urban Harvest - Warkworth, ON
Urban Tomato - Peterborough, Ontario
Northern Ontario Seed Suppliers:
Soggy Creek Seed Co (Piebird Farm Sanctuary) - Nipissing, Ontario
Superior Seed Producers - Thunder Bay, Ontario
Three Forks Farm - Manitoulin Island, Ontario
Some seed company offices are located within Southern Ontario but they focus on importing seeds from other countries and distributing and selling from Ontario. This means that labels will reflect Canadian information but the seeds are not necessarily produced on Canadian land thereby losing the benefits of adaptation. Examples of these include: Almer’s Organics, Berton Seeds, Stokes Seeds, William Dam Seeds.
Seed Sharing Groups, Local Seed Libraries or Seedy Saturdays are a great way to get seeds from residents of your own neighbourhood or city. Other initiatives even offer FREE seeds such as Food up Front.
Soil
We can spend hours diving into potting mix mediums and which are superior. In the end, most grocery stores, big box stores and garden centre’s will carry potting mixes. You do want something light and fluffy for the new little seedlings so ensure you are reading labels when grabbing your bag. The best bang for your buck that I have come across is at Costco.
Early spring, Costco brings in the Promix Organic Vegetable and Herb Mix Bales. These bags are 112L of potting mix compressed into a 2cubic foot bale. They typically run for under $20 and the price per litre is the equivalent of buying soil in bulk(cubic yard) but with far more convenience.
You can occasionally find the same bales at other big box stores but it is harder to grab before it’s gone. The price is often a few dollars more.
March 18, 2021
Promix bales in Costco retailing for $16.99/112L
I have also used the Promix Professional Line. This line contains 108L of material. The biggest difference I noticed as a user was less twiggy material. It often runs around $35-$40 still making it a good deal but the cost per litre is higher.
Grow it All - Promix Professional Bale
Rona - Promix Professional Bale
If you need a lot of growing medium, buying in bulk may be the way for you. Keep in mind that ‘potting soil’ is a blend with various mediums to keep it light and fluffy. Bulk soil will not have these attributes and additional materials should be added for seed starting purposes. But if customizing is your thing this may be the route you wish to take! If you’ve made your own compost or worm castings this applies as well. I have ordered bulk soil from Gro4 (now called PureLife) and was extremely happy with the service and product.
Trays & Containers
Gardening doesn’t need to be expensive. Recycled food containers, toilet paper rolls, homemade paper starters etc can all be used. Ensure you add drainage holes and you’re good to go!
The problem I have with these is organization. If you are just starting a few varieties or plants it isn’t so bad. But once you scale your seed starting these do not maximize square footage under your lights nor are they easily moved when it comes time for hardening off. The toilet paper roll options are often too small and potting up into a larger container will be required.
The product I would recommend is the ‘commercial’ square growing sheets.
Grow it all - 3.5” 18 cell sheet
There are base trays which can be beneficial for planting directly in, or used to easily transport the sheets, make bottom watering possible and collect water run off if watering from above. They also have domes which make fantastic environments for seed germination.
One product I would suggest avoiding at all costs are the peat pellet starters.
Lights
Can you not just use a sunny window? You might be able to get away with it if you are starting seeds closer to spring and have a large south facing window. Our winter sun is not very strong due to the angle and the rays are further reduced by traveling through the glazing. Your windows may even have a coating that blocks UV rays to protect the contents of your home from the fading or bleaching effects of the sun.
Many gardeners will require supplemental lighting or creative use of reflectors.
There are many options for grow lights and price points continue to drop as the technology becomes more common.
In 2014 I invested in a few Metal Halide Grow Lights that involved a bulb, reflector and ballast. These lights are intense but I can use one light for a 5’ folding table full of seedlings. The least energy efficient of this list, they also generate heat which means I never require a heat mat for starting seeds such as peppers. They have served me incredibly well for many years. The initial investment has more that paid itself off and the additional spring hydro bill is minimal ($15).
The sunblaster T5 bulbs come highly recommended by many gardeners and for good reason. These cover a decent area and work incredibly well mounted under shelving. They come in various lengths and are easy to come by, available on Amazon and in Big Box Stores. Fluorescents typically use 50% less energy then a metal halide lamp.
LED lights are becoming increasingly popular. LED technology allows for more flexibility in design and the energy draw is minimal. I’ve used a clamp style light to supplement houseplants with great success. This style would work well in conjunction with a south facing window for starting seeds. These generate very little if any heat and must be placed closer to your seedling foliage then you may expect so the area that they cover is small. They may appear to be cost effective up front but you will likely need more lights then you would with the other styles previously mentioned. Replacing bulbs is usually not an option so when the light has run its course the entire fixture often needs replacing. Amazon has a broad selection of LED grow lights often at unbeatable prices, but they can also be found in garden centres, hardware stores etc.
Now that you have all your supplies in order make sure you aren’t making these common mistakes:
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