National Seed Swap Day '24 : Seeds From Near and Far to Share

National Seed Swap Day 2024
On January 27th, 2024, new gardeners and experienced cultivators gathered for the 2024 National Seed Swap Day event.
Rich conversations filled the Historic Como Streetcar Station as over 60 attendees shared their seed stories and swapped seeds of all types: native plants, herbs, vegetables, annual flowers, perennials, and more. The National Seed Swap Day was a vibrant display of the optimism, resilience, and joy gardening brings.
The 2024 National Seed Swap Day event was made possible through a collaboration of the District 10 Como Community Council and the Lawns to Legumes Demonstration Neighborhood Grant Educational Fund for the Saint Paullinators of South Como, The MN SEED Project, and Capitol Region Watershed District.
Special thanks to the neighborhood cottage baker Delanie of Foxberry Bakehouse and the Co-op Partners Warehouse whose food donations filled the snack table with delicious cookies, salsa verde, pico de gallo, guacamole, peppers, cider, and oranges. And thank you to Neighbor Julia Brokaw who brought her air filter so that we could increase the air circulation in the space.
Countless volunteers brought their knowledge and enthusiasm to the National Seed Swap Day event, including… The MN SEED Project Team (Courtney Tchida ED, Dawn Lamm, and Stephanie CK Hankerson)Anna McLafferty from Hot House Horticulture, MN SEED volunteer Abby Fenton, Shari Cueto from Urban Farm and Garden Alliance, Michelle Bruhn author and Ramsey County Master Gardener Volunteer, Suzanne Rhees who volunteered at the District 10 Como Community Council and the Saint Pollinator L2L project table , and community-engaged learning volunteers from the University of Minnesota.
Community members left the event with carefully labeled seed packets, educational materials from the garden resources table, and knowledge about upcoming opportunities to learn about winter sowing, pollinators, and seed saving.
The National Seed Swap Day event promises a bright year ahead for the MN SEED Project Community because as the seeds swapped on January 27th find their way into the soils around St.Paul and her surrounding communities, so too will the webs of reciprocity find their ways to connect plants, place, and people.
For those interested in learning practical seed-saving skills such as seed cleaning, seed storage, and seed starting, we invite you to the Native Seed Cleaning & Packing on President's Day. The event will be happening next week Monday, February 19th from 4-6pm at the Hancock Recreation Center. Join MN SEED to help clean and package seed heads of 130 native pollinator plant species that will be made available to the community throughout 2024.
To see photos from the event follow this link: https://photos.app.goo.gl/GzYKqLV86otWcjPS7

Posted on Φεβρουάριος 15, 2024 1132 ΜΜ by dmlamm