#PacificAster is one of my fave #NativePlants to use for #rewilding & for attracting more #pollinators.

It's a small, hardy, beautiful purple #NativeWildflower which is found from BC to California. It's tolerant of many different coastal habitats, from ocean sand dunes to rocky outcrops to salt marshes to grasslands to forests. Great plant to use for soil erosion & slopes stabilization work. It has a deep, clumpy, extensive fibrous root system - don't grow beside plants with weaker root systems.

Pacific aster is extremely easy to grow in it's native grow zones, across coastal PNW areas. You'll love their long bloom time, from late May into late October. It provides pollen sources for pollinators in Fall. After they stop blooming, they'll produce fluffy seed heads, full of prolific wind-born #seeds. Snip off tops of seed heads to save them. I store mine in airtight jars & share a lot of them too.

#gardening #Bloomscrolling #florespondence #Saanich #Gardeners #botanical #Flowers #PollinatorGarden #VictoriaBC #YYJ #VancouverIsland #VanIsle #PacificNorthwest #Cascadia #PNW #Zone8 #perennials #VictoriaBC #Wsanec #PlantLovers #FallFlowers #Autumn #Nature #SeedSavers #SeedKeepers #SeedSharing #SeedBanking #SeedCollecting #SilentSunday #biodiversity

So I deleted my previous post re: mouldy seeds; I've discarded them on the suggestion of someone IRL who's had this problem before. I'll also have to throw out the lime pickles I've been making for kinda the same problem. I'd packed in limes which had already begun to spoil in the extreme conditions of the May-June '24 heatwave. The limes didn't ferment correctly and have bittered 😟

However! I've learned a bit of what doesn't work, and now I'll begin again ✊🏽 I'll have to work faster and more carefully [no waiting for the fruit to stockpile -- get to work immediately; no leaving seeds in open air or plastic bags -- wash and sun while fresh and pack properly ( @kellyromanych suggested silica packets and paper bags -- thank you 🩷)] I must also give more thought to food preservation in general because with climate change, gardens are dying and foods are spoiling faster. And then everything is doubly difficult when dealing with chronic illness.

But I'm keeping @PhoenixSerenity 's practice in mind here: frugality, simplicity, working with as few materials as strictly necessary.

I also desperately need a regular income, but I'm still figuring out how.

If you want to, can you please share any suggestions or tips re: food preservation and keeping seed libraries/banks?

#ClimateDiary #ClimateChangeGardening #SeedLibrary #ClimateCuisine #FoodPreservation #SeedBanking