THE ever-popular Sustainable Crediton Seed share – SHARE, GROW, EAT returns on Saturday, February 24, when it will run from 11am until 2pm in the Boniface Centre, Crediton. 

In addition to the seeds, there will be interesting stalls including the Devon Wildlife Trust, the Woodland Trust, Crediton Food larder, pollinators and bees, Crediton Garden Club, nature photographs, Hedgehogs, The Turning Tides Project, Orchards Live, Crediton Community Allotment, Crediton Pig Club, People Love Plants, Growing Well Garden and Nature Crafts (making everlasting tulips and seeded paper making). 

Go along and find out about what sustainable groups are doing locally.

There will also be lots of opportunities to find out how you can help local groups.

There will be music and lovely homemade lunches made from donations of food that would have gone to waste.

It will be a great time to meet friends.  

A seed swap works by people taking along seeds they have saved and taking away other people’s seeds to use.

However, it doesn’t matter if you haven’t any seeds to take along, it is hoped that by next year you will have saved some seeds and take them to the next seed swap, so please do go along.   There is no charge, voluntary donations only.

Good reasons for saving seed include:

• Helps protect biodiversity and keeps the diversity of locally adapted varieties going.

• Maintains growing skills.

• Gets round the National List, which makes it illegal to sell varieties not on the list. This is why we do not charge for the seeds.

• Seed swaps keep seed making in the garden and out of the laboratory and resists the privatisation of plant genetic material.

• Saving seed and seed swaps introduce you to other local gardeners and help develop a sense of community.

• Very helpfully, saving seed can also save you money.

You can take along both vegetable and flower seeds.

Sustainable Crediton says it would be helpful if you label packets with the type, variety and date collected e.g. Tomato Moneymaker 2008.

Surplus commercial seed packets are also acceptable. Though many older seeds are still viable, please take along seeds that are three years or less years old.