Seedy Sunday

Seeds at the ready! Seedy Sunday is back

Gardeners and allotmenteers are gearing themselves up for the start of another gardening year, with Seedy Sunday marking the start of the growing season for many green-fingered residents.

This annual event, now in its 11th year, is the UK’s largest and oldest seed swap, with more than 1,500 visitors expected. The idea it to preserve and distribute seeds not commercially available (such as heritage varieties of vegetables) and encourage people to grow the widest range of flowers and crops possible. This will help to preserve biodiversity and also to find plants best suited to our local conditions.

If you’ve saved seeds from last year’s crops, you can take them along (in clearly marked envelopes) to swap them for seeds you want to grow this year. If you weren’t able to save seeds, just pay a 50p donation for each packet you want – and pick up information on how to save seeds this year to swap in 2013!

The event also features lots of stalls from local community groups, charities and food, seed and environmental businesses and organisations, plus children’s activities and demonstrations. A full programme of talks and discussions takes in topics from planning for year-round vegetable crops and bee-keeping to issues including food sovereignty and seed saving. The day will be rounded off with the ever-popular gardener’s question time, your chance to ask a panel of local gardening experts any question from the basic to the more advanced aspects of growing and saving seeds.

Whether you’re just growing a few herbs on a windowsill, taken on an allotment for the first time or have fingers so green people think you’re wearing gloves, Seedy Sunday should be a firm fixture in your diary.

Seedy Sunday, Hove Town Hall, Norton Road, Sunday 5 February, 10am–4.30pm, £2 entry (children free), www.seedysunday.org