Project to kick off with talk on innovative techniques for growing crops

PHILLIPS — Will Bonsall, author of “Will Bonsall’s Essential Guide to Radical, Self-Reliant Gardening,” will kick off the new Seed Loan Project at the Phillips Public Library at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 28. The talk is free and open to the public.

Bonsall will discuss innovative techniques for growing vegetables, grains and perennial food crops using minimal fossil fuel and animal inputs.

Bonsall is director of the Scatterseed Project, which he founded to help preserve the endangered crop-plant diversity. Bonsall lives and farms in Industry with his wife, Molly Thorkildsen, and two sons.

The Phillips Library Seed Loan project will offer a set of donated seeds that patrons can sign out and use. In return, the library asks them to donate back seeds for others to use in the future plantings.

The Seed Loan Project at the library was created by volunteers Andrea Nurse and Betsy Squibb. In addition to loaning seeds and providing seed catalogues, the program will include educational forums with local agriculturalists. The next forum will host Ellen Foster of Island Farms on Wednesday, March 28.

For more information, contact the library at 207-639-2665.