Success StorySeed Saving Workshop



Seed Saving Workshop

Author: Heather Graham

Planning Unit: Wolfe County CES

Major Program: Home & Consumer Horticulture

Plan of Work: Agriculture Diversification

Outcome: Initial Outcome

Home grown vegetables is one of the the many things to look forward during the summer months. In Eastern Kentucky, there is heritage and tradition surrounding the family garden- what is grown, how it's grown, etc. It is common for people to save their seeds, especially of the heirloom varieties, from one year to the next. This helps to keep the tradition of the family garden alive, and can also help to reduce the input costs of the garden (not having to purchase seeds). Heriloom varities can also bring a premium at the Farmers' Market, and with the increase in demand for locally sourced food, this can also help to increase the producer's bottom line. However, a producer needs to be cautious when they save seeds to make sure that they're saving from healthy plants and that they are stored correctly. A producer can also use heat treatment as a way to help ensure that the saved seeds will be healthy. With the help of a Master Gardener volunteer, a seed saving workshop was held for Wolfe County residents this spring. Those that participated learned how to choose what seeds to save, how to properly store them, how to use heat treatment, and what seeds can be heat treated. Seed packets from the previous season had been donated for demonstration and those in attendance where able to get hands on learning with using heat treatment on those seeds. All participants left the meeting with several seeds to plant in their gardens and 100% indicated that they were going to save seeds from this year's garden.






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