LA CENTER — Dozens of local gardeners got a jump start on this year’s growing season at the Great Clark County Seed Swap this weekend.
The second annual event drew in avid and novice gardeners from across the county who were looking to add new varieties of vegetables and herbs to their garden beds this spring. Hundreds of pouches of seeds covered the table tops at the La Center Grange, offering visitors a wide selection of nonhybrid seeds.
The most sought-after seeds were the tomatoes — of which the swap offered several varieties — lettuce, and other greens, such as kale, said Megan Roth, an event organizer. But the event also featured countless other seeds, including peppers, onions, leeks, garlic, eggplants, potatoes, squash, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, carrots, radishes and a wide variety of herbs and flowers.
The seeds were supplied by seed companies that Roth wrote to seeking donations, as well as community members. Some visitors to Saturday’s event brought seeds from their own stockpile to share — as well as tomato starts and clippings of boysenberry and thornless blackberry — and others came in empty-handed but left with enough seeds to get their gardens off to a good start.
Get Growing
With spring around the corner, it’s not too early to begin planning for this year’s growing season. Megan Roth, an organizer of the Great Clark County Seed Swap, offered these tips:
• Select seeds. This is a great time to start selecting the varieties you want to plant this year. Decide which new varieties to try and favorites to plant again.
• Planning is key. Begin mapping out where you want to plant your crops, being sure to rotate crop placement.
• Start planting. You can start your tomatoes, peppers and other warm-weather-loving vegetables now — just keep them indoors.
Scott Schachterle and his 4-year-old daughter, Maggie, visited the event for its selection of nonhybrid seeds.
“We like gardening, and we want to be able to save our seeds from year to year,” Schachterle said.
The Vancouver family typically buys their seeds at the store, but they’re all hybrid seeds that can’t be saved, he said. Schachterle and Maggie picked out several seeds they plan to plant in their home garden.
“I found peppers that make my dad sneeze and cough and hiccup,” Maggie said, referring to jalape?os.
Maggie also selected some German giant radishes from the piles of seed packets, hoping for better success than the family had with the radishes planted last year.
“The ones at our house never grew red,” she said.
Therese Livella of La Center also chose some seeds from the radish selection. She opted for the English breakfast variety, which she grew a few years ago and loved.
Livella moved to La Center two years ago, but this is her first growing season in the Northwest. She visited the seed swap to “see what the garden community is like here in La Center.” She attended many similar events while living in Kansas City, she said.
“I also wanted to visit the grange,” she said. “I hadn’t been here yet.”
Livella brought some seeds to share — herbs, tomatoes, watermelon and peppers — and, in addition to the radishes, left with seeds for beets and Walla Walla onions.
Anita Will of Brush Prairie swapped her extra lettuce, parsley, green beans and herb seeds for some different varieties of lettuce, chives, sweet peas and zucchini seeds.
The event was Will’s first seed swap experience.
“It was fun,” she said. “It’s a good thing for the community to have.”
