Hit the Dirt; Seed Saving (Alternate Take)

Although it may be hard to believe before 1850 homegrown seed was the rule in this country and still is for much of the world. Wasn't you go down to an alternate seed catalog or pick up some packets at the store. Seed saving is a basic. Although it may be hard to believe before 1850 homegrown seed was the rule in this country and still is for much of the world. It wasn't so easy just to go down to the store and get some seed packets or a look in your catalog. Seed saving is a basic skill which can really expand one's gardening horizons. It is also a way we can really do something concrete about an important environmental issue for loss of genetic diversity is as critical in domestic crops as it is with wild species of which we have been hearing so much lately. Now is a good time for those of you have never tried it to give it a shot. Today I'll be reading from a chapter in a small but excellent booklet on the subject. It's entitled grown to seed. It's written by Peter Donaldson and published by Ecology Action of mid Peninsula. Their address is 5 7 9 8 Ridgewood road Willits California

9 5 4 9 0 0 and you can write them to get a catalog and a list of the other booklets as well as this excellent publication. Why grow your own seed. The reasons are rewards for growing our own seed are the same as those motivating us to begin and continue gardening through the garden we participate in the creativity of nature. Gardening is a creative art. By growing our own seeds we see next year's garden within this years. This adds a new dimension of creativity a new level of integration to our garden experience responsible self-sufficiency is another common motive for gardening. From this perspective growing seed is essential survival skill seeds are the beginning and the end. The first and last step in closing our circle of Independence. Vulnerability if you're not growing your own seed who is growing them. Recent years have seen the wholesale takeover the seed trade by large transnational conglomerates most of the petrochemical or pharmaceutical businesses in England recently for example one conglomerate bought out 84 seed companies in a single week. Our gardens and the overall health of our

food system are not being well served by corporate economics. Genetic erosion of our most important food crops worldwide reduced availability of garden vegetables varieties increased centralization of the seed supply process and an almost complete loss of seed saving skills among growers at every scale have placed us in a position of great vulnerability. Genetic erosion India once grew an estimated 30000 varieties of rice. The Indian Agricultural Research Institute predicts that this will be reduced to no more than 50 varieties in 15 more years. More than 70 percent of the week diversity in parts of the Middle East. The original center of the diversity has been replaced by a handful of green revolution varieties of the approximately 7000 named apple varieties formerly growing the United States approximately 4000 of these have been lost in the U.S. two varieties of peas account for 96 percent acreage in production six varieties of corn account for 71 percent of us acreage for varieties of potatoes constitute 72 percent potato acreage and two varieties of dry beans account for 60 percent

of the dry bean acreage. We will never know how many varieties have been lost in the tropics as traditional crops are displaced by crash crops for export. Loss of vegetable righties in North America. Five percent of all open pollinated vegetable varieties are lost each year. 80 percent of the vegetable varieties that were available in the U.S. in 1992 have disappeared. Open pollinated varieties are low priority. Among the most large modern sea companies these varieties are being dropped or deteriorate in quality due to inadequate quality control. Recent legislation has made five hundred forty seven traditional vegetable varieties illegal in many European countries. Some predict that 75 percent of Europe's existing vegetable varieties will be extinct by the end of the decade centralisation 60 percent of US S. companies have been acquired by other companies since 1970. These acquisitions represent more than 60 percent of the volume of seed sales. Three enterprises control 95 percent of the Duchy trade. 10 large corporations control one third of all commercial cereal

varieties. It is estimated that 92 percent of the world's store germplasm is monopolized by the industrial northern countries. Yet 70 percent of the naturally occurring plant diversity is located in the tropical third world. The world seed stocks are being grown in a handful of isolated geographic areas almost the entire world's supply of cabbage spinach and beets he'd grown in a single Valley in the northwestern U.S. the few garden books discuss the subject seed saving is easy and only requires skills possessed by every gardener. Our culture has over 15000 years old seed merchants appeared less than three hundred years ago until the turn of the century. S. companies were few and almost all gardeners and farmers produce their own sea for the French market gardeners seed selection was considered a maintenance operation. Some garden farm books comment that it is risky is relying on your own gardens to proceed. Considering the current trends in agriculture one might conclude that that is risky not to grow and save at least some of your own seat selection. The first step in selection is finding a variety that is adapted to your location in growing conditions. This may require some exploration.

Seek out all the garden area gardeners love to share their favorites. We can also develop varieties adapted to our own garden in taste with a careful selection of parent plant selection should begin with the plants when they are young. Look at the whole plant. When doing this keep your eyes open for exceptional plants. Pretend you are Luther Burbank. Many a new variety has begun as a chance occurrence in the backyard of perceptive gardeners. Normal to type typical healthy individuals are the best selections to begin with. However the unusual may also be saved in a spirit of experimentation. Some element of chance in selection is another avenue to explore which often has interesting a productive result. Many people use volunteers that spring up on the compost heap of growing beds. These plants always seem exceptionally fit. If the plant is self pollinating as some adaptive merit. We can save it seeds and thus will have begun a new strain. But it's cross pollinating it seeds may not be true so we probably would not want to save seed. But for that reason we may enjoy unique offspring from our previous year's garden. Hybrids by the way can be stabilized into open pollinated varieties. It takes careful rowing out of the

undesirable plants. Most will be undesirable and a handful of years. The selection we should have a fairly predictable open pollinated variety. Kircher bits are a family to which I might want to give space for a one year experiment. Tomatoes and sunflowers are usually worthy volunteers as are beans and lettuce and a number of others avoid carrots and Brassicas using volunteers is a good way to get a strain that is early maturing scattering seeds and encouraging volunteers when they sprout as a simple way to maintain a smattering of certain annual herbs and flowers in your garden such as Cosmos steel and coriander. Recently I noticed a volunteer lettuce in a bed of clover out of curiosity and laziness we allowed it develop has grown into a frilly end like lettuce with a wine rose color. It is unique imperence and very tasty. Stands up well in the heat. Our market outlets will love it. There is a dynamic creativity in nature constantly generating diversity. Keep your eyes open for serendipity. Again we try to strike a balance between directing nature and just letting nature happen. Abnormal unhealthy and less vigorous individuals should be removed before flowering so as not to contribute to the new C generation. This roving is especially important for the

small grower undesirable traits in the parent generation can be magnified in the future generations varieties. It's believed by some that hybrids are less nutritious more demanding of soil resources and more vulnerable to environmental hazards. Others believe that the additional bigger uniformity and increased yields of the modern hybrids are essential for feeding the hungry world and for predictable results in your backyard. The uncontroversial advantage of the standard non hybrid varieties is that they breed true seeds from F1 hybrids will not grow plants with the vigor of the original hybrid. As a symptom of the centralization of the seed trade. Many old heirloom varieties have become unavailable from commercial resources in North America as many as 5 percent of all open pollinated varieties are lost each year. Here's tongue lettuce refugee bean howling mob sweet corn by Gyptian blood turn up and the zipper cream cowpie are but a few of the hundreds of varieties that have recently become lost to the general public. Aside from their compelling names and rich histories many of these worries have superior flavor store ability regional add up to the ability

and other traits which make them unique and valuable to the home gardener. Only by saving your own seed. Can you enjoy these were IDs. You can become a part of this growing movement to preserve this rich plant heritage by becoming a member of one of the seed saving groups who now is in existence to begin. Eventually may want to read all the available literature on this topic but this is not necessary to begin the next time you grow let us let one of your best plants continue develop beyond eating maturity. A seed stock will grow up to the heart of the plant. Small yellow flowers form than feathery stock seeds form mature the seeds shake free readily shake the seed into a bag. This is good seed. Give some to a friend. You have more than you only grow the seed next year with competent It's fun plants grown from the seed will receive your special attention. You will have identity in the seed. Start with beans peas lettuce tomatoes or one of the other soft pollen.