Montreal Melon

In 1995, a carpenter found a bag of about 200 seeds in the attic of an abandoned house, where no one had lived for several years already, in Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce. The neighbors claimed that this house hadn't had any garden in well over 60 years. Mrs. Gérard Parent, to whom they were given, tried to get them to grow; only three germinated. From those three initial plants originate all the current Mémé de Beauce plants found in Quebec.   Package: 30 seeds

Heirloom variety introduced to the Saint Lawrence River Valley by French settlers in the 17th Century. It is still eaten today and makes delicious pea soup. High yielding plants. They will need trellising and can grow up to 1 meter tall. The Potager d'Antan reports this story : « According to an old European tradition dating back from the 15th Century, Hubertus, patron saint of hunters, was associated with the pea soup. To make a long story short, during his lifetime, in the 7th Century, Hubert went astray, hunted on Good Friday, and while pursuing a stag, he had a vision in which he saw the animal with a crucifix between its antlers and heard a voice enjoining him to lead a holy life. Hubertus later performed many miracles, evangelized pagans in distant countries, and erected temples dedicated to the Lord. He died on May 30, 727. His relics were translated on November 3, 743. His feast day is November 3 in Belgium and May 30 in France. In memory of Saint Hubert, European settlers in Quebec supposedly kept the name of this pea variety, used in the preparation of the « hunting soup ». For the complete story, visit the Potager d’Antan website. This variety is very rare and is considered endangered.   Package: 30 seeds

This tomato variety was developed in the early 50s by the geneticist and profesor Joseph-O Vandal. He worked for the Laval University for over 30 years, and created several horticultural varieties adapted to our climate. Quebec #13 tomatoes are vigorous and give average-sized dark red fruits early in the season. This tomato has an exceptional taste, very few seeds, and a thin skin which is easy to peel off. This variety must be eaten in the days following harvest as it doesn't keep as well as store-bought tomatoes. Package: 30 seeds

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

This dark pink tomato comes from the Lower Saint-Lawrence, more specifically from Rivière-du-Loup. The seeds come from Mrs. Francine Mailloux. She gifted some to René Paquet, who gave them to Michel Richard (Potager d'Antan), who then handed them to me. It is now our turn to share them with you! René describes this tomato as hefty and says that the indeterminate plant will have high yields of pink-fleshed red-skinned fruits. They will usually weight between 400 and 850 grams, but could be even heavier in some cases. To know more, please visit the Potager d'antan website (in French): https://potagersdantan.com/2018/10/17/la-tomate-rose-italienne/   Package: 30 seeds