Seedy Saturday a welcome reminder spring will come

In this Seedy Saturday file photo, herbalist Tamara Segal pours a sample of wild coffee she created from freshly roasted wild roots and organic grains, blended with raw cacao nibs.

The much anticipated Seedy Saturday, a harbinger of spring for many in the community, returns to Picton for its16th year. A grassroots event built on the tradition of seed saving and sharing, Seedy Saturday has grown to include a host of experiences.

The main attraction is a huge seed swap table, where people can donate seeds and pick up new ones free of charge. Anyone who does not have seeds to share is still welcome to choose something to grow. All are encouraged to save the seeds from those plants and perhaps return some to next year’s Seedy Saturday event.

Long-time seed saver and grower Don Ross, donates seeds each year from his organic home garden.

“It makes me very happy to do this,” he says, “and to share my love of gardening.”

In addition to the seed swap table will be 25 local vendors, including small seed companies specializing in open pollinated, heritage, and organic seeds. Regional gardening and community groups will be on hand to provide their expertise and answer questions. Lunch will be available, by donation, with an emphasis on local, organic, and plant based thanks to generous contributors from the community.

Little gardeners and their adults will find fun in the children’s area. There are new additions to the event this year. One is the new logo, created once again by Sarah Renaud-Wilkinson who has designed each iteration of the logo since the start of Seedy Saturday PEC.

The second new addition will be the funky-hat-wearing wandering experts. They will be there to help advise on all manner of gardening questions or simply help you find your way around.

Lastly, there will be a selection of books for sale on seed saving, published by Seeds of Diversity, available at the welcome table.

Opportunities to learn will be offered with three workshops. Lise Bois and Robin Reilly will present Composting Basic at 10:30 a.m. Learn how to compost, the benefits and limitations as well as other ways of increasing organic matter like mulching and green manures.

At noon, Seed Sovereignty will be the topic, presented by Nikki Auten from the Kenhte:ke Seed Sanctuary
and Learning Centre.

The third workshop will be Flower Gardening at 1:30 p.m. with Ben Oczkowski of Ben’s Blooms. Ben will cover how to plan cut flower gardens from seed to seed saving, and how to choose and grow flowers for blooms spring to fall.

Seedy Saturday PEC is one of many seed swapping events that takes place annually across the country. These are a project of the charitable organization, Seeds of Diversity, whose mandate is to preserve and share seeds to improve access to seeds while safeguarding biodiversity.

Seedy Saturday PEC is a free of charge event for all on Saturday, Feb. 22 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the gymnasium at Prince Edward Collegiate Institute on Barker Street in Picton.