The Minden & District Horticultural Society will host its first ever ‘seedy Saturday’ on March 28.
The free event is designed to inspire Haliburton County gardeners, with a seed exchange, demonstrations of seed starting techniques, and speakers and vendors covering everything from pollinators, to seed saving, to skin care.
FEEL (Friends of Ecological and Environmental Learning) will be onsite with interactive kids’ activities. The Haliburton County Master Gardeners will provide advice for gardening questions. And, vendors will have wares on hand for purchase.
Event organizer, Diana Westland, said Seeds of Diversity started the initiative to save locally-grown heritage seeds. She said it is important to save food seed used to our environmental conditions.
“This is safer, as reliance on only a few species grown as a monoculture for grocery stores leaves us vulnerable if that species is attacked by a disease. This also applied to exchange of native plant seeds for the same reason. The more diverse, the more resilient an ecosystem is and the more insects it can support.”
She said sometimes organizations only do seed exchange, but this event is different.
“We have tried to bring together food security organizations and ecological organizations with similar goals to educate the public on what services are available. It also hopefully encourages more people to try their hand at growing.”
Westland said “community support for the first-ever ‘seedy Saturday’ has been overwhelmingly positive. They have two speakers and a demonstration to help beginners to grow their own plants indoors.
At 10:30 a.m., Cheryl Fraser will present ‘the bee project: discovering the bees around you.’ At 11:30 a.m., Pauline Plooard will demonstrate indoors sowing for beginners. And, at 12:30 p.m., Basil Conlin of Haliburton Micromeadows will discuss ‘seed orchards – preserving genetic diversity.’
Westland added, “there are a variety of local seed and garden vendors and a few interactive games and activities for the kids.
“We’re encouraging people to bring along small packages of locallycollected garden seeds to exchange at the event on Saturday. If they don’t have seeds to bring, that’s okay, too. There will be a variety of vegetable and flower seeds donated by locals and donor companies.”
A donation of 25 cents per package is suggested to help offset the costs of hosting the event.
Vendors and community groups at ‘seedy Saturday’ include Abbey Gardens, B’s Creations, Gaia Organic Seeds, Haliburton Micromeadows, Organic Me Honey Bees Natural Skin Care, SIRCH Community/ Nathan’s Farm, Swallowtail Native Plants, and Tamarack Lodge.
‘Seedy Saturday’ will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Minden Community Centre, upper level (55 Parkside St., Minden).
Westland said there may still be snow on the ground and it doesn’t feel like spring but, “I’ve been planning since January as I grow my own seedlings. Planning and dreaming are a great way to pass the winter.
“The actual outdoor planting will be the end of May so there is still lots of time.”
Minden & District Horticultural Society will be celebrating its 50th year in 2027 and is a part of the Ontario Horticultural Society. Their mission is “learning, planting, sharing with a community” and they host activities and events, along with maintaining the public gardens in Minden.
Find out more at mindenhorticulturalsociety.ca
