Sowing Seeds for the New Year
First published in the January 2025 Grapevine, the newsletter for Yamhill County Master Gardeners
January planning escapes no one. Even those resolving to skip resolutions have still declared an intention for the year ahead.
Gardeners seem inclined to be change enthusiasts. Winter provides just the right amount of time to contemplate the past year’s successes and failures. We look forward to making adjustments or even starting completely anew. That is how a gardener grows.
Following the advice of Gretchin Rubin, author of “The Happiness Project,” I choose a word each January to represent the year ahead. For the last three years, my overarching theme has been “seed.” It appears I have a word of the decade rather than word of the year.
A seed, though tiny and in need of nurture, totally encapsulates the change and growth possible in a year. There is no shortage of symbolism in knowing a seed does not hesitate to come completely undone to reach its potential.
The idea to become a Master Gardener was seeded by a friend in 2022. After a year of something akin to cold stratification – I couldn’t get into a program – the seed sprouted in 2024. Now I’ve paid it forward and seeded the idea for a friend to join the program in 2025.
Imagine the chills when the propagation team held a seed swap as its end-of-year celebration in December. The most exciting part of pursuing Master Gardener certification is belonging to this new community. YCMGA is a welcoming circle in which the learning and generous sharing of knowledge never ends.
At my first seed swap I offered seeds collected from love-in-a-mist, heirloom zinnias, scarlet runner beans, orange nasturtiums, showy milkweeds, and a variety of cosmos.
I traded anthophile delights for veggies galore. It hadn’t occurred to me to bring partial packets of commercial seeds. I also picked up hand-harvested pearly everlasting seeds. That native flower piqued my interest last summer. I walked away already eager to expand my participation at next year’s seed swap.
Seed Saving
With a dream greenhouse nearing completion, literal seeds are a focus for the year ahead. The mini miracles do much of the work themselves. But home gardeners are important seed stewards and protectors of biodiversity.
Small groups like the propagation team have traded seeds throughout history. In 1975 one garden gaggle grew to be the nonprofit Seed Savers Exchange. Today, The Exchange is an extensive online seed swap open to members and nonmembers all over the world.
Whether a seed saving community is large and wide spread, or grassroots and intimate, the sharing of gardening heritage benefits future generations. It takes dedicated gardeners to keep the seeds of priceless heirloom varieties going and contribute to the security of our future food supply.
Seed Swap Days
As enjoyable as it is to peruse seed catalogues and fill an online cart, an in-person seed swap is a chance for connection. Kathy Jentz, the editor and publisher of Washington Gardener Magazine, felt so strongly that communities should host events that she established National Seed Swap Day in 2006. The last Saturday of January is now an official seed swap holiday.
My research didn’t uncover any local celebrations scheduled for January 25th. However, there are many scattered seed libraries and banks and swaps in the area throughout the year.
McMinnville’s Miller Woods held a seed swap in October. The City of Milwaukee hosts a community seed swap in February. The Oregon City Farmers Market, Woodburn Farmers Market, West Slope Community Library, and Silverton Grange all have public exchanges in March. “Seedy Saturday” in Silverton sounds well worth the scenic drive.
Instead of a single event, public seed libraries encourage an ongoing culture of sharing and community. The Tigard Community Seed Library and Wilsonville Seed Library are all about local food resilience, biodiversity, and sustainable gardening. Anyone can come collect seeds and donate when they are able.
Oregon City has an impressive seed inventory and highlights support for the Open Source Seed Initiative. OSSI was created to “free the seed” by working with plant breeders who commit to making one or more of their varieties available exclusively under the OSSI Pledge. That means gardeners have the freedom to use the seeds in any way they choose and pledge not to restrict others’ use in the future.
In the New Year I hope to explore at least a few seed libraries and seed swap opportunities in the area. National Seed Swap Day – January 25th – is highlighted on my calendar. How I celebrate is yet to be determined. A casual trade over coffee with a friend? An ambitious first annual seed swap with the garden club?
Suffice to say the seed has been planted. But the seed wasn’t labeled, so we’ll have to wait and see what it is when it blooms.
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