It’s time to start getting ready for the gardening season and that means… seeds! Join Tilth Alliance and the King County Seed Lending Library for the Great Seattle Seed Swap, a fun, family friendly community event at the Phinney Center. It’s coming Saturday, Feb. 24th from 1-4 p.m. in the Community Hall of the Brick Building (use lower parking lot).
Learn more about seeds and seed saving throughout the day with educational presentations and family-friendly hands-on activities. From greens to roots to legumes to brassicas, the Great Seattle Seed Swap always has lots of vegetable varieties to try. Looking for something new or unusual for your garden this year? These seed swap tables will have all kinds of seeds for your edible, medicinal and floral gardens. We welcome you to add your labeled extra seeds to the mix and take lots home, too.
What is a community seed swap?
A swap is a family-friendly gathering for gardeners of all experience levels to share seeds, gardening resources and connect with each other. Bring your garden-saved seeds, excess seeds you have from opened packets or just yourself if you’re just getting started. We’ll have some seeds to share, too.
Some fantastic greening organizations and community partners will join us with tables of their own. Get your gardening questions answered, learn about growing fruit in your yard, and find out how to borrow tools from a community tool library.
These great groups will be on hand:
- The Garden Hotline
- Master Composter and Sustainability Stewards
- Seattle Tree Fruit Society
- Sustainable NE Seattle and REconomy.org
- The Phinney Tool Lending Library
- City Fruit
Explore seed saving techniques with hands-on activities and fun educational presentations throughout the day. Come learn about:
1:30 p.m. — Beginner Friendly Seed Saving
We’ll discuss the basic biology of seed saving and share some beginner-friendly recommendations to get started saving (and then sharing!) your own seeds.
2:30 p.m. — Harvesting Seeds
How do you know if your seeds are mature and ready to harvest? We’ll discuss how to assess seed maturity and some strategies for harvesting.
3:30 p.m. — Basics of Wet & Dry Processing
Join us to experience a demonstration and explanation of common wet & dry seed processing techniques. We’ll share a demonstration and give folks an opportunity to get some hands-on practice.
Guidelines for bringing seeds to share:
- Please make sure seeds are labeled with crop and variety name and date.
- Please only bring seeds that are not too old to plant (2021 or later is a good guideline).
- Feel free to bring cuttings or divisions from garden plants, too.
You don’t have to bring seeds to enjoy this event – we’ll have plenty to share. See you there!
