Seedy Saturday in Kitchener, Ontario

Yesterday, I attended "Seedy Saturday". This is a yearly event that brings together people interested in growing plants from seed, biodiversity, heritage gardening and organic gardening. It takes place in many cities all across Canada. The one I attend is organized by the Kitchener Master Gardeners group of which I used to be a member. It takes place in a branch of the local public library.

Rock wool for seeds germination

I start many perennial plant seeds which I get from seed exchanges. Over the years I have tried various mediums/substrates for starting seeds. I have mixed my own, using peat moss and sterilized garden soil and vermiculite or Perlite. I have also used peat-based commercial mixes as well as very sandy mixes. Ideally, you would choose the medium best suited to the plant you want to germinate.

For instance, a peat-based mix should do well for plants that like an acidic soil. However, if you start seeds of many different plants, creating a specialized mix for each seed would require a great deal of work. Ideally, you would use a substrate appropriate to most seeds. Last year I tried something new, I used rock wool. The results were mixed.

Seeds from seed exchanges

Seed Saving

This is the major seed collecting time in the gardening calendar. Some seeds have had to be collected earlier, but most are only ripening now, in the fall. Ideally, they should be left on the plant as long as possible to give them time to completely ripen. There is a fine line, however, between making sure seeds are ripe and waiting so long that the seeds are blown off in the wind. Some of the ones I collect are for use the next year (for instance, seeds of heritage tomatoes or of annual flowers, like yellow cosmos). Others I gather to send in for the seed exchanges I take part in.

Bottle gentian seeds