The Pakenham Seedling Library

05/23/2026

Ready, set, plant(...most things!). I have created some descriptions and care instructions for the various tomatoes, peppers, veggies and flowers :) It includes some planting tips, as well as a description and fact about them. Please check them out below for any you've gotten - it may also help disspell what "Gard Del" or "ARYC" means :D

05/22/2026

It’s official… in just over 24 hours, we have COMPLETELY RUN OUT OF PLANTS! We will be closing up the greenhouse / library for the next 10 or so days, before we can return with some of the later-starting wildflowers and herbs. Please give the page a like/follow to see when these smaller releases of plants will come, as there’s still more veggies and pollinator-loving flowers to be had yet 💚

This really has gone to show how much of an appetite people have for this neighbourly, very low cost gesture we can do for one another. Everyone who has stopped by has had a different story and reason they use this library, but a few main points shone through: affordability, food security, or a desire for adventure to start a garden or a new type of flower/tomato.

In all, I have given out approximately:
- 300 tomatoes
- 100 Aztec Marigolds
- 30 Dahlias
- 30 Zinnia
- 30 cucumbers
- 30 peppers
- 20 zucchini
- 20 snap peas
- 15 Cilantro
- 15 Basil
- Dozens of native wildflowers such as Black Eyed Susan, Blazing Star, Jacob’s Ladder and yarrow

Big shoutout to the donated lights, shelving, and seedlings that were brought in and distributed out. We’ll continue accepting any extra donations you have, as I can say confidently they’ll find a great new home each time 🙂

My heart is so full after this major outpouring of enthusiasm, support, and appreciation at what my little neighbourly initiative has done. From what started as just some seeds in my office under light in mid-March, to the massive volume that was in the greenhouse just yesterday morning, I can’t believe they’ve all found homes.

Thank you, everyone!!
Tavis

05/22/2026

Hi folks! Day one is now behind us, and the interest was INSANE! 💚 With a constant flow of guests from noon until after 4:30, and many others until 7, we successfully gave away over 300 tomatoes, 100 marigolds, 40 cucumbers, 30 peppers, 30 zinnias, 30 dahlias, 20 zucchini, 20+ snap peas, a dozen cilantro and some other seedlings I’m surely forgetting. This exceeded my expectations completely and I am so excited to have tended to everything that now have gone to homes.

Tomorrow, we will open again around 7am for what I assume is the final day for now- we have approximately 30 tomato seedlings of many different varieties, as well as more cucumbers and snap peas. It will be all out on the table tomorrow, with the greenhouse closed up so that the seedlings being saved for two school programs (Pakenham and Naismith), as well as ones for my own garden of course 😅 I will make a post once the remainder of things find their home. Although this is the biggest haul of seedlings, there will be additional batches of items that come in via donation or sprout and are ready for pickup from my own supply. The best way to keep in the know of those is to follow this page 🙂

With so much gratitude and a very worn out voice from the great talks today,
Tavis

05/21/2026

What a busy day so far today! 💚 We are now completely out of marigolds, zinnias and zucchini, with a decent but dwindling supply of tomatoes left, as well as cucumbers and snap peas. No promises we don’t run out of everything by tonight, which is truly making my heart so full with joy while also anxious with the idea of not supplying everyone what they can use.

05/21/2026

🍅 Meet your tomato seedlings: perfectly imperfect and ready to thrive.

This little guy looks like it’s had a rough few weeks. Floppy stem, leaning sideways, a few lower leaves removed. And it doesn’t matter one bit!

Tomatoes are one of the only vegetables where burying the stem deeper actually makes the plant stronger. Every bit of stem has these hairs/nodes, and those are basically begging to touch soil to then send more roots out underground. More roots means more water collection, more nutrients, and plenty of tomatoes.

When planting them, ones like these I remove lower stems (just pinching them off) and bury them an extra few of inches deeper and don’t blink twice at their outlook. There are certainly lots of seedlings that look more traditional with their upright approach, and those may end up being a touch less deep, but each and every seedling in the library I would happily put in my own garden (and 24 of them actually will be, heh). I’ll link to an Epic Gardening YouTube video in the comments, where they did a whole analysis on the depths and found that yield difference when transplanting was minimal. These plants don’t care how they got there — they just grow.

I’ve hardened off all of the tomatoes for over two weeks now, so they are ready to get into the ground, and if you’re planting this weekend you’ll be off to a great start.

If you’re picking up a seedling from the library this spring, don’t worry about whether yours looks a little wonky. They all do. They’re all fine 🌱 💚

05/20/2026

The Pakenham Seedling Library opens tomorrow after twelve PM, at 127 Jessie Street (just down from the library) Stop by anytime—tomatoes, herbs, flowers, and pollinator plants are ready to go. There’s a frost warning tonight and tomorrow night, so keep your starts indoors overnight if you pick them up.

This is a somewhat self-guided experience. Tomato varieties are on a table out front of the greenhouse, with information cards for each plant. If you’d like to browse inside the greenhouse, you’re welcome to—there are plenty of reserves back there. Take what you need, come and go as you please.

We’d especially encourage you to grab an Aztec Marigold if you stop by. It’s one of my favorites—a beautiful tall orange flower that grows into a full bush. I grew them all from my own seeds, and they’re a wonderful companion plant. I’ve got over a hundred, so there’s plenty to go around.

I’m around during lunch and after five if you’d like to chat, otherwise just help yourself. Everything’s free and grown right here in Pakenham and Almonte 🙂

05/12/2026

Optimistic news for Pakenham gardeners! 🙂 Based on the 14-day forecast, it looks like we’ve seen our last frost of the season. Lows are staying well above freezing right through to the end of May.

The Environment Canada Ottawa CDA frost probability data backs this up. By mid-May, the chance of a hard frost (0°C or below) has already dropped to around 20% — and it falls to roughly 10% by May 18–20. Statistically, we’re deep in tail-risk territory.

The forecast is doing its part too. Environment Canada’s 7-day forecasts are reliable within a degree or two — and the coldest night in that window is 7°C. Even if the forecast is off by 2°C, we’re still sitting at 5°C. You’d need a 7-degree forecast error to see frost damage, and that simply doesn’t happen. The trend is also warming, not cooling — Monday is forecasted at 16°C overnight, which is remarkable for mid-May. Beyond day 7, forecast precision drops, but the directional signal stays reliable, and what it’s showing is more of the same: mild nights, no cold snaps in sight through May 26.

That means cold-hardy plants can start heading outside now. The warm-season crops are a different story — tomatoes and peppers actually want warm soil, not just frost-free air, so they’ll wait a little longer for conditions that are truly right for them. In the meantime I’ll be keeping an eye on the forecast, and if something sketchy shows up I’m not above throwing a tarp over the early movers. Zone 5b keeps you humble 😅🌱

05/11/2026

Took all the tomatoes out for a quick greenhouse rearrangement, and did a rough count of how many - 250+! There’s at least 10 varieties, all heirlooms (I save seeds of my own to keep costs low), and all hardened off (including taking on yesterday’s hail by accident, lol). The next 14 days will be all about them gaining more strength and building a good root system so that they’re ready to be planted once we look clear from frost.

In addition to tomatoes, I will also have the following, in less quantity than tomatoes but enough to share 🙂:
- Peppers
- Aztec Marigolds
- Zucchini
- Cilantro
- Celery Leaf
- Curly parsley
- Snap Peas
- Black Eyed Susans
- Dahlias
- Zinnias
- Yarrow
- Calendula
- Other native plants as they emerge
- Maybe cucumbers
- Green and Yellow Beans divided up with instructions, as they are direct sown instead of done ahead of time

Plus, other items depending on what spare seedlings others have and would like to bring by! So far I’ve received 30+ tomatoes, celery leaf and parsley as donations, and I’m always accepting more as other gardeners take inventory and realise they might have some extra to share 🙂

05/08/2026

Things are getting pretty serious here! 29 Equipment has brought over the soil, all the tomatoes are out of my living room and into the greenhouse, and I’m ready to start potting up and sowing the later spring starts, like zucchini and snap peas.

05/07/2026

29 Equipment has generously donated a yard of their garden mix, which is coming up critical in our potting-up efforts.

Seeds are started and firs potted up in the much-pricier Pro Mix and potted up into as it’s airy and manages water well, which lets seedlings really establish themselves. After then, they can move into this triple mix, which is a more typical garden bed material with lots of nutrition they then demand.

Did you know that Aprils best seller in our landscape depot was the "Original" Garden Soil, Our product is mixed in house with equal parts of Mushroom compost and Topsoil.
We have freshly restocked our pile! come and get yours today or book your delivery for Thursday/Friday to start planting your gardens this mother's day weekend ! FYI we are open on Saturday too for pick up!