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Brassicas: A Big Family of Super-Foods to Grow This Fall

Looking to fill your root cellar this fall with nutrient dense crops that provide a jumbo dose of vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and fiber, as well as delicious flavor? Plant a late crop of brassicas!  Now is the time to prepare, as gardeners in the US plant their autumn crop of brassicas mid-July or August (depending […]

Photo of a hummingbird with text that says Pollinator Week June 21through 27, 2021 Pollinator.org

Pollinator Week Kicks Off Today! Discover How You Can Help Support These Amazing-and Necessary-Creatures

Birds, bees, butterflies, beetles, bats and other small mammals that pollinate plants are responsible for bringing us one out of every three bites of food. They also sustain our ecosystems and produce our natural resources by helping plants reproduce. Pollinator Week is an annual event celebrated internationally in support of pollinator health. It’s a time […]

National Pollinator Week June 21 through 28, 2021

The Great American Seed Up Kicks Off National Pollinator Week with a Spotlight on Wildflowers

The Great American Seed Up (GASU) celebrates National Pollinator Week, starting on Monday, June 21st.  In honor of this important week, GASU will offer several resources to enhance appreciation and understanding of the role pollinators play in our garden.  Known for regionally adapted, affordable seeds, GASU will include a bonus Wildflower PDF Companion Handbook for […]

Other Seed Education from our Founders

Urban Farm Podcast – Seed Chats & Classes –

Bill McDorman joins Greg Peterson for a educational chat and answer a few questions
(Podcast episode number)

— 2021 —

  • Where, When, and How to Start Saving Seeds (584)

— 2020 —

  • Current Status of World Seeds, Utility Patents, and Community-Based Seed Systems (552)
  • Difficult Seeds to Save, How to Avoid Cross-Pollination, and Creating a Self-Reinforcing Breeding System (549)
  • Gardening Hacks, Hybrid Seeds, Natural Seed Saving Methods, and Having Fun Making a Mess in the Garden (566)
  • Highlights of Seed Saving Topics from The Year, From Proper Seed Storage to Seed Viability, and Why Plants Thrive Better from Saved Seeds (580)
  • Seed Catalogs, Sourcing Local Seeds, and Building Community (521)
  • Seed Diversity, The Value of Farm Direct Seeds, Building Regional Relationships, and Seed Adaptation (563)
  • Seed Health and Your Health, Resurrecting Ancient Grains, and How Saving Seeds Creates a Healthy Community (571)
  • Seed Hoarding, Providing Seeds to a Community in Times of Need, and More About Seed Resilience  (544)
  • Starting Seeds, Things to Consider, and The Number One Reason Seeds Don’t Sprout (529)
  • Various Seed Exchange Resources, Finding Heirloom Seeds, Supporting Organizations, and How to Connect People to Local Seed Sources (559)

— 2019 —

  • Extreme Seed Saving, How Normal Temperatures Affect Plant Pollination, and Adapting for Temperature  (BE29)
  • Genetic Modification, The Current Advances, and What it Means for our Food, The Truth Behind Scientific Studies, and Hand Pollination (BE31)
  • Growing from Seed, Growing for Seed, and Why Seeds are so Important in Changing Times (BE27)
  • Highlights from The 2019 Seed Summit (BE25)
  • Seed Catalog Season, Favorite Seed Catalogs and How to Recognize the Best Ones, and What the Terminology in the Catalogs Mean (512)
  • Seed School, How to Become a Teacher, and Allowing Plants to go to Seed (BE28)
  • The Art of Saving Your Own Seeds, The Challenges, How to Harvest, Thresh and Clean Seeds on a Small Scale (BE30)
  • The Global Seed Situation, Plant Patents, Advanced Methods for Creating New Plants, Why Seed Saving is More Important Than Ever, and More (BE32)
  • The Importance of Wild Crop Relatives and The Importance of Biodiversity (BE24)
  • Why We Save Seeds, How to Start, How to Store Seeds, Cross-Pollination, and Plant Diversity (BE26)

— 2018 —

  • A Market Explosion of Heritage Grains That Are Changing The Way We Eat and Bake (BE18)
  • Glass Gem Corn and More (BE22)
  • Grain School, Original Peanuts of South Carolina, Inspiring Gardeners, and Broccoli in Alaska (BE14)
  • Patents, Descriptions, Regional Adaptation, and Open Sourced Seeds (BE15)
  • Seed Names, Medicinal Plants, Plant Knowledge, and Landrace Seeds (BE21)
  • Seed Sourcing, Hybrids, Sharing Seeds, and Testing Root Crops (BE16)
  • Sourcing Seeds and Selecting Seeds That Can Help You Feel Confident in Your Selections (BE20)
  • The Seed Paradigm and Seed History (BE23)
  • Why Don’t We Always Know Where Our Seeds Come From (BE19)
  • Wild Seeds, Native Seeds, Noxious Weeds, and More (BE17)

— 2017 —

  • An In Depth Discourse on Grains and Corns, An Ancient Potato, Grain Trials, and Becoming a Seed Steward (BE13)
  • Motivational Quotes, Adjusting for New Weather Norms, and Coming Back from Gardening Disasters (BE11)
  • Running a Seed Business: Growing Seeds, Germination, Testing & Maintaining Seeds  (BE5)
  • Seed Saving Principles, Intellectual Property Rights, Seed Saving Policy, and History (BE9)
  • Seed School Online, de-hybridization, seed patents, and more (BE2)
  • Seed School Teacher Training, Seed Saving Principles List, Disaster Planning, and Breeding Program Preparation (BE7)