ORGANIC GARDENING
SEED SAVING By S. MICHAL BENNETT
N o one really knows the first time a human decided to save a seed or grain or had the brilliant idea to re-plant seeds and cultivate new plants. There is evidence, though, that hunter-gath- erers foraged wild grains, collected their seeds and may have encour- aged their cultivation. Over time, seeds and grains gained value and were even used as currency – cacao beans by the Aztecs and Mayans, chia seeds by the Aztecs and barley by the Babylonians. As humankind found more ways to use seeds and grow food, seed saving increased and eventually breeding seeds for adap- tation, preservation and desirable qualities became common. People
>> Adapt and Strengthen The Inland Northwest contains a decent range of hardiness zones and plenty of microclimates. And our growing season is also fair- ly short – both Coeur d’Alene and Spokane average about 120 frost- free days per year from late May to the middle of September. If you buy your seeds from a company in, say, Maine or Texas, those plants may struggle to thrive and produce in the climate of, say, Newport, Wash. My growing space is a north-facing driveway that I fill with 5-gallon “garden” buckets during the sum- mer. Every year, I wrassle with tomatoes, peppers and cucum- bers. But when I’ve purchased lo-
and cultures spread and developed across the world, and so did crops, plants and cuisines. Today, these plant varieties are essential to every- day life, our heritage, our eating hab- its and growing personal gardens. In today’s first-world culture, gar - den and agriculture seeds of all va- rieties are pretty much readily available to us. For vegetable gar- deners, January and February are reserved for browsing seed catalogs and planning a garden. But what about saving some of the seeds from this year’s harvest and growing a second generation next year? Here are some reasons to consider saving your vegetable, fruit or flower seeds this season.
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