Cooperative Extension & the Watauga Seed Library Offer Free Seed Saving Classes in Boone

Cooperative Extension & the Watauga Seed Library Offer Free Seed Saving Classes in Boone

At this early outset of springtime, gardeners may be thinking of seeds mostly as something to buy (or source from the Watauga Seed Library!). Thinking ahead to harvests though, fruits and vegetables will be producing seeds of their own (hopefully enough to return some seeds to the Watauga Seed Library!), and plant in subsequent years. If you hope to save seeds from your own farm or garden later this year, now is the time to plan for that: from the open-pollinated varieties you choose to plant, to how much you grow, how many you select to keep for seed-saving, and how long they will take to reach full maturity. Richard Boylan, Area Specialized Agent in Agriculture from Cooperative Extension and the Watauga Seed Library are ready to help farmers and gardeners on this journey with a free, two- part Saving Workshop Series on the evenings of Monday, April 21 and Monday, April 28, 2025.

Each class will run from 5:30 PM through 7:30 PM and take place in the Watauga County Public Library Meeting Room at 140 Queen St, Boone, NC 28607.

The first class on 4/21 will cover the topics of:

• Why save seeds?
• Basics of seed production
• Open-pollinated varieties vs. hybrids, etc.
• Plants’ general requirements: self-sowing vs. self-pollinating, vs. outcrossing
• A hands-on exercise processing dry seeds via threshing, winnowing, and screening

The second class on 4/28 will cover the topics of:

• Population sizes to grow for each type of pollination
• Rogueing & Selection
• Harvesting & Processing Seeds
• Storing Seeds
• Further Resources
• A hands-on exercise wet-processing seeds via fermentation

The classes are free to the public. RSVPs are recommended to make sure there are enough

chairs and supplies for the hands-on exercises. RSVPs should be sent to

wr********@ar*******.org or you can call the library at 264-8784, X 2.