Get Gardening with the Cowichan Farm & Food Hub

Spring is well underway in the Cowichan Valley, and it’s such a beautiful time to watch the natural world come to life. Gardening is a way anyone can participate in the cycle of growth, whether you have a huge vegetable garden out back or just a few potted plants in your living room. Tending to living things and helping them flourish is tonic for the soul.

At the Cowichan Farm & Food Hub (formerly the Garden Education Centre), we can help you get set up with locally adapted seeds and plant seedling starts from our nursery. Everything is grown in organic materials and we save much of the seed ourselves on-site. We have a large variety of native plants and medicinals alongside fruit, vegetables and ornamentals. The tomatoes and peppers are looking especially fine.

If you’re not sure where to start or have questions about gardening in general, we’re happy to chat about all things growing and share what works best for this climate. You can take a stroll around the farm and greenhouses to give your imagination all the fuel it needs to put together your perfect plant sanctuary.

We would also love for you to check out our Community Seed Library, connecting local growers with locally adapted seeds. We invite all community members to contribute local non-GMO seeds and also to come and take seeds to grow out in your garden. Taking part in the seed library is an excellent opportunity to support local seed sovereignty and increase the collective seed bank. Local food security begins with a seed.

Come by and visit us today at the Cowichan Farm & Food Hub. You’ll find us at 2431 Beverly Street in Duncan, and we’re open Tuesdays to Saturdays from 9:00 to 4:30. You can also give us a call at 250-597-8200 or an email at farmhub@cowichangreencommunity.org.

Phil Reilander is the Farm & Food Hub marketing coordinator with the Cowichan Green Community.