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3,55 $
Antoine D'Avignon was a ancient vegetable lover. A pioneer in Quebec for heirloom seed saving, he grew, harvested and shared the seeds of numerous varieties that would have otherwise been forgotten by now. Notably, Louis-Marie's Crotte d'ours potato, Suzanne Bourgeois's Ice Grow tomato, Huron wheat, and... this corn.
In an interview in the late 1990s he reached out for help to the public: the Quebec corn that our grandmas used to cultivate has disappeared. Nobody is growing flour corn anymore. After the interview, a lady called the radio station claiming that she did have seeds of a flour corn that had been grown by her family for ages.
This is how she came into contact with Antoine and shared with him her precious treasure. Then, during that summer, Antoine ends up mentioning the corn to a friend, Mrs. France Bouffard. She is really interested and ask for a couple seeds. Reluctant as he as only a few, he ends up giving her 6 seeds. She grew those and multiplied them, enough to make flour for her pancakes. The story could have ended there. Sadly it did not as Antoine died still young and took with him the corn story.
More recently, Mrs. Bouffard reached out to me while I was working for Seeds of Diversity. We chatted, and she ended up mentioning the corn. She then sent me some seeds by the mail. We had a good first harvest from those seeds and, thanks to that, we can now share this variety with you. Luckily, Antoine has also gifted a few to another one of his friends, René Paquet, who has since carefully kept the envelope. On it, a name:
Anita Fournier, from Nicolet.
We are looking for this lady (probably deceased by now) or her offsprings. Please let us know if you know her.
Please note that some of the seeds have been sent to Seeds of Diversity for preservation. With the hopes that you might also contribute to writing a chapter of this story.
For more information, please visit (in French): Antoine d'Avignon (1948-2003), jardinier de la dernière chance"
Please send us pictures of your crops and harvests! We will share them!
Package: 40 seeds
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3,55 $
Originally grown in Sapporo, Agate edamame was introduced in North America by the United States Department of Agriculture during the 1930s. It remains fairly unknown in Quebec, despite its ease of growth. It reaches maturity quickly and tolerates drought.
It's a soybean harvested before reaching maturity, when it is still green. The beans have a subtle hazelnut taste and a high nutritional value, especially in proteins and oils.
Package: 30 seeds
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3,55 $
Spice up movie night with your own homegrown popcorn! This variety is crunchy and has a rich taste, making it ideal for a healthy snack as well.
The seeds are lustrous and black, and pop into appetizing white popcorns.
This variety was developed by the Prairie Road Organic Seed Farm in North Dakota, to our taste buds' greatest pleasure!
Adapted to colder climates and easy to grow, unless you have some hungry birds roaming around your garden! (in which case we recommend using nets)
Package: Around 35 seeds
If you struggle getting your corn to pop: https://www.theartofdoingstuff.com/why-popcorn-sometimes-doesnt-pop/
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3,55 $
Semi-Runner/Dry. 100 days to first dry seed.
Viney plants can be grown on the ground like a bush bean, but would probably benefit from growing on some support. Very productive of 4 to 5 inch oval green pods that are lightly streaked with purple. 4 to 6 small seeds per pod.
The origin is unsure but, according to Fruitition Seeds, seeds were traded at the Common Ground Fair in Maine, USA, in 2003. We obtained them from a seed swap in Ontario.
Package: 30 seeds
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3,55 $
Edamames are originally from Asia. They remain fairly unknown in Quebec, despite how easy they are to grow. It's a soybean eaten before reaching full maturity, and thus still green. They have a subtle hazelnut flavor and are very nutritive.
The Black Panther variety has high yields and is well-adapted to the Quebecois climate.
Package: 30 seeds
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3,55 $
Ancient cherry tomato. Very hardy and productive. The fruits are oval-shaped, 4-5 cm by 2 cm. The skin is black, and the flesh dark red. It is used for making dried tomatoes, sauces, or simply in salads.
Originally from a russian seed saver, Marina Danilenko. It was first introduced to Seed Savers (U.S.), and then made its way to Quebec.
Package: 30 seeds
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3,55 $
This little plant is usually found in prairies or abandoned lands. Its leaves are edible; they're slightly sweet and taste a bit like green peas.
Brother Marie-Victorin writes in Flore Laurentienne 'the leaves get soapy juste like soapweed.' The melliferous flowers attract varied pollinators.
Its common names in French refer to kids have fun bursting the flowers to create an explosion sounds. Just pinch the opening between two fingers to trap the air, and smack it against the back of your hand.
Package: 100 seeds
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3,55 $
This hardy perennial can decorate your garden as nicely as your salads, with its striking dark red veins. It is also great with sandwiches, omelettes, quiches, and most other egg-based dishes. Slightly more tangy than common sorrel, bloody dock is the first to show up in the spring.
Package: 35 seeds
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3,55 $
This bush bean, meant to be eaten dry, was shared with us by Mr. Vachon at a Seedy Saturday, in 2017.
He told us that his great-grandfather, Champlain Vachon, lived in Abitibi, QC, on Abenaki land. Did he obtain those beans from them? Regardless, the Vachon family has been growing them ever since, handing it down from father to son. Very similar to Early Mohawk beans.
Package: 30 seeds
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3,55 $
The Comtesse de Chambord bean is a very ancient variety, from the 1880's. As its name hints, it comes from the Chambord region, in France.
Its small pods of exceptional quality have a very thin skin contain elongated white beans, making it a highly-valued variety.
Branched plant with late maturity.
Package: 30 seeds
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3,50 $
Ancient corn variety introduced in the U.S. during the 1890s. The plant can reach more than 2 m in height, and produces 2 to 3 cobs of 20 cm. The long and white grains are not organized in rows, but instead in a completely irregular way.
The taste is delicate and sweet. Requires a longer cooking time to fully bring the flavour out. Delicious on the BBQ.
Package: 60 seeds
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3,55 $
Quebec garlic is in, but everyone is growing the same variety! Don't put all your garlic in the same basket, and choose biodiversity instead! This package contains 6 different varieties, which will promptly adapt to your garden and your growing conditions, and will prove hardier to nature's challenges.
For more information on garlic culture, please visit (in French) : https://www.terrepromise.ca/culture-bulbilles-dail/
Package: Between 75-100 bulbils
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