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Seeds

11th Annual Seed Swap: Free Seeds to Start Your Garden

Seed Swap & Giveaway

Dozens of vegetable and flower types and hundreds of varieties, including unique heirlooms and locally saved seeds will be available for free to encourage people in Evanston to grow their own food. (A limit as to the number of seed packets per person will be posted at the event.)

In addition to generous seed companies and farms, you can donate seeds you grew and saved or seed packets from past years you don't plan to use. Bring seeds with you and we'll let you take more home.

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Winter is Time for Seed Selection and Review

If you’re planning on starting your garden from seeds this season, now is the time to organize your seed collection. Check the packages of the seeds you have stored. Did anything get wet over the winter? A good way to check the viability of a packet of seeds is to soak 10 seeds overnight, then fold them into a damp (not dripping) paper towel and slide the packet into a ziplock bag. Check how long the germination period is on the seed pack. After the germination period is over, open the package and count how many seeds have sprouted.

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Seed Saving

Fermenting Tomato seeds. Photo – John Porter. source: blogs.extension.org

If you received seeds from Edible Evanston’s seed swap in the spring, you can save seeds from the vegetables you grew! Choose to save the seeds from your healthiest, best producing plants. Before you go to the effort of saving seeds from your annuals, here are some questions to ask:

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Winter Activity: Seed Starting

For a gardener on a budget, starting plants from seeds can be a great way to invest in a little equipment to save money in the long run. By starting heirloom seeds (not hybrid or GMO seeds), you will be able to save the seeds from your plants this year to get the same results next year. Imagine a gardening season that does not include going to the store to buy seeds or seedlings! But we will discuss seed saving later.

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