Cicada Seeds

07/02/2026

Come for a farm tour and potluck this August, in partnership with Young Agrarians!
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I’ll take us on a tour of our quarter acre seed farm, where we grow high-quality perennial vegetable seeds using practices that support ecological diversity and minimize soil disturbance.⁠
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I’ll share my experience of scaling up my home seed saving practice into a viable seed business on land leased through the B.C. Land Matching Program. You’ll have the chance to ask questions about farm start-up, seed growing, land sharing, and why you might want to integrate perennial foods into your farm or garden. The evening will wrap up with a potluck dinner, with plenty of time to socialize.⁠
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Come on out to share a potluck meal and learn about seeds and perennial vegetables!
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🕛️ WHEN: Monday, August 10, 2026 | 5–8 pm⁠
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📍 LOCATION: Unceded Kwalikum, Snaw-naw-as and K’ómoks territories | Errington, BC⁠
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Reserve your spot here https://youngagrarians.org/events/august-10-2026-errington-bc-farm-tour-and-potluck-at-cicada-seeds/
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06/29/2026

These are going to be incredible workshops- I can’t wait! Peter and Greg are SO knowledgeable and great teachers.

It’s your last chance to register for the Woody Perennials one- deadline June 30.

Please spread the word!

Registration for the July 17th Establishing Woody Perennials Systems course closes on June 30th!

06/09/2026

What a treat to visit this special farm in the Japanese countryside! Many thanks to for hosting me and my 7(!) friends, and showing us how they grow and propagate chorogi, aka crosnes or Chinese artichoke.

The farm is located in a small community near Himeji City in Hyogo Prefecture. Jin, Yuzu, and Mr and Mrs Hashimoto graciously agreed to let us visit to talk about chorogi, and Mrs Hashimoto prepared us a delicious lunch of somen (a cold noodle dish) and onigiri made with rice from the community farm that Mr Hashimoto leads!

Jin specialized in chorogi in university, and one thing he found is that propagating the plants by stem cuttings reduces disease spread. In Japan, chorogi is sometimes eaten pickled for New Year’s, and Jin is working to make it more popular.

One shared issue facing chorogi production in both Japan and Canada is summer heatwaves as chorogi prefers cooler temperatures. We shared ideas about ways to shade the crop, such as companion planting with apios (hodoimo) or Chinese yam (nagaimo).

Jin and Yuzu started farming in this area because of a program to get young people to move to the area, and they were paired with the Hashimoto family in an internship. It sounds like the program has been successful, and could serve as a good example for ageing farming communities in Canada as well.

One more lucky thing about our visit was that Mrs Hashimoto is a coffee enthusiast, and made us amazing coffees and even showed us how to roast the beans with a special ceramic pot!

This visit has been a highlight of the trip and I’m looking forward to staying connected with these wonderful folks.

05/29/2026

Cicada Seeds is going to Japan and I want your recommendations!

I’ve been so impressed to learn about the celebration of perennial vegetables in Japan. There seems to be a strong appreciation of sansai (mountain vegetables), many of which are now cultivated instead of foraged, and many are perennial!

Many regions in Japan have similar climates to Canada so we can grow many of the same species. I would love to see how farms are growing these vegetables on a larger scale, since we are pretty slow to embrace these crops here in North America, despite their many benefits to climate, soil health, the growers, etc.

I’m leaving next week and would love your recommendations. In particular I’m looking for farms growing the following cool-climate perennial veg:
- groundnut, hodoimo (Apios spp.)
- hosta, gibōshi/urui (Hosta spp.)
- udo (Aralia cordata)
- mountain yam, nagaimo/yamaimo (Dioscorea spp.)

Also open to other sansai or just cool natural farms in general, farmers markets, or restaurants using these vegetables. I’ll be in Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto mainly but happy to travel. Also a sweet Japanese friend is travelling with us and willing to translate 🥹

Pictured is one of my favourite root veggies, crosne aka chorogi in Japan!

05/01/2026

I hear people line up down the street for this sale, so get here early for the best selection! Saturday 9am-1pm Yambury Road, Qualicum. My booth will be under the beautiful wisteria 💕

04/30/2026

I’ll be at the Qualicum Beach Garden Club Plant Sale on Saturday from 9am-1pm! 525 Yambury Road. I will have my seeds and a great selection of potted perennial vegetables.

See what seeds are currently in stock at www.cicadaseeds.ca

Hope to see you there!

04/29/2026

Thanks so much for these great photos, and to all who came out on Saturday! It was so fun- we will definitely do it again!

04/09/2026

I was honoured to be invited onto the Food Garden Life Podcast with Steven Biggs recently to chat about perennial vegetables. The episode just dropped!

We chatted about:
- Ways to use perennial vegetables in a home-garden setting
- Why perennial vegetables are a game-changer for sustainable gardening
- My top perennial vegetable recommendations

And we also take a tangent to discuss how my new ‘Venus of Willendorf’ tomato came to be

Whether you’re curious about food forests, edible perennials, or just want to try something new, tune in! And please let me know your thoughts.

Learn how to grow perennial vegetables (edible perennial crops) in a Canadian garden with Michalina Hunter of Cicada Seeds. Tips on perennial vegetable crops, food forests, and sustainable gardening.