Oh, Yes, It’s SEED SWAP time again!
Dear Santa Barbara area Gardeners,
this is an event not to miss!
Chicago Garden friends? Chicago Botanic Garden 2014 Seed Swap info!
Seeds are BIG! And super important! They are amazing living beings that carry our best plants forward through time. Preserving them and saving them from interference, is essential. The University of Georgia is just one place that has a Seedbank, in their case, the “Southern Seed Legacy.” You can get seeds and recipes from them!
Saturday January 25, 6:30 to 8:30 PM With a theme of plants from the Western Hemisphere & Mesoamerica this year, the Seed Swap kicks off with an evening talk by Lorenz Schaller of the Kusa Seed Society, titled “Modern Science Meets Ancient Maize.” Ancient Mayans had over 300 Maize foods, while the Incas, an advanced agricultural civilization, skillfully developed an amazing variety of plants like quinoa, beans, amaranth and potatoes. They prized Maize above all others as the plant that nourished and allowed their civilization to rise and thrive. Please come and share your examples of plants from the Americas like squash, corn, chayote, potatoes, beans, tomatoes, avocados, guavas, chili peppers, manioc, agave, and prickly pear.
Lorenz Schaller, a longtime Ojai resident, is a remarkable steward of his environment. Formerly a staff member at the California Institute of Technology (Cal-Tech), Schaller studied and taught the nutritional, culinary, and ecological significance of bio-diverse seed crops for many decades. Kusa is a Sanskrit word meaning sacred grass.
Workshop at SB Downtown Public Library, $5 donation please or more if you can do it! Your generosity will be put to good use.
Sunday, January 26, 11 AM to 3 PM
6th Annual Santa Barbara Community Seed Swap!
FREE! Santa Barbara Public Library, Faulkner Gallery, 40 E. Anapamu St, Santa Barbara, CA. If you are from out-of-town but near enough, and enjoy adventurous journeys, come make a day of it in our fair city!
Seed Swaps are wonderful exchanges of local seeds, all for FREE, and offer the magic of trying seeds you would never have bought!
More than 400 people attended last year, sharing seeds and knowledge with other backyard gardeners, plant lovers, and farmers! Come be a part of this seed saving movement! Be sure our locally adapted varieties of seed & plants are passed on to future generations. Children are welcome! Local groups will table, including the Santa Barbara Seed Saving Guild, who will share valuable seed saving techniques and encourage local gardeners to grow out and harvest some of their best seeds for future gardens and seed swaps, making us a truly food secure community. Seed saving is a fun and easy way to connect to the circle of life.
Bring seeds, plants, cuttings, and garden knowledge to swap.
Don’t have these?
Come anyway and get seeds!
Seeds to sow, grow, harvest!
Grow seeds to save and share next year.
Activities for all ages
Music that will have your toes tapping – Honeysuckle Possums
Special Speakers throughout the day
A gathering of garden friends old and new.
A community program hosted by the Santa Barbara Permaculture Network Non-profit
Event co-sponsors: Island Seed & Feed, Healing Grounds Biodynamic Nursery, & the Santa Barbara Seed Saving Guild, a program of the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County.
Santa Barbara Annual Community Seed Swap on Facebook
Exactly where is MesoAmerica?
Some tips for swapping your saved seeds:
Why seeds?!? First, a Swap is a fun way to meet other gardeners and people interested in beautifying their communities and growing their own food. Starting your crops from seed is frugal. Watching a tiny plant sprout and grow is an incredibly special experience, totally inspiring. You learn about life while getting plenty of sunshine! Seeds you get at a local SWAP, are adapted to your area, and will grow super well!
How to select your new seeds!
- Take your garden plan with you.
- Take small baggies or small envelopes and a pencil with you.
- Label what you get when you get it.
- Take only what you need and a few more in case those fail or you love them and want to plant another round or two! Leave the rest for others. Try not to get seed greed fever! 🙂
- Look for the date on the package or container. Ask when seeds were gathered. Are the seeds still viable?
- Find out how big that plant will grow, decide if it will really fit in your available space.
- Is it a summer or winter plant?
- Ask tons of questions!
- Have a great time!
See Seeds Rock! Choosing the Perfect Ones for You!
If you don’t live in our area, please check to see when Seed Swaps will be in your area! If there are none, if you are willing, please, please, please, contact local permaculturists, garden groups/clubs, to see about starting one! Preserving our heritage, not GMO but heirloom seeds, is vital to our continued nutritious future, and for our children’s healthy futures!
ONLINE SEED SWAPS! As the National Gardening Assn says: One gardener’s extras are another’s treasures! Here’s how they do it!
With great gratitude to you and all our ancestors!
Happy seed hunting!
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