The heart of a Seedy Sunday or Seedy Saturday event is the swapping and sale of seeds of landraces, folk varieties, farmer varieties and
heritage seed. Sharing information about the social, cultural and culinary aspects of the seed is an important part of heritage
seed saving
A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiosperm p ...
around the world. Providing education about techniques for seed-saving,
small-scale agriculture
A smallholding or smallholder is a small farm operating under a small-scale agriculture model. Definitions vary widely for what constitutes a smallholder or small-scale farm, including factors such as size, food production technique or technology ...
and horticulture, and about local, national and international laws that affect public-domain crop plants can also be an important part of the event.
The titles Seedy Saturday and Seedy Sunday are dedicated to the public domain by the event founder Sharon Rempel. The first Seedy Saturday was held at
VanDusen Botanical Garden
VanDusen Botanical Garden is a botanical garden situated in Vancouver, British Columbia, in its Shaughnessy neighborhood. It is located at the northwest corner of 37th Avenue and Oak Street. It is named for local lumberman and philanthropist Whitf ...
in Vancouver, Canada, in 1990.
History
The idea of conserving heritage varieties of garden and field crops was in its infancy in Canada in 1989. It was very difficult to find heritage varieties of vegetables, fruits, flowers and grains.
In 1988
Sharon Rempel
Sharon ( he, שָׁרוֹן ''Šārôn'' "plain") is a given name as well as an Israeli surname.
In English-speaking areas, Sharon is now predominantly a feminine given name. However, historically it was also used as a masculine given name. In ...
wanted to find period-appropriate heritage vegetables, flowers and wheat for the 1880s heritage gardens she was creating at the
Keremeos Grist Mill museum. The Abundant Life Seed Foundation in
Washington state
Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washingto ...
was her sole source that added the date of the variety with the seed listing.
Rempel organized the first Seedy Saturday event. It was held at
VanDusen Botanical Garden
VanDusen Botanical Garden is a botanical garden situated in Vancouver, British Columbia, in its Shaughnessy neighborhood. It is located at the northwest corner of 37th Avenue and Oak Street. It is named for local lumberman and philanthropist Whitf ...
in
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. Th ...
, Canada, in early 1990.
In Canada, Seedy Saturdays and Seed Sundays continue to be locally or regionally organized events. Almost all of these events occur in the late winter, with a few in the autumn.
In 2012 there were more than 100 events held in Canada.
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See also
*Seed swap
Seed swaps are events where gardeners meet to exchange seeds. Swapping can be arranged online or by mail, especially when participants are spread out geographically. Swap meet events, where growers meet and exchange their excess seeds in person, ...
*Agricultural biodiversity
Agricultural biodiversity or agrobiodiversity is a subset of general biodiversity pertaining to agriculture. It can be defined as "the variety and variability of animals, plants and micro-organisms at the genetic, species and ecosystem levels that ...
*Agritourism
Agritourism or agrotourism involves any agriculturally based operation or activity that brings visitors to a farm or ranch.
Types
A 2018 article published in the ''Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development'' classified a ...
*Crop diversity
Crop diversity or crop biodiversity is the variety and variability of crops, plants used in agriculture, including their genetic and phenotypic characteristics. It is a subset of and a specific element of agricultural biodiversity. Over the past ...
* Genetic diversity#Agricultural relevance
References
{{reflist
External links
BBC Online news article on Seed Swap
Seedy Sunday in Brighton & Hove (UK) website
Seed associations
Sustainable gardening