VALPARAISO | Save the date - Jan. 24, 2009 - and hang onto those seeds and bulbs to exchange at the Purdue Extension Porter County Master Gardeners sixth annual Gardening Show.

The show will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Porter County Expo Center, IN-49 at Division Road, Valparaiso. Cost is $7 and attendees can share seeds and gather new ones.

Dates and times of seed cleaning parties later in the year will be announced at a later date.

The guidelines for packaging are:

Seeds and bulbs must be clean and disease free.

Package seeds 20 to 25 in paper envelopes (not plastic bags).

Label envelopes with plant name, description and planting instructions.

Package bulbs three to seven in paper bags (no softies).

Label bag with plant name, description and planting instructions.

Mark as much information as possible on the envelope: name, perennial, annual, biannual, color, height and width, bloom time, full sun, part sun or shade.

At the show, each envelope of seeds will be exchanged for one ticket that can be exchanged for another seed package of your choice. Each package of bulbs will be exchanged for three tickets. No uncleaned or unpackaged seeds accepted day of show. There will be a limit of common perennial/annual seeds to 10 packets per individual.

For information, call (219) 465-3555, ext. 21, or visit www.pcgarden.info.

- For The Times