Sunday, December 16, 2007

More on seed-saving

Very dear to me

The tone of my most recent post was rather flip. Granted, I do cast a jaundiced eye on most of the world, particularly the world of commerce (in this instance, seed catalogs), but on occasion I actually am reverential.

And today, I revere my seeds. Today I am back in my cold basement, cleaning and sorting seeds, shelling dried beans and the like. I look at what is in front of me and I feel positively giddy.

Especially with the winds howling and the snow blowing outside, I feel like I am the keeper of a vast store of botanical wealth. Seed-saving, like bread-baking and vineyard maintenance, are three very particular activities which connect me with the past. My great-great grandparents would know this feeling, and would know the value of saving the seeds of this year's harvest. They'd know the love and the satisfaction that goes into kneading and forming loaves of bread. They'd have enjoyed the small labor that is vineyard and orchard maintenance, especially considering the vast reward found in a successful harvest. They would be appreciative, in other words.

I will tell you this: there is not much in this world for which I would trade my hills of beans.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Love your posts on seed saving. I haven't gotten into it yet as much as I should, but it's on my ever growing list!;)

El said...

Angie: (you should see my face as I type this) it is so FUN! You go out and pick the best tomato from the best-producing plant, and you save it, knowing that plant will live on through its seeds. You watch your lettuce come into flower. You cover certain flowering plants so the pollinators don't get to them and mess with the seed. It is really OBSESSIVELY fun! Really. And yes, you need to add it to your list! :)

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Seed-saving is easy. You'll get better seed than you can buy, even from us. And you can keep your own varieties going for future years. But .. . just as with growing the plants, there are a few key bits of information you need to know to keep varieties pure. It's not hard, you just need to know how to do it.

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