Have you ever seen ads for seeds for yellow, blue, or purple bleeding hearts; rainbow roses; blue strawberries; unnaturally purple tomatoes; bright pink succulents; or watermelons the size of small elephants? And were they so cheap that you felt like it’s worth a shot to try to grow them? We at Clean North encourage you to not buy seeds directly from another country. Here’s why:
- First, if something sounds too good to be true — like blue strawberries — it probably is. You are not likely to get yellow bleeding hearts or blue strawberries.
- Second, by ordering seeds directly from another country, especially ones with lax environmental laws, you bypass the safety controls that ensure disease-carrying and/or invasive seeds and plants do not make it into Canada.
- Third, you have no way of knowing if the seeds are actually for the plants shown on the packet. Over the years, scandals have erupted when pet food, vitamins/nutritional supplements, and other products made in other countries turned out to have ingredients not listed on the label, including some substances that were toxic or even deadly.
- Fourth, even if the seeds you receive are legit, you have no way of knowing if they are suited to our climate. Seeds perform best if they are grown in a similar climate to that their parent plant is adapted to.
We here at Clean North encourage you to buy seeds produced in Canada (ideally in Ontario) and adapted to our climate. You can also harvest your own seed and use it or trade with others who have local seed. More resources for Canadian seed are listed below.
And finally, if you get seeds in the mail that you did not order, throw them in the trash. They could be for invasive species or coated in toxic materials.
Resources:
