Learning in Comfort

"It's a chilly evening out there, with darkness and snow and wind moving the tall pines restlessly about.

Inside, it is a bit more comfortable:  A warm fire, snoring dogs, and all sorts of talk of gardens streaming live on my computer."

That was the scene the other evening, when I logged in to a lively webinar on the highlighted 'finer points' of seed saving, hosted by the one and only Seed Savers Exchange.

Part of their mission to reach out to home gardeners and farmers across the nation (and world), this webinar discussed the eight things you should consider when planning your garden, that can result in successful seed saving for use in the next years to come.  Some of it I was familiar with (don't plant relatives near each other, be mindful of your pollinators, time your seed saving efforts both to when flowering is active and to the season) and some I wasn't (in this cold climate, you have to dig up biennial seeders such as parsnips and carrots and overwinter them in chilly conditions out the garden, and then replant them; and don't pick the perfect eating specimen--wait for it to get all kinds of 'past prime' to save those seeds).

Each month, Seed Savers offers a free webinar on different topics within the genre of seed saving.  You can find out more here about the 2013 offerings--I am looking forward to April's chat about organizing community seed projects, to see what I can fine-tune about our annual Seed Swap and ideas for the fledgling Community Seed Bank that I'm organizing.  (The Seed Bank is evolving from the very large amount of free seeds I have inherited, post-Seed Swap.  I believe I could feed a small country with what I have living in a cool corner, inside of a mysterious cardboard box!)

Just imagine, in a few weeks, freshly planted seeds will sprout in warm spring earth, and reach toward the sky...