Great gardening advice gets planted at Seedy Saturday

You know that spring is just around the corner when Victoria Seedy Saturday returns, with workshops, experts and thousands of organic seeds, tubers, corms and bulbs for sale or exchange, Saturday at the Victoria Conference Centre.

The event is hosted by the James Bay Market Society.

Learn how to successfully grow your own vegetables and fruit by attending workshops (new for 2018) and listening to 18 educational speakers with talks to suit your interests — from basic techniques for beginners to a variety of more specialized growing topics.

Master gardeners will be on hand to identify mystery plants or give advice on tools, soil amendments and more.

The community event was started by gardeners committed to preserving seed diversity and availability for backyard gardeners and small farmers.

The core of the event is a seedexchange table, where you can trade seeds from last year’s garden for something new for this year’s harvest. The same principle applies to a garden-book exchange. Organizers expect to see more than 2,000 kinds of seeds for trade.

Vendors from more than a dozen seed producers will also be available for advice and support.

Not confident (or patient) enough to plant seeds? Local small nurseries will offer seedlings, young plants and sapling fruit trees.

This year, 22 new exhibitors join returning favourites that include live chickens and bees.

Younger gardeners can take in the Youth Action Activities station, with microscopes set up to watch seeds come to life.

Grab a snack or lunch at the Seedy Café.

Admission is $7 cash at the door for adults and free for children under 16. The event runs from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Victoria Conference Centre is at 720 Douglas St. For information, go to jamesbaymarket.com.