3rd Annual Plant Swap at Wheaton Library 

Dreaming of Summer and fresh produce from your garden? Get a head start on your garden at our free Plant Swap! This event is mainly about plants and seedlings - as folks start seeds indoors for their garden, we inevitably have extras, and that’s where the plant and seedling sharing comes in! What to bring:  

Seedlings:

• We welcome veggies, herbs, fruit shrubs, and more! Solo cups, clean yogurt cups, and other repurposed containers are great. Please label them with the plant name and any other info you would like to share.
• Some trays will be provided to carry home your selections, but please feel free to bring your own.

Seeds:

• We welcome heirloom and open pollinated seeds, including those purchased packets you didn’t use all of last year. Please DO NOT bring seeds saved from hybrid plants. They won’t grow true to type..  
• Please bring seeds saved or purchased within the last 2-4 years or less, and stored in a cool, dark, and dry place.
• Label the seeds with the type, variety, and the date and location they were harvested, along with any other descriptions that might be helpful. An example: Cherry Tomato: Italian Yellow Cherry. 2020 grown in Glen Ellyn.
• You are welcome to come take seedlings and seeds even if you do not have seeds to contribute, just please take only what you can use this season.
• Your preferred seed storage: Ziploc bags, envelopes, medicine jars.

We will have:

• Some of our seedlings to share.
• Extra boxes to take seedlings home if you forget.
• Activities and coloring pages for kids.
• A hands on seed demonstration table.

Seeds left at the end of the day will be donated to the Wheaton Public Library’s Little Free Seed Library and the Sustain DuPage Seed Cache. Vegetable seedlings left at the end of the day will be donated to area food pantries (such as PRC in Wheaton) and community gardens. Link to details here. 

 

One Seed, One Community

 

By now, Norfolk Spinach plantings should have been thinned to 8-12" allowing them room to grow (the picture above was at 2" tall, just before thinning). Spinach can be harvested as soon as 5 weeks after sowing, whenever the leaves are big enough to enjoy! You can cut the leaves 2- 3 inches above the soil and allow them to grow back before harvesting again, which will provide a consistent harvest throughout the season. You can also harvest the outer leaves, leaving the inner ones to continue growing -- but please DO NOT harvest the entire plant at once, because our goal is to let them flower so we can collect seeds later in the season. Review the entire process of growing spinach and saving seed by reading through this article. 

Cherokee Trail of Tears Pole Bean can be planted between May 15th and June 1st in a sunny location near a sturdy trellis. For seed saving, it is important that you plant Cherokee at least 10 feet from any other bean to prevent cross-pollination. Many gardeners soak bean seeds 8-12 hours to soften the seed coat before planting which can lead to faster germination. Keep your newly planted beans moist and watch for sprouts in 8-10 days. 

For an overview of the entire process of growing beans and saving seed, read this article from Seed Savers Exchange. Instructions to grow with Sustain DuPage will continue each month, but if you have any questions please email Betty here or our general email box.

 

Food Security Squad

THANK YOU to our friends at Rustic Road Farm in Elburn for their generous donation of  25 pounds of Organic Sugar Snap Pea Seeds. That's 45,000 seeds that will help feed people this growing season; and they came in right at pea planting time. We were honored to be entrusted to share these in our community with the following organizations: Glen House Food Pantry, Downers Legacy Seed Library, Glen Ellyn Seed Library, St. Charles Seed Library, Wheaton Seed Library, Garden Works, We Grow Dreams, IL Master Gardeners, Elmhurst Garden Club, Lombard Garden Club, West Chicago Garden Club, and our own SD Seed Cache.  

 

Food Security Squad donation season will start late June or early July. As you plant your own garden, please consider a few extra vegetable or herb plants that can be donated to the ongoing FSS project, knowing it will help support our DuPage County neighbors in need. Send an email to Diane or to our general email with questions or to volunteer for our project.

 

Turners

 

Thank you to all who answered our survey! We will meet Thursday, June 5th, at 7PM in the Sustain DuPage Garden to discuss Nature's Best Hope by Douglas W. Tallamy. This book outlines a grassroots, home-grown approach to conservation. Join us to discuss how homeowners can turn their yards into conservation corridors to provide wildlife habitats. Several libraries in our area have copies of this book. 

Click here to join the WhatsApp group for SD Turners. This is where further updates will be shared! Please direct questions to Aime B.

 

 

In Our Community

05/03/25 10:30 AM True Wellness: Nurturing our bodies, souls and planet -Science of Spirituality, Lisle. This holistic event brings together many community groups to nurture ourselves and the planet. Be sure to stop by the Sustain DuPage table! Free, registration required. See details here. 

05/08/25 7 PM DuPage Organic Garden Club - Cucumbers, Melons and Squash, Oh My Growing cucurbits like cucumbers, melons, and squash can be a rewarding challenge. Join Lindsay Zimmerman from Sustain DuPage for a candid discussion about the ups and downs of cultivating these garden favorites. RSVP here.

05/10/25 9 AM Green Garden Fair - Sponsored by First Congregational Church, Elmhurst and gets bigger every year, and SD will be there too!  Organically grown vegetable and herb seedlings, flower seedlings, bagged compost and potting mix, native plants, garden tool sharpening, local raw honey, free nasturtium seeds, eco organizations and more! See details here. 

05/16/25 12:30 PM Lombard Garden Club - Dahlias Living Fireworks guest speaker Carol Cichorski shares her dahlia passion and wants you to know you can grow dahlias too! Open to general public, Lombard Community Building, 433 E. St. Charles Road, Lombard. 

05/26/25 12:00 PM Northern Illinois Iris Society Show - Talk to experts and spend an afternoon enjoying the marvelous spectrum of shapes, sizes, and colors seen in the iris. Morton Arboretum. Details here.     

Coming up in Sustain DuPage

06/07/25 9:30 AM: Food Pantry Drive at the SD Garden. Hosted by Food Security Squad to benefit the Glen House Food Pantry (Glen Ellyn). Details on items needed will be in June newsletter. Email Diane  here if you have questions or to volunteer. 

6/15/25 1:30 PM: Greene Valley Forest Preserve with Pat Armstrong. Save the date -- details coming soon! Email our general mailbox with questions. 

6/15/25 2:00 PM: Creators Father's Day Craft & Chat. We will prep for the upcoming gourd parade! Look for details in June, or email Kate here.  

6/20/25 5:00 PM: Summer Solstice Gathering. Save the date and celebrate in the beautiful SD Garden. Details in June, or email general mailbox. 

6/22/25 1 PM: Member swap! We'll be holding a "swap" event for people to bring good condition, but unwanted items, to swap and share with other Members. SD will also be giving away unneeded equipment. Unclaimed items to be donated.

06/25/25 5:30 PM: FSS Weekly Collection at SD Garden begins! We will collect fresh produce and non-perishable food weekly through October 16 to benefit local food pantries. Email Diane  here with questions or to volunteer for the Food Security Squad effort. 

6/29/25 10:00 AM: Elderberry Cordial and Burdock Workshop. Save the date -- details coming soon! Email our general mailbox with questions. 

6/29/25 1 PM-3PM: Tea in the Garden with the Creators. Details TBA!

If your organization's event falls within the mission of Sustain DuPage and you'd like to advertise it in our newsletter, please contact us at info@sustaindupage.com.