Hello Gardeners!
Thanks to the seed exchange sponsored by the Big River Big Woods chapter of Wild Ones last weekend, I have several new varieties of native plant seeds and some basil seed too.
Here are the new varieties: (some are in very short supply)
Common Yarrow
Red baneberry
Nodding Onion
Big Bluestem
Spikenard
Small Yellow Wild Indigo
Flat-topped Aster
Canadian Wild Rye
Common Rush
Long Headed Coneflower
Smooth Wild petunia
Bottle Gentian
Cream Gentian
Plus I now have in stock Monarda, Smooth Beardtongue, Blue-eyed Grass and Big Leaved Aster seeds.
SEED Pickup, Monday Oct 26, 4:45-5:15 pm
The next seed pickup is Monday Oct 26th from 4:45-5:15pm. Why the strange time? It is now getting too cold for me to sit around for an hour waiting for people to pick up seeds or packaging supplies, so I took the half hour slot between my usual time. (Yes, I could sit in my car and run the engine to keep warm, but that doesn’t seem like a good use of resources.) I have no idea if this is convenient for most people or not, so if you want to get seeds Monday, let me know what you think of the time slot. If a different time is preferred by most people I would be willing to change.
As usual, please email me your list of seeds or if you want seed packaging supllies by 2:30pm on Monday. Email: wblseedlibrary@gmail.com
Seed Collecting at 21 Roots Farm, Oct 24th, 3-5 pm (rain date – Oct 25th 3-5pm)
https://www.facebook.com/events/1331916957160667
Come collect seeds in the ‘wild’ at 21 Roots Farm. The seeds will be donated to various seed libraries in the Twin Cities, including our White Bear Lake Seed Library. I will be there helping people to collect native plant seeds.
Open House Style- come when you can, stay as long as you can.
No Previous Seed Saving Experience Required!
Come and help collect seeds for the pollinators and local seed libraries.
Local Seed Savers will be on site to help guide you
(BYOP) Bring Your Own Pruner ... and gloves, please wear long pants and sturdy boots for walking in tall prairie grasses and plants.
Due to Covid please wear a mask and follow social distancing.
Anyone 16+ is welcome to come pick seeds.
**Please email Michelle at: michelle@forksinthedirt.com to reserve your spot!**
Seed Talk, November 10, 2020 6:30 pm
The next seed talk is on how to germinate native plant seed. Many native plant seeds need to undergo stratification before they will germinate. Stratification is a cold, moist period seeds must undergo before they will germinate. In nature seeds fall to the ground in the fall and overwinter in place before they germinate in the spring. There are several methods to help this process along. I have a presentation to show you and I will demonstrate several ways to germinate native plant seeds. As always, seed talks are community get-togethers! Please share you experiences and questions at the seed talk. You must register in advance for this Zoom seed talk.
If you find the event is full please let me or the library know. The number of participants can be increased. Also, you must sign up 2 hours in advance so there is time for the facilitator to send you the email to join the meeting.
How to Donate Seeds to the Seed Library
The Seed Library needs seeds!!!
In general, the seed library can use seeds from open-pollinated, non-hybrid vegetables and flowers or native plants. The plants providing the seeds must not have been cross-pollinated so that means tomatoes, peas, beans, lettuce, and native plants are the best plants to harvest seeds, though some annual flowers are also okay. If the plant is a hybrid the seeds will not come true to the original plant so the seed library cannot use them.
Make sure the seeds are dry!
Please place your seeds in a paper envelope with the name of the plant, the date, your location, and your name. Plastic encourages mold. Make sure the envelope is sealed so that little seeds can’t escape. If you only use the glued area on the envelope flap, little seeds can escape on the edges where there is no glue. It is better to fold down the top of the envelope several times and fasten with a paper clip or staple shut.
1) Drop off the envelope of seeds at the curbside pickup area at the White Bear Lake library. Do not use the book return slot.
The librarians request that you refrain from arriving during the first two hours the library is open for curb-side pick up as it is very busy during this time. Please respect their wishes! So here are the hours you can come to donate seeds:
M: 12-8pm, T, W: 3-8pm, Th, F, S: 12-5pm
OR
2) Bring your envelope of seeds to a formal seed pickup day where I will be at the White Bear Lake library’s parking lot. The next date is coming soon. There will be more seed pickups throughout the fall.
Happy Fall!
Pam
Upcoming Events
Annual Virtual Green Gifts Fair, Nov 19-22, 2020
Join us for our 15th Annual Virtual Green Gifts Fair event!
Do It Green! Minnesota will be hosting our annual event virtually with some exciting, fun ways to participate from Thursday, November 19th – Sunday, November 22, 2020.
* SHOP! Online directory of local green artists and businesses offering discounts and specials.
* LEARN! Online videos and live chats to learn ways to reduce our environmental impact over the holidays and all year long.
* PARTICIPATE! Live feeds during the event.
Join us for our 15th Annual Virtual Green Gifts Fair event from Nov 19-22, 2020 with an online directory, demo videos and live feeds during the event!
Wild Ones Design With Nature Conference, Feb 2021 – Cancelled
“We are sorry to announce that the 2021 Design With Nature Conference has been cancelled due to COVID-19, but we are planning to resume again. Hope to see you all on March 5, 2022.”
Future Seed Talks via Zoom, all at 6:30pm
Nov 10, 2020 Tues How to Start Native Plant Seeds
Dec no talk planned
Jan 12, 2021 Tues
Contact info for the Seed Library:
Email: wblseedlibrary@gmail.com
Blog site: WBL Seed Library
