Certfied Organic Seeds, Plants produce CSA.
Open pollinated, heirloom, rare
Matchbox Garden & Seed Co. was founded in 2006 by Hanna Jacobs. Over the years, we have provided the Greater Toronto and Hamilton areas with fresh food through our CSA, farmers markets, and restaurant clients.
With our beginnings in the heart of the busy West Queen West, Toronto neighbourhood, Matchbox springboarded from the 1000sqft mini urban farm, to the Mcvean Incubator Farm run by FarmStart. Building relationships through our participation in the FarmStart program allowed us the privilege to work with many different people and organizations.
We have been fortunate enough to produce our seedlings at the Fresh City Farms Greenhouses, in Downsview Park, spend 3 years farming on Mcvean Farm in Brampton, as well as 1 year at The Living City Campus on Kortright in Vaughan, Ontario.
We currently operate the gardens on 3/4’s of an acre just outside Caledonia, Ontario. All our gardens are no till and on a minimum 4 year crop rotation. We use ally and companion planting as a key part of our Integrated Pest Management System. From the very beginning of my gardening journey, I applied organic methods to all my growing. One of the great motivations for the founding of Matchbox was, and still is, the desire to contribute to a more environmentally sustainable future.
Borrow. Grow. Return.
The seed library is a free program that is being launched to empower community members by reducing a barrier and increasing our ability to feed ourselves wholesome foods by offering seeds and education.
Beans, peas, lettuce, tomatoes and peppers all self pollinate, so it is easier to collect seeds from them that are true to the variety. It is preferable to have seeds in the library that are non GMO, organic and heritage, but I do not want to deter donors by only accepting those.
Choose some free seeds to take home and plant. Enjoy your fresh herbs, vegetables and flowers. After your harvest, please bring some seeds back to the Library, if you can, for others to enjoy next year. There are no over due fees!!!!! 🙂
As you are harvesting and closing your gardens, please put some seeds aside for the Erin Seed Library.
There is a drop box at the centre 2000 book library, or contact me.
Events Coming Up
Erin Seedy Saturday – April 7, 2018
- ALL OF OUR ORGANIC VEGETABLE SEEDS AND ORGANIC GARDEN SEEDS ARE OPEN-POLLINATED.
- WE DO NOT USE OR STOCK GENETICALLY ENGINEERED SEEDS.
- ALL OUR SEEDS ARE CERTIFIED ORGANIC.
Your Canadian source for bare root fruit trees and berry bushes. Cider apples, perry pears, disease-resistant and heritage varieties are our specialty! Order online and have the plants shipped to your door, or pick up at the nursery in the spring and fall.
Could have organic seeds but not Certified Organic…
The Toronto Seed Library (TSL for short) was initiated in November 2012, primarily by the Occupy Gardens Toronto collective and students from the University of Toronto and York University. Together a growing cooperative of individuals and organizations, seed savers, gardeners, farmers, educators, librarians, policy makers and food lovers of all varieties are creating a free, self-perpetuating seed library system.
At the seed library people can pick up free seeds, but must try to save some seeds and return them to the library. The saved seeds don’t necessarily have to be the same variety that was check out — and don’t worry there aren’t any late fees for crop failure or accidentally eating all the seeds (a common problem for tomato growers!).
In 2013 we spearheaded the TSL program, establishing 6 branches, attending dozens of events, collecting, processing and sharing thousands of packs of seeds and much more.
In 2014 we have expanded to 14 branches, and counting, and have attended over 50 community events, including ‘literaseed’ workshops inside the Toronto Public Library, a ‘how to start a seed library’ Webinar with the Ontario Library Association, inspired countless seed libraries near and far, while distributing over 50 000 seed packs to thousands of gardeners across Toronto, Canada and even the world, and mulch, mulch more. No big dill*!
Future
Over the fall and winter seasons, we will engage in outreach, events, organizing seedy gatherings and undertaking a process of collective evolution in preparation for an improved seed growing, sharing and saving program for the 2018 season. With your help, we are sure the TSL will continue to grow and propagate itself.
We envision a network of seed libraries across the Seedy of Toronto, inside Toronto Public Libraries, schools, community centres, places of worship, and other public spaces. To this end we are working with diverse organizations across the city creating partnerships and building branches of the seed library.
Freeman Herbs grows over one hundred varieties of herbs with recent introduction of the Organic Herbs and Vegetable line.To view the full range of varieties please visit the products section.Spend some time visiting our website to learn more about us and our staff.Should you have further questions please contact us.
All of our organic products are Certified COR and USDA approved. This means our living produce is not genetically modified and is fully traceable. Herbicides, pesticides and fungicides are not used in our growing process. This is a stringent government certified & inspected process that we follow in order to receive certification.
At Urban Harvest, we are dedicated to providing our customers with certified organic seeds, seedlings and garden supplies that promote ecological diversity and preserve the health of our planet. Everything we sell is 100% certified organic.
Our organic and heirloom varieties are specially chosen for their unique qualities for both urban gardens and market gardeners. All of our seedlings are grown in or near the Greater Toronto Area to support the economies of Toronto, Ontario and Canada.
Our on-line store is open 24 hours a day
Please find us at:
Dufferin Grove Farmers’ Market, April to December Dufferin Park across from Dufferin Mall, Thursday 3:00 – 7:00 p.m.
Wychwood Barns Farmers’ Market, 601 Christie St. Saturdays 8:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Our online store offers a secure, convenient way to shop for all of your favourite organic seeds and heirloom seeds. We can ship all of our seeds and soil amendments throughout Canada with the exception of plants.
Hawthorn Farm produces certified organic farm selected, open-pollinated vegetable, herb, and flower seeds in Central Ontario (zone 5). Certified organic by Pro-Cert since 1996, Hawthorn Farm started as most independent seed companies do, on a kitchen table with a single page printed catalogue filled by a handful of offerings. With over a decade of growing, selecting and saving organic seeds, we now have hundreds of exciting and tasty offerings. In addition, we work to support the seed community by hosting workshops and educational tours on our farm.