Free The Seeds 2025

Frequently Asked Questions

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General Event

Does this event cost anything to attend?

  • FTS is free to attend! Land to Hand appreciates both our sponsors and booths that help us defray the costs of the event. We encourage donations if possible but they are not required.
    • Currently seeking 2025 Event Sponsors! If you are interested, please reach out to ellen@landtohandmt.org.
  • Become a Friend of Free The Seeds and help support this community event with a donation! We appreciate donations of any size.

Where is the event / what building is the event in at FVCC?

Where can I park?

  • Any of the parking lots at FVCC should be available for the event. Lot F and Lot D will be the closest available parking. See the campus map at the bottom of this page.
  • You may have to park further away from the Arts and Technology Building than you prefer and walk over.

Do you provide childcare?

  • There is no childcare, but there are kids’ track workshops! Please check the schedule and workshop descriptions, kids age 8 and older may be left unattended for some of the workshops, but must be signed in and out by a guardian.
  • Children may only be left for one workshop at a time and parents/guardians must check in with them in between sessions.
  • Kids age 7 and younger must be accompanied by a parent or guardian at all times.

Are there elevators available? / I need some extra help with accessibility, what are my options?

  • There is an elevator available for use and handicap accessible bathrooms within the building. The elevator is located to the left of the main entrance close to the Workshop Hallway. You can refer to the building map at the bottom of this page or ask the info table.
  • If you need help grabbing a seed bundle, getting to or from the Seed Rooms, or getting situated in a workshop classroom, please come to the Upstairs Information Table (as you enter the building) and let us know.

Where can I get lunch / coffee / beverages / water?

  • Lunch will be available for purchase from local food vendors outside the main entrance of the building.
  • You can bring your own snacks and we encourage you to bring your own reusable water bottles. There are water fountains near the restrooms throughout the building.
  • This is a ZERO WASTE event. All food scraps and food & drink containers (including utensils) will be able to go in the Dirt Rich compost bins around the building. Please use the compost bins!

How can I give feedback on the event?

Is there somewhere I can hang out / sit down for a few minutes?

  • Go to the Black Box Theater on the upper level!
  • You can also sit in any of the couches / chairs found around the building in the hallways.

How can I donate to support this event?

  • Donate to Become a Friend of Free The Seeds online here. Thank you!
    • Payments accepted: Gpay, ApplePay, Venmo, Credit Card
  • Donate day-of at any donation jar with cash.
  • For cards – go to the Downstairs info table.
  • Checks:
    • Make your check payable to “Land to Hand MT” and write “Free the Seeds” on the memo line and put in a donation jar.
    • You may also mail a check to: Land to Hand MT, PO Box 4404, Whitefish, MT 59937
  • Your donation is tax deductible; Land to Hand MT is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization; federal tax ID #27-2056363

How do I get tickets to the raffle and where is it located?

  • Tickets can be purchased at any info table – CASH only.
    • 1 ticket for $5, 5 tickets for $20, or 30 tickets for $100.
  • Write your name and phone number on each ticket & go to room 139 (the Booth room).
    • Pick which baskets to go for downstairs in room 139 at the front of the room.
    • Each basket has a separate jar that the winner will be drawn from.
  • Winners will be drawn at 1:35pm.
    • If present, winners can take the prize home when drawn. If not present, they must be picked up from Land to Hand’s Whitefish office the following week – 311 E 1st St, Whitefish.

Where are the bathrooms?

  • There are two restrooms on the bottom floor and one on the upper floor. Please refer to the Event Building Map at the bottom of this page. Click the arrows to see different maps.

I want to participate next year! How do I do that?

  • Fill out the Contact Sheet at the Upstairs Info Table or email hello@landtohandmt.org.

Where can I place information about my business/community organization/club, etc.?

  • There is an open table downstairs meant for community information/sharing. Business cards and community/organization information can be placed here.
  • There is a separate table for information directly related to the Free the Seeds event.

Where are the booths?

  • All booths are downstairs in the auditorium, Room 139. Please refer to the Building Map at the bottom of the page. Click the arrows to see different maps.

Workshops

Do I need to register for the workshops?

  • No registration required for the workshops but some of them might be really popular and run out of space so arriving a few minutes before they start to get a seat would be a good idea.

Where are the workshops located?

  • Where: Upstairs in the northwest wing – rooms 202 – 208. Please refer to the Building Map at the bottom of this page. Click the arrows to see different maps.
  • You will get a paper copy of the schedule when you arrive or you can see the schedule here.

I want to teach a workshop! How can I do that?

Seed Exchange

Where can I access the Seed Exchange?

  • Packed seeds are located downstairs in rooms 144A and 144B. There is only one line. Please refer to the Building Map at bottom of the page. Click the arrows to see different maps.
    • To allow everyone to get seeds throughout the day, please be courteous and only grab up to 9 packets of seeds.
  • Skip the line and get a Garden Starter Bundle from the Black Box Theater on the upper level!

I have a seed donation. Where do I go?

  • Donate seeds in the Black Box Theater on the upper level. There will be seed packing tables set up there so that attendees can pack their own seed on the day of the event.

Where can I pack seeds and/ or clean seeds?

  • Go to the Black Box Theater on the upper level! Please refer to the Building Map at bottom of the page. Click the arrows to see different maps.

What is the Seed Exchange or Seed Giveaway?

  • A seed exchange is a group of people coming together to share, swap and/or give away their extra non-GMO, open-pollinated seeds, starts and cuttings.
  • Sometimes the seeds are saved by an individual, and sometimes they are commercially produced. Many wonderful heirlooms are exchanged at seed swaps.
  • Seed swaps also turn out to be fun ways to share information with others and develop a growing network of friends interested in growing (and saving seeds!).
  • Annual seed swaps also help build a community’s inventory of robust, healthy seeds that grow well under different conditions by being grown in different backyards.

I want to bring seeds to share. What do I need to know?

  • Thank you for sharing! Just two things to know:
    • If you are bringing seeds to share, bring them to the Black Box Theater on the upper level
    • Please provide as much of the following information as possible about your seeds/starts/cuttings. It is important to the person growing the items you are bringing to share. A simple, hand-written sign is fine.
  • LABEL WITH:
    • Common Name and Variety
    • Latin Name (genus and species)
  • FOR SEEDS, PLEASE ADD:
    • Year seeds were collected
    • Where they were grown and who grew them
    • Any extra information about what makes the variety unique, or tips for growing

Label example for Parsnip seeds:

Common: Parsnip, Lancer
Latin: Pastinaca sativa
Collected: 2022
Where: Whitefish, MT Community Garden
By: Good Seed Co.
Info: Root crop overwintered well in ground under 3 inches mulch, very sweet roots following spring; abundant seed YR2, harvested late July.

What does “non-GMO, Open-Pollinated” mean and why is that important?

  • “Open-pollinated” means that progeny seeds collected from the plants grown from your seed swap seeds will produce substantially the same plant as what you planted this year. This is known as growing “true to type”.
  • All heirloom seeds are open-pollinated seeds.
  • By contrast, 1/3 of seeds from new hybrids or “F1” varieties will NOT grow “true to type”. The variety is still too new, and the plant genetics are too scrambled to reliably produce viable seed. (Think of trying to reliably predict what the pup litter would look like if you crossed a poodle and a dachshund.)
  • “Non-GMO” means the plant variety from which your seed swap seeds came were NOT modified in a laboratory to contain non-plant DNA.
    • Those that have been modified are called “GMO plants” for “Genetically Modified Organism.” Seeds from GMO plants generally do NOT grow true to type.
    • In addition, the long-term impact of GMO’s is not yet known and they may cause harm to the people, pets, and beneficial insects that eat them.
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