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Seed to Seed
Description
What has infinite potential? Join fellow seed folks and savers to find out! In this 9-month, cohort-based program, we will explore seed stewardship, science, and our social-cultural connections to seeds. Participants will learn through in-depth discussions, hands-on practice tending to a seed garden, and sharing seed stories, as well as reflecting on group-curated materials between sessions.
This new course will meet once a month in-person at Rainier Beach Urban Farm & Wetlands, and will include:
- Participatory lessons about seed biology and garden ecology
- Practical, hands-on skill development in growing from seed to seed
- Facilitated group conversations and reflective activities about history, culture and our relationships with seeds
- Resources and guides for independent learning
Learning topics, activities and resources will include:
- February – seed terminology, basic biology, choosing seeds for saving
- March – seed starting indoors, caring for seedlings
- April – flower structures and pollination methods
- May – genetics, diversity, seed breeding
- June – seed histories, politics and commercialization
- July – exploring plant life cycles, planning for the harvest and collecting wild seeds
- August – harvesting, processing and saving seeds
- September – understanding seed distribution and access
- October – creating personal action plans & next steps
Seed to Seed is an invitation to deepen your relationship with food, place and yourself, alongside a community of fellow gardeners and farmers. Participants can expect to build their functional understanding of how to save seed, while also developing their own personal connections to food systems and creating actionable plans in their lives.
This course is appropriate for intermediate gardeners and farmers, who have some experience with growing vegetables. Please note that this course will not be covering information about general gardening practices – if you are interested in learning more about how to grow food in the Pacific Northwest, we recommend our Year-Round Gardener or Comprehensive Organic Gardening course. Read more FAQs here.
Sessions will take place from 5:45-8:00 p.m. on a Thursday evening once a month at Rainier Beach Urban Farm & Wetlands. Class dates are: Feb. 2, Mar. 9, Apr. 6, May 4, June 1, July 6, Aug. 3, Sep. 7, Oct. 5. Classes will be both indoors and outdoors – and we will be following current public health recommendations. Please be prepared for outdoor activities and dress for the weather. Accessibility notes: Rainier Beach Urban Farm & Wetlands has a gravel parking lot, mostly flat terrain, and a mix of paths that are paved, crushed gravel and wood chips.
Class fee includes a copy of The Seed Garden – The Art & Practice of Seed Saving by Seed Savers Exchange, and comprehensive class materials. In addition to in-person activities, there will be assignments between sessions and an opportunity to develop a final reflection, project or plan that will apply lessons learned after the class is completed.
*This course is happening in partnership with the Friends of Rainier Beach Urban Farm & Wetlands.
