GRAVETTE -- Staff members of the Gravette Public Library hosted their second seed swap Saturday, Feb. 9, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Several area citizens attended the event and some brought seeds to exchange. Others were able to take home seeds, including heirloom varieties, without contributing.
Guests sorted through bins of seeds in the classroom area of the library and were provided brown paper envelopes to collect and label the ones they chose. An instructional video on raised-bed gardening played on the screen overhead as they browsed.
Four members of the Benton County Master Gardeners were on hand in the children's area of the library and provided literature on their program and on composting, Japanese beetle control and wildscaping with Ozark native plants. Displays were set up on square-foot gardening, including a tabletop plastic grid showing numbers of fruits and vegetables to be planted in each foot and a poster with photos and information from Mel Bartholomew's "Square Foot Gardening" and other sources.
A student from the EAST lab at Gravette High School set up a display featuring a survey he is conducting on gardening. Fruit jars were labeled with "YES" or "NO" and guests were asked to drop beans in the proper container to answer questions on whether they had a home garden, were interested in having a community garden or were willing to volunteer time and resources to help with a community effort.
Those who attended were asked to fill out a questionnaire on whether they learned anything new at the seed swap and whether the information was valuable to them.
Karen Benson, library manager, announced she will be conducting a lesson on square-foot gardening Thursday, Feb. 21. The session will begin at 7 p.m. at the library, 119 Main Street S.E. All who are interested are invited to attend.
Community on 02/13/2019