Saving Seeds

THE TALE OF SEEDS is as captivating as the tale of our human existence. Like our ancestors, these humble building blocks have traveled by wind and water, and crossed the world. Woven into the lining of garments, braided into hair and carefully hidden for their intrinsic virtues, seeds can encode the past and adapt with each generation to sustain life on Earth. With the pace of the modern world, we face seed saving as becoming a lost art form. It’s one of many cultural practices that has been replaced by the veil of convenience. The collective power of communities exchanging seeds has been greatly reduced to the control of multinational corporate entities. Slowly plant diversity is vanishing. According to some reports, 80% of plant varieties have been lost in the last 200 years. But, hope remains that this valuable skill set can be reclaimed, ensuring communities can continue in the tradition of preserving staple crops that are full of genetic diversity which strengthens food security year after year.

We interact with seeds everyday. Seeds are the humble backbone to every grocery store aisle and the collective beauty found at farmers markets. Seeds are behind the meals that we eat each day, and the legacy work of our ancestors. Generations planting and working with mother nature—and saving their favorite traits—slowly created genetically stable and diverse food systems. Seed saving is a food culture act we can reclaim. By saving seeds from your garden, you can cultivate plants that are well-adapted to your local environment, reduce your gardening costs, and con- tribute to the preservation of heirloom varieties. Here, we’ll walk through some foundations of seed saving, providing you with an open invitation to start your own seed-saving journey.

WHY SAVE SEEDS The answer to this varies from person to person and even region to region because it can range from simple reasons to very complex. Cost-Effective: Seed packs and shipping costs are rising. Saving seeds reduces the need to purchase new seeds each year, saving money and affords an abundance of seeds to swap with others. Preserve Genetic Diversity: Without good genetic diversity, plants become vulnerable. Seed saving helps maintain a wide variety of plant species variations, which is needed for the resilience and adaptability of our food systems. Local Adaptations: Over time, plants grown from saved seeds become better adapted to the specific conditions of your garden, such as pest resistance, soil type and local climate fluxes. Preservation of Heirloom Varieties: Typically heirloom plants are not available at the local level. Having control over what you grow expands the culinary palette from beyond the big box stores. By saving seeds, you help preserve these unique flavors and culturally significant varieties from facing extinction.