By CLAIRE SCHILLER
For Island Natural Growers
Island Natural Growers presents the 28th Annual Salt Spring Island Seedy Saturday weekend, running Feb. 24-26 at the Farmers’ Institute.
The weekend’s events will commence on Friday, Feb. 24 at 7 p.m. with a guided panel discussion with experienced local growers. They will share their knowledge and answer questions on topics such as soil health, weed suppression, plant variety selection, and time management.
On Saturday, Feb. 25, join in the main event, the Seed Swap & Sale, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The vendors include regional seed producers, fruit and nut tree growers, community groups and agricultural advocates. There will also be a speakers series taking place in the afternoon. Speakers include Jane Squier on composting, Mitchell Sherrin on Fire Smart Gardening, Growing Nut Trees with Nick Montgomery and a tree pruning demo in the orchards with Krystal Saunders. Entry is a $5 donation.
Finally, on Feb. 26, the Sunday workshop day will host two in-depth workshops from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The morning workshop will be hosted by David Catzell from Glorious Organics in Aldergrove. A passionate seed grower and co-founder of the BC Eco Seed Co-op, David will introduce gardeners and farmers to the planning, habits and tools that make increasing the amount and quality of seed they grow more comfortable and reliable. David will also be introducing the basics of Participatory Breeding and Variety Trials, an annual experience that happens throughout the province every season, pooling the information gleaned from farms across the province to learn more about varieties of interest. The cost is $15.
The afternoon workshop will be hosted by Nigel Kay. He is a certified permaculture designer and local edible landscape business operator. He will be instructing participants on when and how to propagate berry bushes at home. If you want to turn your favourite berry bush into 10 more plants for cheap, this hands-on will teach you how to multiply berry bushes through hardwood propagation. This workshop is for gardeners, farmers and growers who want to increase the number of berries they grow, without spending more on plants. These methods work with many edible and native shrubs such as currants, mulberries, goji berries, huckleberry, elderberry, figs, roses and more. The cost of this workshop is $25. Pre-registration is encouraged for the workshops, with a deal of $35 if you sign up for both.
Details for all of the weekends’ events, including sign-up information for the workshop series, can be found on the Salt Spring Seedy Saturday Facebook page, or by emailing ssiseedysaturday@gmail.com.