Seed Exchange 2021

March 22, 2021

  • This year’s Seedy Saturday is going to look a little different than years past, but we still wanted to give gardeners the opportunity to share their seeds with others. We are partnering with Resilient.SEA to offer a contactless and online Seedy Saturday experience! We are going to utilize the Little Free Libraries around the city for contactless seed exchange. Each LFL will have a Seed Exchange container with seeds in small packets for sharing and some empty paper packets as well.  LFL locations are listed below. This year’s Seed Exchange will be spread over a week, running from March 22-28, it will start on World Water Day on March 22nd and include Earth Hour on March 27th.  See below the events for more seed exchange information.

We are offering live and recorded online sessions followed by discussion:

Monday, March 22

  • Plogging challenge = Picking up Litter and Jogging in partnership with Pop Up Parks
  • Put on some gloves, grab a bag or two and head out for a Plog (or Plalk if walking is more your speed). A lot of litter ends up in our waterways, posing threats to wildlife and polluting the environment. Remember to snap a photo to share on social media with the hashtags #WorldWaterDay and #MHPlogging

Tuesday, March 23 2-3:30pm

Wednesday, March 24 1-2:30pm

Thursday, March 25 6:30-8pm

Friday, March 26 6:30-8pm

Saturday, March 27 4pm

  • Seedy Chatterday: Join us on Zoom to talk about everything gardening! We will have topical breakout rooms including Growing Vegetables, Pollinator Plants, Gardening with Less Water, DIY plant pots, and more!
  • Join Zoom Meeting
    https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89198872422?pwd=bEV3L0dteS80RkR0NHA3dFljK3l6UT09
    Meeting ID: 891 9887 2422
    Passcode: 430007

  • EARTH HOUR: Starting at 8:30 pm, switch off all non-essential lights in your home for one hour. Consider having dessert by candlelight, or go to EarthHour.org for more ideas.

Sunday, March 28 - 1-3pm  


SEED EXCHANGE DETAILS

Packaging: 

  • When leaving seeds, please have them portioned into small paper envelopes, mini Ziploc bags, small containers like empty Tic Tac containers, or empty film canister packaging. 
  • Label each packet with the name of the plant and cultivar (ie. Tomato – ‘Sungold’). If you can, also include age of seed (if known), and whether it was saved or purchased.
  • The number of seeds shared will depend on the plant. If it’s something like a squash or tomato, you may want to only include 3-5 seeds per packet as each plant produces many fruits. For other plants, you may want to include 1 tbsp. of seed. 
  • Please only take what you need and will actually use this season
  • **Please be aware that many of the LFL are very small and full of books, so there is not a lot of room for larger containers.**

Notification: 

  • Once you have left seed in a LFL, please post on our Facebook page which library you have left it in, what variety of seeds you have left, and how many packets have been left. 
  • People who go to retrieve seed, please post under the original Facebook comment that you have taken a packet, that way participants can have a rough idea of if there is seed still available at that location. Please be aware that some LFL users may take seed, so there is no guarantee that packages will be left if you wait a long time after seeing a posting. 
  • If you do not have Facebook you can email communityfoodconnections@gmail.com and the coordinator will post the information in the Facebook event.

Invasive Species: Please do not share any invasive species. Check https://abinvasives.ca/invasive-plants/.

Here is a list of the Little Free Libraries in Medicine Hat by quadrant:

South East
Crestwood Pool Park – 21st Street SE
2267 24 Street SE
590 Ross Glen Drive SE (next to the walking trail)
7 East Glen Street SE (across from a park)
1194 27 Street SE (across from the AMA)
Central Park in the playground by the whale slide – 11 St. SE

South West
Kinette Korner playground in Kin Coulee – Kin Coulee Road SW
14 Harris Street SW
32 Red Deer Drive SW
69 4 Street SW (by Swirls)
369 12 Street SW
330 Gehring Road SW (Tourism Medicine Hat)

North East
138A 3 Street NE (in Riverside across from St. Patrick’s Church)