   Seed Saving - October 25, 2000 Jeff Schalau, County Director, Agent, Agriculture & Natural Resources Arizona Cooperative Extension, Yavapai County The Western Region Master Gardener Conference was recently held in Phoenix and one of the speakers was Kent Whealy. Mr. Whealy is the founder of Seed Savers Exchange (SSE): a non-profit organization that is saving "heirloom" (handed-down) garden seeds from extinction. SSE has 8,000 members that grow and share their varieties that, in many cases, were originally brought here by immigrants or shared by Native Americans. I might add that the seeds were often smuggled into the United States in hatbands and underwear linings. By saving seeds from one season to the next, these varieties have been passed down through generations. SSE has a 170 acre farm in Decorah, Iowa that is maintained as a living museum to maintain the collection. The farm is aptly named Heritage Farm, is open to the public, and each summer, the Whealy's host a campout for 4,000-5,000 like-minded seed savers. At the farm, they maintain a collection of over 18,000 vegetable varieties: 4,100 tomatoes, 3,600 beans, 1,200 peppers, 1,000 squash, 900 peas, 850 lettuces, 400 melons, 200 garlics, etc. Each year they plant one-tenth of the collection to maintain the varieties. I know that there at least one or two pea lovers reading this column that may be salivating while imagining all 900 varieties cooked, steaming, and set on the table. If the thought brings you visions of fire and brimstone, don't worry: SSE would never make you taste all 900 at one sitting. SSE also maintains a library at Heritage Farm, a collection of 700 apple varieties and 200 grapes, as well as a herd of ancient White Park cattle. A membership in Seed Savers Exchange supports their seed saving efforts and costs $30 per year. Members are welcome to attend the yearly campout and receive three publications per year: a Summer Edition (August), a Harvest Edition (November), and the Seed Savers Yearbook (January). The Seed Savers Yearbook lists members that would like to share 11,000 fruit and vegetable varieties with other members. SSE also produces a catalog for the general public (non-members) that can be requested by calling (319) 382-5990. During Mr. Whealy's presentation, he discussed his point of view on our current direction in agriculture. He (and others seed savers) feels that production agriculture focuses very narrowly on crop yield and pest control. By doing this, we are losing sight of genetic diversity and natural pest and disease resistance. He touched lightly on the "genetically modified foods" debate but mostly focused on the wealth of genetic diversity and flavors that are being maintained through this SSE's grassroots efforts. Anyone can save vegetable varieties from year to year and I will include a column on that topic soon. Fruit varieties are more difficult and take more planning to save. The Yavapai County Master Gardener Volunteers are planning a project to locate old orchards and attempt to determine varieties. Once we determine the scope, Master Gardeners could acquire funding and sponsors for the project. The goal would be to collect scion wood and graft the "Yavapai Heritage" varieties onto rootstocks to propagate and preserve them. Anyone with knowledge of fruit orchards planted before the 1950's that are still alive could mail the information (your name and contact information, orchard location, directions, and any known historical information) to: University of Arizona Cooperative Extension, Yavapai County, Attn: Jeff Schalau/Orchard Project, P.O. Box 388, Prescott, AZ 86305. Public cooperation is necessary for this project's success and greatly appreciated. The University of Arizona Cooperative Extension has publications and information on vegetable and fruit production. If you have other gardening questions, call the Master Gardener line in the Cottonwood office at 646-9113 or E-mail us at mgardener@kachina.net and be sure to include your address and phone number. The Yavapai County Cooperative Extension web site is http://ag.arizona.edu/yavapai/. |