4th Annual Spring Seed/Plant Swap
Schedule
Sun Apr 27 2025 at 02:00 pm to 04:00 pm
UTC-04:00Location
Creekwood Playground - Fearrington Village | Pittsboro, NC
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🌸💮🏵️Date: April 27
Time: 2 - 4(ish)
Where: Creekwood Playground on Benchmark in Fearrington Village
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PARKING: Please don't block anyone's driveway if this event gets big or if the parking is limited there for one reason or another. It is ok to double up on most of the parking spaces, especially if we are all there for the same event.
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Event details:
All gardeners from every level of experience are welcome! If you have nothing to contribute, feel free to bring a snack or something to share. This is very much a bring yourself and whatever you have kind of event. We all have to start somewhere so I'm happy to share with newbies.
Seeds can be packaged in individual packets (10 large seeds/1/4 of a teaspoon of smaller grain like seeds)
We will have a table set up for natives and non-native plants. No invasive (non-native) plants are permitted. If you are unsure, feel free to ask me or look it up.
Both plants and seeds are welcome. If you can provide an "info sheet" about whatever you are bringing or message me and I can put one together, that would be great. This will help people make the right choices for their garden spaces and I also plan to keep a "catalog" of what we have after the event for anyone who may have missed. I won't be leaving an unsupervised table out this time because of what happened last time, but all the collected seeds are available to all members, by appointment.
If you know how to harvest seeds...feel free to stop reading here.
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How to prepare:
Collecting seed
-Collect ripe seed on a dry day, as soon as the seedheads (e.g. capsules or pods) ripen. This is often indicated by a colour change from green to brown, black or red, but must be before they open and shed their contents
-Pick the seedheads, either singly or on stalks, and lay them out to dry on a greenhouse bench, warm windowsill or in an airing cupboard. This enables seed to be more easily extracted from pods, cones or capsules
-If they don’t open when dry, gently crush pods and capsules to release the seed
-Collect seed from fleshy fruits and berries by mashing them in a fine sieve and then rinsing away the pulp in cold water. Leave the seed to dry for a few days on paper towels
-Exploding seedheads need checking every few days. Place a bag over them and shake – this will usually cause the ripe seedheads to explode into the bag. Alternatively, remove the seedheads on their stems as they turn brown and place in a labelled paper bag
-Nuts should be collected around the time they would naturally fall either by hand-picking, or by placing a sheet at the base of the tree and shaking the branches until they fall
-After extracting the seed, clean off any surrounding material (chaff) attached to them, as this material could rot and lead to the seed damping off. Chaff can harbour moulds, pests and diseases
Storing seeds
-Some seeds (e.g. hellebore) are best sown immediately as their viability reduces with storage. However, for many species, sowing is best delayed until a more suitable time of the year, such as autumn or spring, so the harvested seed will need to be safely stored until sowing. Storing is also required if surplus seed has been collected. Here's how:
-Place dry seed in labelled paper packets or envelopes in an airtight container with some desiccant to remove excess moisture. Suitable materials include calcium chloride (sold in DIY stores for use in dehumidifiers) or silica gel
-Excess humidity or warmth can cause seed to deteriorate or die from fungal disease or rotting
-Certain seed must not be allowed to dry out as they cannot then take up water necessary for germination. Examples are walnuts, oaks and magnolias. These seed can be stored in a plastic bag of damp vermiculite, sand, or a mix of moist coir and sand for several months
-Store in a refrigerator at 5°C (41°F) until required. Most seed will remain viable in this way for many years
(Source: https://www.rhs.org.uk/propagation/seed-collecting-storing)
Silica packets aren't necessary but if you need them, they are very cheap and can be acquired at hardware or craft stores.
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Please don't hesitate to ask any questions you have! We all have had "dumb" questions before and we wouldn't have learned anything if we didn't ask.
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Where is it happening?
Creekwood Playground - Fearrington Village, Pittsboro, United StatesEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
