From vegetable soup to borage soup

Botany and seed production, from an art to a profession

Summary table presenting 456 variéties of seeds.

Vine tomatoes.

In September, seed harvests are at their peak and fruits of all kinds are abundant. Marie and Guillaume enjoy their lush garden, which provides them with all the ingredients they need for making a meal brimming with flavour. Tomato prosciutto, Georgian-style stuffed eggplant rolls, and pear tart with hyssop are some of the dishes they make using the “seed-to plate” approach proposed by Patrice Fortier, a seed producer in Kamouraska.

Enjoy the video interview, with its full transcript.

The profession of seed producer or “seed merchant” is fairly recent. From John Wright in 1766 to Patrice Fortier in 2024, let’s follow the path taken by these innovators.

First seed producer in Lower Canada?

John Wright was one of the first collectors and merchants of seeds from “exotic” varieties, or those proven to be native to Quebec. We have found traces of his work as official gardener to Governor James Murray. Wright is believed to have been the first person, as of 1766, to promote the recording, cataloguing, exchange, and sale of so-called “Canadian” seeds.

Auguste Dupuis.

In the 19th century, many seed merchants advertised in the Gazette de Québec or La Minerve in Montreal. Market gardeners in the Kamouraska region advertised in the Gazette des Campagnes, but most frequented the nursery of Auguste Dupuis in the village of Saint-Roch-des-Aulnaies.

Seed catalogue.

Modern agronomy began to thrive thanks to agricultural schools, particularly the one in Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière. Maurice Couture and Lucien Dubé came onto the scene, collecting seeds for the herbarium in Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière, now known as the  Herbier Campagna-Dubé.

Lucien Dubé.

From 1945 to 1950, Lucien Dubé ran a business producing vegetable and flower seeds, imported products that had become scarce due to the war. He also offered several varieties of fruit and nut trees from his small farm and pine forest.

Seed catalogue.