Elkhound very kindly pm'ed this to me. Thank you Elkhound, you're a sweetie! I hope all of you who can will take the time to watch this, it's only 10 minutes long and I think it will be interesting for several people on here, with some valuable messages about the future of seeds and agriculture ahead of us all. Listen carefully to all he has to say. It is about the Seed and Plant Sanctuary for Canada that has been established on Salt Spring Island, (one of the Gulf Islands) and is inhabited by a large group of sustainability conscious homesteaders and gardeners. It's very interesting and I hope you will all watch it.
I have stockpiled some seeds for my long term storage plan, and I'm glad I did.
But it's a great point that we should also realize that a continuous saving method probably has better adaptation qualities.
I think a combination of doing both is best all around.
I have never saved my own seeds. I'll give some a try this year for the first time.
Last edited by partndn; 07/20/11 at 01:33 PM.
Reason: added thought
Could you do a brief summary for those of us on dial-up, please. TIA
Basically what he's saying in the video is that the planet's environments and climates are constantly changing and that all plants and their seeds are adapting to the changes as they happen. That gene modified seeds and natural heritage seeds that are stockpiled and saved from a few previous years ago and then planted will not be adapted to the changes that have happened since the seeds were first collected, so they won't grow as successfully as adapted seeds that are collected now. That it's important to save some seeds from everything you grow successfully now each year and plant some of those seeds in the following year because they will be adapted to the changes happening now.
But that is not the only thing the seed sanctuary is about - that was just what that 10 minute video was about. For more detailed information on what the seed sanctuary is about you can read here: http://www.seedsanctuary.com/
The seed sanctuary of Canada is encouraging other people in other places to network and to form their own seed sanctuaries within their own communities so that the seeds that are collected will be adapted to the 'home-grown' environment in which they were grown.
So for example, if you are a grower in Pennsylvania, don't plant seeds that were collected and marketed from a different location like California or Montana or the PNW. Stick with planting seeds that are already adapted to your own environment's changes in your own location. Network with other growers in your area to collect seeds from your own area.
Something else I forgot to mention. The seed sanctuary on Salt Spring is also collecting seeds from all over the world and growing whatever will grow successfully in Salt Spring's very unique micro-climates. The Gulf Islands all have unique micro-climates that are unlike micro-climates anywhere else in the world. If something grows successfully (approximately 10% will be successful) they will collect the seeds from the successful plants and continue planting those seeds in successive years so that the plants from other parts of the world all become adapted to the new environment and ensure a higher success rate of growth in later years.
Gardens of Destiny - The Seed Sanctuary
