The first Seedy event of the year is held at the Qualicum Beach Civic Centre at 747 Jones Street on Saturday February 4th, 2012. A second Seedy Saturday is scheduled for the first weekend in March at the Florence Filberg Centre in Courtenay, followed by Seedy Sunday that same weekend in Nanaimo at the Bowen Centre. These three events are fabulous opportunities to find seed varieties that are well adapted to our western climate and grown and saved by local gardeners and local seed companies.
The philosophy of saving seeds is to save seeds from the best plants. Save spinach seed from plants that are slow to bolt, and are frost hardy. Save seeds from the earliest and tastiest tomato. Select the tastiest and hardiest kale. By saving seeds you can customize your garden and increase your chances of having repeated success. But don’t think you have to save every kind of seed you’ll need; attend Seedy Saturday and plug into the larger community of seed savers who can help fill any gaps left in your seed inventory.
At the community table you can trade seeds or buy them inexpensively. Bring your extra kale seeds and trade for calendula. Bring some of the seeds from those tasty tomatoes and trade for pepper seeds. Even if you haven’t managed to save seeds at all, Seedy Saturday is still your best source for local, organic, open-pollinated seeds. In addition to the community seed swap table there are numerous local vendors who have a great selection of seeds. Remember that you need to buy open-pollinated seeds if you want to successfully save your own seeds for next year to grow or to trade.
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