Save Your Seeds: Billings Workshop Will Show You How

My garden has been fairly pathetic this season, probably from the heat. I do have a random pumpkin plant that came up by itself, a leftover from the Halloween pumpkins I chucked in my compost pile last fall.

That beast of a plant has produced four nice-looking pumpkins; they're starting to turn orange and are roughly the size of a small paper plate. I've read that pumpkins can require several gallons of water per day when they're packing on size, so I've been watering the crap out of them.

AllenSphoto

If your garden has flourished this year and you have a vegetable, flower, or herb in your patch that you absolutely loved, there's no reason you can't try to grow it again next year.

You can reclaim the seeds yourself, and there's a workshop coming up in Billings that can show you exactly how to do it.

The Billings Community Seed Library is hosting a Seed Saving Workshop on Saturday, September 12, from 10 to 11:30 AM at the Billings Public Library.

Sunflower seeds are quite simple to collect for next year. Michael J. Rivera, TSM

Learn How to Save Your Favorite Plants

The workshop will feature Abi Saeed, Montana State University's Extension Horticulture Specialist, who will cover the basics of collecting, saving, and storing seeds from heirloom vegetables and native plants.

Saeed will talk about the plant life cycle, the difference between hybrids and heirlooms, harvesting techniques, and even a few tricks for getting those saved seeds to germinate when the next growing season rolls around.

Saving seeds allows you to keep growing some of your favorite varieties year after year, potentially saving a little money in the process. It's also a great way to preserve plants that have done particularly well in your own garden.

May All Your Weeds signage

Don't Forget About Montana's Native Plants

The workshop will also have a Montana-specific bonus. Attendees can stick around at the end to pick up native wildflower seeds.

Some Montana native wildflowers actually benefit from being planted in the fall, and growing them can provide an important food source for local pollinators.

woman holding garden fork

A Gardening Expert Will Lead the Workshop

Saeed has a background in entomology, pollinator conservation, and integrated pest management and is currently pursuing her PhD in Plant Sciences at MSU, where she's researching urban pollinator conservation.

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You may also recognize her from Montana AG Live, the Montana PBS program where she regularly helps answer questions about everything from backyard gardening to pesticides and agriculture.

Whether you're a seasoned gardener or someone who occasionally remembers to water the plants, this sounds like a pretty useful way to spend a Saturday morning.