The Wood River Seed Library (WRSL) and the Upper Big Wood River Grange are celebrating Earth Day with the annual Seed & Plant Exchange. The event will be held at the Grange Hall on S. 3rd Ave. in Hailey on April 23 as part of Earth Day Fest 2022, organized by the Climate Action Coalition of the Wood River Valley.
Local gardeners are invited to come and share seeds and plants. The event is an opportunity to meet other local gardeners, get inspired to grow delicious and nutritious food for your family, flowers that attract pollinators, and indoor and outdoor plants that beautify our landscape. Locally produced seeds are adapted to our local environment and weather. By preserving and sharing these seeds, our seed library maintains a vibrant and diverse supply of open-pollinated varieties for local gardeners. This becomes an asset for a resilient community.
Bring your own saved seeds, potted plants and starts, and dig up perennials from your gardens to share with the community. Anyone looking for locally grown seeds is welcome to stop by the Grange and pick up the varieties they are hoping to plant this spring. The WRSL seeds are distributed free of charge, but donations are appreciated. And, mostly, gardeners are encouraged to save seeds from their crops, and return some to the seed library.
At the event, the Sun Valley Institute for Resilience will show how to make seed pods using native pollinator seeds. There will be a booth at the event for knife and tool sharpening, by Pioneer Edge works. Knives can be sharpened onsite for $1 per inch of blade. Tools will have to go to the shop and will be returned another day.
The Wood River Seed Library (WRSL) will be sharing the seeds grown and harvested by local seed savers. Gardeners are encouraged to plant these seeds, learn the basics of seed saving, harvest the seeds from the plants they grow and return their surplus of locally harvested seeds to the WRSL in the fall.
To get more information or to sign up to receive the WRSL newsletter, visit woodriverseeds.net, or contact Master Gardener Manon Gaudreau at woodriverseedlibrary@gmail.com.