Seed Saving for All

Many of you know Missy Corley- she's one of the beautiful smiling faces greeting you at the Easton Farmers Market at the Black Bottom booth. But did you know- she's a seed saving extraordinaire?

Missy began volunteering with Kim at the Easton Farmers Market about 4 years ago. She had been a regular customer for some time. After reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and The Omnivores Dilema, she was further driven to support her local food economy, and to have more agency in what and how she eats. Missy says, "I really enjoyed being a part of that [farmers market] family atmosphere and I believe strongly in what Kim is doing." Kim's story resonated especially strongly with her, as diet and environment related breast cancer had struck Missy's family as well. "I want to help carry forward and support good sources of clean food."

This desire, paired with her affinity for giving back to her community also drew her to her local Master Gardeners Program. This program is run county by county through agricultural extension programs and is centered around training in sustainable gardening practices and volunteering to help teach others in a variety of interactive ways.

Missy decided to forge her own way of volunteering- to start a free seed library! She did her research, negotiated with her local library (at which she also volunteers) for space, petitioned seed catalogs like Baker Creek, High Mowing Organic, Lake Valley, and the Seed Saver Coalition for starting donations, and found an old card catalog in which she could display the seeds.

Now, the Free Seed Library of Talbot County has been up and running for one year. It is located inside the Easton branch of the Talbot County Free Library. People are encouraged to "check seeds out" for the season by taking any of the thousands of seed options from the library, growing the plants in their gardens and yards, and then saving some of the seeds from the plants to return to the seed library for others to use next year.

However, the library is more than just a resource for seeds- it's also a community gathering spot and a place to get gardening know-how. Missy and other Master Gardener volunteers regularly have information tables at the library and are available to answer gardening questions. There's one tomorrow, Thursday 3/29 5:30-7:30 pm, as well as one on the evening of April 12 and every Saturday morning in May! Additionally, the Master Gardeners and the Seed Library host classes on growing plants and saving seeds throughout the season. You can stay abreast of their happenings through the Seed Library's Facebook page, the Friends of Talbot County Free Library e-newsletter, and from posters in the library lobby.

The Seed Library is always looking for more sprouts, microgreens, and herb seeds, as well as seeds of native plants, especially flowering ones that sustain pollinators (like Missy's favorite- zinnias!). Missy says she has been overwhelmed (in a good way!) by the generosity of seed donations, but the goal is for the library to be self sustaining as people gain confidence in gardening skills within the community.

In her own garden, Missy is always excited about learning a new gardening or cooking skill, or trying out a new variety of plant. She has converted nearly her whole yard into a garden from a lawn, "I go a little nuts around this time of year," she says with a chuckle. This year, she's looking forward to growing new types of corn- especially a blue corn that she wants to learn how to dry and grind into her own corn meal and flour for cooking.

You can visit Missy at the Free Seed Library events like the one tomorrow, or at the Black Bottom booth at the Easton market this year- be sure to ask her how her garden is! She's an amazing resource of knowledge, excitement, and inspiration about the local food economy, growing your own food sovereignty, and giving back to your community in meaningful and innovative ways.