Seed Swap, information sessions herald gardening season

By Steve Van Kooten

Prairie du Chien residents who chose to stay at home this past weekend missed out on two valuable gardening resources, including the Master Gardeners’ Seed Swap that took place this past Saturday from 1-3 p.m. at the County Administration Building.

“It’s a place for people to gather and kick off the season — get rid of the winter blues,” said Laura Schultz. “It’s just a way for us to promote the Master Gardeners and to have people come out and share our love of gardening.”

Schultz is a member of the Master Gardeners, a group of certified volunteers who provide horticultural information to their communities, and has organized the Seed Swap for the past two years. Swaps are typically free events where anyone can come in and trade seeds with other gardeners.

“There’s no money involved here; it’s strictly a swap, and if you don’t have seeds to swap, that’s fine. It’s a great way to spread that love of gardening,” she said.

The event was not just for experienced gardeners either; Schultz said newbies were also welcome to come in and find valuable resources to help them on their horticultural journeys.

“This year, we’ve had quite a few novice gardeners come in trying to get a start. What I like to do is bring in unusual seeds because they are expensive to purchase,” she said.

Seed swaps are also used by planters to help distribute seeds for different plants in a community, including native plants that may have become scarce due to urbanization. Residents can build their own pocket prairies by planting these species, which encourages diversity and strengthens the area’s overall ecosystem.

“You grow a plant, take the seeds, bring them here and exchange them for other plants that you want. It can be vegetables, flowers or prairie stuff,” said Dennis Kirschbaum.

There were static displays, demonstrations from local experts and a chance for people to talk to each other. The swap was as much a time to exchange ideas as it was seeds.

“I always write about the Master Gardeners, the UW-Extension and going to gardening shows because there’s another opportunity to learn things — that’s what works for me, so maybe it’ll work for you, too,” said Ed Block.

Going to these events is a way to get suggestions from people who have worked their green thumbs over many years. Block’s advice for novice gardeners is as much psychological as practical.

“Learn to grow one thing, preferably something you like,” he said. “Just get good at it, whether it’s lettuce or tomatoes or whatever. You can grow them in a pot, and once you learn how to grow that one thing, try to grow something else. Then you have that confidence to try growing more things.”

Schultz pointed out the dietary benefits of gardening.

“It can be less expensive; you know where your food is coming from and you know what you’re getting. The food you get in stores is shipped when it’s green, and a lot of times, there’s a chemical process they use to make it look ripe, but it doesn’t have that ripe taste. Homegrown always tastes better,” she said.

Community Gardens

Block — The Courier’s “Garden Guy” — held public information sessions about the local Community Gardens and gardening in general this past Saturday at the swap and the public library. Block scheduled the public forums to gauge and inspire interest in the project.

The Community Gardens is a fenced-in plot with 12 10’ x 10’ spaces available to the public on the corner of North Michigan and Park streets (by Michigan Street Park). The spaces are available to individuals, organizations and businesses for $10 each year. Plots can be rented through the city.

“You can’t go to the store and buy a bag a groceries for 10 bucks,” said Block.

There is currently one plot allocated by the city for the gardens. Block said many people had success using the gardens, with vegetables sold or given away to places like the Sharing Spaces Kitchen. Others grew flowers and other ornate plants.

“Everybody who got space grew a ton of stuff, and now it’s ready for [this] year,” he said.

Block wants to see more garden plots throughout the city. This past year, he appeared before the council and worked with city staff to design the first of the garden spaces. If the community demonstrates interest in the gardens, there may be more spaces made in the future.

“That’s why I am doing this today,” he said. “The Master Gardeners invited me to the Seed Swap, and I figured I would do one [at the public library] just to see if there’s interest.”