Seed Exchange 2016 Speakers Announced

Here are the speakers for the upcoming Washington Gardener Seed Exchanges 2016. 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.

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Saturday, January 30 at Brookside Gardens, MD

"Small Gardens – Big Harvests"

 Even if you have a large plot of land, there are several reasons to grow your veggies using a small-space, high-intensive gardening method: less work and maintenance, no tilling, less water use, easier to protect from weather, pests and critters, extended growing seasons, etc. We will explore Square Foot Gardening, squash arches, container gardening, Back to Eden gardening, Hügelkultur, table top gardening and more.

Speaker: Kim Roman is a Square Foot Gardening Certified Instructor who was trained by SFG creator, Mel Bartholomew. She currently serves as the SFG Foundation’s Public Relations Director and is collaborating with Mel to co-author two children’s versions of his book. In addition, Kim loves to teach different methods of small-space, organic vegetable gardening and works with schools, churches, homeless shelters, nursing homes, etc. to help them plan and implement their garden projects. She offers various vegetable gardening classes, and, in addition to teaching in the Glen Burnie area, would travel to your location. Contact:sfgkimroman@yahoo.com or find her on Facebook at Square Foot Gardening 4 U. 

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 “Winter Sowing:  Following Mother Nature’s Way to Get a Head Start on your spring and Summer Garden”

This presentation will focus primarily on winter sowing basics and techniques, benefits of winter sowing and some basic do’s and don’ts of winter sowing. It will provide in-depth information on which seeds are the best candidates for winter sowing and why some are not the best choices. 

Speaker: Linda L. Jones, owner, Elements of Nature – ElementsofNatureUSA.com, Clinton, MD; Lindajones20735@gmail.com or Linda@elementsofnatureUSA.com
She produce a variety of nature-inspired natural skin care, gifts and collectibles. "My natural skin care line is HomeGrown Beauty Essentials. I am a five-year certified master gardener. Teaching and lecturing brings me great joy as I can share with others a knowledge of something that in some way may enhance the quality of their life."

 Also, at the 1/30 Seed Exchange during the break period will be a representative 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.
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Saturday, February 6 at Green Spring Gardens, VA:

"Get Started Growing Herbs"

Learn what herbs grow in our climate, and get tips on how to start them so you can create a beautiful and productive herb garden.   
 

Speaker: Debby Ward, Founder and Owner of Prior Unity Garden, is Founder & Owner of Prior Unity Garden - Growing Your Own Organic Food Made Easy. She has been gardening since she could crawl. Her family always had food and herb gardens in which she participated and she has continued that tradition.   She loves to help grow gardeners and is a taught for many local groups including The Mason Sustainability Institute, Master Gardeners in Fairfax County VA and the Grow Your Health Festival. She has focused on plants for food and medicine since being a young adult and holds several certificates in medicinal herbalism and has training in native plants, biodynamics, organic and native gardening. She values biodiversity, community, healthy living soil, fresh organic food and the prior unity inherent in all beings. 

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"Saving Your Vegetable Seeds" 
This workshop will give an overview of the hows and whys of seed saving.  We will explore the state of seed in the world today to discover why seed saving is not only a practical skill for gardeners to develop but also an important one for communities to practice.  We will then dive into the biology of seed production and cover techniques and considerations important for producing quality seed from most common garden varieties.  Resources for reference and further learning will be provided.
 

Speaker: Paul Blundell, has been a worker-owner at Southern Exposure Seed Exchange since 2005.  SESE is a worker owned coop mail order seed company in Central Virginia which specializes in heirloom, open-pollinated, and organic vegetable seeds especially suited to the mid-Atlantic and the Southeast.  He has done a little bit of everything and a lot of a few things while there.  Most recently he headed up the design and construction of a new eco-groovy headquarters for the business.

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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.