Starting your own plants from seed is an easy, economical way to get an early start on summer – and seed catalogues (printed or online) offer an astounding array of choices. Some seeds take longer to germinate than others and need to be sown earlier.

For planting purposes, determine the last-frost date for your area, then plant seeds indoors the appropriate number of weeks in advance.

Check out our sister site www.canadiangardening.com. It's a great resource for all things gardening (and much more!).

Click here for tips on planting seeds indoors, and instructions to build a plant stand.

Here are some online Canadian seed sources:

Angelgrove Tree Seed Company
https://trees-seeds.com

Butchart Gardens
www.butchartgardens.com

Dominion Seed House
www.dominion-seed-house.com

Early's Farm & Garden Centre
www.earlysgarden.com

Florabunda Seeds
www.florabundaseeds.com

Greta's Organic Gardens
www.seeds-organic.com

Hole's Greenhouses & Gardens
www.holesonline.com

Lindenberg Seeds
www.lindenbergseeds.mb.ca

McFayden Seeds
www.mcfayden.com

McKenzie Seeds
www.mckenzieseeds.com

OSC Seeds
www.oscseeds.com

Richters Herb Specialists
www.richters.com

Salt Spring Seeds
www.saltspringseeds.com

Seeds of Distinction
www.seedsofdistinction.com

Stellar Seeds
www.stellarseeds.com

Stokes Seeds
www.stokeseeds.com

Terra Viva
www.tvorganics.com

Veseys Seeds
www.veseys.com

West Coast Seeds
www.westcoastseeds.com

William Dam Seeds
https://www.damseeds.com

Newsletter:

My Shade Garden
www.myshadegarden.com

BackyardGardener.com
www.backyardgardener.com

Tips and info:

Lewis Gardens
www.lewisgardens.com

Seed swap:

Blossom Swap
www.Blossomswap.com

Online gardening plans:

GardenPlans.com
www.gardenplans.com

My Shade Garden
www.myshadegarden.com

Plant-a-Row – Grow-a-Row

Plant A Row – Grow A Row/Un Rang Pour Ceux Qui Ont Faim (PAR/GAR) grew out of the tradition of gardeners sharing their harvest. It began in 1986 when Ron and Eunice O'Donovan of Winnipeg donated extra potatoes from their garden to a local food bank called Winnipeg Harvest – and encouraged their neighbours to do the same.

Since then, gardeners have donated more than 1.4 million pounds of fresh produce to Winnipeg Harvest alone – and PAR/GAR has now spread to communities across the continent.

In Canada, the Composting Council of Canada, the Canadian Association of Food Banks and the Canadian members of the Garden Writers Association sponsor the program.

For more information about PAR/GAR and to find out how to start a campaign in your community, visit www.compost.org/growarowintro.html or call 1-800-571-GROW (4769).

You can also link up with The Composting Council of Canada at www.compost.org or the Canadian Association of Food Banks by e-mailing cafb@icomm.ca.

plant a row, grow a row