The Joy of Seed Saving
by Diane Linsley
Why on earth would a person who's in the
business of selling seeds encourage their
customers to save their own seeds?
My website started out four years ago as an
information site with gardening articles and
pictures, plus a few flower seeds for sale.
The purpose of the seed sale was to raise
enough money to pay for the cost of the website. However, I soon discovered that people were more interested in buying seeds than in reading articles. So Diane’s Flower Seeds was born. But my primary goal is still the same: to provide information and share my love of gardening.
I love plants, especially the endangered and rare heirloom flowers and vegetables. And, yes, they really are endangered. Have you ever opened a catalog from your favorite seed company, looking for a variety that you remembered from last year, only to discover that it has been discontinued?
In the few short years that I’ve been in business, I’ve seen several heirloom flowers vanish from major seed catalogs. These were perfectly good varieties, so why were they discontinued? The most likely explanation is that they were not bringing in enough money. These flowers are now doomed to extinction, unless home gardeners and small seed businesses continue to grow them and disseminate the seeds to other gardeners.
Seed companies, like all other businesses, exist to make money. They sell whatever makes the most profit. Have you ever wondered why most of the new introductions each year in major seed catalogs are hybrids? Selling hybrids is simply more profitable. Customers cannot save seeds from hybrids. So if they want to grow that flower or vegetable again, they have to buy more seed from the company. Some hybrids are sterile, but the majority just don't produce seed that is “true to type”.Yes, you can save seed from these hybrids, but the resulting progeny will be inferior to the parent plant.
But maybe you don’t want to be bothered with saving seeds. Then why should you care if the seeds that you buy are hybrid or open-pollinated (non-hybrid)?
The most serious problem with hybrids is that they push open-pollinated varieties out of circulation. In other words, heirlooms are going extinct because people are choosing to grow hybrids. Seed companies will supply what people demand.
Fortunately, in recent years, more gardeners have become aware of this problem and have begun growing open-pollinated varieties. So seed companies are starting to carry these varieties to meet the demand. Much of this awareness is thanks to grassroots organizations like Seed Savers Exchange, who are educating people and providing a network for gardeners who are trying to rescue heirlooms. But there are still countless heirlooms going extinct every year. In Seed to Seed, Suzanne Ashworth explains how this happens:
“Untold numbers of old-time varieties are lost each year, because elderly gardeners can no longer find family members willing to grow and maintain these living heirlooms. When elderly seed savers pass away, unless their seeds are replanted by other gardeners, their outstanding strains become extinct. Invaluable genetic characteristics are lost forever to future generations of gardeners and plant breeders....Gardeners must do everything in their power to maintain what remains, because extinction is forever.”
It’s up to each of us to preserve heirlooms. We can’t afford to wait for the government or big business to solve the problem. This is something that can only be achieved with thousands of gardeners working together in a grassroots effort. One thing that you can do to support the effort is to join Seed Savers Exchange. But on a more personal level, you can also learn how to save some of your own seeds, even if it’s just for the experience. The articles on this website give a brief overview and introduction to this subject. You can find more information in books like Seed to Seed and on internet gardening forums like Dave’s Garden.
Most importantly, you can choose to buy open-pollinated seeds instead of hybrids. Remember that, as a consumer, you vote with your dollars. Are you voting to save heirlooms or to doom them to extinction? This isn't to say that you should never buy hybrids. Just be aware of what you are choosing.
Here at Diane’s Flower Seeds, we offer several hundred varieties of open-pollinated flower and vegetable seeds. That sounds like a lot, but it’s just a drop in the bucket. Some of these seeds are rare in the trade, having been discontinued from the offerings of large seed companies.
But I’m just one gardener, running a small family business. I won’t be around forever. And when I’m gone, my business will probably vanish, too, just like many other small businesses have done. But I hope that my precious flowers and vegetables will not be lost forever. It’s all up to you!
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