Eat Your Greens

Ever since I put away our Christmas decorations I have been dreaming about my garden. I ordered seed packs from West Coast Seeds through my daughter's preschool fundraiser. But my frozen zucchini and kale stores from last summer were finished and I wanted some fresh, organic, local greens.

I have been coveting a Growlight Garden system from West Coast Seeds for some time and in late January, when I was there to buy some lettuce seeds for my class, I decided to act upon impulse and buy it. I could hardly wait to set it up and start growing.


Microgreens, which are different to sprouts because they are grown in soil, are jam packed full of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, enzymes and antioxidants. I am so excited to have fresh, organic greens whenever I want.

The growlight just fits on my kitchen window sill, but I'm sure it could fit on a counter or shelf somewhere out of the way. I like having it right in my kitchen where we can watch it grow and have it handy for eating. The light source cover is adjustable; the cover in the picture below is on a low setting and as the seedlings grow I raised it.

I started with arugula, broccoli, radish and spinach, sprinkling the seeds liberally over the soil because I wasn't concerned about spacing. In fact, I wanted to maximize the surface to grow as many seedlings as I could.

The seedlings sprouted quickly, within three to four days.

I was able to start harvesting the micro greens after two weeks. It is possible to pull them right out of the soil and wash off the roots, but I opted to cut them with scissors for convenience.

My go-to lunch these days is quinoa salad with chick peas, celery (hopefully soon from my own celery plant), carrots and microgreens. My favourite so far are the arugula and radish greens because I love the spicy, peppery zip they add to my food.

I will be using my Growlight to start some of my summer garden seedlings come spring. In the meantime, I am enjoying, fresh homegrown microgreens.

A Fabulous Fundraiser

Just in time to start thinking about spring and the coming growing season, my youngest daughter's preschool is doing what I think is the best fundraiser idea ever. Ok, I may be a little biased because I have done a vegetable garden for the past few years. They are selling seed kits from West Coast Seeds! I love this for several reasons.

As I've already said, I love my vegetable garden and I am excited to learn more this year. The kits range from flowers to container gardening for people with limited space to heirloom varieties. Check out the tomato varieties below. Hmm, which ones to pick for my garden this year?

I also love West Coast Seeds. They are an ethical company involved in the community, they sell organic and heritage seeds (no GMO), and their staff is very helpful. I recently bought an indoor growing system and my entire family is watching the sprouts grow before our eyes (seriously, every time we look at the sprouts they are bigger!).

I especially love that  it is a fundraiser that encourages people to grow their own food and educates children about gardening and the environment.

If you are local and would like to purchase a seed kit, contact me or leave a comment here.

The seeds are sold in kits. Kits A - K are $15.00 and the Deluxe Kit is $34.95

A. Annual Favourites Collection: alyssum, jewel nasturiums, Flanders poppies, giant blue point zinnia, sensation cosmos, sparky marigold

B. Cut Flowers Collection: Pacific beauty calendula, red beauty zinnias, baby's breath, rainbow snapdragons, mixed cornflowers, multiflora sweet peas

C. Sunflower Collection: velvet queen, lemon queen, autumn beauty, peredovik, teddy bear, giantess

D. Perennial Flowers Collection: Veronica "blue bouquet", columbine, echinacea coneflowers, Iceland poppies, shasta daisy, verbena

E. Sweet Pea Collection: bijou, mammoth, matucana, high scent, old spice

F. Heirloom Vegetable Collection: dragon tongue bean, scarlet nantes carrot, red Russian kale, little marvel pea, Amish deer tongue lettuce, small sugar pumpkin

G. Gourmet Salad Collection: raddichio, lemon cucumber, super gourmet lettuce blend, scallions, mokum carrot, French breakfast radish

H. Baby Greens Collection: Bull's blood beets, komatsuna, red mustard, chicory, chervil, salad bowl lettuce

I. Herb Garden Collection: cilantro, parsley, basil, chives, dill, sage

J. Patio Vegetable Collection: valentino bean, patio cucumber, lettle gem lettuce, little marvel pea, gypsy pepper, tumbler tomato

K. Heirloom Tomato Collection: brandywine, gold nugget, bonny best, black krim, yellow pear, Italian paste

L. Top 10 Deluxe Collection: parsnip, eggplant, pepper, tomato, broccoli, rainbow swiss chard, carrot, West Coast market mix, zucchini, spinach