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GREEN LIVING: Save and swap your seeds at Seedy Sudbury!

Attend this free event on Sunday, February 26 and help grow local food and seed sovereignty
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Credit: Colleen Burns

Do you happen to save seeds? Are you interested in swapping a few and seeing how they grow?

If so, check out Seedy Sudbury, an annual event for seed savers, swappers and growers to exchange seeds with other like-minded locals and learn a few valuable gardening tips and tricks along the way.

The event will have a seed swap table where you can exchange your own garden’s seeds with someone else’s. The goal is to build a system for growing and saving local, climate-adapted seeds. It’s a long-term project to develop better quality seeds and produce that need fewer external inputs, such as watering and covering in the cold seasons.

Imagine having access to top quality foods and a robust food system, year after year and inexpensively. It will take some time, but it’s an achievable goal when residents work together.

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How to Register

Register for the Seedy Sudbury event on Eventbrite and reserve your spot today.

This free event takes place on Sunday, February 26 in the Vale Cavern at Science North, 100 Ramsey Lake Rd., Greater Sudbury, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Parking is free.

What to Expect

You can swap seeds, learn to save seeds, hear guest speakers and enjoy activities for the kids.

There will be one or two local vendors on site selling seeds. Some free seeds that have been donated by community members will be available, though these have not yet been germination-tested.

Anyone can sign up to save seeds and contribute to next year’s seed swap table. Event organizers will be setting up a virtual club where members can support each other to grow, save and germination-test seeds. To get involved, join Seedy Sudbury’s email list.

What to Bring

Event organizers are looking for seeds that were grown locally (in a garden in Northern Ontario), especially if they were grown organically. However, they’re happy to take any seeds you may have saved, no matter the source.

Seeds that are saved from year to year are well-suited, or climate-adapted, to our area. This means they grow well in this region and are adapted to the length of daylight and growing season (which is relatively short) and local conditions (cool and wet springs, hot and dry summers).

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The goal is seed sovereignty, which means having a biodiverse, resilient and ecologically sustainable seed system. Your efforts can help preserve heirloom and endangered seeds. For inspiration, follow Seedy Sudbury on Instagram or on Facebook.

The Greater Sudbury Seed Library

The Greater Sudbury Seed Library is a free program offered by the Greater Sudbury Public Library to strengthen the community of gardeners and local eaters by sharing biodiverse, locally adapted seeds.

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The Main Library has a card catalogue with various types of seeds. They are packaged and labelled by plant type and the year the seed was collected. Patrons can pick up seeds at the start of the growing season, and then collect and donate seeds at the end of the season. Interested residents are encouraged to fill out a form to register with the Seed Library.

Currently the Seed Library is stocked up with a few different varieties of corn, beans, squash and tomatoes, including mixed packs of seeds. It also has seeds for an edible leafy plant called orach.

The Seed Library is focusing on food seeds to support local food security. It helps enhance and protect our region’s food biodiversity, encourage hobby and beginner gardeners to share seeds and resources, and connect seed savers with each other. If you don’t have a garden, you can join a community garden in your area.

Anyone who is interested in trying some seeds or partnering with the Seed Library can visit the Main Library at 74 MacKenzie St. If you have any questions, please call the Main Library reference desk at 705-673-1155.

Learn more about Greater Sudbury’s Food Strategy and the City’s commitment to help the community achieve its net-zero goal by 2050.

If you have a project you’d like the City to highlight, contact Jennifer Babin-Fenske at [email protected].

Only one day left! Be sure to fill out this survey about the city’s Urban Forest Master Plan and show why trees are important to you.