Seed Saving for City Gardeners

Let’s gather together and remember and relearn the time-honored practice of seed saving. Prior to 1800, all farmers and gardeners worldwide swapped or saved their own seeds. There were no seed companies as seeds were considered part of the public commons, a precious collective inheritance, so our community has something to eat.

We will discuss why we save seeds, basic botany, cross-pollination versus self-pollination, OP versus hybrids, and best practices in seed saving. We will set achievable goals for our own seed saving this year. We will share some seed-saving projects stewarded by the Baltimore Free Farm including: Grow a Row where gardeners reserve a small amount of their crop for seed harvest and donation to the Baltimore Seed Commons, and One Seed One Community project where neighbors grow and save seed from their small patch of ‘Ultracross’ okra, our vegetable variety for 2025 and 2026.

This workshop is a more specialized subject, focusing on annual vegetable seed-saving, and assumes that participants are coming with an intermediate level of gardening knowledge. Enthusiastic beginners are welcome too!

We will gather in the basement of St. Luke’s Church on the Avenue in Hampden, Baltimore. We will start promptly at 10am and go for about 2.5 hours with breaks. There is one flight of stairs and no elevator to access the basement. Bring a snack, water, a notebook and pen to take notes on your lap, and any other comfort items you may need.

The address is 800 W. 36th Street, Baltimore MD 21211. There is metered street parking on Chestnut and 36th St. There is free residential parallel parking if you drive around. The neighborhood is busy, so budget enough time for parking. The church is across from the 21 and 94 city bus lines.

Workshop materials will be emailed to registered attendees via Eventbrite. If you do not register, you won’t get the handouts. Tickets are donation-based, and all donations will be divided amongst the Baltimore Free Farm and St. Luke’s. Suggested donation range is $1-$40. Email [email protected] with any questions.

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