Seed Saving Builds Community, In-Person or Virtually

by Angie Lavezzo, CFSA Communications Coordinator | Friday, Sept. 10, 2021 – 

The art and practice of seed saving has seen an encouraging resurgence over the last decade. There’s been an uptick in seed swaps, the explosive growth of seed libraries, and the continued endurance of organizations like Seed Savers Exchange that facilitate the distribution of rare seeds.

Seed saving is an incredibly satisfying and valuable skill that can be easily incorporated into our seasonal growing plans.

Lee Barnes, who runs the Southeast Seed and Plant Exchange (SSPE), has been a longtime supporter of CFSA and a fixture at our annual Sustainable Agriculture Conference. The SSPE is a donation-based organization that provides seeds and plants to anyone who needs them, free of charge. You’ll often find Lee and his vast assortment of seeds set up at conferences and seed swaps all over the Southeast.

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by Angie Lavezzo, CFSA Communications Coordinator | Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2021 –

It’s no secret that as growers in the Southeast, unique challenges are present here that are not in other parts of the country. We tend to have more bug pressure than other regions. Our rainfall is increasingly unpredictable, waffling between drought and monsoon. The fungal issues brought on by our humidity levels are a special kind of frustration.

Maybe these are good reasons not to bother with the extra step of saving seeds on our farms. Still, I passionately make the case that these environmental factors we are always learning from are precisely why we should be saving our seeds. Sure, it’s one more thing to add to the long list of tasks to be planned and managed. With just a few additions to the harvest calendar, the job is very manageable, enjoyable, can save money—and can even make money, helping to diversify farm income.

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