A seed swap event in Nanaimo has taken root and will see roughly 1,000 people at the Beban Park Centennial Building, 2300 Bowen Rd. (Jenny Short)

By Jordan Davidson

seeds galore

Swap seeds and gardening tips at Seedy Sunday event

Mar 5, 2023 | 6:14 AM

NANAIMO — As the calendar inches closer to spring, it’s time to start thinking about what to plant in your garden.

Seedy Sunday is back on March 5, from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. at the Beban Park Centennial Building, which is an annual gathering of those who provide local seeds and knowledge on all things gardening.

Jenny Short is a coordinator at the Nanaimo Food Share, who works in partnership with the Nanaimo Community Gardens to put on the event. She said at least a thousand people take part in the event every year.

“People can purchase plants and seeds for their garden as well as get some really helpful information on making sure they are growing their best garden possible.”

The event will be full of local seed producers and farmers, as well as various information booths, including a recent addition of eco-friendly makers who share their knowledge about how to lower single-use plastic consumption.

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Short said their ‘seed swap’ table allows people to swap seeds free of charge, along with getting some valuable information on growing plants on Vancouver Island.

“When we are choosing our vendors, we don’t have large production seed vendors at the event, it has to be people who have physically grown and harvested their own seeds off of the Island.”

She said they normally raise a few thousand dollars for each organization, but emphasized the importance of this event being about creating a community space to help educate people about growing locally.

“Giving all the local producers on the Island a communal space to bring their products and share them with the community, cause we do have vendors that come all the way from Victoria and then as far North as…Comox.”

She said this event is not just for people with full backyard gardens, as they have booths pertaining to container growing for those with limited outdoor space, like in a condo or apartment.

When bringing your own seeds to swap, Short asks that you clearly package and label the seeds.

“We have some vendors that package seeds from plants that have been passed down in their families, and people are really excited to get to see all the information booths. It’s just a really nice community space for people to come and see what they can do about making the most of their growing space.”

More information on this event can be found here on their Facebook page.

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jordan@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @JordanDHeyNow