Ballard Sprouts SeedMoney Campaign and greenhouse search
The Ballard Sprouts program is funded by the Seattle Giving Garden Network (SGGN.org). It provides money for seeds, seeding soil, transplanting soil, fertilizer and supplies. SGGN is participating in the National SeedMoney Campaign fundraiser that runs from November 15th to December 15th. The link is not active yet but I will provide in as soon as it is available. Your contributions are much appreciated.
Meanwhile, here is how the Ballard Sprouts project works. The project starts in mid-February when we plant trays of seeds in a backyard greenhouse on propagation mats. When they have sprouted we rotate them to another greenhouse and start another set of seeds. A team of dedicated volunteers come to the greenhouse to do all the work of planting seeds, transplanting seedlings, watering,fertilizing and generally tending the plants and hardening them off. Then in April, when the Seattle temperature is higher and the soil is warm enough, the plants are donated to gardeners who will grow the food, harvest it and donate it to the Seattle food banks.These plants give the gardeners a head start on the growing season. They receive cool weather crops: lettuce, chard, kale, collards, broccoli, and Asian greens. The Ballard Sprouts project has been active for the last 10 years, each year providing over 20,000 plants to the Seattle Giving Gardeners.
In two years, June 2024, we will lose our greenhouse and we will need a new one in order to continue this project. If you or any of your neighbors or friends have a greenhouse, with electricity, please let us know at info@sggn.org. We would like to use the next two growing seasons to transfer our procedures and knowledge so that this program can continue. In addition we want to duplicate this project in 2-3 other locations in Seattle in order to reach a more diverse community of gardeners. Please ask your family and friends in other parts of the city to let us know about possible greenhouses.