At the Local, 612 Erie Street, Stratford
When winter really starts getting you down, Seedy Sunday appears on the horizon. It’s a blessing. Nobody is ever cranky or mean. People spend their time trying to teach you things, or give you things, or swap stuff. It really is an antidote to just about anything negative.
This year was no different, with cheerful folk from the library, the Master Gardeners, the Horticultural Society, and various garden enthusiasts. I got a huge bag of worm castings from The Worm Wrangler — worked well for me last year. I also got more seeds than I should have. I always regret this in April, but I just can’t stop.
One of the gardeners I met gave me a great idea. Last year he got tired of all the leftover seeds he’d been saving for years, and he just went out and threw them in a garden bed at the edge of his property. He said it was an adventure. Flowers, veggies, herbs… you never knew what would pop up next. I think I’m going to try that.
Here’s a list of some of the vendors I met (sorry if I didn’t get everyone.)
The Worm Wrangler – she delivers to Stratford
Worms & Vermicompost Sales, Support, and Education!
Three Acre Permaculture Permaculture Design Certificate classes, fun Forage & Feast workshops, and a weekend Deep Intro To Permaculture. You can aalso visit us on Sundays to explore our nursery.
Silver Creek Nursery Beautiful fruit trees.
Root Rescue Transplanter (Rob Reeves) – mycorrhizae make love, not war, and while they’re at it they’re great for your garden!
The Seed Lady (Nancy Hainsworth) – Defninitely the woman to see if you’ve got a sick begonia. Hope she’s at the Sunday market again this year.
I saw all three presentations, and they complemented each other very well. Berenice Barratt did a great job explaining how you don’t have to spend huge amounts of cash just to have a container garden. I learned where I’ve been going wrong with self watering containers — you have to have a part of your soil (not all of it!) tamped down and touching water, so it can wick up the moisture. She showed us the value of coathangers and other recyclables in the garden. Very inventive and useful.
I went to Bob Reeves’ presentation expecting to learn about better fertilizer for my potatoes. Instead, we got an in-depth view of microbial conflict and collaborative evolution. I was surprised at first, but then I really got into it. He is a wonderful storyteller. And I did learn how to do better with my potatoes.
I’ve met Nancy Hainsworth before, she’s “The Seed Lady,” and she has a stall at the Sunday Market. If you have a question about gardening, she’s always happy to take the time to help. Her talk was more intimate, and everyone had questions about their own gardens. Very restful.
I had a really good time, and I came back home in a very good mood.
Thank you for including our event in your newsletter. Could we use portions of your write-up in our upcoming newsletter. I love your first person account.
Would you be interested in joining us next year?
I’d love it if you included the write-up. And I’ll be there next year as well, wouldn’t miss it!