#hierloomseeds — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #hierloomseeds, aggregated by home.social.
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Found this through the #PennState Extension web page...
#SeedSaversExchange - #SeedSaving: Introduction
"Why Save Seeds?
Have you ever tried to save seeds from your crops? While the topic may seem daunting, anyone can do it! Not only is seed saving practical, it’s also very rewarding and essential for biodiversity preservation.
Why save seeds?
- You increase your #SelfReliance.
- You connect to nature and your food.
- You save money on future seeds.
- You establish ties to history.
- You adapt varieties to your local climate.
- Saved seeds make great personal gifts.
- You help preserve #biodiversity.
- You join a unique and large community of seed savers!Seed Saving at Seed Savers Exchange
Saving seeds is integral to our mission at Seed Savers Exchange. It’s right there in our name! At our Heritage Farm headquarters, we steward a living collection of over 20,000 different varieties of seed crops, potatoes, garlic, grapes, and apples. Learn more about preservation at SSE.
There is inherent value in all of the seeds we work to protect. Some of the plants we preserve have a strong cultural history. Others possess unique culinary properties, and others display resilience to climatic events or invasive pests. Read seed stories from the collection.
Rows of large metal shelves full of boxes with many seed packets
The seed bank at Heritage FarmBy saving your own seeds, you play an important part in carrying out our collective mission. It’s up to all of us to lend a hand by saving and sharing seeds. Other ways to support SSE.
You don’t have to save seeds alone! By saving seeds, you join a community of countless other gardeners with similar interests. SSE facilitates the largest free seed swap between home gardeners like yourself. Through the Exchange, gardeners can request seeds from other gardeners, and list their own to share!"
Saving seeds also gives you a special opportunity to make an impact in your own community. Join or start a local #SeedLibrary, attend or host a #seedswap and connect with local gardeners!
Through the Community Seed Network, co-created by SSE, you can connect with other gardeners. You will also find extensive resources on creative ways to share seeds within your community."
Learn more [includes isolation methods, know your plants, harvesting and cleaning seeds]:
https://seedsavers.org/learn/seed-saving/#SolarPunkSunday #SeedSaving
#HarvestTime #Harvesting #SeedSavers #FoodSecurity #GrowYourOwn #HierloomSeeds -
Includes dealing with tomatoes and peppers, and storing seeds properly!
How to Save Seeds: Seed Saving for Beginners
"Why you should save seeds
1. First of all, learning how to save seeds allows you to take one more step toward self-sufficiency. By saving seeds, you’ll be able to produce your own seed and stop relying on outside sources to provide seed for you (plus, you’ll save money too).
2. Second, saving seeds from your healthiest, most robust, most productive plants and replanting them year after year means you’ll create your own strain of healthy seeds that are specially adapted and optimized for your specific environment, which tends to mean higher germination rates, bigger harvests and less disease.
3. Finally, saving seeds allows you a unique opportunity to create your own heirloom seeds to pass down through generations in your family. By handing down family heirloom seeds, you’ll be passing on a legacy and gifting future generations with the gift of self-sufficiency. How cool is that??
But before you start saving seeds, there are a few things you need to know to ensure the seeds you’re saving are actually viable."
Learn more:
https://thehouseandhomestead.com/how-to-save-seeds/#SolarPunkSunday #SeedSaving #HarvestTime #Harvesting #SeedSavers #FoodSecurity #GrowYourOwn #HierloomSeeds
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A step-by-step guide to #SavingSeeds
by Maud Powell, March 2010
"Summer and autumn are the seasons when many gardeners and farmers are out in their fields collecting vegetable, fruit and flower seeds for the next season. Seed saving is an excellent way to engage in the worldwide movement to preserve some of the older 'heirloom' varieties of seed.
"During the past two decades, many seed companies have consolidated, and regulations regarding the patenting of seed varieties have been loosened. As a result, seed companies routinely drop older varieties for newer ones, which are usually hybridized and/or patented.
"Organized grassroots #SeedSaving efforts, as well as inspired gardeners and farmers, have done an excellent job of saving many heirloom varieties.
"Seed saving is also a great way to develop seed lines that are well adapted to a particular environment. Saving seed from the healthiest plants year after year enables growers to select for traits that are most suitable for their growing conditions.
"Finally, seed saving encourages a deeper understanding of the life cycle of plants. We rarely see certain vegetable plants, such as lettuce, onions and carrots, in the reproductive stage of their lives. Saving seed provides growers with an education in plant genetics and breeding, which is usually left to universities and seed companies. Following are the four basic steps to saving seed."
Read more:
https://extension.oregonstate.edu/gardening/flowers-shrubs-trees/step-step-guide-saving-seedsEspañol version:
https://extension.oregonstate.edu/es/gardening/flowers-shrubs-trees/step-step-guide-saving-seeds#SolarPunkSunday #HarvestTime #Harvesting #SeedSavers #FoodSecurity #GrowYourOwn #SeedExchange #SharingEconomy #OSUExtensionService #OregonStateUniversity #HierloomSeeds
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One of my favorite places to buy seeds is #StrictlyMedicinals. They carry hierloom varieties as well as bulk seeds (clover, poppy, etc).
https://strictlymedicinalseeds.com/
#Seeds #HierloomSeeds #SolarPunkSunday -
#SeedLibraries Are Sprouting Up Around the Pine Tree State
#Maine libraries have added seed “borrowing” to their growing list of resources.
By Nora Saks, Downeast Magazine, April 2024
"Among the study tables and the stacks of books and the periodical reading rooms, at public libraries from North Berwick to Milbridge to Bangor, seeds have suddenly taken root in the catalog — often quite literally, with the drawers of stately old card catalogs now used for little packets of vegetable, herb, and flower seeds. Whether green-thumbed or plain old green, anyone can drop by for some free garden fodder, which is usually donated by community members, Maine seed companies (like #Johnnys and #Fedco), and garden centers.
"Seed libraries took off early in the pandemic, as many people turned their attention to tending their homes and gardens. Now, libraries tend to pair seed lending with how-to programming, often in partnership with local garden clubs. Some libraries also encourage 'borrowers' to save seeds from their crop and then drop them off at the end of the growing season, but that’s not a requirement (and there are no late fees).
"Lisa Ladd, director of Bucksport’s Buck Memorial Library, sees seeds fitting nicely into libraries’ broader mission to make knowledge and resources accessible to the public. 'As libraries continue to evolve, we’re always looking for ways to meet the community outside of our walls and offer programs that touch different ages and all walks of life...'"
More information (including a list of seed libraries):
https://downeast.com/home-and-garden/maine-seed-libraries/#SolarPunkSunday #SeedLibraries #SeedBanks #CommunityAgriculture #BigAg #SeedSharing #HierloomSeeds #MaineLibraries
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Community #SeedBanks revive diversity in #India’s Kolli Hills
By Tamilarasi Krishnan on 24 September 2024
"Many farmers are now struggling with the high costs of seeds, as the traditional practice of saving a portion of the harvest specifically for seed has largely vanished with the growth of open seed markets. Here, commercially produced varieties offer huge yields but high licensing restrictions, meaning that farmers often cannot save seed as they might have done in the past, because they do not own it.
"Numerous activists, such as the renowned Vandana Shiva, have voiced concerns over the proliferation of private seed banks in India. Shiva argues that seed monopolies could lead to a loss of diversity, increased seed costs, and a rise in chemical use in seed production. Her advocacy emphasizes the importance of community seed banks in preserving agricultural diversity and supporting local farmers.
"Despite the dominance of private seed companies, numerous community-based seed banks are now thriving across India, helping farmers to get access to lost varieties without paying high charges. One notable example is the seed bank initiative in Kolli Hills, Tamil Nadu, which demonstrates the potential of local solutions using native seeds to prevent private firms from dominating the local market.
"The Kolli Hills region is home to the Mayalali tribes, who have been cultivating traditional millet varieties with the support of community seed banks. The initiative began in 2009 with the establishment of a single seed bank. Today, there are seven such banks operating across the region. These seed banks have successfully conserved over 20 varieties of millet that had not been previously cultivated for nearly a decade."
#SustainableAgriculture #SeedBanks #SeedSaving #SolarPunkSunday #FoodSecurity #FoodSovereignty #BigAg #PlantDiversity #TraditionalPlantVarieties #NonGMO #HierloomPlants #HierloomSeeds #CommunityAgriculture