Seed Freedom Fortnight

From 2^nd October (Gandhi’s Birth Anniversary) to 16^th October (World Food Day) the Global Alliance for Seed Freedom is planning Seed Freedom Fortnight - "a fortnight of intense actions for seed freedom ... The purpose of these intense actions is to draw as much public and government attention to the issue of Seed Freedom as possible so as to invoke changes in policy for the future of seeds and farmers in India and across the world."

http://www.youtube.com/user/occupytheseed

Take Action Locally

Many seed savers around the world are getting active during this time and we encourage you to do so too. Locally, there are many activities we can take to support this initiative and call to action including:

• Educate others about the importance of seeds for our food security; seed saving; where to source heirloom and open-pollinated seeds; and GMOs (genetically modified organisms) and their devastating impact on food crops, health and the environment (read just one example -'GMO alert: Eating GM wheat may destroy your liver, warn scientists').
• Invite neighbours, family, friends and colleagues to our Seedy Sunday group. Sharing practical skills and hands-on learning helps empower people in our community to take responsibility for the food crops in their own backyard.

• Plant diversity - grow a wide variety of food crops at home - as much as you can in the space you have. Learn about which food plants grow well in your local microclimate and buy, swap or share seeds to expand this diversity each season.
• Support other seed saver groups and share resources, knowledge and seed banks. This helps keep seeds fresh, viable and circulating back into the community.
• Build a knowledge base locally. No one person grows everything so we all need to know what plants do well at our place and share this information with others who may not have this experience. 
• Give seeds away - share your surplus with the seed bank, your friends and neighbours. A seed is a plant-in-waiting - a dozen different seeds is a garden waiting to be planted. Pop a few seeds into an envelope and share with someone as a gift.  

Learn to Grow Your Own Food from Seed

We'd love you to come along on Tuesday, 2 October to Permaculture Eudlo's meeting to learn how to grow your own food from seed. Join in and see the group working together to provide tips and tricks for growing edible food from seeds. Since this is a workshop, the plan is to have everyone actually undertake some planting. So you need to bring some things along to be able to participate.

1. Pots or seed trays to plant your seeds int;
2. A packet of seeds (of a crop that is coming into season, like cucumber, capsicum, heirloom tomatoes, eggplant, bush beans, squash and zucchini) to share;
3. Potting mix/soil/seed raising mix/compost or just your special mix;
4. A willingness to share your experiences and participate in this activity.

If you have a spare plastic tablecloth or some newspaper that can be used to place over the tables to protect them during this workshop please bring them along. Check the website for contact details.

Seed Saving Presentation

The following month on Tuesday, 6 November, you are also invited to a Seed Saving Presentation at Permaculture Eudlo to learn more about this important skill and the urgency of why we need to act now.

If you have any suggestions for activities or initiatives during Seed Freedom Fortnight or general feedback, please leave a comment.

By Anne Gibson