SAVING SEEDS. SAVING OURSELVES.

The life of a seed farmer involves a dance with an uncertain peril, says Colette Murphy. The effects of climate change seem to have accelerated. All the more reason to take care of our own gardens.

GROWING SEED using organic practices can transform our food and counteract climate change, too. Plants bred under organic conditions can better adapt to a changing climate. By saving some of your own seed and purchasing seed from small-scale seed farmers you can participate in this adaptation to changing conditions.

Urban Harvest's Colette Murphy

One of the questions we are often asked at Urban Harvest Organic Seeds is, “If I am growing organically in my garden, why should I consider buying organic seeds?” Our answer is always the same. It is about stewarding the land, the soil and the creatures that inhabit it. Growing organically with organic seed is better for the environment. If you pay a little more for a package of organic seeds you are helping others to continue to provide good quality seed.

Food grown organically in mineral-rich soil also provides vitamins and minerals that may be sorely lacking in food grown by agribusinesses. Healthy soils maintained and nurtured organically act as natural storage sinks for atmospheric carbon, thereby helping to combat climate change.

Zinnia

Seeds of Diversity is Canada’s largest seed library and it advises and helps efforts to create local seed libraries. Seed libraries give out seeds at no charge and ask that you donate some seeds in return. It is important that you learn some good seed growing and saving techniques. Seeds of Diversity has a useful manual. The Toronto Seed Library also has a free online handbook. We also recommend Seed to Seed by Suzanne Ashworth.

There are few publicly funded plant breeding initiatives in Canadian universities, but thankfully this tradition still exists in the United States. Some plant breeders have formed the Open Source Seed Initiative (OSSI) which is “dedicated to maintaining fair and open access to plant genetic resources worldwide in order to ensure the availability of germplasm to farmers, gardeners, breeders, and communities of this and future generations. OSSI believes in the following seed freedoms. The freedom to save or grow seed for replanting or for any other purpose. The freedom to share, trade or sell seed to others. The freedom to trial and study seed and to share or publish information about it. The freedom to select or adapt the seed, make crosses with it, or use it to breed new lines and varieties.”

Seed freedom is essential to our survival as a species. Seeds are the true currency of life. By growing organically, we can see in a very powerful and wonderful way the interconnectedness of humansand the natural world. Our organic farm is abuzz with bees, butterflies, praying mantises, frogs, toads and garter snakes. It truly feels like a Garden of Eden.

Wild arugula going to seed

Your Guide to Seedy Saturdays

Seedy Saturdays, sponsored by Seeds of Diversity, are wonderful places to meet seed farmers and pick up new plant varieties. There are several of these events across the country and a list with dates and locations can be found at www.seeds.ca. If you go, here’s what you should know. Q Are the seeds certified organic? Third-party certification organizations inspect the farm, records and facilities each year so that you can be assured that the seed you are purchasing is organic. Look for the certified organic logo on seed packages.

Peppers

Q. Are the seeds open pollinated or hybrid? Most seeds for sale at Seedy Saturday will be open pollinated, which means the seeds have been pollinated by insect, bird, wind or human. You can save the seeds and be reasonably confident that they will come true— that is, reproduce the same plant. Hybrid seeds are created through a controlled method of pollination in which the pollen of two different species or varieties is crossed manually. Purchase new hybrid seed each year to ensure you’ll get the same fruit.

Garden Sorrel seeds

Q. Are Urban Harvest seeds genetically modified (GM)? GM seeds cannot be used in organic systems. Up until the last 50 years, farmers have always been able to save their own seeds and save seeds from the plants they believe have performed the best, thereby continuously improving the quality of the seed. Adaptation has always been crucial to survival. GM seed takes away the ownership of seeds and the process of continuous improvement from organic growers, posing a threat to our food security.

Mexican torch sunflower

Q. Are the seeds heirloom? Heirloom seeds are generally ones that have been grown for more than 50 years. These seeds are often handed down within a family or community and have interesting stories of their past or provenance. To read about Canada’s seed heritage, Seeds of Diversity publishes a book called Every Seed Tells a Tale. When we started Urban Harvest, we were adamant about offering only heirloom seed varieties. In the last 50 years the planet has lost 94 per cent of our seed varieties, so we were on a mission to make many old varieties available. However, over the years, we have been convinced of the importance of using these old varieties to breed new ones by open pollinated methods to create the heirlooms of the future as well as to ensure there are varieties available which have been bred to adapt to a changing climate.

Beebalm

Colette Murphy is owner and founder of Urban Harvest Organic Seeds (www.uharvest.ca).