Get ready for the growing season! This is the first of a two-part workshop, the second session will involve a seed swap in the fall!
The appearance of the Asian Jumping Worm in our region makes it harder to share plants among gardeners these days, but we can still share seeds. Cornell Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners Janet Given Chen, Kathryn Adams Harter and Laura Lehtonen will discuss how to support our local ecosystem by saving and planting seeds from native plants.
The session will provide an overview of what native plants are, their importance for home gardens, how are seeds are formed, and why we should save native seeds. Then we’ll get down to the nitty gritty of how to collect, store, and germinate perennial seeds, including milkweed and its specific germinating needs. There will also be a brief introduction to winter seed sowing basics, although the topic will be covered more thoroughly in the fall session (yet to be scheduled).
Note that this is a very traditional activity on the Shaker Church Family site, where the Watervliet Shakers developed the process of packaging seeds in small envelopes for sale to the World beginning in the 1790s. The program will include a brief introduction to the Shakers’ seed industry. The session will end with a stroll in the Shaker Heritage herb garden.
The workshop will take place in the Meeting House. Participants are not required to attend both the seed saving workshop and seed swap events. For more information or to register offline, contact educator@shakerheritage.org or call 518-456-7890, x3.
