On Saturday, May 3, 2025, tables at Nanaimo North Town Centre on Rutherford Road filled with vegetables, herbs, small fruits, perennials, shrubs and ferns, all grown by members of the Nanaimo Horticultural Society. Master Gardeners stood by to answer questions, and the listing gave one piece of advice: come early. The sale ran from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in a shopping mall rather than a church hall, the society's usual meeting place.
The plant sale is also a useful anchor for the rest of the growing year around Nanaimo. Seed swaps come first, in February and March. Farmers markets open on Mother's Day and in mid-May, a coupon program and a weekly produce box help people who cannot pay market prices, and the cranberry harvest at Yellow Point closes the season in autumn.
Eighty years of the Nanaimo Horticultural Society
The society's own history puts its first meeting on December 10, 1946, in the Eagles' Lounge. Bill Wheeler took the chair, J. W. Dawson kept the books, and Lois Mottl was the first secretary. At a Legion Hall meeting on February 12, 1947, members set annual dues at $1 for men and 50 cents for women and elected Harry Tuck as the first official president. The first summer show followed on June 27 and 28 that year, with adult admission at 25 cents.
The club stayed small for a while. By November 1950 it had 43 paid members, half of them from outside the city, and it moved between halls: the Eagles', the Legion, the Scout and Foresters' halls, the Departure Bay Fire Hall and Brechin Church.
President Connie Kuramoto told CHLY in August 2026 that the society has 80 members, down from about 200 before the COVID-19 pandemic. Some members have belonged for more than 50 years, and younger members have revived parlour shows, open garden tours and field trips.
The 80th anniversary was marked on Sunday, August 23, 2026, at Maffeo Sutton Park, with worm-bin demonstrations, a propagation workshop where visitors potted up their own cuttings, a parlour show and a five-hour clinic by the Vancouver Island Master Gardener Association. The park's own master plan went to council as a draft on November 27, 2017, and no adoption vote has turned up since.
How to shop the spring plant sale and the club year
The society describes the spring sale as a place where members share and buy plants from each other, and the stock is whatever members have grown, so the mix is never quite the same twice. If you are after something specific, such as a particular small fruit, arriving at opening time is the only strategy the organizers offer.
The rest of the year happens at monthly meetings. In autumn 2026 they were held at 1:30 p.m. on Saturdays at St Andrew's Presbyterian Church, 4235 Departure Bay Road, with doors open at 1 p.m., a short business meeting, a speaker and a $1 snack break. The October 10 speaker was Don Moslin of the Nanaimo dahlia society, on planting, feeding, cutting back and storing tubers. Members bring flowers and produce to show from March to November.
Dues are $35 for an individual, $50 for a household and $20 for a student. The membership card brings a 5 to 15 per cent discount at some local nurseries, and the society funds an annual bursary for a horticulture student at Vancouver Island University.
Kuramoto put the club's pitch plainly. "We're just a bunch of gardeners who you know love to share our experiences with other gardeners," she told CHLY. Worm composting got particular attention at the anniversary because it works without a yard; larger volumes of clippings can go to the Church Road Transfer Station near Parksville or the Cedar Road landfill. If you plant bulbs bought at the sale, cover them: the black squirrels around Nanaimo dig them up.
Seedy Sunday in Nanaimo and Seedy Saturday in Qualicum Beach
Seed swaps start the year. Nanaimo's Seedy Sunday is run by Nanaimo Foodshare and the Nanaimo Community Gardens Society and usually falls on the first Sunday in March. The 2026 edition took place on March 1, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., at Nanaimo District Secondary School, 355 Wakesiah Avenue. Its core is a seed exchange table, surrounded by more than 40 exhibitors selling open-pollinated and organic seed, seedlings, small fruits and succulents, along with free workshops and children's activities.
Qualicum Beach holds the larger event a month earlier. The Qualicum Beach Seedy Saturday Association traces the idea to Vancouver, where Sharon Rempel led a committee that held the first Seedy Saturday at VanDusen Botanical Garden in 1989 and gave the event its name. Master Gardeners on the island organized the first Qualicum Beach edition in February 2003; more than 900 people came. Attendance reached about 3,200 in 2023, and the event needs about 70 volunteers on the day.
The 22nd edition ran on February 7, 2026, and the 23rd is set for February 6, 2027, at the Qualicum Beach Civic Centre, 747 Jones Street, from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Entry is by donation, and there is no ATM.
The organizers' advice for anyone saving seed this autumn is specific. Wait until seed heads turn brown before harvesting, tie a paper bag over them while they ripen, clean off the chaff, and label each packet with variety, colour, light and soil needs and the year. Seed from invasive plants is not welcome.
Three farmers markets on three different days
Cedar's market has the longest story of the three. Executive director Kate Poirier told NanaimoNewsNOW in May 2026 that it started 30 years earlier at the Crow & Gate Pub with a handful of farmers and the Cedar Women's Institute. It has grown from six vendors to about 175 businesses over a season. It now runs every Sunday from Mother's Day to the end of October on the old Woodbank School grounds at 1984 Woobank Road, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., with a quieter half hour from 9:30 a.m. reserved for seniors and shoppers with disabilities.
The crowds are the market's main problem. Poirier said in April 2026 that opening day in 2025 drew a record of about 3,500 people. NanaimoNewsNOW then reported that organizers counted more than 5,000 on opening day, May 10, 2026.
Island Roots fills the middle of the week. It runs every Wednesday of the year from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Beban Park, outdoors on the lawn by the Centennial Building in summer and inside the building from October 21, 2026, to May 5, 2027. Manager Michele Greene counted 54 vendors at the first outdoor market of 2026, a record, and said trade jumped when tariffs first hit. "There are a lot of people who only come to the summer market," she said.
The downtown market works the waterfront. Tourism Nanaimo lists the Nanaimo Downtown Farmers' Market at Pioneer Waterfront Plaza on Front Street beside the Bastion, on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. between May and September. The listing is undated, so confirm the day before going.
Coupons and the Good Food Box
Two programs help people who cannot pay full price. The BC Farmers' Market Nutrition Coupon Program started as a pilot in 2007, and the Ministry of Health has funded it since 2012. Community partner organizations hand out coupons to lower-income families, pregnant people and seniors, and the coupons buy vegetables, fruit, eggs, dairy, meat, fish, honey and vegetable and fruit plants at participating markets. Enrolled households can get up to $27 a week for up to 16 weeks.
In June 2026 the province committed $4.25 million to the program and said it had served about 8,200 households in 2025 through about 240 partners. The same release said the 2026 program was already full. NanaimoNewsNOW reported that Island Roots and the Gabriola market take the coupons; Cedar's market also runs the program.
The second program is year-round. Nanaimo Foodshare's Good Food Box began in 1998, modelled on Toronto Foodshare's. Around the turn of the millennium a handful of customers bought a $10 box once a month. Today 500 to 750 boxes go out every Thursday to depots in Nanaimo, Ladysmith, Gabriola and Parksville, packed by more than 50 volunteers. A box costs $15 and is open to anyone. The program's own pages disagree a little on what you get: one says seven to nine kinds of produce worth $20 to $30, the order page says seven to ten kinds worth $25 to $30 at grocery prices. Most of it comes from a local produce distributor, with some from local farms. Orders close at midnight on the Tuesday of the week before.
Both programs have used Beban Park. In May 2020 the City of Nanaimo lent the Centennial Building to Foodshare for packing boxes and to Island Roots for its online orders.
Cranberries at Yellow Point and other farm food
South of the city, the harvest runs later. Yellow Point Cranberries, at 4532 Yellow Point Road near Ladysmith, belongs to Grant and Justine Keefer, who bought the land in 2001. Accounts of the early years differ. Edible Vancouver Island wrote in 2021 that the first small harvest came in 2004 after three years of field work, while the Nanaimo News Bulletin reported in 2020 that the farm had grown fruit commercially since 2009 on more than seven hectares.
Most of the crop goes to Ocean Spray. The Bulletin counted the Keefers among about 80 families in B.C. who grow for the co-operative, and Edible Vancouver Island put the farm's output at more than 90,000 kilograms a year. At water harvest, workers in hip waders and life jackets push floating booms across flooded fields to gather the berries. Fresh berries for the holidays come off the vines with a small combing machine instead.
For 2026 the farm said fresh cranberries would be ready from September 25 in one-kilogram bags, with its store open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily until Christmas Eve and the Cedar market on its list of autumn stops. More island-grown produce ends up in bottles at the wineries, cideries and craft breweries from Saanich to the Comox Valley.
Two things are harder to pin down. Current, dated listings for u-pick strawberry fields near Nanaimo are scarce, so phone a farm before driving out; strawberry plants turn up among the small fruits at the spring sale. Poultry has its showcase at the Coombs Fair in August, which in 2023 expected more than 200 birds at its poultry show.
The society that started with 43 paid members in 1950 is now at 80, and its president has said the job is to "light that spark" in new gardeners. Whether the newer members who revived the parlour shows push that number back toward 200 is the open question for the next decade.
Questions
When is the Nanaimo Horticultural Society plant sale?
It is held in spring. The 2025 sale ran on Saturday, May 3, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Nanaimo North Town Centre on Rutherford Road. The society posts each year's date on nanaimohort.org and its Facebook page, so check there before planning a trip.
Can non-members go to Nanaimo Horticultural Society meetings?
Yes. Visitors are welcome at every meeting for a donation and are asked to sign in at the welcome desk. Meetings in autumn 2026 were held on Saturday afternoons at St Andrew's Presbyterian Church on Departure Bay Road.
How much does it cost to join the Nanaimo Horticultural Society?
The society lists $35 for an individual, $50 for a household and $20 for a student. A mailed newsletter costs $15 extra; the emailed version is included, and the membership card brings discounts of 5 to 15 per cent at some local nurseries.
Where is Seedy Sunday held in Nanaimo?
The 2026 edition was at Nanaimo District Secondary School, 355 Wakesiah Avenue, on Sunday, March 1, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. It is run by Nanaimo Foodshare and the Nanaimo Community Gardens Society and usually falls on the first Sunday in March.
When is the next Qualicum Beach Seedy Saturday?
The 23rd Qualicum Beach Seedy Saturday is set for February 6, 2027, at the Qualicum Beach Civic Centre on Jones Street. Admission is by donation and there is no ATM on site, so bring cash for the raffle and the café.
What do you bring to a seed swap?
Clean seed packed in small envelopes, labelled with the variety, colour, size, light and soil needs and the year it was harvested. Organizers in Qualicum Beach ask people not to bring seed from invasive plants.
When is the Cedar Farmers Market open?
Sundays from Mother's Day to the end of October, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., on the old Woodbank School grounds at 1984 Woobank Road. In 2026 the season ran from May 10 to October 25, with the first half hour reserved for seniors and shoppers with disabilities.
Is there a farmers market in Nanaimo in winter?
Yes. Island Roots runs every Wednesday of the year from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Beban Park. From October 21, 2026, to May 5, 2027, it is inside the Centennial Building.
Who can buy a Good Food Box in Nanaimo?
Anyone, regardless of income. Boxes cost $15, are ordered by midnight on the Tuesday of the week before, and are picked up on Thursdays at depots including the Centennial Building at Beban Park.
How do you get farmers market nutrition coupons?
Through a community partner organization, not from the markets or the provincial association. Coupons go to lower-income families, pregnant people and seniors, and the province said in June 2026 that the year's program was full.
When can you buy fresh cranberries at Yellow Point?
Yellow Point Cranberries said fresh berries would be ready from September 25, 2026, in one-kilogram bags, with its farm store open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. until Christmas Eve. Larger 12-kilogram boxes have to be ordered ahead online.
Sources
- Welcome Gardeners, Nanaimo Horticultural Society, 2026
- The History of the Nanaimo Horticultural Society, Nanaimo Horticultural Society
- Join Us, Nanaimo Horticultural Society, 2026
- About Us, Nanaimo Horticultural Society
- Nanaimo Horticultural Society Spring Plant Sale, Elisabeth C. Miller Library, University of Washington, 2025
- Nanaimo's Horticulture Society celebrates its 80th anniversary, CHLY 101.7FM, 2026-08-26
- Seedy Sunday, Nanaimo Community Gardens Society, 2026
- Qualicum Beach Seedy Saturday, Qualicum Beach Seedy Saturday Association, 2026-10-13
- About Us, Qualicum Beach Seedy Saturday Association
- Seed Swap, Qualicum Beach Seedy Saturday Association, 2026-10-13
- Finishing touches being applied ahead of milestone Cedar Market season, NanaimoNewsNOW, 2026-04-12
- 30th anniversary season kicking off for Cedar Farmers Market, NanaimoNewsNOW, 2026-05-09
- Cedar Farmers Market, Cedar Farmers Market, 2026
- 'There's just nothing better:' year-round Nanaimo market moving outdoors, NanaimoNewsNOW, 2026-05-12
- Island Roots Farmers' Market, Island Roots Market, 2026
- Nanaimo Farmers' Markets, Tourism Nanaimo
- City supports local non-profit food service providers at recreation facilities, City of Nanaimo, 2020-05-01
- How It Works: Nutrition Coupon Program, BC Association of Farmers' Markets
- Sharing local farm harvests through coupon program, Province of British Columbia, 2026-06-08
- Farmers' market coupon program returns, NanaimoNewsNOW, 2026-06-14
- About, Nanaimo Good Food Box (Nanaimo Foodshare)
- Order a Good Food Box, Nanaimo Good Food Box (Nanaimo Foodshare), 2026
- Frequently Asked Questions, Nanaimo Good Food Box (Nanaimo Foodshare)
- Yellow Point Cranberries, Yellow Point Cranberries, 2026
- Cranberries a booming business at harvest time near Nanaimo, Nanaimo News Bulletin, 2020-11-09
- Edible Notables: Yellow Point Cranberries, Edible Vancouver Island, 2021-12-18
- Annual Coombs Fair focuses on country roots, family fun, NanaimoNewsNOW, 2023-08-11
