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Growers save seeds for annual Seedy Saturday

Annual event continues to promote local food security
seedy saturday
SEED SAVER: Aaron Mazurek enjoys the diversity of saving seeds from the plants he grows. Along with hundreds of other “seedophiles,” Mazurek will be attending the upcoming Seedy Saturday event at Powell River Recreation Complex. David Brindle photo

Seed-saving appeals to different types of people, according to Ellen de Casmaker, chair of the committee for this year’s Seedy Saturday. The annual event has grown from a small group of people with interests in seeds to a function that organizers expect an estimated 600 people to attend.

“The idea is to promote growing seeds here in our area,” said de Casmaker, who said she is fascinated with what comes out of a “teeny-weeny” seed.

Certain people like to collect seeds, others are just frugal and realize it is cheaper to grow their own rather than buy them new every year, and some want acclimatized seeds that grow better in Powell River, said de Casmaker.

Seed growing has been corporatized, with only a few seed companies controlling 90 per cent of the seeds in the world, according to hobby seed saver and Terra Nostra Farm owner Aaron Mazurek.

“You become dependent on them,” said Mazurek. “If we want to be really food secure, we need to have a source of seed that’s local and that we’re able to produce ourselves, otherwise we’re always ordering from a big seed company.”

Because of the climate, Powell River region is an ideal seed-saving area, according to Mazurek, because almost anything can be grown here and any seed can be saved.

Mazurek complements his homegrown seed stock by spending $1,100 on packaged seed each year. He said the practice of seed-saving gives him a greater appreciation of the full circle and diversity of life.

“I love to see the different seeds,” he said. “The beans are really nice. You have the purples, reds, white and black. You plant the seed and it’s just amazing to watch that seed grow up into a plant. With the beans, you plant a row and then harvest 20 pounds of beans and you have enough to eat all winter.”

But saving seed is a very difficult job, said Mazurek.

“If you’ve ever tried saving seed, every plant has a different technique,” he said. “A lot of people will go into the garden and save some seed because they see it on the top of the plant, but saving good seed is much more of an in-depth process than that. You’re selecting, going through the row picking out the off types, picking out the ones that don’t look good and then actually trying to taste these plants, too, before you save the seed. How do you taste a plant without killing the plant to save the seed?”

Seedy Saturday is for people who save seeds, swap them and buy a packet of seeds for a dollar, said de Casmaker. An educational component is also part of the event.

“The rest of the venue has to do with information booths, so you can learn about different things to do with growing and go to workshops to learn about growing and seed saving,” she added.

Seedy Saturday is the first event to be held by the newly formed Powell River Farmers’ Agricultural Institute. The event begins at 9:30 am at Powell River Recreation Complex.

For more information, go to prfarmers.ca/pr-seedysat.