Seedy Saturday

I couldn't get to Saltspring Island's Seedy Saturday last weekend but I did get to Seedy Saturday in Victoria yesterday.  It was buzzing with activity...so many people are interested in growing gardens these days!

Look at the folks checking out the seed swap table yesterday.  The idea of everyone bringing some of their own saved seeds from their gardens and trading with each other is central to the original idea of Seedy Saturday.  The first Seedy Saturday was held in Vancouver about 20 years ago and now communities across Canada have joined in on the fun.  Nowadays, there are many more small farms and businesses saving and selling seeds and yesterday's event had quite a few local businesses and groups displaying ideas and wares as well as seeds.  Everyone is so happy to share information and it's a great place to go if you want to learn some new things about growing your own and more.

All the good stuff I found!  Seeds from some of the exhibitors,  there were many more but I couldn't get very close to see what was at their display, it was so busy.  A few I bought seeds from have websites with some good info: Stellar Seeds,  Two Wings Farm,  Full Circle Seeds.
And check out those funny looking orange knobby things in the upper right hand corner!  Here's a close up view:

They are New Zealand Yams, also called "Oca".  I've never seen them before and I'm excited to try growing them this year...and eating them!  They were for sale at the Seeds of Victoria display.  I'm going to plant them in a big container right away to get them started.

Seedy Saturday also features a nice selection of guest speakers.  I managed to get to one talk before I had to rush off to catch the ferry boat back home.  It was by Christina Nikolic, entitled "May All Be Fed: Healthy Plants start with Good Soil".  I really enjoyed it.  One idea I took away from it that I really like is that although NPK (nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium) is important for fertile soil and healthy plants, the 3 Ms are just as important, if not more....(Mulch, Moisture, Microbes)
Christina has a website, The Organic Gardener's Pantry.  Here's a link to the February newsletter about compost.....interesting!
Vancouver's Seedy Saturday is next weekend, Feb 26 at VanDusen Botanical Garden.