The 15th annual Kaw Valley Seed Fair was held at the Douglas County Fairgrounds Saturday Feb. 17. With over 20 vendors to visit and tables filled with various types of seeds, guests had the opportunity to leave with seeds, yard art, baked goods and new skills to help with this year’s planting activities.
The seed fair has been held every Feb. at these fairgrounds since it started in 2009. The goal of the event is to share seeds at the designated exchange tables so people can grow something different than they may have before. There were demonstrations, conversations and seeds shared for hours.
Many of the vendors at the seed fair work closely with native plant habitats and provide support and information on growing a variety of plants to the public. Vendors included Master Gardners of Douglas County, Native Lands Restoration Collaborative, Next to Nature Farm and Wildfire Metal, among others.
“We are a passionate and friendly group of people, we just want to help people grow – both themselves and their plants,” Kellee Pratt of Master Gardners Douglas County said.
Master Gardners of Douglas County had a booth to offer free education on native plants to anyone interested. The goal of the Master Gardners is to provide an educational path to growing native plants. They have five community gardens and monarch waystations located around Lawrence, Kan., and one in downtown Baldwin City.
“The Master Gardners serve as a resource for the community by providing soil samples through Kansas State University, resources and education freely to the public,” Pratt said.
Other vendors included Eat8Flowers who provided flower essence cookies and starter plants to attendees. Joeleyn Trahan, owner and operator of Eat8Flowers, has been a vendor at the Kaw Valley Seed Fair for a few years now. Eat8Flowers has been a vendor at other community events, such as the Cottin’s Hardware & Rentals’ Thursday farmer’s market.
“I grow my own flowers and use them to make my shortbread flower essence cookies,” Trahan said. “This year I have rose, lavender, and jasmine.”
The event drew crowds from all over Douglas County, hoping to exchange seeds of all sorts. From starter plants to metalwork used for yard art, the Kaw Valley Seed Fair had something to offer everyone in attendance.
