Late summer may not seem like the most likely time of year to write about seeds.  For gardeners, the arrival of seed packets in stores is right up there with robins, chicks, and bunnies as a sign of spring and renewal.  Even before the packets arrive in stores, seed catalogs arrive in mailboxes to be perused while snow is still on the ground, turning winter afternoons into long daydreams of perfectly planned and maintained, abundant and beautiful gardens.  As Michael Perry writes in Truck: A Love Story, “Seed catalogs are responsible for more unfulfilled fantasies than Enron and Playboy combined.”

So I am writing about seeds now, as we harvest the bounty of an excellent growing season, because I was recently asked to talk to a community garden group about seed saving.  I have saved a few different seeds from year to year, including tomatoes (not the hybrid ones – they won’t look like their parent), and seed garlic (which is actually a bulb), but I was excited to explore more about how and why seeds are saved. 

It is fairly easy to save seeds from plants that are not commonly cross-pollinated by insects or wind –such as tomatoes, lettuce, or beans.  However, if you save the seeds of a pumpkin grown in close proximity to other squash varieties in the same species, you are likely to end up with an interesting fruit the following year.  Bees may have helped you to develop a whole new variety!   There are several ways to avoid cross-pollination, including growing plants far apart (isolation distance), caging plants and hand-pollinating, or planting so that plants flower at different times.  If you are interested in learning how to save seeds from specific plants, the book Seed to Seed by Suzanne Ashworth is a thorough resource.  Fedco Seeds’ publication, From Generation to Generation, consists of seed-saving activities for K-12, but has valuable information for any age.  It is available to download on their website www.fedcoseeds.com (click on the Fedco Seeds link, and then on Seed School Curriculum Download. 

But why would you want to save seeds when they are so easy to purchase?  The reasons run the spectrum from sentimental to economic to scientific to political.  Many seeds have stories.  After all, seed companies are a relatively recent phenomenon.  Farmers have been saving their own seeds for thousands of years.  Many of our ancestors transported seed from their homelands to grow here and passed them down for generations.

Seeds that have been grown for a long time in one area become adapted to the specific climate and soil conditions of that land.  The farmer or gardener selects the plants that perform best or exhibit certain desirable traits to create a hardy, delicious variety.  Today many plant varieties are bred in research labs, but a scientifically adventurous gardener can also develop outstanding vegetables, fruits, and flowers.  

For thousands of farmers around the world, saving seeds is not a choice but a necessity.  They cannot afford to purchase seeds every year, or they have developed a variety over generations that could not be replaced by purchased seed.  Saving seeds can also be economical for the home gardener.  One tomato can yield enough seed for several years worth of seedlings (stored properly, tomato seeds are viable for 5-10 years). 

Seeds stored by individuals or in seed banks around the world are critical for maintaining genetic diversity and important varieties.  I remember reading years ago about Russian scientists who died of starvation during WWII while protecting thousands of seed samples as well as seed potatoes.  Now that same seed bank, the Pavlovsk Research Station, is in danger of being destroyed for a housing development.  As seed varieties are forgotten or destroyed, we run the risk of losing plants that may not only be delicious or beautiful but may be more adaptable to our changing climate.       

I recently watched the film The Future of Food, which traces the fairly recent history of seed patenting and genetic modification. One quote from the film sticks with me - “Whoever controls the seeds controls the food.”  Multinational corporations have patented thousands of seed varieties, meaning that they can decide whether or not to make them available to the public.  I have read different statistics, but it seems that only six companies control more than 90% of the world’s seed market.  These corporations are also creating genetically modified (GM) varieties using biotechnology.  These varieties differ from traditionally bred hybrids because genes are artificially transferred between organisms of different species that could not conventionally breed. 

The safety and value of GM seeds and crops is widely debated.  I have concerns about both, but even if you don’t, you will hopefully see the injustice in the lawsuits against farmers who are accused of infringing on patents when GM seeds or pollen find their way into their non-GM crops.  Farmers and gardeners should be able to choose not to grow GM crops, but as larger percentages of commercial crops are GM, the chances of contamination are increasing.  Saving seed is one way to deny support to the companies who seem to put their financial interests above farmers’ rights.        

Kathy Scullion