You must forgive me for getting ahead of myself, but when the sky is this blue and the air is over 60 degrees, all I want to do is sit on the porch in sandals and peruse the seed catalogs that have been coming in all winter. Somehow those pictures look much better on a warm and sunny day.
Few things are more enticing to a farmer or gardener than the allure of a glossy picture of blooming flowers or bright red tomatoes in a seed catalog. And yet, it is way too soon to start planting for those of us in the intermountain west. I suppose if you grow seedlings to sell at a market, you have already dusted off your seed mats and warmed up those soil trays with tiny peppers or tomatoes, but for most of us, this is a lesson in patience. Granted, I typically place large orders for my farm in January, but it doesn’t keep me from checking out the latest colors of sunflowers or zinnias while I wait.
One of the many things I love about our region are the numerous organizations that also share a love of seed saving, gardening, dreaming of creating pollinator meccas in their yards and sharing that love with others. To that end, I am aware of no less than four seed sales or exchanges coming up in the next few weeks and there are probably others that I haven’t yet heard about.
The first one that might pique your interest is today at the Animas Valley Grange, a fun, free event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The next one is always a great event, held here at the La Plata County Fairgrounds on March 9 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., this one is the Garden Guys Heritage Seed Sale; hosted by Darrin Parmenter and Tom Bartels. The third seed exchange is held by the Pine River Garden Club in Bayfield at the Pine River Library on March 15 from 10 a.m. to noon, where everyone is welcome to come and share their seeds and trade for other seeds. Lastly, we have the Colorado Native Plant Society’s annual seed swap, but that one is not happening until the early fall, likely late August or early September. So, if you are interested in learning more about any of these events, please don’t hesitate to contact me and I can share more information.
That leads me to another thought; how many people out there would love to learn more about seed saving, proper seed storage, the history of plants and where they originated, or just get involved with others that have a passion for growing/harvesting/sharing seeds? If any of those things interest you, again, please reach out to me as I am building a workshop series around this very topic that will start later in the summer when harvest season begins.
So remember, this is the perfect time to come out of hibernation, start planning your garden (but don’t take out the ground cover yet – the bees are still sleeping) and gather up your seeds for the beautiful bounty to come.
Heather Houk is the Horticulture and Agriculture specialist for the La Plata County Extension Office.
