(Not updated, but republished for 2012 - promoted by Alma)
(this is updated & re-published for 2011)
Before you can get growing there is one thing you must have.... SEEDs!
When I started gardening there were only a couple places you could buy "good quality seed"... the local hardware store or the local feed & seed store.
Now, it seems, seeds are for sale at almost every store you go to- the dollar store, the big-box stores... even grocery stores often have seeds.
The question is- are all seeds the same?
Little did I know when i started but most seed from the local feed & seed store have been treated with chemicals. At that time organics was NOT a very well known concept. Almost all gardens were planted in rows (about 18 inches apart) & seeds for home gardeners came in packages designed to plant 100 foot row. If you ran out of seed before you ran out of row you were planting too close!
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It seems Jill Richardson had the same sort of thing on her mind:
With a few exceptions, every single plant-based food you eat comes from a seed. And the animal products you eat came from animals that ate plants that came from seeds. In fact, the only foods you eat that don't come from seeds are fungi or ferns. Those come from spores. The average American might not give a lot of thought to seeds, but seeds play a pretty big role in his or her life nonetheless. As a sustainable food activist and writer over the past several years, I've had to learn quite a bit about seeds. But it didn't really hit home until I started gardening.
So where does that leave me, the home gardener? The first few plants I planted were seeds that were given to me. I didn't think too much about where they came from. A friend, who is a committed seed saver, gave me a few more seeds and told me about a book - Seed to Seed by Suzanne Ashworth - that explains how to save seeds. "Great!" I thought. "No problem!"
Then I wanted to plant a few more things. Nobody I knew had any spare seeds so I'd have to buy some. Uh-oh. Would I accidentally buy seeds from a company that is owned by Monsanto or one of the other seed giants? And how would I know which ones to avoid? I ended up buying seeds at my local organic nursery. They stock "Seeds of Change" brand seeds, so that is what I bought. I bought a lot of those seeds. Then I found out that the company is owned by M&M/Mars. A candy company made my organic seeds? Great. I'm not sure I'm very happy about that.
I highly encourage you to go read the entire article.
There are several types of seed you can buy- be sure to ask about what you are getting or read your seed package thoroughly...even the little tiny words!
I highly encourage you following these three links & reading the wiki's for these:
~Hybrid seed - these are the most widely available to the home gardener
Hybrid seed is seed produced by artificially cross-pollinated plants. Hybrids are bred to improve the characteristics of the resulting plants, such as better yield, greater uniformity, improved color, disease resistance, and so forth. Today, hybrid seed is predominant in agriculture and home gardening, and is one of the main contributing factors to the dramatic rise in agricultural output during the last half of the 20th century. In the US, the commercial market was launched in the 1920s, with the first hybrid maize. Hybrid seed cannot be saved, as the seed from the first generation of hybrid plants does not reliably produce true copies, therefore, new seed must be purchased for each planting.
~GMO seed - available at feed & seed stores (mostly to farmers, i think)
A genetically modified organism (GMO) or genetically engineered organism (GEO) is an organism whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques. These techniques, generally known as recombinant DNA technology, use DNA molecules from different sources, which are combined into one molecule to create a new set of genes. This DNA is then transferred into an organism, giving it modified or novel genes.
~Heirloom seed or Open Pollinated seed - these plants will produce seed that you can save & plant next year
An heirloom plant, heirloom variety, or (especially in the UK) heirloom vegetable is a cultivar that was commonly grown during earlier periods in human history, but which is not used in modern large-scale agriculture. Many heirloom vegetables have kept their traits through open pollination, while fruit varieties such as apples have been propagated over the centuries through grafts and cuttings. The trend of growing heirloom plants in gardens has been growing in popularity in the United States and Europe over the last decade.
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Typically, heirlooms have adapted over time to whatever climate and soil they have grown in. Due to their genetics, they are often resistant to local pests, diseases, and extremes of weather.
As Jill points out:
As you begin to explore the issues surrounding our food system, you will probably hear someone claim that GMOs are evil because farmers are not allowed to save their seeds. And, perhaps, you'll hear a counter argument that farmers all buy hybrids nowadays so they can't save their seeds anyway. You might also hear about the consolidation within the seed industry - and THAT is a big deal for sure. You can see a diagram showing all of the recent seed company mergers here. PDF warning! And, of course, you'll probably hear people complaining that companies are patenting life - patenting the actual DNA in the seeds they sell.
Now, i don't know about you, but that is one Very Scary diagram to me.
And all the more reason to take care in not only the types of seed you buy... but the company you buy them from.
This is why i've come up with a handy-dandy reference list for you... Safe Seed Source List
ALL of these companies have signed the following pledge:
The Safe Seed Pledge:
"Agriculture and seeds provide the basis upon which our lives depend. We must protect this foundation as a safe and genetically stable source for future generations. For the benefit of all farmers, gardeners and consumers who want an alternative,
We pledge that we do not knowingly buy or sell genetically engineered seeds or plants.
The mechanical transfer of genetic material outside of natural reproductive methods and between genera, families or kingdoms, poses great biological risks as well as economic, political, and cultural threats. We feel that genetically engineered varieties have been insufficiently tested prior to public release. More research and testing is necessary to further assess the potential risks of genetically engineered seeds. Further, we wish to support agricultural progress that leads to healthier soils, genetically diverse agricultural ecosystems and ultimately healthy people and communities."
I'd like to highlight my favourite seed company & encourage you to look at what they have to offer:
Seed Savers Exchange
I first heard of them around 1978, through MotherEarthNews. They have been in business for over 35 yrs & remained true to their mission:
Seed Savers Exchange is a non-profit, 501(c)(3), member supported organization that saves and shares the heirloom seeds of our garden heritage, forming a living legacy that can be passed down through generations.
Our mission is to save North America's diverse, but endangered, garden heritage for future generations by building a network of people committed to collecting, conserving and sharing heirloom seeds and plants, while educating people about the value of genetic and cultural diversity.
Please check with your local county extension service. They will often have heirloom seed for sale for reasonable prices.
Our State Department of Agriculture puts out a bi-monthly paper (also available on-line) where people list seeds they've saved or starter plants for sale (and many other things also). Check with your Dept. of Ag to see what they offer.
Check with your local feed & seed... see if they carry any untreated heirloom seed.
be sure to see all the posts in this series for more info! |
