Seed Savers Exchange

"A vibrant, diverse plant world is necessary for our survival, but crop diversity is increasingly threatened by industrial agriculture, climate change, and habitat loss.  The Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that since the 1900's an estimated 75% of the world's crop diversity has been lost." Seed Savers Exchange

This catalogue arrived in the mail today and now I just want to plant a bunch of beans!  Aren't they beautiful?  Growing your own vegetables is a great way to combat global warming.  You can be in charge of what chemicals are used - or, more importantly, not used - in your garden and your produce doesn't have to travel so far to get to your table. You can also help save our precious resources by growing heirloom varieties of fruits,vegetables, herbs and flowers like the ones in the above catalogue from Seed Savers Exchange.

This year vegetables are going to be added to my front lawn - the only place in the yard that gets much sun and I'm planning on starting them from seed thanks to a really nifty and easy winter sowing method I used last year (I'll share that on another post).  I'm pretty excited to look at all of the varieties that I would not find in the grocery store or the nursery and the tales behind many of the plants are so fun to read - like these, for instance:

Hidatsa Shield Figure beans from the Hidatsa tribe who farmed in the Missouri River Valley of North Dakota.  These beans were described in Buffalo Bird Woman's Garden (one of my all time favorite books).

Aunt Mae's Bibb Lettuce:  From seed donor Kelly Yeaton who acquired the variety from Nestor Keene, who in turn acquired it in 1937 from his aunt, Mae Smith.

Bear Paw popcorn, grown and distributed in New England from the 1930's until the 1960's, served in movie theaters and featured at the World's Fair.

Charentais melon: A true French cantaloupe that originated in the Poitou-Charentes region circa 1920.  "Considered by many to be the most divine and flavorful melon in the world." (I'm going to try that one.)

... and so on.  Doesn't that sound like fun?

I see that I can order from the catalogue or I can become a member of Seed Savers Exchange and have access to their  "yearbook" of seeds that are exchanged between members - 13,000 varieties.  This is a great people driven effort to keep our world sustainable.  Check it out: Seed Savers Exchange