Delmont seed swap offers variety for backyard gardeners

Darin Kuczek gets a lot of enjoyment out of his backyard garden.

“I’m not exactly a ‘hippie-dippy’ guy, but I have a chair out there and after I get done working, a lot of times I’ll just sit for maybe an hour,” the Salem resident said. “I just really enjoy it.”

Kuczek and other home gardeners were looking to spread that enjoyment to a few new garden beds this year at the Delmont Public Library’s second annual seed swap on Saturday morning.

Joined by four Penn State master gardeners from Westmoreland County, gardening enthusiasts picked up and dropped off seeds for flowers and vegetables alike, from zinnias and milkweed, to live English thyme cuttings and a bag of soft-neck garlic cloves ready for planting.

With the price of groceries — including produce — having risen in recent months, Kuczek said he’s looking to expand his garden this season, adding to his regular collection of melons, cantaloupes, beets, tomatoes, carrots and cucumbers.

“I don’t have a lot of room to expand, maybe about 20 square feet, but it’s a nice-sized garden,” he said.

Hanging out at the Delmont library's Saturday seed swap, going on 'til 1pm. pic.twitter.com/ieiUJppBcm

— Patrick Varine - Tribune-Review (@VarineTrib) February 11, 2023

John “Bud” Wassel of Penn Township’s Harrison City neighborhood found a quiet desk near a corner to start dividing seeds for several varieties of Italian peppers along with a few tomato varieties.

Wassel has been gardening for more than five decades. He operates Punzo’s Casa Verde, a greenhouse on Spruce Street in Jeannette where he regularly gives away hundreds of leeks, peppers, cabbage, zucchini, eggplant and more each growing season.

“I had really good luck with my peppers last year and really bad luck with my tomatoes,” he said.

The luck runs in his family: the garden is named for his wife’s uncle, the late Frank “Punzo” Panichella, who passed on his gardening knowledge — and his massive Italian garden — to his daughter and son-in-law.

Wassel is so meticulous with his seed-saving that his packets include an estimated germination rate for each variety of plant.

“I’m actually scaling things down a little this year,” he said. “After 52 years gardening, I’m ready to have a fly-fishing rod or a golf club in my hands a little more often.”

At the master gardener table, 9-year-old Nathan Govora of Latrobe was looking at gardening tip sheets as he picked out seeds for his second-ever garden alongside grandmother Cynthia Raley.

“We did a small garden last year, and Nathan made a book about it,” Raley said. “This year, he wanted to do a lot more.”

Nathan chose seeds for basil, butter lettuce, garlic chives, “and marigolds for my mom,” he said.

Master Gardener Linda Sinemus said the spike in home gardening during the pandemic has carried over, especially as the cost of groceries remains high.

“People who started it during the pandemic are continuing it now,” she said.