Seed Exchange 2014 Speakers Announced

Here are the speakers for the upcoming Washington Gardener Seed Exchanges 2014. Seed Exchange attendees trade seeds, exchange planting tips, hear expert speakers, and collect goody bags full of gardening treats. For more information on the exchanges and how to register, go here.

Saturday, January 25 at Brookside Gardens, MD

“Year-Round Bounty for the Home Gardener”

Crisp winter salads, rainbow carrots, fresh kimchee, and sweet braised greens are just a few of the fresh from the garden delights awaiting food gardeners in the southeast in winter. Covers practical information for planning, planting, and producing a garden all year where summer heat is more of an issue than winter lows. Learn techniques for using shade in summer, starting fall seedlings in the "dog days of summer" as well as planning and planting enough in our fall garden for harvesting until spring. Ira Wallace, Southern Exposure Seed Exchange (VA)
Speaker: Ira Wallace, author of The Timber Press Guide to Vegetable Gardening in the Southeast, is a Central Virginia Master Gardener and a worker/owner of the cooperatively managed Southern Exposure Seed Exchange. Ira serves on the boards of Organic Seed Alliance, Virginia Association for Biological Farming(VABF)  and  the Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association(OSGATA) , the lead plaintiffs in OSGATA ET AL v Montsanto. Ira was one of nine cooperators with the Southern SARE-sponsored Saving Our Seeds Project.  She co-organizes the Heritage Harvest Festival at Monticello and speaks throughout the southeast.  She blogs at www.Motherearthnews.com  and www.southernexposure.com

AND

“Mighty Microgreens”

Not simply a garnish, microgreens are highly nutritious and fun to grow.  Learn why gourmet chefs and nutritionists alike love these tiny and beautiful greens.  Participants will learn how to grow microgreens and how to use them in the kitchen.  Anyone can be successful with microgreens, from a child with a little handful of seeds to a city dweller with merely a windowsill.
Speaker: Wendy Kiang-Spray is a speaker and freelance writer whose articles about gardening and food have appeared in local and national publications.  She loves to write about growing and cooking the vegetables of other countries.  By day, she is a high school counselor and in her free time, she volunteers as a DC Master Gardener and blogs about family and garden at www.greenishthumb.net.  Learn about her garden happenings and food projects by following her on Facebook.  

Also, at the 1/25 Seed Exchange during the break period will be Pam Rowe from the Montgomery County Watershed Management Division Rainscapes Rewards Rebate program.  The RainScapes Rewards Rebate Program offers financial incentives in the form of rebates to property owners who install RainScapes techniques.

Saturday, February 1 at Green Spring Gardens, VA:

"Growing Underground – How  to Grow Root Crops"

Find out how to collect seeds, direct sow, and grow various root crops through-out the year in the Mid-Atlantic. From carrots to beets, an up-close view of our underground edibles.

Speaker: Cindy Brown, Smithsonian Gardens

AND 

“Cool Season Cover Crops”

Where to source cover crop seeds, when/why to use them, and what varieties do best here in the Mid-Atlantic.

 Speaker: Elizabeth Olson, Prince George's County Master Gardener and "EdibleHarvest" columnist for Washington Gardener Magazine 

We hope to see you at one or both of the upcoming Washington Gardener Seed Exchanges. Please send in your registration today as space is limited and spots fill fast. Print out the details and registration form here.