Buffalo Growing is a collaboration that brings together a diverse group of organizations and community members around a common commitment to urban greening, access to healthy food and fostering sustainable communities. The group is focused on both short term and long term solutions to issues such as leasing city-owned land, zoning for urban farms, access to resources and training/education.

One of the group’s main focuses is urban farming and community & backyard gardening. This year is a pilot year for a seed and transplant program to help support gardens in Buffalo. Community gardens will receive seed packets and transplants throughout the growing season and have the opportunity to participate in resource pooling and bulk purchasing.

Volunteers are needed on Friday, April 16th from 11am – 1pm to help package seeds and prepare transplants for distribution. This will take place at MAP on 271 Grant St.

Join in on this opportunity to support gardens and farms in the city, and check out the Buffalo Growing Calendar for other upcoming events.

Back in 2009, Circle K, a fraternity at UB, volunteered with ReUse for a day. “We mentioned we were running out of space for the seedlings and joked that maybe the students could babysit the seedlings in their dorm room–and they took us seriously!” said Caesandra Seawell, Director of Community Programs. This year, ReUse is extending their “Seedling Foster Parent” program to the public. Becoming a Seedling Foster Parent is easy! Prospective foster parents would take home a tray or two of assembled cells containing soil and seeds. The seeds need a little coaxing “on their bottoms” to germinate. “The ideal temperature seeds need to germinate is around 70-80 degrees. Putting them on top of, or near, a radiator works well as long as the seeds don’t get too hot or the soil drys out.” explained Greenspace Coordinator, Ben Kaiser. The next step is just attention. “You would need to water them, turn them for even sunshine exposure and protect them until they grow bigger and can be brought back to Buffalo ReUse for the next step–our Seedling Swap” Brad Kujawski added.

Seedling Swaps are very common among active gardening communities all over the world. The idea is similar to a book swap–you bring one and take one. Buffalo ReUse invites all Buffalo gardeners to bring (or donate) their extra seedlings to contribute to the East Side of Buffalo community gardens. The seedling swap is a chance to bring a variety of plants to the neighborhood, eliminate waste, and socialize with other gardeners!

Buffalo ReUse’s Seedling Swap will be held Saturday, April 24^th from 10am-4pm (along with their Open House)
There will be a second Seedling Swap on Saturday, May 22^nd in conjunction with a Salad Smorgasbord.

And finally, Buffalo ReUse is planning ahead for some summer shenanigans! ReUse is orchestrating a Pickle Eating Contest! Details are developing quickly, but ReUse hopes to encourage gardeners to plant one extra cucumber plant so there will be plenty of pickles available for the contest. They will need several hundred pickles and hope to use only local supplies.

If you’re interested in gardening with ReUse, becoming a Seedling Foster Parent or a pickler, please contact greenspaces {at} buffaloreuse(.)org or call 716-885-4131.

In the search for a sustainable (and cheap) solution to buying plastic planting cell packs we’ve discovered we can just make our own.  We found numerous instructions to make pots  online.  Here are a few examples: Rolled up round pots,  pots that require no fastening and  the one we picked.  We’re pretty happy with the last one even though it’s a little time consuming. We replaced the paper clip with a staple. They’re also square so  they seem to fit well in rectangle flat trays.  The main advantage to any of these designs is that they biodegrade so the plant and pot can go right in the ground. This lessens the chance of harming the plant in the transplanting process. We also won’t run the risk of getting the seedlings sick by reusing old cell packs that may have mold or pathogens in them.

This is a great opportunity for folks who can’t make it out to the ReSource to volunteer, or for anyone who wants to volunteer in front of the TV at home and not in the cold of the warehouse.  If you’d like to fold some pots for us–it’s easy–get some newspaper and practice and then bring us your finished pots or send an email to Greenspaces {at} buffaloreuse(.)org