By Bill Thorness, special to the Blog
It’s time to start getting ready for the gardening season and that means… seeds!
Find a fun new vegetable variety to try and kick off your edible gardening year at two Seed Swaps, this year held on two successive Saturdays in two locations.
The Great Seattle Seed Swap is on Jan. 25, 2-4 p.m. at the Phinney Center in north Seattle, while the Seed Swap and Community Kitchen is on Feb. 1, 1-4 p.m. at the Rainier Beach Urban Farm & Wetlands in south Seattle. Come to one or both for seeds, a bit of gardening education, and lots of growing inspiration from our community of gardeners.
Tilth Alliance, our new partner in the seed library effort, will be offering free mini-workshops at the North Seattle event, and related greening non-profits will offer information about topics like growing your own fruit trees and using a community tool library. The South Seattle event also includes a Community Kitchen meal with recipes using local seeds.
A community seed swap is a family-friendly event where you can share seeds, access gardening resources and connect with other gardeners.
You may bring your own leftover commercial seeds or labeled home-saved seeds, but it is not required. The event is free and open to all.
Seed Workshops
At the North Seattle swap, three seed workshops will be held by Tilth Alliance instructor Marni Sorin. They are:
- 2:15 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.
- 2:45 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.
- 3:15 p.m. — Basics of Wet & Dry Processing — Join us to experience a demonstration and explanation of common wet and dry seed processing techniques. We’ll share a demonstration and give folks an opportunity to get some hands-on practice.
Demonstrations and Tips
Also at the North Seattle swap, ongoing gardening demonstrations and tips will be offered.
- The Master Composter Sustainability Stewards will be demonstrating how to care for a worm bin.
- Tilth educators will show seed winnowing, cleaning and storage. They might even have a fun seed-focused project for kids!
- Garden Hotline staff and Master Gardeners will be helping you solve gardening problems, answering questions and providing resources.
- Seattle Tree Fruit Society will show how to protect your apples with maggot barriers and will offer fruit tree pruning resources.
Greening and community groups in attendance at the North Seattle swap:
