Explore stories from the Indigenous Land and Seed Sovereignty movement, which embodies the vision of sustainable relational agriculture and shares the depth of the cultural dimension of plant biodiversity in North America.
Mohawk Seedkeeper Rowen White will share insight into the collective vision of intercultural healing that emerges when we center Indigenous leadership, ecological knowledge, cultural memory, and sovereignty of living in relationship with the inheritance of land, seeds, and other non-human kin. She’ll share her personal experience at the Native American Food Sovereignty Alliance to paint an uplifting picture of cultural and climate sanity for the regenerative land stewardship movement in these times of great transformation.
This lecture on November 9 at 6 pm, online, is part of NYBG’s celebration of Native American Heritage Month. $35 for NYBG members, $39 for nonmembers. Register HERE
Have you ever wanted to collect seed from the garden to create more plants? This Berkshire Botanical Garden workshop on October 16, led by garden writers and horticulturists Lee Buttala and Shanyn Siegel, teaches gardeners everything they need to know in order to harvest and collect seed that they can then sow in the seasons ahead. This half-day workshop begins inside with a presentation on the rudiments of how plants create seed. (Plants set seed all on their own; the gardener only needs to facilitate this process and learn to identify the right moment to collect seed.) The workshop will include a review of basic collecting and cleaning practices for dry- and wet-fruited plants. After the presentation, attendees will head out into the garden to identify and collect ripe seed. The class then heads back inside where attendees will “get seedy” and learn to thresh and winnow dry-fruited species and how to clean and prepare wet-fruited seeds for future use. Participants will walk away from the class not only with seeds in hand, but with a knowledge of how to isolate, identify and collect seed of some of their favorite species and varieties of plants.
Shanyn Siegel, the co-editor of The Seed Garden who has a nursery focused on growing locally collected ecotypes of native plants in Connecticut. Lee Buttala is the former executive director of Seed Savers Exchange, an heirloom vegetable gene bank that is the only non-governmental organization storing seed at the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. He has also worked for BBG and the Garden Conservancy, and currently serves as chair of the Historic Landscapes Committee of the APGA. Lee won an Emmy award for his role as a garden television producer for “Martha Stewart Living” and was the creator of PBS’s “Cultivating Life.” He is the editor of the award-winning book, The Seed Garden: The Art and Practice of Saving Seed, writes a weekly garden column for The Berkshire Edge and serves on the board of Hollister House Garden in Washington, Conn. Lee studied garden design at the Chelsea Physic Garden, the New York Botanical Garden and the Kyoto School of Art and Design. He lives in Ashley Falls, Mass.
In this September 26 hands-on Berkshire Botanical Garden workshop, learn how to save seeds from your garden. Topics covered will be proper handling, collecting times, cleaning and storage. The primary focus will be native perennials and annuals. Participants will collect seeds from the grounds of BBG and be able to take some home for next year’s garden. Masks required. BBG members $25, nonmembers $30. Register at https://www.berkshirebotanical.org/events/seed-saving-0
Bridghe McCracken, founder of Helia Land Design, has over 20 years of experience in land stewardship, and designing landscapes, gardens and beautiful food systems. Bridghe has a BA in Biology from Colorado College, is a certified Organic Landcare Professional from the Northeast Organic Farmers Association, a certified Horticulturist from MCLA, is a Massachusetts Master Gardener and is a graduate and advanced practitioner of the Four Winds Society.
You’re loving how your annuals are looking in the late summer, so you’re wondering if there’s a way to save these plants over the winter. This August 25 Tower Hill Botanic Garden class explains how to save commonly planted annuals and tropical plants. Learn which plants are worth devoting indoor space to, which ones can be dormant in a cool location, and what plantings you shouldn’t try to save. Discover how to take cuttings, save tubers, and enjoy some flowering plants all winter. Come with questions about the plants you have and hear how to keep them for next summer. $30 for THBG members, $44 for nonmembers. Register at www.towerhillbg.org.
C.L. Fornari is the author of seven books and numerous articles. She’s currently the host of GardenLine, on WXTK and co-hosts the Plantrama podcast. C.L. speaks to horticultural trade shows, gardening groups and public gatherings. She writes and runs a consultation service for Hyannis Country Garden, an IGC. Her not-so-secret mission is to start a gardening revival and promote all aspects of the horticultural industry… in the meantime she cultivates plants at Poison Ivy Acres on Cape Cod and blogs at www.GardenLady.com.
Seed saving brings tremendous benefits to the willing gardener. Learn from Kate Stafford how seeds develop, stay dormant, and germinate. This hands-on workshop covers harvesting, cleaning, and storing a wide spectrum of native seeds. Spend time in the field observing and collecting seeds, then practice cleaning. Take your seeds home at the end of class. Bring a lunch and dress appropriately for the field.
Co-sponsored by Native Plant Trust, the class will take place at Nasami Farm on August 18 from 10 – 3, and is $66 for sponsor members, $80 for nonmembers. Register at www.ecolandscaping.org
Join Dottie “Lou” Kratt on Saturday, Septembver 22 from 10 – 1 at Berkshire Botanical Garden in this hands-on workshop to learn how to save seeds from your garden. Topics covered will be proper handling, collecting times, cleaning and storage. The primary focus will be native perennials and annuals. Participants will collect seeds from the grounds of BBG and be able to take some seeds home for next year’s garden!
Dottie “Lou” Kratt is the owner of Northeast Native Seeds, a small native seed company specializing in local native species. Previously, Lou was the Propagation and Seed Bank Manager for Project Native and a gardener at BBG.
Advance registration is highly recommended, but walk-ins are always welcome, space permitting. $25 for BBG members, $35 for nonmembers. Register online at www.berkshirebotanical.org.
Seed saving brings tremendous benefits to the willing gardener. Learn how seeds develop, stay dormant, and germinate. This New England Wild Flower Society hands-on workshop on August 26 from 10 – 3 at Nasami Farm Nursery in Whately covers harvesting, cleaning, and storing a wide spectrum of native seeds. Spend time in the field observing and collecting seeds, then practice cleaning. Take your work home with you. Bring a lunch and dress appropriately for the field. The workshop will be led by Kate Stafford, and is $66 for NEWFS members, $80 for nonmembers. Register online at http://www.newenglandwild.org/learn/our-programs/seed-saving-1
Ken Greene shares stories of regionally appropriate vegetable, flower, and herb varieties that have been saved by the Hudson Valley Seed Library, and passes along his experiences saving seeds, and demonstrates a simple way to test old packages of seeds to see if they’re still viable for planting in the coming year. The program takes place at the Berkshire Botanical Garden, 5 West Stockbridge Road, on Saturday, January 16 from 10 – 12. BBG member price $10, nonmembers $15. Phone 413-298-3926 or visit www.berkshirebotanical.org.
This Slow Food Boston event on Sunday, April 13 from 5 – 7 at Allandale Farm, 259 Allandale Road in Brookline, is a workshop on seeds and what it takes to start and keep them growing! Guest speakers include Enid Hart Boasberg of the Concord Seed Lending Library and John Lee of Allandale Farm will teach about seed propagation and seed saving. Attendees will get a first hand look at sustainable gardening practices for hardy plants and will learn methods for preserving seeds for next year’s crop (and the year after that and the year after that…). Additionally, we ask attendees to bring seeds of a favorite vegetable, fruit, or herb to trade with their fellow gardeners. (Heirloom varieties are encouraged!) We will have materials on hand for seed sharing and hot beverages and snacks to keep us warm and spread on what will hopefully be a lovely spring evening. This is how Slow Food Boston does community gardening! $20 per person. To register, visit http://www.meetup.com/Slow-Food-Boston/events/174621102/?a=ea1_grp&rv=ea1.
Join expert seed saver Randel Agrella from Baker Creek Seeds and New England’s premier heirloom seed company, Comstock-Ferre Seed Company for a talk and walk at Berkshire Botanical Garden on Thursday, August 22, from 10:30 – 12:30, with emphasis on saving seed for future gardens. This program will focus on correct planting, harvesting, extracting, and storing of seeds. Although the instructor will focus on heirloom fruits and vegetables, many of the techniques covered are applicable for ornamental heirloom flowers as well. Participants will take away the knowledge to save heirloom seeds as well as favorite seeds of the staff at the botanical garden. BBG members $25, nonmembers $30. Register on line at www.berkshirebotanical.org, or call 413-298-3926.
Randel Agrella is general manager of Comstock-Ferre in Wethersfield, CT and manager of rare seed grow-outs for Baker Creek Seeds in Mansfield, Missouri. He has been a heirloom grower and seed saver since 1982 and has written articles for Heirloom Gardener magazine, Natural Awakenings of SW Virginia, and Small Farm Today magazine. He runs his own website business Abundant Acres, www.abundantacres.net , which sells tomato, eggplant, pepper and herb plants throughout most of the US. Image from www.extension.oregonstate.edu.
