Free the Seeds events March 6-8

Free the Seeds returns to the Flathead Valley on March 6-8 for the sixth year of workshops and free seeds.

This year’s event features a drive-up heirloom seed giveaway and free virtual workshops that promote real seeds, real food, and real skills. The schedule of events, includes:

Saturday, March 6

9 a.m.–noon: Heirloom seed giveaway at the Northwest Montana History Museum in Kalispell and the library in Columbia Falls. Seeds will be prebundled by volunteers and available for drive-by pickup. Look for Free the Seeds signs.

2–3:30 p.m.: Zoom workshop presented by Lindy Dewey: Growing Your Own Herb Garden – Designs and What to Grow Out Your Back Door

4–5:30 p.m.: Zoom workshop presented by Chris Dye: Small-Space Gardening

6–7:30 p.m: Happy Hour Community Conversation via Zoom: Community Seed Saving – The Key to Local Food Security

Sunday, March 7

1–2:30 p.m.: Zoom workshop presented by Todd Ulizio: Building Healthy Soil

3–4:30 p.m.: Zoom workshop presented by Patty Armbrister: Attracting Beneficial Insects and Pest Control

5–6:30 p.m.: Happy Hour Community Conversation via Zoom: Can We Create Edible Neighborhoods?

Monday, March 8

6–7:30 p.m.: Zoom workshop presented by Barton Morse: Fruit Tree Pruning and Orchard Tending

Each virtual workshop will feature an expert presentation and plenty of time for questions and answers. At the Happy Hour Community Conversation, presenters will lead an open discussion about how neighbors can share resources and skills to plant, grow, and share food in ways that will feed their families and our community.

Links for the free virtual, interactive workshops and Happy Hour Community Conversations will be available on the Free the Seeds website. Preregistration is required. Sign up and learn more at freetheseedsmontana.com.

Besides giving away seeds, Free the Seeds welcomes seeds saved by local gardeners to pass on to other growers. Heirloom, open-pollinated, and non-genetically modified (non-GMO) seeds can be donated at ImagineIF library locations in Columbia Falls and Kalispell. The libraries require masks to be worn and limit visit times to 30 minutes.

Seeds can also be mailed to Farm Hands, PO Box 4404, Whitefish, MT 59937. Volunteers interested in joining seed-packing parties before the fair or helping at the event can sign up at freetheseedsmontana.com. Sponsors make this free event possible; donations can be made through the Free the Seeds website.

Over the last five years, more than 7,000 people have attended this free event. Upward of 85,000 packets of non-GMO, open-pollinated seeds have been given away, with about half collected locally and packed by local volunteers.

Free the Seeds is a program of the nonprofit Farm Hands – Nourish the Flathead and has a mission of building a sustainable and resilient future through real seeds, real food and real skills. Free the Seeds can be found online at freetheseedsmontana.com.

For information, contact Gretchen Boyer at gretchen@farmhandsnourish.org or 406-261-5569.