Seedy Saturday Lewes

........and this year featuring Christine Walkden local and national radio and TV broadcaster and former presenter of BBC's Gardener's World

The first community seed swap in Lewes organised by local volunteers, councillors and officers of Lewes District Council
far exceeded our expectations with over a thousand people visiting or taking part in the event.  Because of its great success we have decided to hold another in February 2008 in cooperation with Common Cause, Transition Town Lewes and local volunteers.  Why not make a note of the date in your diary and start saving your own seed to swap.  Basic tips for doing this appear below.

Apart from swapping seed, the event is an exciting opportunity to meet people interested in gardening, local food production, climate change and sustainability which is achieved through story telling and workshops for the young and old.  As you visit the stalls, listen to talks and take part in the various activities and workshops you will undoubtedly realise that seed swapping is just part of the picture.  Garden related issues are far wider reaching.  Composting for example is both good for the soil and removes the need to send kitchen and garden waste to landfill. 

We are delighted to be hosting this event once again in the childhood home of John Evelyn.  His tireless work in the 17th century saved our woodlands then from total destruction (by the navy) and encouraged the labouring classes to utilise their gardens more effectively for food production.  He planted the seed and all of us can take up his legacy for the future.

Our theme for 2008 is FOOD, whether it be growing your own, buying it from local producers, having fun cooking and eating healthy food.  If you would like to volunteer to help on the day or would like to have a stall, then please contact us either by email to the Chair's Secretary on members.services@lewes.gov.uk, or by telephoning 01273 484112.

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Saving your own seed - a few basic tips

• Start with easy crops such as tomatoes, peas and french beans.
• Let the seed dry on the plant and once you've picked them make sure they are properly dried before storing them in cool dry conditions.
• An equally good drying method is to let the seed heads or stalks dry in open paper bags for one or two weeks.
• With fleshy plants like tomatoes take the seeds out of the ripe fruit.
• Most seeds will dry adequately for home storage if spread on trays, plates, waxed paper or screens in an airy place for a few days to a week. They should then be turned and spread several times during that period.
• Remember the larger the seed, the longer the drying period required.
• Place each kind of seed into its own envelope remembering to properly label the envelope with what they are, the variety, and the date you saved them.

• You can also put envelopes or simply the seeds into airtight glass jars or plastic containers that can be closed to make them moisture proof.
• You can increase the seeds life span by storing seed containers in the freezer.
• Don't save F1 (hybrid) seeds.
• Be careful of cross pollination with plants like runner beans and pumpkins.