Yesterday, after having another late start from Decorah, we climb the huge hill that parallels highway 52 with very little power, as both of us were feeling unmotivated. Once at the top we turned left onto highway, and within a couple of miles saw the sign we were looking for"SEED SAVERS", with an arrow pointing left. This was one stop that I was giddy for, as I was introduced to Seed Savers by my good friend Deana, who orders her heirloom seed every year from them. She also gave me the book "Seeds of Change", that discussed the importance of seed, biodiversity, and sustainable issues that gave me some sort of sense of duty in understanding more about this precious little thing, the seed, as honestly folks I really needed the 101 biology course.

The book also did a great job at stirring my sense of conviction, as I learned that during the 1920's the brilliant scientist, Nikolai I. Vavilov, toured the world to collect, preserve, learn about varieties of seed, and genetic diversity. He traveled and procured tens of thousands of different specimens and found that where climate conditions were unstable, the soil was richer when the crops with genetic diversity flourished, and polyculture farming reduced insects and vunerability to disease. At the same time, where he was estabilishing the seed bank and researching more, Wallace from the US was pushing for another research and promotion of monocultures and the American hybrid, which had higher yield, but farmers had to buy seed year after year. Unfortuatnely in the 1930s as the russian revolution was occuring, Vavilov life was cut short, according to some reports, as he was sent to the labor camp and ironically starved to death. Obviously, the American hybrid was favored over saving seed and giving biodiversity the advantage, as we see how the landscape has changed over the past 50years.

I have to admit, I never thought about saving seed or the importance of it, until that book, as well as with Vandana Shiva’s books about genetics and intellectual property rights. This may seem pedestrian to some, but even when I write this now it feels like an ephipheny that our food stuff comes from this tiny little entity, it grows to produce something that continues to sustain us, and I for one didn't much think about the unappreciated seed.

Because we drove our markets to monoculture farming, increased pesticides/herbicides use, continue to modify corn and soy gene and put it in most conventional food stuff, we unfortunately have also lost biodiversity, our connections to our past as the seeds our greatgrandparents brought over when they emigrated have been plowed over along with the knowledge of stewardship and balance, we've increased cancer rates, and the seeds that used to sustain us, the varieties, are going extinct. Geez, I say! I want my perfect summer strawberry back, or the complex taste of the tomato, rather the the waterlogged perfect red fruit, I want the knowledge of knowing more of the land, soil, and seasons, what plants can coexist together, etc, to support a system where farmers are getting paid for the value rather then the commodity.

Fortunately, one organization is doing something to give me back a wide variety of tastes and heritage, most that I never knew existed. http://www.seedsavers.org/aboutus.asp . Since the 1970s, what started off as a couple of plants that were given to Diane Ott Whealy from her termilly ill-grandfather, who had received the seeds from his parents of Bavaria, Seed Saver Exchange has grown to over having 27,000 different varieties where they save, plant, sell, research, and educate the importance of seed saving. They have over 800 acres in Decorah, Iowa, where over 1 million species have passed the hands of gardeners, concerned, and excited citizens.

To say the least I was excited when I saw the sign, and even more so, when I actually saw all the different seed packets to choose from. Andy and I both tired of biking, renewed our life of life and each other as we talked excitely about gardening, variaties, food, community. We'll have to wait till next year to plant, but will work on figuring out our garden in the meantime. Plant a seed for me:)

So here's the latest installment of pictures. There were some rather lovely flowers at the farm. :)

http://www.changinggearsmovie.com/resources/photos/062508m/index.html