SEED SAVING
"The seeds that gardeners hold in their hands at planting time are living links in an unbroken chain reaching back into antiquity. Today's gardeners cannot possibly comprehend the amount of history contained in their seeds, both what has come before and what may potentially come after their brief involvement. Our Stone Age ancestors began indentifying and domesticating food plants thousands of years ago, with the simple act of selecting seeds for replanting. Whenever gardeners begin to save their own seeds, the also become part of the ancient tradition." 1
from Seed to Seed by Suzanne Ashworth
One of the goals of the Dowling Community Garden is to participate in a community effort to engage in sustainable agriculture and stem the loss of genetic diversity. Heirloom varieties of tomato, eggplant, pepper, herbs, milkweed and marigold were grown, seeds were saved, and several Dowling Community Garden members will be offering seeds through the Seed Savers Exchange and the Flower and Herb Exchange in Decorah Iowa. Some Dowling Community Garden members will also be listing seeds with Seeds of Diversity Canada, a seed saving organization in Toronto.
This year we hope to save seeds of other varieties and welcome your participation. If you have a family heirloom variety you would like to save seeds from and offer those to these seed-saving organizations, please leave a message with your name, phone number and seed variety on the garden voice mail at (651) 255-6607. Or
Links
1Ashworth, Suzanne. Seed to Seed. Decorah, Iowa: Seed Savers Exchange, 1991