Saving seeds from crop plants, garden plants, and plants in the wild – whether vegetables, annuals, perennials, trees or shrubs – is a great way to get more plants, save money, ensure local biodiversity, and pass a little bit of yourself along to friends, family and generations to come. On Saturday, May 12 from 9 a.m. to noon, Neal Lash, director of the Heirloom Seed Saving Project, will present a hands-on workshop on planning, planting, and growing for seed saving at Medomak Valley High School (MVHS), 320 Manktown Rd. in Waldoboro. The program will include information on various propagation requirements of garden plants and when to collect seed, as well as how to store it until planting.

Medomak Valley has the oldest school-based seed saving program in the United States. They preserve over 800 varieties that have traveled to 37 states — as well as other countries — and are also on display at living history museums such as Thomas Jefferson’s home at Monticello and George Washington’s home at Mount Vernon.

The project also includes an heirloom Hosta Garden showcasing over 70 species, and a Living History Arboretum with trees from various historical sites and battlefields. Students learn not only botany and horticulture but also significant historical events through living plants. For example, the honey locust tree in the arboretum was grown from a seed collected from the honey locust under which President Abraham Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address!

Learn all about seed-saving by joining Knox-Lincoln Soil & Water Conservation District, Maine Coast Heritage Trust, and Midcoast Farmers Alliance on May 12 for the third program in the 2018 workshop Farmer & Gardener Workshop Series. There is no charge for the program, but space is limited so we ask that participants register by Thursday, May 10 at 596-2040 or www.knox-lincoln.org/beginning-farmer. Please bring drinking water, work gloves, and your enthusiasm.