Hello ilmg1! I am a vegetarian as well and also consume a fair share of chia seeds. There are different varieties of chia in the same way there are different varieties of roses. There is Tarahumara Chia (Salvia tilifolia) seeds that are native to Mexico, but the seeds you buy at the market are probably not Tarahumara Chia...not to worry. The man i purchase my chia seeds from thinks they are "Black chia", but he does not really know i think. At any rate, as an experiment, i tossed some store bought chia seeds in a pot with decent soil and in two days the pot was completely full of tiny little plants. Of course i am in tropical Mexico and you are in Canada (i'm not sure where). Ontario has a significantly different climate than Vancouver Island, for example. So you might try an indoor experiment by tossing some of your store bought seeds on soil in a pot to see what happens. I don't know if they will be as enthusiastic to grow as they do here, but i think you will get some plants you can grow outside in summer, inside in winter. The problem is chia seeds are tiny as you know and you would probably need dozens if not hundreds of plants to add up to a pound or half kilo of seeds...unless you eat one seed per day
