Seed Saving and Resiliency with Arzeena Hamir of Amara Farm

Seed saving is a simple technique that gardeners everywhere can utilize to both reduce the cost of gardening AND improve plants to be better adapted to their growing conditions. Try some of the simpler varieties and become hooked!  Arzeena will bring seeds and demo some simple techniques for threshing and cleaning.

You will learn:

Seed saving is an easy way of reducing costs in your home garden and increasing the quality of the plants you grow.

Much of the equipment required to save and clean seed is probably in your home already, including fans, sieves, paper plates, and bowls.

Tomatoes, peas, beans, and lettuce are some of the easy vegetables to save seed from. Herbs are also quite simple.

After a few years, gardeners find that the plants they grow from seeds they save are much better adapted to local conditions.

About Arzeena:

Arzeena Hamir has a love for food and community and brings these two passions together through her work as an organic farmer and community activist. She received her undergrad in Crop Science and her Master’s in Sustainable Agriculture. Arzeena has worked internationally with small-scale farmers in Jamaica, India, Thailand, and Bangladesh, and in BC with West Coast Seeds, UBC, Richmond Food Security Society, and Kwantlen Polytechnic University.

Arzeena and her husband moved their family to the Comox Valley in 2012 and run Amara Farm, a 25-acre certified organic farm in Courtenay, BC. In 2018, Arzeena was elected to the Board of the Comox Valley Regional District where she served as both Vice Chair and Director, Area B.

Arzeena is a gifted teacher, presenting material and answering questions with her signature relaxed yet confident style that immediately puts gardeners of all experience levels at ease.

Seed saving is something that Arzeena began doing when she moved to the Comox Valley in 2012 and she now sells a few dozen varieties directly through her farm, through Salt Spring Seeds, and the BC Eco Seed Co-op. Seed sovereignty is an incredibly important skill that she hopes to increase in every community.

Everyone welcome! Come early to renew your annual membership, chat with fellow gardeners, and enjoy some coffee and dessert. Doors open at 6:30. Members FREE, Guests $5.00.