Seed fair event Saturday at FVCC

The annual seed and start fair “Free The Seeds!” takes place Saturday at Flathead Valley Community College.

The second annual event is from 8 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. and is sponsored by FVCC’s Integrated Agriculture and Food Systems Program.

Free the Seeds is a free, community-powered event for building a sustainable and resilient future through real seeds, real food, and real skills. The day includes more than 20 educational workshops and more than 40 booths with information and resources on local food and growing. There will also be roundtable conversations, and seed exchange and plant starts available.

Tawnya Rourke Kelly, one of the lead event organizers, said last year’s event drew more than 1,600 people.

“There’s clearly a lot of interest and momentum in the real food and real seed movement and we’re gearing up again to provide resources to many more people this year,” she said.

Workshops run from 10 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. with topics that include beekeeping basics, food growing workshops, seed saving, making and using compost, effective cover cropping, tree-grafting, and square foot gardening.

This year the event will offer three Montana Office of Public Instruction credits to teachers who attend the school gardens 101 workshop for K-12 teachers.

The seed and start swap runs from 8 a.m.-noon. Those wanting to participate are encouraged to bring open-pollinated, non-GMO seeds and plant starts to share and swap with like-minded gardeners.

For more information, visit http://freetheseedsmt.com/.