Thanks for checking out our Plant Nursery and Seed Shop! Here is some information on the growing conditions of our plants and seeds.

We work with plants and natural cycles. Our plants and seeds are grown organically with no pesticides and no chemical fertilizer.

Most of our plants and seeds are grown in Mulysa’s garden in the Ardenwald neighborhood of Milwaukie, OR. Most of the seeds are saved from year to year in their garden. Our plants are grown outdoors year round so they are acclimated to our Northwest climate, and we never use plant growth regulators to speed up production. This is ‘slow horticulture’.

Sustainably grown grown plants from our partners are from vetted, responsible growers who use integrated pest management systems, no neonic pesticides and conscientious use of water and other natural resources.

None of the plants or seeds are treated with neonicotinoid chemicals.

Those are the pesticides that are highly toxic to bees, and are systemic, meaning the plant takes them up into their system and they are in the leaves, pollen and nectar of the plant for some time (weeks to years). That means if you buy a bee-friendly flower at a store, say a lavender plant, and take it home to your garden, it could have a negative impact on bees that come to your yard. Wherever you buy plants, ask if they are treated with neonics, because consumer awareness and demand for untreated plant will help the industry shift. Big box retailers have been ignoring this issue, but even most independent nurseries are dragging their feet. The Oregon Association of Nurseries director testified to a congressional subcommittee, to paraphrase: the science is not in on neonics and we can’t have our tools [pesticides] taken away from us. The science, according to The Xerces Society and many other groups actually is in, and it’s clear that pesticides are hurting our pollinators which is threatening our food security and habitat. Our pollinators are in crisis, both honey bees and our valuable native pollinators, so this is important!

So, back to our plants and seeds: they are Neonic-Free!

Our plants are safe for bees and are non-GMO.

Furthermore, the seeds are ALL open-pollinated (not hybrid, you can save them yourself) and all the plants and seeds are non-GMO.

We occasionally offer fruit trees and berry bushes that are Certified Salmon-Safe. This means the grower limits use of chemicals (or is organic), manages runoff on their farm to restore water quality and has provided habitat for beneficial insects and wildlife. There are six focus areas to the certification: riparian area management, water use management, erosion and sediment control, integrated pest management, animal management, and biodiversity conservation. For the nursery where the fruit trees and many of the berries were grown, it means conserving water by using drip irrigation and mulching crops, preventing erosion by using cover crops between nursery rows and on fallow fields, for using natural methods to control weeds and pests and for maintaining at least 50 foot setbacks from streams, providing a vegetated, riparian buffer zone.

“Salmon-Safe is an independent nonprofit organization based in the Northwest that is devoted to restoring agricultural and urban watersheds so that salmon can spawn and thrive.”

We pay attention to where plants and seeds are from to protect biodiversity.

Feel free to ask us about seed sources, especially of native plants – we keep track of the provenance of seed to help provide seed that is appropriate for different eco-regions and to promote genetic diversity for greater resilience in a changing climate.