6th Annual Spring Seed Swap

Sunday, March 1st from 2-6pm 

Chico Grange Hall, 2775 Nord Ave, Chico, CA

ALWAYS  A  FREE  COMMUNITY  EVENT

5th Annual Spring Seed Swap

ALWAYS A FREE COMMUNITY EVENT

Sunday, March 16th from 2-6pm

Chico Grange Hall, 2775 Nord Ave, Chico, CA

WHAT IS PROVIDED

• Over 8 tables of seed to exchange ‘Potluck’ Style
• Speaker Presentations
• Seed Saving Education
• Seeds & Plants for Sale
• Community Non-Profits
• Food & Drinks for sale by Chico Natural Foods
• Activities for all ages

SPEAKER PRESENTATION SCHEDULE  
2:15pm
Seed Saving 101: a focus on drought tolerant crops -with Kalan Redwood of Redwood Seeds: www.redwoodseeds.net  
3:30pm
Water Panel: rainwater harvesting earthworks, rain barrels and greywater systems -with Stephanie & Brian Ladwig-Cooper, Nani Teves and Stephanie & Tim Elliott  
4:45pm
Seed Stories: open forum on the beauty and importance of seed -lead by Joan Bosque

WHAT TO BRING ~ you do not need seeds to attend, please label your seed and plants ~

• Seeds, bulbs, plants, cuttings and more to exchange
• Used envelopes/containers and pens/pencils

FOR MORE INFORMATION

• Sherri Scott (GRUB Education Program) 342-3376 sherri@grubchico.org
• Stephanie Ladwig-Cooper (Chico Permaculture Guild) 828-6390 modcpg@gmail.com

More information can be found on the Chico Permaculture Guild website here. You can also join the Facebook event here.

3rd Annual Seed Swap

Seed Swap Flyer 2012

The 3rd Annual Seed Swap is happening this coming Sunday February 26th, 2012 at GRUB Cooperative. Sherri Scott of GRUB and myself, via the Chico Permaculture Guild, spearheaded this annual event back in 2010 for many reasons. First to promote local seed growing and acclimation but also to celebrate the genetic diversity of seeds, to inform the local community about the potential danger of genetically modified seed and to get more people in touch with the life cycle of seeds in general.

Planting for Seed Saving

ADAPT YOUR PLANTS, INCREASE DIVERSITY

Calendula seed

Here are a few tips for planting success:

•       If your intentions are to save seed from certain plants -grow more plants than you think you need.  This allows room for error and the unexpected and also ensures there will be enough plants from which to harvest all your seed.

•       Saving seed requires you grow plants to maturity.  This means they get a lot bigger when not harvested or deadheaded, so leave more room around them.  The plants you let go to seed will most likely be growing in random places so be fairly flexible in your overall garden design and subsequent plantings.

•       Think about isolation.  This means in space (location) or in time (month of seed harvest) or both.  By doing so you maximize the chance of maintaining the specific variety you're after. Look up recommended isolation distances or choose early and late varieties that flower at different times. Remember to try and check with your neighbors -they might be growing something that will cross!  If they are, you will need to isolate yours with physical barriers to prevent pollen transfer.  If it’s a GMO, ask them to buy open pollinated seed instead!

Chive seedhead

CHARD

Beta vulgaris (many varieties)

Native to Europe’s Mediterranean climate chard is a delight for any Northern California winter garden.

Chard is a tall leafy green vegetable in the same family as beets and spinach.  Without a significant edible root like beets, chard instead has a thick, crunchy stalk which can measure almost two feet in length.  The stalk and mid ribs can be white, red or yellow with either smooth or curly green or red leaves -depending upon variety.

red chard

GROW OPEN POLLINATED (OP) PLANTS/SEED!

Humans have domesticated plants since the Neolithic era, over 10,000 years ago.  Today, the domestication of plants has rendered a global crisis and the genetic diversity we aided in creating for thousands of years is in peril... 

Yet we can ALL help!

Open Pollinated (OP) plants/seed have the ability to breed true to the parents' characteristics and may retain high genetic diversity.  An understanding of the basic mechanics of pollination is needed to save seed from open pollinated plants but is not something to be intimidated by.  Anymore than learning to ride a bicycle and the benefits last for generations.

Hybrid plants/seed are often bred for uniformity and yield, limiting their genetic diversity.  The seed they produce (F1 hybrid) often produce seed that does not contain the specific traits selected for originally -creating a market need for new seed purchases each year.

Genetically modified (or transgenic) plants have gene(s) for specific traits (such as insect resistance) of a completely different species (or organism) inserted into its own (i.e. human genes in rice or Bt in soy); this unfounded franken-science threatens global food security by degrading social and environmental ecologies.  Corporate monopolies of food should not be possible yet Monsanto, Bayer, Syngenta and more want the patent rights to all GE seed in the world, harming nations like Haiti.  We truly have no idea what the long term implications may bring; yet the FDA approves it use.  Over 75% of the food on shelves of US grocery stores have GE ingredients.  Avoid corn, canola, soy, sugar beets, potato flours, some dairy contains GE micro-organisms and the cotton in your clothes.  Want to know more? 

Your best option is to BUY ORGANIC everything when possible!  Organic foods do not allow GE contamination.  Purchase open pollinated seed from reliable sources.  FYI: The OP seed need not be organic unless it is corn or some of the others above (but do grow it organically:).  GE has not invaded everything, thank goddess.