Community Seed Swap Celebrates 21 Years, and Record Attendance

by Christopher Kelly-Bisson

On March 1st growers from all over the Ottawa Area converged upon the Ron Kolbus-Lakeside Centre to buy or swap organic and heirloom seeds.  Despite the cold weather and snowy conditions, Organizers say that this has been one of its largest turnouts in its 21 year history.  For the Ottawa permaculture community, Seedy Saturday is a major gathering.  Some of the vendors and many of the participants have gardened, workshopped, and organized to grow groups like Permaculture Ottawa.

The event was organized by Greta Kryger (Greta’s Organic Seeds), who is also a vendor selling organic seeds from her farm in the Ottawa Greenbelt.  She has been growing and selling seeds since 1992.  Along with Greta are 50 other vendors.  15 vendors were selling seeds, and the rest sold plants, pots, and many different natural products.  There is also a mini-restaurant serving hot meals and coffee every year.

Greta said that a couple years ago they had someone count how many people attended the event, which came out to about 1,000 people.  She thinks that there were more people this year, probably the most she has seen at the event.

The venue was packed since its start at 10 AM.  Greta says there was a lineup out the door to come in.  By closing-time at 3 PM the venue was still effervescent with green-thumbed Ottawans itchy for the end of this especially cold winter.

The event also hosted a series of events, including ones on: square foot gardening, growing kale, growing sweet potatoes, and seed saving.  Tom Marcantonio, of Permaculture Ottawa, was there for the second year in a row giving a workshop on his “10 meter diet”.  A workshop about growing as much food as possible in and around our urban homes.

Seedy Saturday takes place in cities and towns all across Canada.  In 2012 there were 100 across the country.  The event was first organized by agronomist Sharon Rempel in 1990 at the VanDusen Botanical Garden in Vancouver, British Columbia.  Seedy Saturday events are now generally organized through the Seeds of Diversity, an independent NGO that began in 1984 by the Canadian Organic Growers.

When asked if Seedy Saturday will continue into the future, Greta responded that she is planning on continuing to organize them well into the future; holding it at the same location, and approximately the same time of year.  Given the record turnout this year, and increasing popular interest in food sovereignty, and localism in Ottawa, there is no doubt that next year could be an even bigger success.by Christopher Kelly-Bisson

On March 1st growers from all over the Ottawa Area converged upon the Ron Kolbus-Lakeside Centre to buy or swap organic and heirloom seeds.  Despite the cold weather and snowy conditions, Organizers say that this has been one of its largest turnouts in its 21 year history.  For the Ottawa permaculture community, Seedy Saturday is a major gathering.  Some of the vendors and many of the participants have gardened, workshopped, and organized to grow groups like Permaculture Ottawa.

The event was organized by Greta Kryger (Greta’s Organic Seeds), who is also a vendor selling organic seeds from her farm in the Ottawa Greenbelt.  She has been growing and selling seeds since 1992.  Along with Greta are 50 other vendors.  15 vendors were selling seeds, and the rest sold plants, pots, and many different natural products.  There is also a mini-restaurant serving hot meals and coffee every year.

Greta said that a couple years ago they had someone count how many people attended the event, which came out to about 1,000 people.  She thinks that there were more people this year, probably the most she has seen at the event.

The venue was packed since its start at 10 AM.  Greta says there was a lineup out the door to come in.  By closing-time at 3 PM the venue was still effervescent with green-thumbed Ottawans itchy for the end of this especially cold winter.

The event also hosted a series of events, including ones on: square foot gardening, growing kale, growing sweet potatoes, and seed saving.  Tom Marcantonio, of Permaculture Ottawa, was there for the second year in a row giving a workshop on his “10 meter diet”.  A workshop about growing as much food as possible in and around our urban homes.

Seedy Saturday takes place in cities and towns all across Canada.  In 2012 there were 100 across the country.  The event was first organized by agronomist Sharon Rempel in 1990 at the VanDusen Botanical Garden in Vancouver, British Columbia.  Seedy Saturday events are now generally organized through the Seeds of Diversity, an independent NGO that began in 1984 by the Canadian Organic Growers.

When asked if Seedy Saturday will continue into the future, Greta responded that she is planning on continuing to organize them well into the future; holding it at the same location, and approximately the same time of year.  Given the record turnout this year, and increasing popular interest in food sovereignty, and localism in Ottawa, there is no doubt that next year could be an even bigger success.