Whether you’re a seasoned green thumb, a blooming gardener, or just interested in growing a single crop this year, Seedy Sunday has all the resources, tools, inspirations, and — of course — lots of seeds to get you started.
Held in the lower level at Peterborough Square in downtown Peterborough on Sunday, March 10th between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., Seedy Sunday will provide one-stop access to purchase a diverse range of locally grown heirloom vegetable, flower, and herb seeds.
The free event also includes a seed swap, educational workshops, and the opportunity to learn from other local growers and farmers.
“There’s a ton of knowledge sharing that goes around,” says Jillian Bishop, the event organizer for the past 17 years. “You can be a brand-new gardener or have been doing it your whole life, or anything in between. It’s for everybody.”
Bishop’s own heirloom business Urban Tomato is one of the nearly 30 vendors that will be in attendance on Seedy Sunday, with some of the vendors coming from as far as Toronto and Ottawa. Community groups like Peterborough GreenUP, the Peterborough Horticultural Society, and Kawartha Land Trust will also be in attendance, sharing information about their work while educating on gardening, seed saving, and environmental programs.
“They really offer a huge diversity of locally grown seeds,” says Bishop of the vendors. “Some will offer little kits to grow indoor sprouts or compost and things really connected to growing your own food.”
Seedy Sunday (and Seedy Saturday) events are held in communities across Canada during late winter to coincide with when gardeners usually begin to think about their growing for the year.
“People are getting itchy for a sign of spring and they’re really excited to get planting their gardens and to start thinking about spring blooming,” Bishop says. “If you want to grow things like tomatoes and peppers and long-season crops from seed, mid-March is really the time to be thinking about it and getting set up.”
Though March temperatures might be closer to spring than winter based on the weather we experienced in February, Bishop explains that’s all the more reason to purchase from local purveyors.
“Part of the benefit of buying locally grown seeds is they’re adapted to all this wildness that we’ve been going through,” she says. “It’s important to understand that buying from local growers is not only supporting them, but it’s helping your garden be adapted to all these unexpected (climate changes) that we’re seeing going on these days.”
One of the most popular parts of Seedy Sunday each year is the seed exchange area, where anyone to come in and swap their own seeds for others. Participants are encouraged to distribute their seeds in smaller portions (packs of 25 seeds or so) labelled with the name of the crop, the year or date they were collected, the growing location, and any other relevant information. Volunteers are available on site to help with the division.
“It’s an opportunity to pick up something new or interesting to you if you want to experiment a little bit,” Bishop says.
Those who don’t have seeds available to exchange are welcome to purchase some for a donation ($1 minimum recommended) which they can then swap for other seeds.
“If someone’s brand new to this and they’re just wanting to try out some new things, they’re more than welcome to go visit the seed exchange, see what’s there, and still pick up a few things,” Bishop says. “Then maybe they’ll get inspired to bring back what they’ve saved next year or bring their own (seeds) in the future.”
Many vendors will also be hosting free, educational, hands-on activities throughout the day, educating on seasonal topics like growing seedlings indoors, planning your garden, composting as part of garden soil maintenance, and other functional topics.
Peterborough’s Two Dishes Cookshop will be catering the event, with coffee and snacks available for purchase.
For budding growers who are new to Seedy Sunday, Bishop’s best advice is to come prepared by knowing what you hope to achieve from the afternoon.
“Do a bit of inventory, check in to see what you have, take stock about what it is you want to grow,” says Bishop. “It’s easy to get overwhelmed with all the selection and get excited, which is great, but it’s a great time right now to start planning out and thinking about the things you want to grow.”
As for those who may not know what they are looking for or what they wish to grow, Bishop explains there’s no better place to find out than at Seedy Sunday.
“The thing I’ve learned over the years is gardeners and seed savers are very friendly and very excited to share their knowledge, especially at this time of year when everybody’s getting excited,” she says.
“I absolutely understand if someone feels intimidated, but there’s no need. People are very happy to share their knowledge and we have skilled volunteers that can absolutely help if someone’s not quite sure what certain things are, or how to participate.”
Seedy Sunday is still seeking volunteers to work one or two hour shifts in the afternoon to provide support from vendor setup to registration and assistance in the seed exchange area. Those interested in volunteering can email Bishop at urbantomato@gmail.com. Vendor applications are also still available.
Visit urbantomato.ca/learn/seedy-sunday-peterborough to see a full list of confirmed vendors and join the Seedy Sunday Facebook group for tips on making the most of Seedy Sunday.
