PORT ANGELES — A “seedy celebration” will sprout at the Port Angeles Library this evening.
The special after-hours celebration, which will mark the grand opening of the North Olympic Library System Grows Seed Library, a community seed exchange kiosk supported by Port Angeles Friends of the Library, will begin at 6 p.m. at the library at 2210 S. Peabody St.
Free pea starts
The first 25 people to check in at the customer service desk will receive a cup of Cascadia sugar snap pea starts.
Among the evening’s festivities will be librarian-guided tours of the Seed Library collection, veggie trivia, booths featuring community garden groups and resources, and a presentation about vegetable gardening.
Veteran Clallam County Master Gardeners will be on hand to talk “seed essentials” — e.g., how to read a seed packet, timing planting, starting seeds indoors — as will representatives of Port Angeles Community Gardens, which will provide information on ways to get involved in local community gardens and copies of its planting guide.
Master Gardeners also will demonstrate how to test the viability (germination rate) of old seeds as well as share good seed storage practices.
At 6:45 p.m., Port Angeles farmer Maureen Wall — owner of This Is Odd, an urban aquaponic farm in Port Angeles that uses permaculture ideas to make taste decisions — will present “The Milk Crate Garden: How to Grow Food to Fit Your Space,” which will outline how gardening rules have changed in recent years and what steps can be taken to grow in a new space that suits one’s needs.
The evening will conclude with a raffle drawing for a seed starting kit complete with heat mat, donated by the Airport Garden Center in Port Angeles.
Limited library services will be available during the program.
Refreshments will be available.
Library on display
For those who can’t attend the grand opening, the traveling Seed Library will be on display at the Soroptimist Gala Garden Show this Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Sequim unit of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Olympic Peninsula, 400 W. Fir St.
The North Olympic Library System oversees public libraries in Port Angeles, Sequim, Forks and Clallam Bay.
For more information, contact the library at 360-417-8500 or discover@nols.org, or visit www.nols.org and select “Events.”
