• Post Reply Bookmark Topic Watch Topic
  • New Topic
permaculture forums growies critters building homesteading energy monies kitchen purity ungarbage community wilderness fiber arts art permaculture artisans regional education skip experiences global resources cider press projects digital market permies.com pie forums private forums all forums
this forum made possible by our volunteer staff, including ...
master stewards:
  • Nancy Reading
  • Carla Burke
  • r ranson
  • John F Dean
  • paul wheaton
  • Pearl Sutton
stewards:
  • Jay Angler
  • Liv Smith
  • Leigh Tate
master gardeners:
  • Christopher Weeks
  • Timothy Norton
gardeners:
  • thomas rubino
  • Jeremy VanGelder
  • Maieshe Ljin

Obtaining permaculture plants in Canada

 
Posts: 66
Location: Nova Scotia
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Does anyone have recommendations for tree/plant nurseries that ship to Nova Scotia, Canada?

US nurseries, even in New England will ship to Alaska but not right across the border. I have been dredging the internet for Canadian nurseries selling plants suited to permaculture and have found very few. Maybe there are more that don't have a webpage...

The ones I have found are promising though:

Rhora's Nut Farm & Nursery
http://www.nuttrees.com/
Really exciting place. Nut pines, hybrid oaks, rare fruits...

Grimo Nuts
http://www.grimonut.com/
Less interesting, can't figure out why though. I think the catalog is harder to browse through if you don't know specifically what you are looking for. Great variety of fruits and nuts.

Gardens North
http://www.gardensnorth.com/site/
Great site offering a huge variety of seeds and shipping worldwide. And they happen to be only an hour or two away from here! Just seeds though. If you're not a  germination expert (and I'm not) this is not as easy as seedlings.

Does anyone know of any other Canadian permaculture nurseries? Or places to look for them?
 
                  
Posts: 59
Location: NW Ontario
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I'm not sure about nurseries that specifically cater to "permaculture plants" but here's a couple of links to places I've ordered from (both are in Manitoba):
http://www.heritageharvestseed.com/ Huge inventory of heirloom seeds.
http://www.boughennurseries.net/ Good cold hardy stock.

Your climate will be more forgiving than here in NW ON or Manitoba so you should chose varieties suited to your climate zone/garden. Consider planting native varieties where possible.
 
Joshua Msika
Posts: 66
Location: Nova Scotia
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Yes, sorry, I didn't mean nurseries calling themselves "permaculture nurseries", just nurseries that offered plants useful in the permaculture context rather than ornamentals. Nitrogen-fixers, dynamic Accumulators and edibles are my main focus. However, these characteristics do not seem to be important criteria at all for most nurseries in the Atlantic provinces.

Boughen nurseries looks like a good place. The native small fruits section lists some neat fruit. Thanks for the tip.

 
                  
Posts: 59
Location: NW Ontario
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I ordered 2 hazelnut trees, 2 of MN 447 apple trees and 2 of the Norland apple trees last spring from Boughen.
The root-stocks were all wrapped in wet straw and burlap and shipped by greyhound. They arrived so quickly that I hadn't yet dug holes for them. It was a mad dash to get them in the ground but they're all healthy and happy now.
If I remember correctly, they offered to replace (one time) any trees that didn't take after planting.
 
gardener
Posts: 965
Location: ZONE 5a Lindsay Ontario Canada
12
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Have you looked into Green Barn nursery? http://www.greenbarnnursery.ca/

They have a wide variety of cold hardy fruit and nut trees/bushes, and even a section entitled 'permaculture plants'.

I can't vouch for the health of their mail order stock but I can say that their selection is impressive, and I've talked on the phone with one of the owners and he was extremely helpful and made time for a conversation.

 
pollinator
Posts: 4437
Location: North Central Michigan
43
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
you might also look around and ask your neighbors that seem to have successful plantings of the type of plants that you want to grow..not only might you find out  their sources, but also you  might have a new source, cuttings or seeds from your own neighborhood
 
Joshua Msika
Posts: 66
Location: Nova Scotia
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
The Green Barn Nursery is so great! It's closer than all the other comparable nurseries I've found and sells so many different kinds of fruit, all hardy to well beyond my zone. Thank you Travis.
 
Posts: 0
6
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Ontario based Richter's is mostly seed, and lots of herbs, but they have some plants to help fill an ecosystem.

http://www.richters.com/
 
Travis Philp
gardener
Posts: 965
Location: ZONE 5a Lindsay Ontario Canada
12
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
You're very welcome Jonathan. I was really impressed with their selection too. And I'm excited at the prospect of their hardy fig tree among others. Aparently it can withstand -20 celcius.
 
                        
Posts: 508
3
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
The Green Barn seems to have a great selection but they also seem to be a) a little pricey and b) they list various choices in each category but give no information on which to base a choice, which I found frustrating.
One small outfit for hardy grapes is Voluca  http://www.voloacanursery.com/about.html
I ordered some grapes and some pine trees from them and was very pleased when they arrived..will see how they manage to cope with this winter.
 
Joshua Msika
Posts: 66
Location: Nova Scotia
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator

they list various choices in each category but give no information on which to base a choice, which I found frustrating.



True. I had to look up information in other sources. Not always easy because they don't use latin names. For example they sell a plant called "cherry olive". I'm assuming they mean one of the eleagnus species: Russian olive, autumn olive, goumi, silverberry...
 
                        
Posts: 508
3
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
you might also check out is http://www.grimonut.com/index.php ; and
http://henryfields.com/Default.asp?bhcd2=1283001928
I thought I remembered hearing something distressing about Henry Fields going into bankruptcy but that may have been 1) in error or 2) only applied to the American  side of things as they say they are now taking orders for fall delivery.
I also can recommend Boughen Nurseries.  Both Fields and Boughen Nurseries have been around a long time.
 
Travis Philp
gardener
Posts: 965
Location: ZONE 5a Lindsay Ontario Canada
12
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Not sure if you've got a greenhouse or a south facing window but here's a link to a nursery that has tropical fruit trees among other things, many for container growing. I've heard some people say that their orders took a long time to be delivered but people seemed happy with the plant quality

http://www.floraexotica.ca/
 
                          
Posts: 24
Location: Zone 5a (Canada)
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I've not used these people yet, as I've not planted anything yet. But they're just down the road from my acreage, so I plan on going next spring - I am owed belated birthday presents of Hazels.

Their site claims to have mature trees growing in every Canadian province.

http://www.goldenboughtrees.ca/about.shtml

Also in my area, the local conservation authority sells bulk native trees for delivery in May. ($0.65 to 0.85 per tree tax included).

Travis Philp wrote:
You're very welcome Jonathan. I was really impressed with their selection too. And I'm excited at the prospect of their hardy fig tree among others. Aparently it can withstand -20 celcius.

I too am very excited about the idea of a fig tree.... I'd be very interested in hearing people's experience, but a fig is some time down the road for me as it would need a carefully planned / covered site to handle -30C, but I have read that once they are established, they can die down in a harsh winter and regrow and fruit in one season.
 
                        
Posts: 508
3
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Golden Bough Nurseries looks very interesting..I wish my climate  would allow some of their offerings. This is wonderful to learn about resources otherwise unknown! Thanks to this site and the people who put it together and manage it!

As far as figs..I have never grown them but have seen them growing outside in Victoria, B.C. But ..I have always been told that anywhere else in Canada  they must be buried overwinter to survive. I have been told of people who have managed to keep figs in Toronto by doing this every year. Don't know about dieback and regrowth..sounds as though you will be leading the way here. Good luck and please keep us informed if you do try them.
 
                                      
Posts: 1
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
There is a new seed company starting in the Annapolis Valley, NS:
http://www.annapolisseeds.com/
 
Travis Philp
gardener
Posts: 965
Location: ZONE 5a Lindsay Ontario Canada
12
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
My tentative plan is to buy 3-5, put them in a few different spots, and see if they survive. One spot is a 5 foot high mound of soil at the top of a slope with good wind protection, another is on a 5 foot high hugelkultur bed, and another is on the south side of a 50' X 30'-40 ' pond. I'd mulch heavy with rocks too if possible. If I do try this out I'll post about it.
 
                          
Posts: 24
Location: Zone 5a (Canada)
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Until I read this article, it hadn't occurred to me that figs could even be an option in ontario... I'm basing my dreams of fig on this!

http://www.ediblecommunities.com/toronto/summer-2009/fig-fetishists.htm
 
This tiny ad will self destruct in five seconds.
12 DVDs bundle
https://permies.com/wiki/269050/DVDs-bundle
reply
    Bookmark Topic Watch Topic
  • New Topic