The 2018 Seed Swap. Photo: Joe Hundley
FOREST GROVE – A popular gardening event is returning to Forest Grove on Saturday, February 16 with the Dairy Creek Community Food Web’s Spring Seed Swap, held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at St. Bede Episcopal Church 1609 Elm Street.
Participants at this free event are invited to bring seeds to share, or simply come (with envelopes or bags) and choose seeds from what event organizers promise is a selection of “favorites and some unusual new things to plant, including some really special seeds from our friends at Gales Meadow Farm.”
Attendees are asked to label their no more than three to four year old seeds if they plan on sharing.
Instructors will be on hand to show event attendees how to save seeds from produce grown this year to bring to next year’s seed swap, as well as dispense tips on how to start seeds and other gardening topics.
The event is family-friendly, with activities for children on-site, including viewing seeds and soil through a microscope and playing with bread dough from local Forest Grove farm Nana Cardoon.
From 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Edgemaster sharpening will be at the event to sharpen tools, starting at $4 and up depending on the tool.
The event will also have free refreshments, a raffle, and the unveiling of the Dairy Creek Community Food Web Garden Library, also located at St. Bede Episcopal Church. The library features a collection of hundreds of gardening-related books and magazines available for check out and return from 1 to 5 p.m. at the church every Wednesday afternoon.
According to their website, the Dairy Creek Community Food Web, named for the Dairy Creek watershed, is a 501c3 nonprofit organization that strives to make connections within the local food system.
The DCCFW’s mission is to promote the local food community in Western Washington County by exchanging knowledge and resources to grow, process, share and celebrate nourishing food.
Chas Hundley is the editor of the Gales Creek Journal and sister news publications the Banks Post and the Salmonberry Magazine. He grew up in Gales Creek and has a cat.
