Seed to Seed (Pollination)
Fri 25 July 2025
The Wash House Garden
Workshop
Collaborators:
Glasgow Community Food Network
The Wash House Garden
Project: Seed to Seed
Join a workshop as part of learning how to grow a crop for seed production, focusing on the pollination of squash, at a community scale.
This is the second event of a new project for 2025, devised in collaboration by The Wash House Garden, Glasgow Seed Library and Glasgow Community Food Network's Food and Climate Action project.
The project is focussing on growing a special variety, Desert Spirit – a diverse and beautiful landrace of squash that was originally selected for taste by Wild Mountain Seeds in Colorado. We are growing this squash in honour of Casey Piscura: farmer, plant breeder, and community seed saver.
In this workshop, participants will learn skills related to:
- Hand pollination of squash
- Isolation techniques in order to save seed
- Observing and discussing pests and diseases
- Discussion about relevant pollinators
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Methods of documenting the journey of a seed crop
We will be tending to the seedlings sown in our first workshop. At the end of the growing season, we will host a harvest and seed saving event, with a community meal.
Some of the squash seeds will be deposited in Glasgow Seed Library for the community to borrow and grow in 2026, and others will be distributed as part of a national crowd breeding initiative led by The Gaia Foundation.
About the collaborators
The Wash House Garden was borne out of a desire to feel a sense of mutual support and solidarity in a society in which communities have been decimated across the generations, and to grow and eat delicious food that nourished body and soul, soil and planet in spite of our globalised, environmentally damaging, and frankly bland modern food system.
Glasgow Community Food Network's Food and Climate Action project, funded by The National Lottery, the Food & Climate Action Project is a five year partnership between Glasgow Eco Trust, St Paul’s Youth Forum, Central and West Integration Network, The Wash House Garden & Urban Roots, and is led by Glasgow Community Food Network. The FCA project aims to co-design alongside communities a kinder, fairer & more resilient food system for Glasgow.