So, I’m waiting to talk to Robin Kelson from the Good Seed Company about this years 2018 Free the Seeds Seed Fair and Free Seeds Swap.

Grow Fresh Food All Winter – Laura Behenna, 5th Avenue Farm

Converting Lawn to Garden – Pamela Lund, Planet B Harvest

Dehydration for Everyone – Julie Liang, Twice as Tasty

Fruit Tree Pruning – Barton Morse, The Garlic King of Montana

Growing Your Nutrients – Linda Peterson, Polson Natural Wellness

Home Canning Basics – Kathie Lapcevic

Composting that is Right for You – Patti Armbrister, Agrarian Food Web

Gardening from the Kitchen – Julie Liang, Twice as Tasty

Real Botanicals for Thoughtful Skincare Formulations – Annagret Pfeifer, Kettle Care Organics

How to Garden Like a Farmer – Todd Ulizio, Two Bear Farm

School Gardens 101 – Alli Mitchell, Kalispell Middle School

Grow, Gather & Make Your Own Herbal Remedies – Joleen Barce, Earth Garden Herbs

Growing for Seed Saving – Robin Kelson, Good Seed Company

Beekeeping – Wade Foley, Tamarack Apiaries

Fruit Tree Grafting – Rod McIver

Soil Nutrition – Heather Estrada, FVCC Agricultural Program

Seed Cleaning – Judy Owsowitz, Terrapin Farm

Food Forestry & Managing a Multi-Species Orchard – Leslie Lowe, Beargrass Landscape Architecture

Chickens – Susan Waite, Earthstar Farms

Beekeeping – Allyson Bush, Good Bee Company

All workshops will be held at Flathead Valley Community College in the Arts & Technology Building on March 3rd from 10am-3:30pm. The schedule of times and rooms will be updated here shortly.

The fair will open with the seed swap and vendor booths at 9am. The seed swap will go from 9am-noon

2018 Free the Seeds Seed Fair and Free Seeds Swap with Robin Kelson

So I thought well I never posted pics of last year so I’m gonna put them up here. I was probably too busy teaching. This year I would like to give a presentation on my new free garden course Mike and I developed over Christmas. But with teaching and all who knows if I can pull that off?

Anyway the highlight for me last year was Patti Armbrister’s class on Garden Club Education but I also very much enjoyed Todd Ulizo from Two Bear and the kids rooms.

Looks like I actually started out that morning reading an article from wired.com about advertising in podcasting!

Building school Gardens with Patti Armbrister

Montana Adapted Indian Corn donated to free the seeds

Venders Downstairs in the Main Room

Kids Activities

Kids Garden Library

Ag Financial Management Video

Ag Financial Management- Planting the Seeds of Success – Aimee Roberts from Farm Credit

Aimee Roberts with Northwest Farm Credit Services walks you through the key steps for successful financial management of your agriculture business.

Financing over 145 commodities anything that chews or grows! Over 19,000 farmers and ranchers in agriculture. Providing financing and related services.

Improving Your Understanding of Soil Mineralization, and why it matters – Todd Ulizio

Todd Ulizio’s talk about soil health

Todd Ulizio’s talk about soil health

2018 Free the Seeds Seed Fair and Free Seeds Swap

is March 3 from 9-3pm.

FVCC Arts and Technology building

as hit has been for the last two years

new workshops

additional booths at this event!

We’re planning on distributing about 10,000 seed packets

this year like last year we’re gonna have an OPI teacher k-12 training I think there are 7 spots left you can sign up at the PIR Net portal that teachers have access to.

All about how to build and maintain a sustainable school garden

• keeping chicken’s in todays world
• beekeeping
• farm like a farmer
• workshops on building your soil health
• convert your lawns to gardens with grace and ease

Booths have 

• great information from local producers
• natural health food stores
• local farmers will have systems there
• community gardeners offering info about how to garden in your town

Lots of good stuff!

If you are not in Kalispell, Montana you might want to look for something like this in your area!

You’re gonna give out 10,000 packs of seeds and are you collecting seeds this year too?

We are taking in seed collections in the Flathead Valley

donation boxes in all the

• libraries
• Big Fork
• Kalispell
• Eureka
• Whitefish
• columbia falls
• good seed co

one hundred 2nd street east in Whitefish.

you can bring seeds the day of event we will process and put them in packets.We just ask

no hybrids and no GMOs

as much seed as possible

We also video tape all of workshops

want to know we will try to film all our sessions

youtube channel

access info from other years from archives

Volunteer, donate or sponsor visit us at free the seeds.com

Obviously the crowds that come. I’m gonna watch the video about Todd Ulizio because that was awesome. 

This year he is switching it up doing a  new talk on How to garden like a farmer

• season extension
• tips of the trade

we have great things going on this year

We’re also going to do fabulous community conversations invite people to come on at ten

Dialogue between local chefs and local producers to get more local food on the tables in our 

• local restaurants
• reducing food waste
• dealing primarily food directors of local school districts
• dedicated to reducing food waste
• Dirtrich hopefully will be participating
• food access for everyone
• key roll that seeds play in sustainability

saving our seeds.

I just want to quickly review for my new Progressive Radio Network Listeners. And explain that the first time we were expecting 350 people and 500 people were through the door more by 10am when it started! We had 500 fliers and they were gone! Over 1500 people came.

A lot of times the first time you do something they say plan for only 3 weeks. Your gonna make a lot of mistakes, think next year you can go bigger! And just quick take action!

1900 the second year

my thoughts on this

We were a group of 2-3 people who had enough of an idea to make something happen. We didn’t really know what to do. We did agree to bring 2 people to the next meeting

right away not all of those people didn’t stay to do the work but they knew other people to be interested. Even if only one of you but try to get two other people to sit down with the intention of only brainstorming

for us

3 criteria

• share seeds
• teach
• provide a forum for people
• to learn skills booths and workshops

everyone

which is a valley

get the word out enough

anyone was interested would have an invitation

outreach

everybody donated time and energy for free

It’s amazing how many people in your community are willing to support this

wasn’t expensive

11 weeks

thought it was gonna be 300

We kind of freaked out because 1500 people showed up!

2% of our county’s population

huge feedback

a few people to put it together!

need in your area and it doesn’t take that much to put in together

 I did an awesome interview with Mark Highland and thought I should call Robin!