Get Growing at the Community Seed Swap
Community Seed Swap Grows Heirlooms and More
Welsh Onion, Ethiopian Blue Tinge Wheat, French Breakfast Radish, Georgia Southern Collards … you can travel the world in one day at the 16th Annual Community Seed Swap on Sunday, January 28 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The Seed Swap is a generous exchange for all things plant. If you arrive early, the excitement is palpable as gardeners and plant enthusiasts of all ages line up, their arms laden with bags and envelopes of seeds and cuttings. At last year’s Seed Swap, I found myself carrying home a diverse collection of flower, vegetable, legume, and medicinal herb seeds. Added to my botanical loot were cuttings from two scented Pelargoniums, Iris bulbs, biochar samples, seed balls, and wildflower seed mixes. What a haul!
The Seed Swap is organized by the Santa Barbara Permaculture Network (SBPN), an environmental education nonprofit focused on sustainability, permaculture, and ecological design.
Bringing seeds to the event isn’t mandatory. Margie Bushman and Wesley Roe of the Permaculture Network stress that if you have seeds or plants to share, you are invited to bring them. If you don’t have any when you arrive, you will definitely leave with some.
Seeds tell a story. Many of the seeds you’ll find at the swap have been saved and passed down from generation to generation. Some of them bear the names of recently departed friends and master growers like Marshall Chrostowski. Be on the lookout for Marshall’s Fava Beans and giant tithonia seeds!
The Seed Swap weaves together a tapestry of connections, like the fungal mycelium running beneath our feet. The event not only connects backyard gardeners, plant lovers, farmers, and the garden-curious to growing seeds and plants, it also fosters community. I met revered grain grower Larry Kandarian at a Seed Swap many years ago when he gave a workshop called Ancient Guy Talks About Old Grains. With a title like that, I couldn’t resist attending. I was so inspired by Larry and his work that I began baking and cooking with ancient plant elders, like farro wheat, which is 10,000 years old!
Every year a Local Food Hero is honored at the Seed Swap. The 2024 Award goes to Leslie Person Ryan of Sweet Wheel Summerland Farm. Leslie is committed to building food resilience in her community. After the fire and debris flow event in 2018 left Summerland completely isolated and without food for two weeks, Leslie successfully led a fundraising campaign to purchase a six-acre farm, with an intention to grow enough to feed everyone in Summerland.
Past award recipients include: Larry Kandarian, ancient grains farmer; Explore Ecology School Gardens Program; Matt Buckmaster, Island Seed & Feed Nursery; Kevin Childerley, Santa Barbara Aquaponics; Nancy Weiss, past Food Services Director for S.B. Unified School District; Judy Sims, educator; Marshall Chrostowski, organic farmer and seed saver; Lorenz Schaller, Kusa Seed Society; Oscar Carmona, Healing Grounds Nursery; Jerry Sortomme, S.B. City College Environmental Horticulture Department; and the Santa Barbara Certified Farmers Market.
Explore Ecology’s School Gardens program was honored as a Local Food Hero in 2022. It was wonderful to be recognized for our work in 30 school gardens throughout Santa Barbara County. Our Garden Educators teach 14,000 students a year how to grow food organically, save seed, and compost, using large scale worm bins that transform cafeteria waste into a rich soil amendment. As the public relations director for Explore Ecology and past co-director of the Kale, Not Jail gardening project at the Juvenile Hall, I can attest to the beneficial impact that seed saving, gardening, and connecting with nature can have on people of all ages, especially Pre K through 12th graders.
Margie Bushman, co-founder of the S.B. Permaculture Network says, “We can all become part of the seed saving movement and ensure that locally adapted seed and plants are passed onto future generations. Seed saving is a fun and easy way to connect to the circle of life and helps to make Santa Barbara County a much more food secure community. We encourage local gardeners to grow out and harvest some of their best seeds for future gardens and seed swaps.”
Wesley Roe, SBPN Co-Founder says, “Bring seeds, plants, cuttings, and garden knowledge to swap. If you don’t have any, come anyway and start your seed saving adventure in 2024!”
We hope to see you at the free Seed Swap on Sunday, January 28 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the S.B. Community Arts Workshop (SBCAW), at 631 Garden Street, rain or shine. Enjoy speakers, children’s activities, and live music. Local groups will have plant- and seed-related exhibits, with many sharing valuable seed saving techniques that encourage gardeners to grow out and harvest some of their best seeds for future gardens and seed swaps.
Explore Ecology is a proud co-sponsor of this event. Other co-sponsors include Island Seed & Feed, Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, Santa Barbara Aquaponics, Blue Sky Biochar, the Seed Savers Exchange, and the Plant Good Seed Co.