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I am currently creating a small pamphlet which explains about the SSN, local networks, why save seeds and how to contact us. I will put some of these at a friend's organic vegie stall at the markets, and also give some to a man who organises a local gardening group and helps set up community gardens.
Progress is slow because it is just me at this stage, really, and I'm cautious about defining the group before anyone has a say. I want our group to be dynamic, so that it adapts to the needs of whoever joins, with an emphasis on education for members and for the community in general.
Minutes of the meeting on the 20th of April 2002
Six members attended, with four unable to come.
We decided to use both e-mail and surface mail to contact members about upcoming events and meetings.
The first action in seed exchange will be to compile a list of what seeds (or cuttings, seedlings, bulbs, etc,) people have, and a similar list of what plants people want, as broad or specific as you wish. I will put this list together if everyone could forward to me their own lists. I will keep it up to date if people let me know what is gone and what is newly available.
Currently seed exchange rates should be up to the individuals involved, eg, ten lillium bulbs may be worth a packet of romanesco broccoli and a bag of fresh peas, etc. If there are disputes we could take them to the meetings, but I hope things will go smoothly.
We will mainly exchange directly, at meetings, where people bring along what they have, and through the mail where appropriate. People can also use me as a base, as I will be regularly in contact with everyone, if they wish to pass something bulky on but can‚t come to meetings, etc.
At first a meeting once a season was proposed, but members wanted to keep the group active, so more frequent meetings may be desirable, say once every two months.
It was suggested that we conduct our meetings at a member‚s property, where we help them with some gardening tasks like sieving seeds, weeding beds, etc, (perhaps in exchange for afternoon tea?!) so that we learn something about growing and saving seeds in the process. Having functional meetings was considered important.
Additional field trips to see seed saving and growing in action were suggested, and it was thought that we could combine our trips with the Taroona Gardening Forum, which conducts trips to various gardens once a month generally. The day of the week that meetings and trips are organised on should be changed regularly, to allow as many people as possible to come.
We will organise a seed bank, to ensure no varieties are lost through seed decay. Whoever runs the seed bank (nominally myself) will arrange for someone to always be growing and saving seeds of all plants given to the seed bank.
We want to be involved in community education, maybe through stalls at gardening and Organics events, or through running workshops for the community advertised in shop windows, newspapers etc.
The issue of seed acquisition was raised, and it was suggested that individuals could each buy a packet of seeds for the group to share, say once a year, or everyone could put in a certain amount of money, maybe a dollar, to be spent on buying in seeds for the seed bank. Once these seeds are grown and re-seed, the harvest can be shared with all in the group.
We will look into buying seeds from America, contact AQIS to find out what can be imported. Joy has a catalogue, which is hundreds of pages thick with heirloom and unusual seeds. We may have to join the American seed savers Network to do this. This should be discussed again next meeting.
We can join the mainland Seed Savers' Network for $50 as a group, which interested people can donate money towards if they wish. This group will give us all access to the free exchange classifieds in the newsletter, and for the cost of postage we can import seeds on an exchange basis.
Another way to access seeds is simply to ask local gardeners if we can save seeds of their plants. People might wish to ask this if they see some plant going to seed, that is up to this individual. Cuttings are also an idea, especially of easily propagated plants like fuschias.
The need for reporting forms was raised, so that information on seeds is uniform and helpful. I have been sent a basic template of a seed report form, which I will send everyone a copy of, and they can duplicate it themselves.
Costs of running the group was a concern, however we have no way to estimate the costs, mostly of photocopying, phone calls and mailing. Several ideas were put froward, such as sharing the work out, having a yearly membership fee, and simply having a tin that people can put money into when they come to meetings. The need for such measures will be more obvious when costs are known better.
To encourage more people to join, we will advertise in the mercury, in the community diary section, which is free. There is also a related service on the radio, and maybe in other regional newspapers. We may be able to have a small article written about our group for the newspaper, I will look into this a bit later, when we are more active. I will look into gardening magazines for free advertising slots. I will also put our meetings into the Taroona Community Newsletter, maybe with a small article. Information on our group will be given to other gardening groups around the state.
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Current Seedlist: 08 February 2002
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