Calling all plant lovers: The Seed Farm to host Spring Plant Sale

The Seed Farm is calling all plant lovers to join them during their annual Spring Plant Sale, which will feature a variety of plants for purchase.

Customers will get to choose from a wide selection of vegetables, herbs and flowers at the sale on May 7 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and May 8 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 5854 Vera Cruz Road, Emmaus, Pennsylvania. The event is returning in person after a two-year break due to COVID-19.

The Seed Farm is a nonprofit working to protect the preserved farmland of Lehigh County. 

“This will be the first year in two years that we’re back to being in-person,” said Katy Hunter, program administrator of The Seed Farm. “We have a lot of dedicated plant shoppers and what we do is try to get our plants to as many people as possible.” 

Neil Singh, assistant manager of The Seed Farm, said they are expecting a big turnout, as the online sale they held the past two years made it easy for hundreds of people to make purchases at the same time. He said during last year’s sale, they sold 75 percent of their inventory in just an hour. They are hoping to meet or surpass that volume of sales this May. 

Brad Pollock, farm manager of The Seed Farm, said most of the proceeds from the sale go back into the farm, while a portion also goes toward philanthropic efforts.

“The purpose of the plant sale is to fund nonprofit organizations and to fund the farm, which helps us cover some of our growing and salary expenses,” Pollock said. 

Partnering with different charities and organizations – like the Second Harvest Food Bank and Program of Community Action Lehigh Valley – the Seed Farm works to provide better access to fresh food in the Lehigh Valley while cultivating a community of plant lovers. 

Hunter said COVID-19 motivated them to increase their variety of plants sold. She said the selection of plants available at The Seed Farm are more diverse than what you would see at a standard plant nursery. 

Singh said that of the 200 varieties of plants, vegetables and flowers offered, there are 50 different varieties of heirloom tomatoes and over 20 different varieties of peppers.

Singh said they try to find new varieties of the plants that aren’t readily available at local garden centers. 

“We have a hot pepper this year called ‘alter ego’ that we’re really excited about,” Singh said. “It’s a hot and sweet pepper that has both heat and sugar content.” 

Pollock said not only are some of their plant varieties new, but they are also grown using organic practices with organic certified compost.

Singh said he hopes the community comes out to try the new varieties, support the sale and help further their mission of ensuring the future of agriculture.