Snoqualmie Valley Seed Exchange moves to Duvall
Published 10:50 am Thursday, January 28, 2016
Shake off winter’s hibernation at the sixth annual Snoqualmie Valley Seed Exchange, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday Feb. 6, at Cedarcrest High School, 29000 N.E. 150th St., Duvall.
This is a free community event for all ages, where people can share seeds, planting tips and information about gardening and seed-saving resources. In the past five years the event has grown into a social gathering that attracts gardeners of all skill levels, from as far as Puyallup and Everett.
“Among the goals of the seed exchange is building a foundation for food self-reliance,” said event co-organizer Susan Alling. “As our communities face more challenges like genetically modified food, rising pesticide use and loss of food source labeling, we’re meeting more and more families who want to learn how to grow their own food.”
The seed exchange will feature four workshops, starting at noon:
Creating a garden calendar, presented by Cedarcrest instructor and former nursery worker Seth Thomas, who will help guests determine what and how much to plant, and when;
Successful seed germination, presented by local master gardener and beekeeper Jerri Johnson, who will focus on how to strengthen the root structures of your plants;
Seed saving, by Bill Thorness, regional gardener and author of “Edible Heirlooms” and “Cool Season Gardener”; and
Mary Crane will share photos and talk about her recent trip to Cuba, from the perspective of sustainable agriculture.
A variety of displays and “how to” tables will also be part of the event, with demos and volunteers on hand to discuss how to save seeds, creative container gardening, sowing seeds in winter and soil fertility. Of course, the stars of the event are the seeds, organic seeds, heirloom, open-pollinated seeds and seed catalogs.
Current information about this year’s Seed Exchange event, including list of exhibitors and workshops is online at www.facebook.com/snoqualmievalleyseedexchange.
For history, on-going activities and resource information visit the website snoqualmievalleyseedexchange.org.
To volunteer, donate, or ask questions, send email to svseedexchange@gmail.com.
