MONMOUTH SEED SWAP

It’s time to start thinking about seeds and planning another season in your garden.

To offer some encouragement, Monmouth Seed Swap and Potato Day is being held at the Bridges Centre in Monmouth on February 19 from 10am until midday.

Seed detective Adam Alexander will be championing local Welsh heirloom vegetable varieties and sharing all of the Welsh heirloom vegetables he grows, as well as invaluable knowledge and advice.

Among the seeds Adam will be swapping’ will be a south Walian runner bean he was given called Yardstick and another Brecon Black as well as a tomato and French bean from Cardiff and seeds of the famous Llanover pea.

Whilst the rare, endangered heritage and heirloom vegetable seeds are always the main characters on the seed swap stage, you are encouraged to take your own flower and vegetable seed along – including packets of commercial seed – to swap and barter with too.

All proceeds from donations for seeds are in aid of the Heritage Seed Library www.gardenorganic.org.uk/hsl towards their work conserving vegetable varieties that are not generally available.

The library has made available dozens of different vegetable varieties for everyone who loves to grow their own.

There will also be seasonal organic vegetables available from Wye Organic and Dean Meadows Group will offer meadow seed and plug plants.

You will be able to chat to Friends of Lower Wye Valley, Transition Monmouth, the Monmouthshire Meadows Group and Repair Café Monmouth.

And my favourites, Tools For Self Reliance, will have a selection of ‘musthave’ renovated and recycled garden tools for sale as well as accepting old tools for renovation.

They are also offering a tool sharpening service for everyone’s blunt hoes, shears and knives.

There will be refreshments available from the fabulously-named Wye Weight and lots of freely exchanged chat and advice, including tips on no-dig gardening from Cherry Taylor.

Do take notes – the pen is mightier than the spade!

For more details contact: susanyoung351@gmail.com or cherrytaylor@dynamicmarkets.co.uk