We had a rather fun kick-off to the 2014 Phoebe’s Pure Food Soirée. A lively group of locals coming together to talk about related interests, make new friends and break in the weekend with delicious, healthy food makes me happy!
The theme for this month’s event was a seed exchange with guest speaker Nan Reinert of Chubby Pickle Farms. If you missed this soirée you can catch up on Nan’s spring gardening tips in the current episode of the 2 Weird Hungry Girls Podcast, “It’s cute but it’s not practical.” She shares tips on getting pots ready, what seeds to start now and other things you think you know about gardening but probably don’t.
Let’s get to it. We always vote for our favorite sweet and savory dish and I share those recipes with you. The favorite sweet recipe was for the Poppy Seed Truffles (raw, vegan, gluten free). The favorite savory dish was the Wild Rice Salad (used by the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian and served at their on-site cafe). Be sure to substitute vegetable broth to keep it vegetarian.
In the meantime, why not host a seed exchange of your own. Committing to a packet of vegetables seeds will yield more garden delights than room to plant. Sharing seeds will save you few dollars and allow you to experiment with new varieties.
Seed sources
Territorial Seeds
Seeds of Change
Baker Creek Heirloom
Happy Cat Farm
The Cook’s Garden
Basic how to host a seed exchange
It’s really not hard you just want to get seeds, people and some good resources all in one place at one time. A good time is sure to follow; green thumbs love to share tips.
Get Seeds Together
- Gather seeds you would like to share. Plan on preparing as many seed packets as guests attending.
- Divide seeds into an envelope. You don’t need to stuff it. Include enough for someone to get started.
- Attached seed information to each seed packet: name – zone and date seeds were saved – sowing instructions – days to germination – amount of sun or water – days to maturity
Get People Together
- After your date, location and time are selected connect with local growing groups to share your event. Start with local permaculture groups, community gardens, Master Gardener Clubs, local greenhouses and garden centers, meet up.com and local churches.
- As guests to bring at least a minimum number of labeled seed packets. Share labeling tips.
- On the day of your event have a seed exchange table. Folks should take on of each from the seed share table.
- If you have the time provide a sheet that includes seed sources, books and local resources for growing tips.
- You should serve food at this event. That’s all I’m saying.
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