Garden fertility out of thin air!
October 22, 2007
There's definitely a beauty in letting your plants go to seed and discovering how and when in nature's course they come back to reinhabit the garden. The wind, the birds, and jubilant garden frolickers all do their part in dispersing mature seeds through the garden and beyond. Today at Commonweal Garden, our garden crew - Gavin, Erin, Adam, Leslie, Ambrose, Emma and Paula - took advantage of the clear dry morning to collect some of the mature seeds in the garden to save for next season's planting. They winnowed broccoli, tat soi arugula, parsley, mache, bok choi, purple orach among others garden favorites.
This age-old tradition of seed saving enables food growers to collaboratively work with the plants to cultivate local seed varieties that are well adapted and thrive in the local conditions. It also allows food growers to work within the cycles of nature rather than being dependent on purchasing commercial seed that can have substantial external costs - be it be the fossil fuels needed for resale and distribution or, more seriously, the costs of genetically modified seeds that endanger nature's delicate balance, require harmful pesticides, and create situations where food growers become dependent on the policies and market prices set by large seed corporations.
Community seed swaps are a great way to share and distribute the abundance from local gardens, and preserve our local food varieties. It’s also a wonderful way to meet your fellow food growers and learn tricks of local growing trade. Commonweal Garden will be sharing our local seeds at the Marin Organic Seed Swap at Pt Reyes Farmer's Market on Saturday, October 27 at Toby's! Find out more here.
This age-old tradition of seed saving enables food growers to collaboratively work with the plants to cultivate local seed varieties that are well adapted and thrive in the local conditions. It also allows food growers to work within the cycles of nature rather than being dependent on purchasing commercial seed that can have substantial external costs - be it be the fossil fuels needed for resale and distribution or, more seriously, the costs of genetically modified seeds that endanger nature's delicate balance, require harmful pesticides, and create situations where food growers become dependent on the policies and market prices set by large seed corporations.
Community seed swaps are a great way to share and distribute the abundance from local gardens, and preserve our local food varieties. It’s also a wonderful way to meet your fellow food growers and learn tricks of local growing trade. Commonweal Garden will be sharing our local seeds at the Marin Organic Seed Swap at Pt Reyes Farmer's Market on Saturday, October 27 at Toby's! Find out more here.
