Garden Day at Cordata

Join us for a fun morning at the Cordata store and celebrate spring, gardening, and get some tips on enhancing your yard.

Hands-on and educational activities include—

seed planting activity for kids with Renel Anderson, president of Biochar Supreme
tours of our native, edible, drought-tolerant landscaping with Scott Milam of Beeline Designs
Master Gardeners on-site to share advice and answer questions
tasty housemade food samples from the Co-op including breakfast sausage, cinnamon rolls, and organic strawberries topped with whipped cream from Twin Brook Creamery
specials in our garden center.

25% off Garden Starts and Outdoor Plants

Saturday and Sunday only! Get your garden growing!

RSVP on Facebook for reminders.

Select from flowers, herbs, veggie starts, annuals, perennials, outdoor succulents, and more.
• Most of our offerings are locally grown in Whatcom or Skagit counties.
• We’re proud to carry organic flower, veggie, and herb starts from Sunseed Farm in Acme.
Our vendors include:
Sunseed Farm: organically grown veggie, flower & herb starts - grown in Whatcom County
Thompson's Greenhouse: annuals, perennials & herbs
Dirty Knees Nursery: flower & herb starts
Joe's Gardens, Bellingham: veggie, flower & herb starts

Meet Your Farmer: Sunseed Farm

by Megan Stilp, Cordata Produce

Locally grown organic garden starts available now at your co-op!

Nick Guilford tending plant starts in Sunseed Farm’s eight greenhouses. After the germination chamber, the small starts move into this warm greenhouse to grow before being hardened off for outdoor planting in the cooler greenhouses.

Nestled in the valley of the south fork of the Nooksack River sits Sunseed Farm. Nick Guilford, proprietor, has been using organic growing methods since starting the business in 1997 and obtained organic certification in 2001. On the farm you’ll find organic garden starts, many destined for sale at the Co-op, growing right alongside the plants that go into Sunseed’s fields for vegetable and herb production.

This makes for less transplant shock, and an earlier, more abundant yield.

Most plant starts sold in our area are chemically raised, which can make for a hard transition into a garden where they aren't being fed a nutrient solution every day. According to Sunseed’s website, “Our organic starts not only come with a longer lasting nutrient base in the pot, but the plants are also in a more natural, nutrient foraging relationship with the soil. This makes for less transplant shock, and an earlier, more abundant yield.” Additionally, over a 20-year career as a market farmer, Nick has selected varieties of crops that have been proven to thrive in our climate. All of these factors can help produce a successful home gardening experience when using starts from Sunseed Farm.

You can find their organic garden starts at both Community Food Co-op locations from about mid-March through the end of our often unpredictable local planting season. You can also find Sunseed Farm at the Saturday Bellingham Farmers Market.

Dedicated to your gardening success, Sunseed’s website is a great resource for the home gardener, with planting tips and schedules, articles on season extension, and even a selection of their favorite gardening tools and books available for purchase.