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Welcome to Another Seedy Saturday Season!

“[..] The idea that story and seed must be conserved together. That’s why events must have a large swap table and area; the sharing of story is a vital part of the conservation of the variety’s ‘value’ to the community, not just the genetic material in the seed variety.”

Sharon Rempel, first published in 2009 and again in our Every Seed Tells a Tale book

As of 2009, when Sharon Rempel, an elder in the Canadian organic and heritage movements, wrote the above statement, there were an estimated 60 Seedy Saturday and Seedy Sunday events in Canada. That is a lot - we’re talking dozens of seed and knowledge sharing opportunities for passionate (or even mildly interested) folks during (mostly) the winter and spring months.

What has happened in the decade and a half since is even more astounding: the movement has grown to an astounding 180 or so events each year! That’s 3x what it was in 2009. In 2025, about 185 events (that we know about) happened, reaching the far corners of each province in Canada, enabling people from most regions of our vast country to access seeds, stories, inspiration, resources, and a sense of community.

Seeds of Diversity has supported Seedy Saturdays and Seedy Sundays for decades now, since the time of the first event in 1990, and we’ve gratefully ramped up that support over the last several years, first in response to the pandemic and now because there continues to be a positive response to our resources. As we continue to find ways to provide meaningful resources to help the many driven folks who make it all happen, here’s what we’re up to this cold season:

~ Idea sharing sessions ~

From November to January, we’re hosting a series of virtual planning discussions open to any and all event organizers to gather and talk about common challenges, share ideas, and offer resources and support. The first session took place on November 17th with a total of 41 organizers in attendance!

~ Seeds, seeds, seeds ~

As always, we’ll send along seed packets to any events looking to supplement their seed swap supply. For the first time possibly ever, we already have 90% of what we’re sharing packaged up and ready to go! As usual, it’s plenty of lettuce and tomato seeds, with some other types sprinkled into the mix.

~ Promotions ~

Our Events page will soon be a thriving collection of event information. Organizers submit their event details via a Google Form about what they have planned and it populates the page automatically - a cool system! Already, more than 20 events have shared their event details and that will only continue to ramp up as 2026 approaches. Thousands of people use the page every year to find events in their neck of the woods!

~ Seed company information ~

Our Canadian Seed Catalogue Index and Seed Map are great resources for learning about the many dozens of seed companies that exist in Canada, including contact information and location. This can certainly come in handy for organizers when sourcing vendors, and that’s one of the important ways these resources are used! We keep them updated by reaching out to seed companies each fall inviting them to request edits to their listings.