Hello Gardeners!
The White Bear Lake Seed Library has received many new donated seeds of lettuce, melon, squash, and other vegetables. Check the blog to find out what is new.
Did you know the White Bear Lake Seed Library has:
32 varieties of tomato seeds
75 varieties of native plant seeds
11 varieties of lettuce seeds
7 varieties of radish seeds (I find this kind of odd we have so many)
And many, many more!
There is still time to stratify your native plants seeds either in the fridge or using the winter sowing method.
Seed Companies
Soon your mailbox will be filled with tempting seed catalogs. If you were not able to harvest seeds from your own garden to donate to the Seed Library, please consider donating a packet of commercial open-pollinated seeds. The Seed Library relies of donations from community members.
No doubt, most of you have some favorite seed companies you buy your seeds from, but consider buying organic seeds this year. Why? Check out this podcast with Joe Gardener and Tim Sterns of High Mowing Organic Seeds for some great reasons.
Maybe 2021 is a good year to check out some smaller seed companies too.
How to Grow Food Plants Indoors
Seed Talk, January 12, 2021 6:30 pm
The next seed talk is on ways we can grow plants to eat indoors in a Minnesota winter!
No, we can’t grow lemons or oranges very well inside during our Minnesota winters unless you have a greenhouse, but there are tasty plants that do grow well inside a regular house that has either a sunny south facing window or supplemental lights.
I’ll share my own successes as well as give you some ideas on what you need to grow tasty vegetables and herbs in your own home.
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.
Do You Need Seeds?
The next seed pickup is Saturday, Jan 16th from 11-11:30am. Now it gets dark too soon to have a seed pickup later in the day during a weekday. Also, as it is winter, the date may have to be rescheduled due to snow storms or excessive cold. Look at the seed lists on the blogsite. Order seeds by sending me a list of specific seeds you want at wblseedlibrary@gmail.com.
If Jan 16th doesn’t work for you I can meet you at the White Bear Lake library’s parking lot on a different day. Just send me an email and we can work out a time. Also, if you’d like to package seeds you can pick up supplies at this time, but please send me an email so I can put together the supplies before you come.
Volunteer Opportunity!
I have an opportunity for some people who are willing to clean some native plant seeds I received from the 21 Roots Farm this fall. What I mean by ‘clean’ is these are dried plant parts containing stems, leaves and the seed pods or structures that contain the seeds. Volunteers would have to remove the seeds from their pods by either cracking open the pods or shaking the seed heads or picking off the fluffy seed parts. There is no need to sort the seeds as I am planning on making a special 21 Roots native plant mix to offer in the Seed Library. To be sure, this is tedious work, but necessary to share these wonderful seeds with others. If you are interested, send me an email, wblseedlibrary@gmail.com, and I’ll have a bag of dried plants for you to clean at the Jan 16th seed pickup.
How to Donate Seeds to the Seed Library
See the blog post on donating seeds.
Twin Cities Metro Growers Network
All the 2020 virtual meetings and notes are on TC Metro Growers website.
Even if you are not a farmer, these recording are interesting. Check them out while staying warm inside!
Dirt Rich Podcasts
Dirt Rich is SFA’s (Sustainable Farming Association) new podcast series, bringing you seasonal conversations about food and farming. There’s a wealth of knowledge in the farmer-to-farmer network, and plenty of people who want to share it.
Season two of Dirt Rich will include conversations on seed saving, silvopasture, the Midwest Grazing Exchange, and more. Check your podcast feeds on January 6, 2021 for the next episode. Our season one wrap-up is live with all of our episodes on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Podbean, and wherever else you get your podcasts. You can also listen on the SFA website. Do you have ideas for future episodes? Comments? Drop us a line.
Bauta Family Initiative on Canadian Seed Security
It’s not just the United States that is concerned about seed security. Check out our northern neighbor’s initiative at http://www.seedsecurity.ca/en/.
Upcoming Events
The Nutritional World of Dried Edible Beans
Wednesday, January 20, Noon - 1 PM (Virtual) | Learn the importance of pulses (dried edible beans) in your daily diet, and why pulses are good for the soil. Discover the wide variety of pulses and how to grow dried peas, beans and lentils in your home garden. More information.
16th Annual Emerging Farmers Conference
The 16th Annual Emerging Farmers Conference, Keynote Speaker is Tiffany LaShae.
“Tiffany LaShae (she/her) is a grower, educator and activist. She has farmed all around the world, from Texas to Minnesota to Africa. Her current projects include ‘Climate Smart Agriculture’ work with farmers in Benin & Zambia, urban and rural soils research with the University of Minnesota and plans to start a CSA in the Fall of 2021.”
This this year’s theme is: “Reclaiming Our Voices: For Farmers, by Farmers, with Farmers.” There is still time to join us for the 16th Annual Emerging Farmers Conference taking place on January 29 and 30, 2021 by registering HERE. If you have any questions or language/interpretation needs please contact:
KaZoua
Berry
651-504-8105 / kberry@thefoodgroupmn.org
Or Visit our website emergingfarmers.org for more
information.
Future Seed Talks via Zoom, all at 6:30pm
Jan 12, 2021 Tues How to Grow Food Plants Inside
Feb 9, 2021 Tues Companion Planting
Mar 9, 2021 Tues Seed Starting
Apr 13, 2021 Tues How to Grow Tomatoes w/Ramsey master gardeners
May 11, 2021 Tues Garden Design
Contact info for the Seed Library:
Email: wblseedlibrary@gmail.com
Blog site: WBL Seed Library
Hope 2021 brings you lots of gardening opportunities!
Pam
No comments:
Post a Comment