Sown and Grown - 9th Annual Seed Swap Weekend at Old Salem

Saturday, January 25, 2020 9:30 AM - 4:30 PM Old Salem Visitor Center

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9th Annual Sown and Grown Seed Swap Weekend at Old Salem

Friday & Saturday, January 24th – 25th, 2020

Old Salem Visitor Center, Gray Auditorium  (900 Old Salem Rd.)

$5.00 entrance fee for the weekend’s activities.  This event is a fundraiser for the Old Salem Horticulture Program “SEEDS WITH STORIES” Initiative.  To purchase tickets to the Sown and Grown Seed Swap weekend activities click here.

The Seed Swap is a time for gardeners and farmers from around the Northwest Piedmont region to gather, learn from each other, and to share seeds and stories. This is the ninth year that the Seed Swap has been held at Old Salem. Bring seeds to share if you have them or just come to learn about seeds with stories. Sown & Grown also will feature demonstrations and hands-on learning opportunities. Learn about all that is happening in the local garden and farm community.

  • 9th Annual Sown & Grown Seed Swap at Old Salem, Bring in your own seeds to share and take others home. Included in the Sown and Grown admission ticket price. To purchase tickets to the Sown and Grown Seed Swap weekend activities click here.
  • Keynote presentation, “Okra, the Utopian Seed Project, and Celebrating Varietal Diversity“”, Chris Smith, author of THE WHOLE OKRA and executive director of the Utopian Seed Project,  Included in the Sown and Grown admission ticket price. To purchase tickets to the Sown and Grown Seed Swap weekend activities click here.
  • Garden and Seed Lab Grand Opening, Herbst House on Main Street will be open on Saturday for viewing. Included in the Sown and Grown admission ticket price. To purchase tickets to the Sown and Grown Seed Swap weekend activities click here.

ADDITIONAL TICKET PURCHASE REQUIRED

  • Seeds with Stories Hearthside participatory dinner with Chris Smith (THE WHOLE OKRA), Friday evening January 24th, Single Brothers house historic kitchen, Ticket price $25.00 per person. Limited to 25. To purchase tickets to the hearthside dinner click here.

SCHEDULE: Friday, January 24, 2020

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Participatory Hearthside Dinner w/Chris Smith author of “The Whole Okra”
6:00pm ,Single Brothers House (600 South Main St)
NOTE ADDITIONAL TICKET REQUIRED:  Ticket price $25.00 per person. Limited to 25 people. To purchase tickets to the hearthside dinner click here. Proceeds go toward accessibility benches in the Old Salem gardens.

SCHEDULE: Saturday, January 25, 2020

Seed Lab Grand Opening (all day), 9:30am until 4:30pm
Garden & Seed Lab @ Herbst Horticulture Center (511 South Main St) 
Included in the Sown and Grown admission ticket price.

9th Annual Sown & Grown Seed Swap at Old Salem, 10:00am – 12:00 noon
Old Salem Visitor’s Center, Gray Auditorium, (900 Old Salem Rd.)
Included in the Sown and Grown admission ticket price.

  • 10:00am – 12:00 noon: Sown & Grown Seed Swap!
  • 12:00 noon– 1:15pm: Demonstrations / Info tables / Music

Lunch, 12:00 noon -1:00pm

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Keynote Address, “Okra, the Utopian Seed Project, and Celebrating Varietal Diversity“”,  1:30pm – 2:30
Presentation by Chris Smith, author of “The Whole Okra”
Old Salem Visitor’s Center, Gray Auditorium, (900 Old Salem Rd.), Included in the Sown and Grown admission ticket price.

  • Okra, the Utopian Seed Project, and Celebrating Varietal Diversity“ When you start digging deep into the world of seeds then it’s easy to fall down the rabbit hole… Chris has trialed over 125 varieties of okra in celebration of the vast potential that most crop types have to offer, both in the garden and in the kitchen. Come learn about his adventures and experiments with exploring and celebrating varietal diversity in the common crops we grow, as well as many crops we didn’t know we could. Utopian Seed Project: Chris Smith is executive director of Utopian Seed Project, a crop-trialing non-profit celebrating food. He serves on the boards of The People’s Seed and Sow True Seed. His book, The Whole Okra, was published in June 2019. He’s passionate about sustainable food systems, heritage seed saving, and surviving the apocalypse.

 

Public Presentation, Seedy Adventures in Brazil and Italy, 3pm until 4:30pm
Photos from Old Salem Museums and Gardens Head Gardener Eric Jackson’s trips in 2014 to the Red Semillas Libres de las Américas in Minas Gerais, Brazil and Slow Food Terra Madre in Turin, Italy
Garden & Seed Lab, Herbst Horticulture Center, (511 South Main St) 
Included in the Sown and Grown admission ticket price, limited seating

 

About Old Salem

Old Salem Museums & Gardens is a unique living history site with a tactile-driven, immersive visitor experience. Its museums—the Historic Town of Salem, the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts (MESDA), and the Gardens at Old Salem, are quickly becoming nationally known for innovative and novel interpretive models and programs. Old Salem Museums & Gardens is located at 600 South Main Street in Winston-Salem. For more information call 336-721-7300 or visit oldsalem.org.

 

 

Seeds with Stories is an initiative aimed at highlighting the histories of Old Salem’s Historic Plant Collection in ways that are engaging to visitors. Old Salem’s restored landscapes and gardens have always been rooted in the reintroduction of historically appropriate trees, shrubs, herbs, flowers, grains, and vegetables. This effort has resulted in a significant collection of heritage plants and seeds. The histories behind these species are significant and the Seeds with Stories initiative communicates their history with the public.

These rare, local, Southern, and/or Moravian varieties dating back to the formation of Salem are a valuable community resource for now and the future. Plants with long histories in our region have proven resilience to this climate and can play a role in establishing new local food systems, or in stabilizing our ecological environment.

The beauty of a collection of historic plants is that it can be reproduced and shared. This also means that, unlike a static collection of furniture or buildings, in order to maintain this collection all pieces of this living compilation need to be periodically regenerated. Growing these plants to maturity, and then saving their seeds for long term storage, allows us to propagate and showcase them in the Old Salem Gardens where visitors can interact with the collection. By learning and participating in these seeds’ stories they become part of our own story.
Goals:

  1. Highlight the histories of the Seeds with Stories collection in ways that are engaging to visitors.
  2. Steward this collection, and accompanying research, with the proper maintenance, organization, and care and to do so in a way that will be accessible to the public.
  3. Distribute selections from the Seeds with Stories collection out into the community where they will potentially become valuable contributions to home landscapes and gardens.

Program Partners

Beta Verde, LLC  is a four prong food focused business in Winston-Salem owned by Margaret Norfleet-Neff and Salem Neff, which has been evolving since 2008. Early beginnings included garden-to-table suppers along with a successful jam and pickle line recognized by the Good Food Awards. Beta Verde created the nationally recognized Cobblestone Farmers Market at Old Salem in 2012, the same year they brought the original Slow Food Seed Swap to Old Salem. Beta Verde currently enjoys working on challenging projects that create synergy and economy where food, people and creative thinking are key players in Winston-Salem and nationally.  https://www.betaverde.com/

Muddy Creek Cafe & Music Hall