Author: Kari
Your Personal Seed Bank: Doomsday Vault or Your Best Shot at an Abundant Future?
A seed bank is a place where seeds are stored to preserve genetic diversity for the future. More than 1,000 sizable seed banks exist around the world, varying in type, ownership model, and focus. The seeds are typically kept at low humidity and in cold conditions – around -20°C. This helps to preserve the seeds, ensuring they can still grow when they are needed later.
The largest seed bank is the Millennium Seed Bank (MSB) in Sussex, managed by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It opened in 2000 and nearly 40,000 seed species, including most of the UK’s native plants, as well as seeds collected from countries across the globe. Currently, MSB stores 2.4 billion seeds at temperatures of -20 degrees Celsius (-4 degrees Fahrenheit.)
Another famous seed bank, Svalbard Global Seed Vault, offers safe, long-term seed storage for more than a million seed varieties contributed by the international community. Sometimes referred to as the “Doomsday Vault,” Svalbard is considered to be the ultimate insurance policy for the world’s food supply. Seeds are stored in a bomb-proof vault deep in the Norwegian permafrost to ensure that they will remain frozen even if the power fails.However a 2017 melting of the permafrost created a flooding issue at Svalbard demonstrating that even “ultimate insurance policies” can fail. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/may/19/arctic-stronghold-of-worlds-seeds-flooded-after-permafrost-melts
Massive seed vaults such as these exist to safeguard genetic material for much of the planet’s domesticated crop and wild plant species and in some ways make us all feel safer and more secure about these precious resources.
BUT, unless you deposited your own seeds at Svalbard or are a career research scientist eligible to get seeds from MSB, the banked seeds are not available for home food production, nor would we want them to be.
In a time of crisis, such as a worldwide food shortage or financial crisis, seed banks such as these will be of no immediate use to you or me. For this reason, every gardener needs a personal seed bank to store seeds for future use.
GASU makes the case for personal seed saving in the following blog article: Seed Power — 10 Reasons to Save Seeds. Assuming you are already convinced of the need to bank seeds, once you have them, what do you do with them?
Determining the Purpose for the Seeds You Save
There are two common approaches to seed saving: one is static and the other dynamic.
A static approach to seed saving focuses on packaging seeds securely and stashing them in a freezer, only to see the light of day should calamity strike. This approach has some merit, but it is much like depositing cash into a savings account — the stash is there when you need it, but its purchase power and growth potential are suspended.
On the other hand, a dynamic approach to seed saving unlocks the seeds’ potential while also ensuring that the seed stash remains available in the event of a crisis. This approach resembles a static approach by stashing seed for a crisis. But seeds are not left there indefinitely. Instead, a dynamic seed saving approach removes some of the saved seed to plant each growing season. The seeds grow and produce a harvest that the gardener can eat or preserve. A few of the strongest plants are not harvested completely, but allowed to go to seed. The seeds are collected, packaged and stored in the freezer. The process repeats the following season, putting into motion a cycle that recurs each season thereafter.
Dynamic seed saving has all the benefits of having seeds stored for a crisis, while also unlocking the potential that they hold. Here are a few of the potential results:
- Seeds can adapt. Wolfgang Stuppy, seed morphologist at Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank Partnership, affirms the power inherent in seeds by stating that the only time a plant can evolve is as a seed In short, when you grow crops using your own saved seeds from your best plants for next year’s crops, the seeds begin to adapt to the growing conditions (temperature, moisture levels, pests, diseases, and so forth) that exist in your garden. This adaptation makes your garden stronger over time.
- Seeds are a hedge against climate change. Seeds stored in the freezer long term do not have the ability to adapt to climate change. But seeds that are used to grow crops year after year have the opportunity to adapt to incremental climate changes. Should global temperatures climb as predicted, these seeds will have a much better chance at survival and productivity than seeds that have been stashed away.
- Seed saving grows a seed stash exponentially. A single plant can produce dozens or hundreds of seeds, though it only takes a single seed to grow that plant. By sowing some of your seed each year and saving seeds from the resulting plants, a seed bank can grow extravagantly.
- Seeds can be shared. Seed savers often harvest more seed than they can ever grow. This provides the opportunity to share seeds with other gardeners, to donate to a community garden, to deposit seed in a lending library, or to trade seeds with other gardeners to increase the diversity of your collection.
- Seeds produce food to preserve for the future. A seed planted at a moment of crisis will take weeks or months to produce food. By growing a portion of your seeds each season, you’ll be able to preserve the food you grow and have seeds to grow in the future to replenish your food supply. Relying on government disaster assistance programs to provide adequate food during a time of need holds no guarantees and it may not happen quickly enough to prevent your family from having to ration or go hungry.
- The gardener develops their skills. Having seeds storage is of little benefit if the seed saver does not know how to cultivate them. The experience of growing plants from seed builds the gardener’s knowledge and skills that will be vital should they need to depend upon their garden for food in a crisis.
While storing your seeds in your own seed bank is important, tapping their potential is even more valuable than waiting for a theoretical crisis to put their power into motion. Using a portion of the seeds you have saved systematically and ensuring you don’t waste them is key for a thriving survival garden now and a stronger garden in the future.
Jumpstart your personal seed bank with GASU seed bundles, found here. Each bundle contains plenty of seed to grow, save and share amongst 10 or more gardeners.
If you happen to be in the Phoenix area, register to attend the Phoenix Seed Up on November 4th and 5th, 2022. This is a live, in-person event held in Phoenix, Arizona. Registration and more info can be found here.
HOME GARDENERS FACE SEED SHORTAGES
How to Have a Great Garden Anyway
With the onset of the pandemic in 2020, resulting in shortages of basic commodities, seed companies saw a sharp and sudden increase in demand. It’s not surprising considering the undeniable benefits of gardening: fresh, nutritious food; physical and mental exercise; and a sense of control and security during a very challenging time. As more people turned to “Victory” gardens to grow at least some of their own food, seeds became treasured assets.
Gardeners, especially those who were new to growing food, were dismayed to discover that the seeds they needed were in short supply. Unexpectedly high demand pushed fulfillment operations past capacity. As a result, sales had to be suspended by most suppliers as they strove to catch up.
Fast forward to 2022, and shortages for some seeds persists. With the onset of the war in Ukraine, demand for wheat and other grains has grown, while supplies have become relatively scarce.
The good news is that growers are still producing plenty of seeds and seed companies are adjusting their projections for the future to ensure that enough seeds are packaged to meet demand. Additionally, gardening businesses are thrilled that people are discovering gardening and are doing everything they can to enable their success. However, it will take some time for seeds to be as readily available as they were pre-pandemic.
GASU is working diligently to make seeds available and affordable. View all of the available seed bundles here.
Backyard gardeners can certainly help the situation, as well. Below are several suggested gardening habits that can help to relieve stress on the seed market. These habits benefit gardeners, as well, by improving the sustainability of their own gardens.
Tips for gardeners:
- Order early, but don’t buy in a panic. Take inventory of what you already have. Perhaps you have enough to grow your garden this year. If not, stock up only on the particular seeds that are in short supply in your collection.
- Buy from smaller seed companies. When the bigger, high profile seed suppliers are sold out of popular seed varieties, lesser-known vendors may still have some in stock.
- Plan out your garden space. Order the amount of seed that you need to carry out your garden plan, but avoid over-buying. If you find that you have more seed than you require, consider sharing some with another gardener.
- Want to enhance your sense of personal seed security? Order some open-pollinated varieties, not just hybrids (which may not reproduce true from seed), and save their seed for 2022.
- Seeds readily adapt. Gardeners should be prepared to adapt, too. Seed companies are vigorously working to meet demand, but there is a lot of catching up to do. In the meantime, stay flexible. If your favorite variety of tomato is unavailable, be willing to try another. You may discover a new favorite.
- Improve your chances of success with adaptable seeds that are appropriate for your climate. It may be fun to try to grow the occasional specialty item from elsewhere. But growing varieties that are known to thrive in your area will increase the likelihood of an abundant harvest of food and new seeds. The current lack of availability certainly highlights the importance of saving seeds from your own garden to plant next year.
- Be patient with seed orders. Generally, a seed company will ship your order within a couple of days for arrival at your door shortly after that. Several factors have made that currently impossible. Increased demand is simply too much for their existing staff to handle and it has outpaced the time required to add and train new staff. Additionally, social distancing limits the number of employees who can work in a space. Time has to be spent to sanitize surfaces, slowing down normal systems. And once seeds are shipped, delivery delays are a common occurrence.
- While waiting for your order to arrive, take advantage of educational resources from seed catalogs and companies. The educational support seed companies provide has only deepened with the creation of digital resources.
- Share seeds. Pass on your extra seeds to another gardener. Or make a plan with your buddy to buy seeds together and divide them between you. Or split up the planting tasks — one of you starts tomatoes, one starts cucumbers Then, at planting time, swap a few so you both get what you need. Resilience grows with cooperation, especially in stressful times. – 2021 Fedco Seed Catalog
Many of these steps will immediately impact this year’s seed supply. Others will impact future supply. The hope is that so many new home gardeners and growers will stay in the game, despite short term shortages.
The mission of the Great American Seed Up is to get seeds into the hands of gardeners and support the resilience of communities across the country. The heirloom seed varieties that we stock are easy to grow and suitable for seed saving. We love to hear about our customer’s gardens. And we are even more thrilled when they save seeds from the harvest to plant the next season. By doing so year after year, these gardeners may never need to buy seeds to those varieties again. And they will undoubtedly have plenty of extra seeds to share with others. GreatAmericanSeedUp.org
GASU seed bundles can be found here. Each bundle contains plenty of seed to grow, save and share amongst 10 or more gardeners.
If you happen to be in the Phoenix area, register to attend the Phoenix Seed Up on November 4th and 5th, 2022. This is a live, in-person event held in Phoenix, Arizona. Registration and more info can be found here.
What In the World is Happening with Grain?
In May of this year (2022), The Great American Seed Up reported on predictions of impending worldwide grain shortages and rising food prices. We have seen these predictions played out this summer, although there are some reasons for hope on the horizon. If you want to review a summary of the problems, read on. If you prefer to skip to the positives and action steps, scroll down to GOOD NEWS.
This is what we are hearing as of August 2022:
Russia and Ukraine: The war in Ukraine, known as Europe’s breadbasket, has severely pinched the world supply of grain and cooking oil. Prior to the conflict, 98% of Ukraine’s grain exports were transported via the Black Sea, which Russian ships blockaded in February, triggering a global food crisis. Under a deal signed in July, Russia agreed to a maritime “humanitarian corridor” free of military vessels through which cargo ships could move grain out of Ukrainian ports via the Black Sea. The first grain shipment allowed to leave Odessa port following the deal departed Ukraine on August 1st.
Currently, Russian grain and fertilizer exports are outpacing Ukrainian exports through the Black Sea. But should the balance shift, it is unclear whether the blockade on shipments will continue to ease. Additionally, the agreement is set to last for 120 days, which may not be long enough to ship all the grain backed up in Ukraine’s silos ahead of the coming harvest. And hesitance by insurance companies to insure merchant ships entering the Black Sea corridor does not help the situation.
Ukraine’s Particular Importance: According to the United Nations, prior to the war, Ukraine and Russia were the first- and third-largest global wheat exporters. The role played by Ukrainian agricultural produce in international food security should not be underestimated. Long known as the breadbasket of Europe, Ukraine has in recent years become an important source of grains worldwide. On the eve of the Russian invasion, it was estimated that Ukraine was providing food for as many as 400 million people around the world. Ukrainian officials stated in early 2022 that this figure would rise to a billion by 2030, representing around one in nine people on the planet.
The war reversed this growth. Government estimates currently expect that Ukraine could harvest approximately 50 million tons of grain this year, compared to 86 million tons in 2021, due to the loss of land to Russian forces and diminished grain yields.
Precariously Low Supplies: Global hunger has increased from 135 million people acutely food insecure in 2019 to 345 million in 2022 (according to the World Food Program.) 50 million of those are edging on famine. Ukrainian grain, in particular, is vital to millions of people in Africa, parts of the Middle East and South Asia, who are already facing food shortages and, in some cases, famine.
Protectionism: To make matters worse, scarcity and inflation are spurring countries to put export controls in place. At this writing, 14 countries are implementing protectionist measures, banning wheat exports in an attempt to prevent domestic shortages and stabilize rising food prices.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the world: Argentina is experiencing its third straight year of La Nina weather conditions, which create a complex planting scenario. Farmers are choosing to plant barley as a winter crop because they expect a lower degree of government intervention in barley markets. And many farmers have planted soybeans rather than a combo of wheat and soy due to lower production costs. Drought and low temperatures have delayed wheat planting and crop progress, and yields are expected to be lower than usual.
U.S. farmers face high prices for supplies: Fertilizer, seed and other agricultural products needed to raise crops are as much as four times higher this year than last, while crop prices have roughly doubled.
United States Food Price Index: According to the USDA Retail Food Price Outlook, food prices were 10.4% higher on average in June 2022 than they were in June 2021. Coming in 2023, food-at-home prices are predicted to increase between 2.0 and 3.0 percent, and food-away-from-home prices are predicted to increase between 3.0 and 4.0 percent. USDA ERS – Summary Findings
GOOD NEWS
Hunger Relief: The first humanitarian ship chartered by the UN World Food Program to transport Ukrainian grain left Odesa ports bound for Ethiopia on August 16. https://www.wfp.org/stories/bulk-carrier-sets-ukraine-grain-wfp-first-start-war
North America: The USDA report for August 2022 shows that the Canadian Prairies have received ample rains this growing season to recover from the devasting drought in 2021/22, increasing production by 13.3 metric tons. The U.S. Northern Plains and Pacific Northwest have recovered from major drought last year, although year-to-year growth in production is constrained by drought in the Southern Plains. Despite this, the United States is projected to increase wheat production 3.7 metric tons in 2022/23 from last year. Wheat Outlook: August 2022 (usda.gov)
Despite the challenges that the world faces, we are not helpless. Gardeners have the opportunity to make a difference for us, our families and our communities. Here are actions we can take to help:
Focus on Saving Seeds: Food shortages and rising food costs tend to trigger a rush to buy garden seeds. High demand triggers scarcity and drives up prices. One of the best things we can do is save seeds from our own gardens and share them with others.
What Else Can We Do? The world can only hope that a strong wheat harvest will save the most vulnerable countries from increased food instability. But if that is not the case, gardeners have skills that can help to ameliorate the situation.
- Grow food: One backyard gardener may not make much difference to the food supply. But together, millions of gardeners across the world who commit to growing a portion of their own food can make a significant impact.
- Grow your own root cellar items. These are foods that can either stay in the ground longer or stored longer than other foods. Onions, carrots, garlic, and apples can be harvested when you are ready to eat them. Winter squash can be harvested and stored for several months (as can apples if you pick them when they are just mature but not perfectly ripe.)
- Grow food without chemicals: Constrained access to fertilizers is one of the factors driving the wheat crisis. Using natural systems to feed plants and soil, like composting, no-till soil management and chop and drop mulching, backyard farmers can grow wheat without chemical fertilizers.
- Grow food in 3-D: Find a place to begin cultivating a fruit tree guild (or a food forest if space allows.) Tree guilds take time to mature, but they can produce large amounts of food with few inputs once they are full grown.
- Grow grains: Wheat supplies may be tight, but consider that a plot roughly the size of the average kitchen table can grow enough wheat for a hefty loaf of bread. And you can get two harvests out of one plot by planting winter wheat in the fall, followed by spring wheat after the winter wheat harvest. See examples of gardeners growing wheat at https://fullcirclefarm.blog/2020/07/29/growing-backyard-wheat/, http://growaloafofbread.blogspot.com/2013/08/we-harvested-wheat.html, and https://fromscratchclub.wordpress.com/2011/08/29/home-grown-wheat-done/.
- Grow alternatives to wheat. If growing grains is not feasible, there are alternatives. Some gardeners prefer to cultivate pseudo grains, like amaranth or quinoa. Zucchini and other vegetables can be sliced or spiralized to replace wheat noodles. Beans can replace the bulk and fiber that grains provide in our diets. Some beans can even be ground and used as a flour substitute, garbanzo and mesquite beans included. Read Diet for a hotter climate: five plants that could help feed the world | Environment | The Guardian
- Use your skills to improve your family’s food security: Food prices across the board have doubled since April 2020. And empty store shelves have shocked and frustrated shoppers who struggle to find the goods that they need. Food production is rapidly becoming a sought-after skill, for good reason. Gardeners can create their own food security independent of the global food supply, a valuable advantage when times are tough.
- Share knowledge and food with others. Pass on your skills to help friends and neighbors grow their own food. This benefits the people in your sphere and strengthens community resilience. And it is fun to grow and share the bounty with others.
- Learn how to store food for the long term: The National Center for Home Food Preservation is a tremendous resource for learning to preserve food. The website is a trove of research-based education and recipes for canning, freezing, dehydrating, curing and smoking, fermenting, pickling, and storing foods, as well as making jams and jellies. The site is located at https://nchfp.uga.edu.
- Give to organizations that help people experiencing food insecurity locally as well as globally. Ukraine is a top supplier of wheat, barley, corn and sunflower oil to developing countries. Before the war, half of the grain the U.N. World Food Program purchased for distribution came from Ukraine. Disruption in the flow of grains from Ukraine is only one factor affecting global hunger. High prices and shortages make it harder for humanitarian organizations to provide assistance. Supplying funds to these organizations helps them to access needed goods when they become available and to distribute them as quickly as possible.
- Put aside staple foods for your family (and others who are important to you.) Even if your grocery store is fully stocked, it will not take long for food to run out in a crisis. A list of suggested is staple items is here: com/resources/25-must-have-survival-foods-put-them-in-your-pantry-now_03042013/. If you already have an emergency pantry, go through it to make sure that foods are still good and in stock.
- Practice seed saving. Having a storehouse of seeds and knowing how to grow them and save seeds from the next generation is one of the best ways to ensure food security.
- Get to know your neighbors. Practice hospitality, swap seeds, barter, share, garden together, learn together. Communities are more resilient, and people are more secure when they are able to pool their resources and knowledge.
The Great American Seed Up is working hard to support gardeners with the seeds they need to improve their own food security. We recently released a new Baker’s Bundle comprised of 7 different wheat varieties – enough seed to divide into generous portions for 10 people.
Survival Seed Bundle reflects a collection of seed varieties we would want if supply chains were interrupted and we could not get seeds from our trusted suppliers. We have chosen seeds that are long-standing favorites, nutritionally dense, and provide lots of diversity. These seeds are also easy to save which increases both the number of potential seeds over time and the value. With at least 300 of our generous portions and a Seed Saving Book, this bundle offers a perfect start for any gardener after an emergency.
GASU also has several other bundles of vegetable and flower seeds to help you stock up and keep your garden growing. Get your seeds here.
And if you happen to be in the Phoenix area, register to attend the Phoenix Seed Up on November 4th and 5th, 2022. This is a live, in-person event held in Phoenix, Arizona. Registration and more info can be found here.
1LaCapria, K. (2022, May 23). ’10 Weeks of Wheat’ in Global Reserves? Truth or Fiction? Retrieved May 24, 2022, from https://www.truthorfiction.com/10-weeks-of-wheat-in-global-reserves/
2Hays, Ron. “Nationwide, Winter Wheat Was Rated 28% Good to Excellent, the Lowest Such Rating since the Drought of 1989 Ro.” Oklahoma Farm Report – Nationwide, Winter Wheat Was Rated 28% Good to Excellent, the Lowest Such Rating since the Drought of 1989, 23 May 2022, http://www.oklahomafarmreport.com/wire/news/2022/05/02755_CropProgress05232022_163658.php#.YozmO6jMI7c.
3https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2022-08-15/ukraines-grain-exports-down-by-almost-half-despite-unblocked-ports-ministry
Grains in Gardens & Other Skills to Learn & Share
Supply chain issues, drought in the Midwest, grain shipments backed up in Ukrainian ports, $7 loaves of bread?
It is hard to escape the effects of political unrest, extreme weather, pandemics and disasters that have occurred one after another worldwide. We see them on the news, hear them discussed at work and in social circles, and are personally grieved in ways big and small.
Many of us feel the repercussions financially. Although shopping for bread may be a small problem within the grand scheme, I recently felt the pinch at the supermarket, paying $7.89 for what I consider to be the healthiest organic whole grain loaf of bread. I noted a loaf of enriched white bread at the very bottom end of the scale priced at $2.29. In light of my shock at rising bread prices (and grocery prices in general…) three questions crossed my mind.
#1 What will I do if the budget no longer allows for us to buy the more expensive bread? One of my daughters has a deficiency that requires her to avoid enriched grains, so big changes will have to happen
#2 How can I help to alleviate pressure on the food system and supply chain?
#3 Where can I, as a grower, expand my skills and share with others to help improve the situation and contribute to more local food security?
At the moment, I have been watching the worldwide grain situation closely and this deepening observation has created in me an urgency to practice growing grains. I already have some skill with corn (which started with a fascination for Glass Gem.) But I have never attempted to grow wheat.
Fortunately, my friend/co-worker and our resident grain expert Bill McDorman is an experienced wheat grower. And I have to mention that he also is a wonderful bread, pizza and pasta maker. I want to be like him.
If any of what I have shared resonates with you on any level, I highly recommend you join us on Saturday, August 27th for Seed Up Saturday. Bill will talk about the importance of Grains in Gardens and pass along some basic tips and ideas for planting and harvesting. Don’t worry, a small backyard plot is enough room to get started.
The event is free and you can reserve your spot at SeedUpSaturday.org. Additionally you will have the opportunity to purchase heritage and ancient grains from the Great American Seed Up. Many of the grains we offer are rare and unique and not available through other sources. Preview our Baker’s Bundle here.
I will also be sharing updates on the Global Seed Status, as well as a short class on Starting Seeds Smartly.
In total, Seed Up Saturday will cover 9 topics followed by live Q&A with our seed educators. I can’t wait to learn about growing grains. It would really help to relax inside a little bit about the grain situation, knowing that I can grow my own in an emergency. And I would have the skill to share with my neighbors, as well.
And knowing Bill, he will be sharing his recipes with us in the future. Join us at Seed Up Saturday on August 27th.
Let’s learn together!
SEED POWER — 10 Reasons to Save Seeds
Growing food has become more popular than ever as gardeners break ground for the first time or expand their gardens in response to uncertainty. New and seasoned gardeners alike are stocking up on seeds and garden supplies, planning garden plots and taking classes to become better growers. However, it is also important to consider a key piece of food security—saving seeds to plant and share next year.
Whether you’re a backyard gardener or farmer, here are 10 reasons you should try to save some seed this year.
Save Money
A common motivation for growing food is saving money. Growing food and saving seeds are an economical combination. Purchasing a pack of seeds used to be a small expense but those costs along with others are increasing dramatically. Also buying seed every year for an entire garden adds up. Saving seeds puts those dollars back in your pocket, and gives you valuable materials to share or trade with other gardeners, too.
Become More Self Reliant
From World War I through World War II, home gardens and seed saving was a popular practice, and Victory Gardens were encouraged to supplement food rations and boost morale. The practice died out in favor of growing lawns, but is being revived by gardeners who want to rely less on the industrial food system. Growers want to reclaim the power to produce food for themselves and their families. A natural step in the process is harvesting and saving seeds so growers will have their own stock to rely on in hard times.
Grow More Sustainably
A truly sustainable garden system includes saving and planting seeds, perpetuating the garden year after year. Saving one’s own seeds eliminates shipping and reduces packaging significantly. It also eliminates mechanized seed harvesting and packaging methods that are run on fossil fuels.
Preserve Genetic Diversity
In recent decades, seed production has shifted from farmers and gardeners who saved their own to becoming the property of just a few large companies. These companies tend to produce only the most lucrative crop varieties and a great deal of diversity has been lost. This is unfortunate as it takes away some of the beauty and pleasure of growing. It reduces access to open-pollinated and heirloom varieties that are treasured for their flavor, colors, disease resistance, hardiness and other beneficial traits.
Increasing diversity in the garden subsequently increases crop yields. And it hedges against crop losses; if one variety succumbs to pests or disease, there are other crops to supply a harvest. By growing heirloom crops and saving seeds, gardeners play an important role in preserving varieties that have come close to disappearing.
Connect with Your Ancestors
To save seeds is to preserve food culture. Heirloom crops wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for the gardeners who meticulously grew and saved seeds including the Brandywine tomato, Purple Top White Globe turnip, and many other varieties, passing them on to future generations.
If you’ve got older gardeners in the family you may be able to save seed from something they’ve been growing for years. Thanks to the internet you can also find heirlooms that were developed in regions your ancestors are from no matter where you currently reside.
Even if you don’t know who you’re ancestors were or what they grew, growing some of your own food provides a living tie to history.
Connect with Your Family
Growing crops from seed through harvest is a great educational experience for children and adults alike. Planning, planting, tending and harvesting can be a bonding experience that kids will never forget. You can also start a new tradition of saving open-pollinated seeds and handing them down to your children.
Adapt Seeds to Your Garden
It is easy to adapt seeds to grow in your particular climate and garden conditions by saving seeds from your best plants each year. Not only does this make plants stronger and gardening easier over time, it is a particularly important strategy against climate change. Given the opportunity, plants will adapt to changes in the environment. And gardeners can help by growing diverse gardens of open-pollinated plants and saving seeds.
You don’t need to be a professional plant breeder to help your plants adapt. By saving seeds at the end of the season from plants that have thrived, each year those seeds will naturally become better adapted to your local growing conditions.
Help Pollinators
Flower and pollinators need each other, and seed savers need both. Plants have to be allowed to flower in order to produce fruit and ultimately seeds. Bees, butterflies and other pollinators feed on the nectar in the flowers, and their activity spreads pollen that fertilizes plants. Working together, seeds and flowers produce the food and seeds that are the endgame of gardening.
Reclaim Rights to Open Pollinated Seeds
In 1970, the Plant Variety Protection Act (PVPA) granted companies a certificate ownership of seeds. This was followed in1980 by the Supreme Court case Diamond v. Chakrabarty, which allowed seeds full patent protection. Today, many cash crop seed varieties are considered intellectual property, and farmers are not allowed to save patented seeds.
Rather than growing a variety of open-pollinated seeds that are adapted to thrive in their particular climate or soil conditions, farmers buy seed annually from big conglomerates that promote the same cash crops all over the world.
In contrast, home gardeners can save and share seed, upholding everyone’s right to harvest seeds and breed plants. Learn more about this over at the Open Source Seed Initiative.
Control Your Food Supply and Food Sovereignty
When you grow your own plants you know exactly what’s going into them. More importantly, you know what’s NOT going into them (i.e., chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and amendments.)
The Great American Seed Up encourages people to plant the seeds they acquire from us, learn to save them and then take next steps to true regeneration and sustainability. Quite often, gardeners harvest more seed than they can use, which provides the opportunity to share with other gardeners next year. At a time when seeds and other goods are in short supply and becoming expensive, saving and sharing seeds can bring people together, making their communities and their gardens stronger.
Want to learn more about seed saving?
Be part of Seed Chat, a monthly seed saving class and Q&A. Hosted by Bill McDorman and Greg Peterson, chats generally meet the third Tuesday of the month at 5pm Arizona/8pm Eastern. The next chat is on July 19th and the topic is Seed Harvesting. Sign up at SeedChat.org.
And if you happen to be in the Phoenix area, register to attend the Phoenix Seed Up on November 4th and 5th, 2022. This is a live, in-person event held in Phoenix, Arizona. Registration and more info can be found here.
Global Wheat Crisis: What Gardeners Can Do to Help
If you’ve been following world news in the past year or two, you’ve probably heard predictions of worldwide grain shortages in the near future. Fuel costs, bizarre weather events and financial crises are all seen as pointing to an impending famine of global proportions.
Much of the information in this post has been widely reported in the media. If you want to review a brief summary of the problems, read on. If you prefer to skip to the positives and action steps that you can take, scroll down.
Bread and other wheat products are fundamental elements in maintaining world stability. From flour to pasta and thickening agents to cereal, the versatility, dependability and affordability of wheat make it crucially important for international food security — and it’s getting precariously scarce and expensive. Currently, an unusual convergence of crises, including war, extreme weather, crop failures, inflation, rising energy prices and transport costs, are driving major disruptions in the wheat supply across the globe.
The full extent of these disruptions is yet to be felt, but supply issues are making international headlines because of wheat’s nearly universal importance to diets across the world. This is what we were hearing in May 2022 (then view the August update here.)
Russia and Ukraine: Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a country known as ‘the breadbasket of Europe’, wheat prices are soaring to record highs. Ukraine has called for safe passage for its wheat. What hasn’t been allegedly stolen by Russian forces has been stuck in fields, in storage or in shipping ports as Russia continues its attacks on the country. According to the United Nations, without grain from Russia and Ukraine, which prior to the war were the first- and third-largest wheat exporters, respectively, the global food crisis is getting worse.
Precariously Low Supplies: Recent comments made to the UN Security Council by Sara Menker,CEO of Gro Intelligence, are alarming. According to Menker:
Official government agency estimates from around the world put wheat inventories at 33% of annual consumption. Verifiable data from public and private sources that we as a company organize and then build statistical models to connect the dots between in our platform show that global wheat inventories are in fact closer to 20%, a level not seen since the financial and commodity crisis of 2007 and 2008. We currently only have 10 weeks of global consumption sitting in inventory around the world. Conditions today are worse than those experienced in 2007 and 2008. It is important to note that the lowest grain inventory levels the world has ever seen are now occurring while access to fertilizers is highly constrained, and drought in wheat growing regions around the world is the most extreme it’s been in over 20 years. Similar inventory concerns also apply to corn and other grains. Government estimates are not adding up. 1
In brief, Menker’s remarks indicate that the world currently has a wheat inventory that can only meet 20% of the expected demand. Her full comments clearly and succinctly outline the state of global grain access and the reasons for the shortage. Read the full transcript of her comments at https://gro-intelligence.com/blog/gro-s-ceo-sara-menker-briefs-the-united-nations-security-council.
Protectionism: To make matters worse, scarcity and inflation are spurring countries to put export controls in place. At this writing, 14 countries are implementing protectionist measures, banning wheat exports in an attempt to prevent domestic shortages and stabilize rising food prices.
Wheat Outlook in the U.S.: According to DTN2, an agricultural data firm, U.S. winter wheat was rated 28% Good to Excellent, the lowest such rating since the drought of 1989 and bad news for supplies. As of this writing, the price of wheat is $12.01 a bushel, not great news for consumers. But it may have a silver lining— farmers, who keep a close eye on commodity prices may be spurred to plant more wheat in the coming year despite rising fertilizer and fuel costs.
Despite the challenges that the world faces, we are not helpless. Gardeners, in particular, have been handed the great opportunity to make a difference for ourselves, our families and our communities. Here are a few actions we can take to help:
Focus on Saving Seeds: Food shortages and rising food costs tend to trigger a rush to buy garden seeds. High demand triggers scarcity and drives up prices. One of the best things we can do is save seeds from our own gardens and share them with others.
What Else Can We Do to Help? The world can only hope that a strong wheat harvest will save the most vulnerable countries from increased food instability. But if that is not the case, gardeners have skills that can help to ameliorate the situation.
- Grow food: One backyard gardener may not make much difference to the food supply. But together, millions of gardeners across the world who commit to growing a portion of their own food can make a significant impact.
- Grow food without chemicals: Constrained access to fertilizers is one of the factors driving the wheat crisis. Using natural systems to feed plants and soil, like composting, no-till soil management and chop and drop mulching, backyard farmers can grow wheat without chemical fertilizers.
- Grow grains: Wheat supplies may be tight, but consider that a plot roughly the size of the average kitchen table can grow enough wheat for a hefty loaf of bread. And you can get two harvests out of one plot by planting winter wheat in the fall, followed by spring wheat after the winter wheat harvest.
- Grow alternatives to wheat. If growing grains is not feasible, there are alternatives. Some gardeners prefer to cultivate pseudo grains, like amaranth or quinoa. Zucchini and many other vegetables can be sliced or spiralized to replace wheat noodles. Beans can replace the bulk and fiber that grains provide in our diets. Some beans can even be ground and used as a flour substitute, garbanzo and mesquite beans included.
- Use your skills to improve your family’s food security: Food prices across the board have doubled since April 2020. And empty store shelves have shocked and frustrated shoppers who struggle to find the goods that they need. Food production is rapidly becoming a sought-after skill, for good reason. Gardeners have the ability to create their own food security independent of the global food supply, a valuable advantage when times are tough.
- Share knowledge and food with others. Pass on your skills to help friends and neighbors grow their own food. This benefits the people in your sphere and strengthens community resilience. And it is fun to grow and share the bounty with others.
Resources: 
- The Great American Seed Up is working hard to support gardeners with the seeds they need to improve their own food security. We recently released a new Baker’s Bundle comprised of 7 different wheat varieties – enough seed to divide into generous portions for 10 people.
- GASU also has several other bundles of vegetable and flower seeds to help you stock up and keep your garden growing. Get your seeds here.
- View the replay of “Guts for Grains and Gardens.” We teamed up with The Urban Farm to explore the benefits of returning to fresh-ground, ancient and heritage grains. You can view it on YouTube here.
- If you are interested in growing grains and in general seed saving actions, join us for Seed Up Saturday, a free quarterly event. View updates to the schedule at SeedUpSaturday.org.
Join us for the 8th Annual Phoenix Seed Up on November 4th and 5th, 2022. The Phoenix Seed Up is a live, in-person event held in Phoenix, Arizona. Register at greatamericanseedup.org/phoenixseedup/.
1LaCapria, K. (2022, May 23). ’10 Weeks of Wheat’ in Global Reserves? Truth or Fiction? Retrieved May 24, 2022, from https://www.truthorfiction.com/10-weeks-of-wheat-in-global-reserves/
2Hays, Ron. “Nationwide, Winter Wheat Was Rated 28% Good to Excellent, the Lowest Such Rating since the Drought of 1989 Ro.” Oklahoma Farm Report – Nationwide, Winter Wheat Was Rated 28% Good to Excellent, the Lowest Such Rating since the Drought of 1989, 23 May 2022, http://www.oklahomafarmreport.com/wire/news/2022/05/02755_CropProgress05232022_163658.php#.YozmO6jMI7c.
Tomato Love
Valentine’s Day is approaching. In the warmer regions of Arizona (like Phoenix, where I garden) February 14th is also Tomato Day. My fellow low desert gardeners plant their tomatoes close to this date, much earlier than growers in cooler climates. While they are on my mind, I want to share my approach to preparation and cultivation for growers in other parts of the country who may still be in the planning stages.
Tomatoes grow well in Phoenix, but we have a few pests and pathogens to which they are susceptible. Unfortunately, tomato diseases are hard to fight with natural remedies once they manifest. Since I choose not to use toxic chemicals as a treatment option, prevention is the best defense against contagion. The good news is that simple management practices are generally effective at keeping full-blown infections at bay.
If you start to pinpoint any particular symptoms that may show up on your plants, Clemson Cooperative Extension has published a helpful guide to tomato diseases and disorders. You can access it here and keep it handy . The guide includes prevention tips and natural treatments for many tomato problems. Note that the article suggests using chemical fungicides, and suggests some organic options. I do not use fungicides of any sort, other than homemade, but I find the rest of the information to be helpful.
It is useful to know natural treatments for disease and pest problems. However, the key to keeping tomato plants healthy and productive is to act before there is any indication of trouble. The following are measures to take to encourage strong, healthy growth.
Disease Prevention Starts Prior to Planting. Good garden preparation can ward off trouble early. Remove weeds and debris that may be hiding pests. Prep the soil with compost and make sure that your irrigation system is in good condition. Clean tomato cages, trellises and tools with alcohol or 10% bleach solution.
Select Disease Resistant Varieties. If you have had disease problems in the past, choose varieties that are resistant to the particular pathogens that are active in your garden. Many hybrids are resistant, and some heirlooms also have evolved counteractions to ward off contamination. Tomato Dirt has a helpful guide to choosing disease resistant tomatoes.
Space Your Plantings. Plant seedlings with plenty of space between them for good airflow. This will mitigate many fungal diseases. Trellising and caging keeps the fruit off the soil where the disease spores linger. Additionally, prune out excess growth to increase ventilation. Pruning also decreases stress on the plants and encourages strong, healthy growth. When fruit starts to develop, prune out barren vines.
Rotate Plantings. Move tomatoes around the garden to throw off pests and diseases. A three-year rotation is recommended, growing tomatoes the first year in a spot and growing something else in that spot for the next two years. Move tomatoes annually as far as you can from their previous location. Here is what to do if you don’t have the space to rotate crops more than a few feet.
Irrigate Properly. Water only when the top three inches of soil become dry and try to keep moisture levels as even as possible. Overwatering or an irregular watering schedule can encourage cracking and disease. Water at ground level, keeping leaves as dry as possible. Fungal disease spread when plants are wet and when water splashes spores from plant to plant or from the ground onto the leaves.
Mulch. Mulch is recommended to protect soil and feed microbes. But it also has a specific purpose for preventing fungal diseases. According to Modern Farmer, fungal spores overwinter in the soil and the main way they get onto the plants is when raindrops hit the ground and splash dirty water onto the foliage. From there, blight spreads up through the plant whenever conditions are sufficiently moist. Mulching helps by covering the fungal spores. Mulching also conserves moisture in the soil, so you don’t have to water as much. Straw or dried leaves are good choices for mulching tomatoes.
Clip Off Infected Leaves and Stems As soon as you see any deformed leaves or spots, remove them quickly before the problem spreads. Dispose of these clippings far away from your garden and sanitize your tools and gloves so that you don’t reintroduce the pathogen next time you use them. Rubbing alcohol or a 10% bleach solution will do the job.
Fertilize. Tomatoes are heavy feeders. They need nutritional support and are more prone to disease when nutrients are imbalanced. Fertilize at planting, using a balanced organic fertilizer that feeds the soil as well as the plant. Healthy soil supports microbes that help to crowd out pathogens and they serve to make nutrients more available to plant roots. Once fruit as set, apply an organic phosphorus fertilizer every other week. Avoid over-fertilizing, as too much phosphorus can impede calcium absorption (a key nutrient to prevent blossom-end rot.) My personal regimen is to place alfalfa pellets, eggshells and banana peels in my planting holes. When fruit sets, I side dress with dry organic fertilizer.
Control Insect Pests. Insect pests spread pathogens as they crawl on plants and their activity can weaken plant resistance to disease. If signs appear of insect damage, check the stems and both sides of the leaves to identify the pest. Here is a helpful guide to identifying and controlling pests (note the article recommends applying chemical insecticides for persistent infestations, which I don’t recommend, even as a last resort.)
Keep It Tidy. Garden clean-up is another preventative key. Clean up debris and pull weeds throughout the growing season. When the season winds down, remove dead and dying annuals. Disease spores can overwinter on plants left in the garden from the previous year. Haul weeds and debris to the compost pile. Dress the ground with fresh mulch to protect soil and feed healthy microbes over the winter.
Inspect Regularly and Act Swiftly. Most tomato diseases cannot be stopped once you spot them. So quick action is necessary. I have found that repeated treatments with a slurry of spoiled milk or a baking soda spray can help to abate fungal infestations. To make the spray, add a heaping tablespoon of baking soda, a teaspoon of vegetable oil, and a few drops of mild soap to a gallon of water. Lightly spray tomato plants with this solution or a milk slurry, but do so lightly so that leaves are not dripping wet and can dry quickly.
Be Willing to Cull. On occasions when disease becomes advanced, I do not hesitate to remove and dispose of stricken plants. It may be difficult to give up, but sacrificing sick plants can save the rest of the garden.
The Great American Seed Up carries a handful of beautiful tomato varieties as part of our bundles. View them here. Pictured here is Black from Tula (Indeterminate) Solanum lycopersicum. One of the largest of the black tomatoes. Dark brown, purple fruits with slightly salty, smoky flavor. Probably from Ukraine. Matures in 80 days. Available while supplies last.
Virtual Tools Make Gardening Easier
Technology has added a new dimension to gardening, making it easier and more accessible. So many apps, digital spreadsheets, calculators and gardening information sources are at our fingertips in the virtual world. They don’t replace getting our hands in the dirt. But they do allow gardeners to get information and help faster than ever before, as well as assisting with the administrative tasks associated with growing food.
Grab a free list of virtual tools courtesy of The Great American Seed Up here. Download it instantly. No email required!
The mission of the Great American Seed Up is to get seeds into the hands of gardeners and support the resilience of communities across the country. The heirloom seed varieties that we stock are easy to grow and suitable for seed saving. We love to hear about our customer’s gardens. And we are even more thrilled when they save seeds from the harvest to plant the next season. By doing so year after year, these gardeners may never need to buy seeds to those varieties again. And they will undoubtedly have plenty of extra seeds to share with others. GreatAmericanSeedUp.org
GASU seed bundles can be found here. Each bundle contains plenty of seed to grow, save and share amongst 10 or more gardeners.
If you happen to be in the Phoenix area, register to attend the Phoenix Seed Up on November 4th and 5th, 2022. This is a live, in-person event held in Phoenix, Arizona. Registration and more info can be found here.
Learn to Save Seeds from the Crops You Grow
There’s something you can do in your garden to take it to the next level in nutrition, flavor and resilience.
It starts with where you’re getting your seeds. And guess what? The best seeds are the ones YOU save from YOUR garden! (Learn more HERE)
There is less seed diversity than ever these days… 90% fewer varieties are planted today than only 2 generations ago. The seeds we buy today are less nutritious and delicious than they were in the past, and certainly aren’t the best suited for your garden’s unique needs.
That’s why urban farmers around the world are bringing back the powerful practice of seed saving. No matter how much or little gardening experience you have, you can easily learn to save your own to reduce your dependence on the industrial farming system, grow fruits and veggies that taste amazing and thrive, and live your most healthy, vibrant life.
We’ve teamed up with seed expert Bill McDorman to bring you a FREE short Seed Saving 101 mini course (sign up HERE) for health-conscious people that value self-sufficiency to get empowered to take control of what they eat.
Bill McDorman is a 30-year veteran seed saver and educator, and he will introduce you to the world of seed saving and guide you step-by-step through this elegantly simple process. You’ll learn the basics of seed saving and get inspired to start enhancing your favorite garden plants right away!
Click here to sign up for the free Seed Saving 101 mini course now.
And if you happen to be in the Phoenix area, register to attend the Phoenix Seed Up on November 4th and 5th, 2022. This is a live, in-person event held in Phoenix, Arizona. Registration and more info can be found here.
How to Turn 1 Tomato into 90,000
Time, money, and energy are limited and valuable commodities. People have only so much of them to spend. When determining how to allocate these resources, Return on Investment (ROI) is often a major consideration. According to Investopedia, ROI is a performance measure used to evaluate the efficiency or profitability of an investment. People tend to informally evaluate ROI all the time and make choices based on what will serve best to achieve an objective, whatever it may be.
Gardeners and urban farmers are not exempt from making ROI evaluations. We ask ourselves questions such as How can I grow the most food in the amount of space available? How can I make cultivation more enjoyable? How can I multiply my efforts?
In terms of multiplication, there is no better Return on Investment for gardeners than saving and planting one’s own seeds. Saving seeds costs no money and requires very little time and effort. It is cheaper and easier than shopping for commercial seeds year after year. And the returns are exponential.
Consider the Early Girl tomato. Nestled inside each tomato are 150 to 300 seeds. How many tomatoes can 300 seeds yield? A lot! In a Bonnie Plants test garden, each Early Girl tomato plant averaged a yield of 300 tomatoes. 300 seeds X 300 fruits = 90,000 tomatoes!
Even if you cut that number in half to account for germination failure or lower than average yield, that is an amazing ROI.
The mission of the Great American Seed Up is to get seeds into the hands of gardeners and support the resilience of communities across the country. The heirloom seed varieties that we stock are easy to grow and suitable for seed saving. We love to hear about our customer’s gardens. And we are even more thrilled when they save seeds from the harvest to plant the next season. By doing so year after year, these gardeners may never need to buy seeds to those varieties again. And they will undoubtedly have plenty of extra seeds to share with others. GreatAmericanSeedUp.org
GASU seed bundles can be found here. Each bundle contains plenty of seed to grow, save and share amongst 10 or more gardeners.