Swapping Seeds At Seedy Saturday

Mar 27, 2014

Growers like nothing more than exploring new gardening options for the (hopefully!) upcoming spring. That was the case at Oso Hall on March 22 where organizers of the Sharbot Lake Farmers Market included a number of heritage seed vendors in their usual line-up of regular market vendors. Guest vendors included Darcy Lloyd of Heritage Seed and Produce, Dawn Morden of Mountain Grove Seeds, Cheri McConnell of Seeds of Creation, Cerridwyn Cox-Henderson of Good Golly Gardens, and Johvi Leeck of Heritage Seeds and Preserves.

The event was the first spring seed/swap event hosted by the SLFM and market chair Mary de Bassecourt stated why it was undertaken this year. “Diversity in the number of available seeds is diminishing at a rapid rate and many growers do not want to grow plants from genetically modified seeds. More and more growers these days want to have control over what they grow and also want seeds that are seeded to the local climate and the local area.”

De Bassecourt said that despite the weather, close to 60 buyers attended the event, which included a seed-saving workshop by Cate Henderson, who since 2008 has worked as the gardener/seed saver with the Heirloom Seed Sanctuary in Kingston.

The sanctuary was started in 1998 by the Sisters of the Providence of St. Vincent de Paul and organic farmers Carol and Robert Mouk and it is one of only two such sanctuaries in all of Canada. To date the sanctuary has amassed over 300 different heritage seed varieties that include onions, potatoes, cucumbers, tomatoes peppers and just about anything you can possibly grow in a vegetable garden. Henderson defined heirloom seeds as those that either that have been passed on through the generations or those worthy of being passed on. In her workshop Henderson gave an overview of the Kingston Heirloom Seed Sanctuary and the importance of collecting heritage seeds. She answered questions about how to isolate certain plants that are cross pollinators; the proper population sizes when trying to maintain genetic diversity; and how to adapt seeds to your own local conditions.

It is no surprise that Henderson believes in the importance of collecting and maintaining a diverse heirloom seed collection. “Many of the seeds that are available in the larger market place are being adapted for mechanical harvesting and for shipping long distances and various other things. We as a community need to take back our seeds and get them adapting to our own local conditions so that their plants can better feed us. We similarly need to broaden our ideas about community to include the plants and the animals that feed us.” Henderson said that the trend of growing, saving and collecting heirloom seeds has grown in popularity over recent years. “There is a lot more awareness these days thanks to the local food movement”.

In her workshop Henderson offered up numerous resources to the participants, one of which is an in-depth 12 hour workshop on seed saving that she will be giving at the Kingston Seed Sanctuary. For more information visit www.providence.ca and go to the Heritage Seed Sanctuary link.