SEED SWAP & SHARE

SATURDAY 22ND FEBRUARY 11AM-2PM

DROP IN / FREE / BY DONATION

‘Seed is not just the source of life. It is the very foundation of our being.’
-Vandana Shiva, environmental activist and global seed sovereignty advocate.

Our annual seed share is a really important event in the growing year and is the only one of its kind in Merseyside. At Squash, we’re passionate about seed-saving & sharing and have been building the Toxteth Seed Library since 2010 – a fundamental element of our 100 Year Vision for Windsor Street and L8 neighbourhood. Come and meet the Squash gardeners, who are the seed keepers and caretakers of this great legacy.

Every year, seasoned growers and budding beginners join us from across the city region with a shared passion and excitement for the great potential of the simple seed. Come along to pick up some free seeds to grow this spring and if you can, bring seeds you’ve saved to share. Our seed stock is abundant with many varieties of vegetables, herbs & salad with some flowers & wildflowers, nurtured organically with love on Windsor Street. 

There’ll also be mindful crafting and art-making with seeds, lead by local crafters and gardeners.

FULL MOON SEED SHARE

SATURDAY 24TH FEBRUARY 11AM-2PM

‘Seed is not just the source of life. It is the very foundation of our being.’
-Vandana Shiva, environmental activist and global seed sovereignty advocate.

Our annual seed share is a really important event in the growing year, and is the only one of its kind in Merseyside. At Squash, we’re passionate about seed-saving & sharing and have been building the Toxteth Seed Library since 2010 – a fundamental element of our 100 Year Vision for Windsor Street and L8 neighbourhood. Come and meet the Squash gardeners, who are the seed keepers and caretakers of this great legacy.

Every year, more and more seasoned growers and budding beginners join us from across the city region with a shared passion and excitement for the great potential of the simple seed. Come along to pick up some free seeds to grow this spring and if you can, bring seeds you’ve saved to share. Our seed stock is abundant with many varieties of vegetables, herbs & salad with some flowers & wildflowers, nurtured organically with love on Windsor Street. There’ll also be seed-packet art-making with artist/illustrator, gardener and seed saver Michelle Murray!

This time the seed share falls on the full snow moon so there’ll be full moon blessings for a fruitful (& veg-full) growing season and harvest! 

WASSAIL!

WEDNESDAY 15TH JANUARY 11am-1pm

Annual apple tree celebration at the Grapes Community Food Garden

At Squash our apple trees are key partners in our 100-year vision – which began with the planting of apples trees in The Grapes Community Food Garden in 2010.  If nurtured, an apple tree can live for up to 100 years. Our love of wassailing comes from a shared passion for ritual, being close to nature & community and feeling embodied in the seasons. Every January, we celebrate the apple trees by singing round the fire, making a racket with pots and pans to clear away any bad energy, sharing messages & poems of hope for a good blossom & growing season, and welcoming the new annual guardians of the orchard (which fortunately involves eating cake & sipping hot mulled apple). Everyone is welcome! Free/by donation.

Wassailing, from the Anglo-Saxon phrase ‘waes hael’, which means ‘good health’, is a traditional, rousing ritual of fire, food, song and togetherness in nature in the winter depths, to celebrate the apple trees and to warm them up for the coming spring and to encourage a bountiful harvest. ‘Historic UK’ say There are two distinct variations of wassailing. One involves groups of merrymakers going from one house to another, wassail bowl in hand, singing traditional songs and generally spreading fun and good wishes. The other form of wassailing is generally practiced in the countryside, particularly in fruit growing regions, where it is the trees that are blessed. Wassailing (historic-uk.com)

Apple wassailing was traditionally celebrated by orchard & cider-making communities in the West Country, or in the Welsh border counties.  It happened on ‘Old twelfy night’ before the Gregorian calendar – which falls on 17th January.  Modern wassails happen all over the country throughout January – see the Trad Folk listings for more info.

SUMMER OPEN GARDEN

FRIDAY 5TH AUGUST, 12 NOON – 2PM

The gardeners of the Grapes Community Food Garden welcome you to explore and relax in our beautiful urban paradise! There’ll be garden tours, live music, arts & crafts, delicious food made from garden produce and great company! Bring your friends and family for a lovely summer afternoon!

We’ll also be joined by our marvellous pals Habibti who’ll be bringing a pop-up shop of great pre-loved clothes, books & toys – pick up a bargain whilst helping support Al Sabeen Childrens Hospital in Yemen.

FREE/BY DONATION

Supported by Liverpool Food Growers Network & The Wellcome Trust

Family Wild Food Walk

FRIDAY 12TH APRIL 11AM – 1PM

Bring the kids and join us for a family-focused springtime stroll and forage on and around Windsor Street! And once we’ve harvested our fresh urban produce, we’ll taste delicious spring treats!

Meet outside the Squash building. Free / by donation.

BOOKING ESSENTIAL – EMAIL ADMIN@SQUASHLIVERPOOL.CO.UK