Why Save Seeds?
Not so long ago, seed saving was part of every garden. From ancient times until our
grandparents' day, favorite strains of vegetables and flowers were renewed from year to year and
generation to generation, sometimes travelling long distances with a family to a new homeland.
By the 1880s, seed companies had begun to make hybrid seeds widely and inexpensively
available, and by the early 20th century many gardeners no longer saved their own seed, relying
instead on the seed companies to provide new and improved varieties each year. Nearly a century
later, it is uncommon to find a gardener who saves seed. But interest in heirloom gardening and
seed saving is growing!
The American Heritage Dictionary defines heirloom as "a valued possession passed down
through successive generations." Heirloom gardening is the preservation of old and valued plant
varieties. In recent decades, many varieties of flowers, fruits and vegetables which had been prized
and maintained for generations have been lost. But a growing number of gardeners are seeking
out those heirlooms which still remain and working to keep them a living part of our garden
heritage. Many seed savers also have a particular interest in preserving native plant species.
What is the reason for this renewed interest in old garden ways? Why should we bother to
search out old varieties and take care to preserve them? Why go to the trouble of saving seed
when we can just buy more next spring? Here are six reasons:
- Waste not, want not. Saving seed appeals to the thrifty nature which hates to see any good
thing go unused or unappreciated. The seed saver knows the satisfaction of gathering up seed,
storing it carefully away for next year's garden, preserving for another season some
nearly-forgotten but praise-worthy bean.
- Suit yourself. Hybrids may boast hardiness and disease resistance, but you can develop your
own vigorous strains over several seasons of selective seed saving. And by saving seed from the
plants with the qualities you most prize, you will soonhave varieties that are ideally adapted to
your garden andgrowing conditions. As an added plus, many heirloom vegetable gardeners assert
that although old varieties are not always prettier than modern types, they are usually tastier!
- Maintain genetic diversity. A compelling ecological argument for seed saving. As fewer and
fewer old varieties of food crops are maintained, the gene pool grows smaller and smaller, and
with this diminution comes increased susceptibility to sweeping disease and pest outbreaks, as
well as less vigorous gene material for future hybridization. Many ecologists warn that this could
prove catastrophic. Seed saving keeps the vegetable world heartily diversified.
- Practice living history. Seed saving fosters an awareness of the seamless fabric of life and time
that we call history. The plant varieties themselves are living links to times past. The activity of
seed saving is one we share with untold generations of ancestors. And we are reminded of our
responsibility and opportunity to pass these treasures on to future generations.
- Self-Reliance. Perhaps we are too quick to believe that certain tasks are beyond our skills, and
too willing to allow a company somewhere to take care of them for us. As Marc Rogers writes in
Saving Seeds, "Any small measure of self-reliance we can recapture in our overly dependent
society is cause for satisfaction." Or as Ralph Waldo Emerson asserts in his essay Self-Reliance,
"Trust thyself: Every heart vibrates to that iron string."
- Go full circle. By saving seed we participate in an essential part of the life cycle, a part that
we miss when we delegate this task to seed companies. The unbroken circle of birth, growth,
death and rebirth has awed and inspired mankind from our earliest recorded history. In our
gardens, saving seed from season to season, we too can enjoy and take inspiration from the
endless cycles of nature. Stored away in a jar, seeds cannot remain viable for long. To preserve
them we must plant them, nurture them, let them mature and bear fruit to begin the cycle again.
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