Council for Responsible Genetics

I saw this over at Garden Girl's forum from another member there. The site is dedicated to a safe seed program where seed distributors can sign up saying that they are selling seeds that, to their knowledge, are not genetically modified.

It shows distributors not already taking the pledge how they, too, can pledge that their seeds are genetically safe.

It also has a list of seed distributors that have already taken the pledge for your seed shopping needs.

All in all, a definite 10 on the Greener Meter scale.

http://www.councilforresponsiblegenetics.org/Help/TakeAction.aspx

Obama Gets In On the Act

Ok, so you know that everyone has been buzzing around about how there *should* be a Freedom Garden or Victory Garden on the White House lawn. Welp, the First Family is going to do just that. Amazingly, there will be children from a local school to help the First Lady dig up her lawn for her garden. Can't beat that.

Setting an example to the public is a good thing, but already we've begun to feel the crunch. Several seed websites and forums I have visited recently have already started talking about the seed crunch. They are already having problems coming up with the seed to meet demand of certain vegetable items. One such site in the UK, states that they are just not going to offer individual packets anymore, they are going to focus more on sets of seeds and this is due to the current state of the economy.

The people of the world have already begun to start focusing on where the crisis at hand is leading instead of living in the now. We've heard all the talk of future events due to peak oil, over urbanization and global warming. The disappearing polar ice and with it the polar critters comes to mind. The future has been shoved at the populace so much, it appears that it has taken effect and people are trying to at least begin to prepare for their future. I've also noticed that some of my favorite seed sites have run out of certain popular seeds much faster than I remember it in the past, so even if they have not posted to their site on that fact, it shows there, too.

With luck, the program that the Obama family has begun on their lawn, will spill into many more but I also can't help wondering where all of these people are going to get their seeds. Seeds are already becoming a precious commodity and the garden fever hasn't even really taken root just yet, the word of the impending White House lawn (the First Lawn?) food production only being out for a short period of time. While many gardeners save their seeds, it isn't practiced by everyone so next year the crunch will really be on. My father buys his tomato plants, the seed for beans and peas, and such, and has never in his life practiced seed saving for all the farming he has done and neither has any of our family. What is to become of them next year?

Save your seeds. It is more important now than it has ever been. The lessons we have learned from certain eras such as the famous failed crops of the past and also during the Great Depression, should be ringing true in the ears of every single person on this planet. Now it isn't just the idea of a failed crop it is the idea of countries that export their cash crops now holding in reserve. Rice is a good example of this.

With biofuels at the forefront, Thailand isn't producing rice like it once did, focusing more on biofuel materials than the tons of rice that it used to export has already begun to touch the market. Rice prices are already rising higher than historical averages as the Thai government holds in reserve to feed its own instead of the rest of the world. And Thailand isn't the only country, China stated last year that they would be raising the price bar. It also doesn't help that the idea of using rice as a biofuel took hold in Japan in 2007. And this is all mostly old news.

We can't even really feed the world much less save the seed as a species. So I ask again. Where is everyone going to get their seeds? I have a nice fat stock pile of my own and I share and swap with whomever I can nail down to get that one thing I have never tried to grow. While I have built my own network of really awesome people that I enjoy not only swapping with but chatting with, future gardeners may not be able to jump right into that clique - mine or anyone elses.

I just can't stress enough the importance of saving your seeds. In a world where the economy is in shambles, the food production is going down in favor of finding the replacement to black gold, and people are popping out families faster than the polar ice caps are melting and food riots are expected by 2012, no one's got your back but you and if you aren't saving, you aren't watching your back very well.

So save your seeds and watch as the Obama's start their own garden setting examples to the country and hopefully the world, but be wary of the fact that we are not a small population any longer by any stretch of the imagination. Demand is much larger than supply and even with the massive amounts of seed companies out there, we still have to contend with the fact that Monsanto is destined to own patients on every genetic code for every seed out there and when they do, the home garden is finished. Moving into areas where lands have been farmed for generations and taking people to court so they can shut them down for infringement. I'm betting the price of grow lights will go up sooner than later in that case. I think I'd become an expert in hydroponics damn quick.

So I guess I answered my own question. We'll all be getting out seeds from Monsanto soon enough. I wonder if Obama will endorse that.

Good Read

http://www.journeytoforever.org/seeds.html

Grr

As the seed and plant catalogs come in and I mourn the fact that I will not have a proper garden any time in the near future, I flip through the pages and make mental notations about checking into this or that, or asking my husband if he likes this lettuce or that corn. I have several that have been folded neatly in my mailbox in these past couple of days and am thrilled to see what new varieties there are for this season. Happily flipping through the pages, I was struck dumb by the huge amount of hybrids there are. Grrr.

It seems that the quick fix, prepackaged, uniformed color, size and numbers will always be spreading. Not that some hybrids aren't good. My father swears by the flavors and growing prowess of better boy and early girl tomatoes but he can't save those seeds and I have grown them myself but... the plants must be purchased every year. I'm trying to save money. I don't want to be a slave to the system why would I want to buy a hybrid?

So some of them have great flavor and some of them are resistant to whatever diseases plague their species, but I just can't bring myself to grow hybrids in my garden. I've recently come to this decision, too. It was this past spring while I was talking to my father and he was telling me that they were eagerly awaiting the next pay day to go out and buy more flats of tomatoes. That started me thinking of how he could have just saved seeds from last years crops, planted them himself and he wouldn't have to wait and he wouldn't have to fight to get the ones that aren't droopy or down right dehydrated with the danger of never fully recovering.

He could have saved just a ton of money by not having to purchase them at all. Buy the seeds, plant them, save the seeds. If your crop fails, you can buy more, but if it doesn't, you don't have to buy them again and leaves the door open to try new varieties. Not to mention you know where they came from, what they have been exposed to and you can make the choice on saving the seeds from the tastiest and best of the crop.

So with a smirk of annoyance in the trash goes the catalogs with all the hybrid varieties I really just don't want to buy and I pick up the phone to call my father to taunt him about his favorites and pick a fight about hybrids and seed saving. Wish me luck, I usually end up losing this argument with him. He usually puts his foot down and snaps "I don't like change, so I won't do it!"

Oy!

Another Year..

2008 is almost over. I look back over the year and see wonderful things. My children are growing up and most of all they have an active interest in growing their own food and that leads to them being more healthy eaters. I've learned a lot about my family through gardening, successes and failures have contributed to a closeness that we would not otherwise have. It is interesting to think that this small thing endears us so to one another and it is becoming more important to me.

Our seed stock is becoming rather respectable, a plethora of new things to grow and try. This has sparked off the need for new ways of cooking and offers a wonderful addition to the palate that would otherwise be stuck statistcally in 10 alternating meals. We are a family that spends 80% of our time together in the kitchen and at the table. Another amazing everyday activity that keeps us close.

This coming year will see the upheaval of a major relocation. And then another after we've found a place to buy. It is going to be a hard road to walk for a while, with most of our lives in storage until we can break free from rental properties and into our own house with our own land. It has kept us from buying all those trees I keep pointing at and jumping up and down over, and that is going to take a toll, too. The prices are rising and it is frightening to think of what the cost will be initially be. That is our only fear in all of this. It just seems that nothing can outrun the rising costs, including our want to return to a simplier lifestyle. Especially our absolute longing for the land we've dreamed of having.

I'm a tad put off because I won't be able to garden this year like I'd planned. I will only be able to do the bare minimum which puts my teeth on edge. Our grand plans for a year of growing, harvesting and preserving are on the backburner until this entire mess is back to flowing easily. I'm looking forward to getting this over with as soon as humanly possible.

On a lighter note, my seed swaps have, indeed, put me in a much better position to be a good gardener next year. I'll definately have a choice in what to grow and will be able to expand gradually over the course of the growing season. I'm looking forward to getting to know each of the plants we intend to grow and taking endless notes and pictures to share here. I'm also looking forward to finding a garden mentor to help unlock some of what I already know but have not recalled so far. Growing up on a farm, I spent a good time in the garden, I remember from seed to harvest. Endless hours of shelling, shucking, dicing, canning. But those memories are through a childs eyes and some of it doesn't fit into what I "know". So I'll be hunting for garden buddies and mentors in the Portland, OR/ Vancouver, WA area.

Very exciting!

I started with Jack-o-lantern pumpkin seeds and some carrots and through seed swaping I've come up with:

Carrot, Danvers #126
Broccoli, De Cicco, Organic
Chives, Garlic
Corn, Sweet, Early Golden Bantam
Cucumber, Miniature White
Honeydew, Earlidew
Leek, Summer
Lettuce, Organic, Mix
Mesculin
Mix, Carrot, Lunar, Solar, Cosmic, Atomic
Mix, Salad Greens
Oregano, Greek
Paprika, Capsicum Annum, Szentesi Pincos
Parsley, Italian Flat Leaf
Pepper, Sweet, California Wonder 300 TMR
Pepper, Sweet, Orange
Pepper, Sweet, Orange Sun
Pumpkin, Jack-o-Lantern
Radish, Altaglobe
Sunflower
Tomato, Black Cherry
Tomato, Black Moor
Tomato, Black Plum
Tomato, Cherry Red
Tomato, Gold Nugget
Tomato, Green Grape
Tomato, Health Kick
Tomato, Heinz 1439
Tomato, Hong Yuen
Tomato, Red Pear
Tomato, Roma Giant Paste
Tomato, White Currant
Tomato, Yellow Lemon
Tomato, Yellow Pear
Watermelon, Sugar Baby
Watermelon, Yellow Doll

With more on the way. I also have a lot of flower seeds that I'm looking forward to getting out there. That list is about as large as this one and I started only with cypress vine and ended up with a lot more from swaps and newbie freebies.

My seed box needs to be replaced soon, I'm running out of room.

I have been very blessed with generous amounts of home grown seeds from good people who want to help us get started.

I want to experiment with growth lights and aeroponics since I won't have a lot of land for a few months, it seems the easiest way to do things for now. I'm looking forward to having a nice salad before meals and later growing most or all the vegetables that we cook with on a regular basis.

I just have to get over that potato hump. My husband thinks I'm crazy for wanting to grow two or three different varieties at the same time, but he is thinking on too large of a scale. He'll just have to wait and see.

2008 was a year for planning, 2009 will be the year that we get through one project at a time.

Seed the Day and Rue It At The Same Time

Dagoba, you know how I love Dagoba, is doing Seed the Day. You send them a pic with you and your favorite bar of their chocolate and they will send you a packet of seeds. You can't beat that. Details on their website. The offer actually ends at the end of the month so get moving!

On a more dramatic front, Obama nominates Tom Vilsack as the Secretary of Agriculture. I'm not usually a hugely emotional person when it comes to politics. I'm not usually a hugely political person, period. But what a downward swing this is. Vilsack lobbies for Monsanto *shutter*, the makers of Roundup (which has been shown to be damaging over long term use if I'm not mistaken) and supports things like not putting labels on milk declaring them rBGH (recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone) free because they know that the public would rather not drink the stuff and they know that we're willing to pay whatever it takes to protect our health. Better that we just don't know about that. This would be devastating to companies like Monsanto who are major researchers for these types of hormones and other things too.

With such disastrous chemicals as Agent Orange riding on their coat tails, Monsanto has a long history of covering things up. They recently paid out a staggering $700 million for not cleaning up their mess from back in the 70's to a town in Alabama. They are also in deep with foreign court systems for basically lying about the type of seed they brought into the country for farmers to plant. Not nice business at all.

Then there is my favorite. The "terminator" seed. What did you say? You're asking if this is a seed dressed up like Arnold Swartzenager from the Terminator movie, complete with shot gun, cool glasses and clad in black leather? Nay, I say! If only. This technology produces sterile seeds, my friends. That's right. Commercial farmers would be forced to purchase seed over and over from Monsanto because the seeds that the plants would produce would be non-viable.

Did anyone actually stop to think about this on a global scale? A bunch of morons go into a lab, decide to figure out how to make all seeds sterile so that big companies can decide the fate of the world's food. And in the mean time while commercial farmers are forced to abide by this, who gets completely screwed in the end? Well lets see, uh the WORLD maybe? Cross pollination with these plants would devastate natural forests and fields. It would complete shut down the home gardener. Grow your own only to find out next year that half the seeds you saved are sterile.

And where would everyone have to go to get viable seeds? Hmm? You got it. Monsanto. Even though they say they have no interest in further research on the sterile seed, I still find it terrifying that they purchased the company that came up with the concept in 2007.

Idiots. All of them, complete morons. Once you let it all out into the world, things change. The earth is not a laboratory and life finds a way, strangely enough. I, personally, like things just how they are. I enjoy the fresh foods of my labor and certainly don't need some big company coming in and screwing up the planet more than it already is by letting loose to the world plants that produce sterile seeds. It is just unthinkable.

This is what Tom Vilsack supports. This is the future that he could potentially bring forth. It isn't just the growth hormones, its is much bigger than that. The GM corn that actually causes damage to the liver and kidneys. It's the audacity they show by trying to patient the birth of pigs because they have a specific instrument they use to artificially inseminate. The patients on specific varieties and the law suites they filed against farmers for selling seed they grew. It's Terminator, Agent Orange, DDT, Roundup.

For shame Tom Vilsack. For shame Monsanto. For shame Obama for even thinking that this guy would have the minds and hearts of the American people on his agenda.

Sound your voice! Make you're voice heard. Take action!

Say "No!" to GMO's. Say "No!" to the lack of labeling on our foods. Say "No!" to the cover ups and the lies. Say "No!" to Tom Vilsack and to Monsanto. And for the love of all things sacred, say "No!" to the Terminator seeds. They may be saying that they aren't pursuing research, but look at their track record and make the decision for yourself.

Seed Swap

I have a list of seeds I want. I have a stash of seeds I'll never go through! I found a few places to go to for your seeds.

Browse through The National Gardening Association site for people looking for seeds with seeds of their own for trade. The Farmers Almanac has one, similar. Thrifty Fun has a large list of seed wanted adds on their forum. Blossom Swap has a nice set up to include the US, Canada, Europe, and other places, too.

I found Southern Seed Legacy's Old Timey Seed Swap a good place for heirlooms. But you'll need to show up in person at this one as they are based out of Georgia.

Garden Web has dedicated a forum for seed swaps.

And there is always the Seed Savers Exchange. You can get a catalog or you can join up for swaps.

There a tons of these out there, but if you love your seeds and you love to network, this is a great way to do it.

Free Seeds

Seeds everywhere. When you feel as if you can't afford your own seeds, there are some resources so you can grow some seeds for the cost of a couple of postage stamps.

http://america-the-beautiful.org/free_seeds/index.php

They are doing something wonderful here. Saving seeds from landfills, feeding the hungry, beautifying the country.

And there is also Winter Sow. These guys are awesome. You send them an envelope with a couple of stamps on it, they will send you some seeds. In some cases it is your choice, in others, you get a nice surprise.

http://www.wintersown.org/wseo1/YourChoiceTomatoSASE.html

Seed Saving

Ever wonder about those precious heirlooms that were ferreted away by our great grand parents? I know my great grand parents were seed savers. They grew the same wonderful foods year after year. When they passed away, those seeds were past to other family members. Now, those heirlooms are gone. No one in the family gardens like my great grand parents once did. My father still gardens like they gardened. He still follows the same traditions every year putting plant after plant in the ground, but he doesn't start his from seed. He buys the plants.

Seed saving is important. Not only to save those precious heirlooms we all grew up on, but for the fact that prices are going space bound with each passing day. How much did you pay for milk the last time you bought it? How much more expensive was it from a year ago? Apply this principal to everything else you purchase at the grocery store and start looking at your grocery bill escalate like gas prices. It is a disgusting reality. One that more and more people are struggling with everyday.

Save seeds, save money. There are numerous resources on how to save seeds. One is at the Seed Savers Exchange.

More Tomatoes

You know, I talked to my father from 9 until almost 3 this morning and what did we talk about? Other than the side of beef I'm gonna purchase, we talked about tomatoes. My father, being a man who grew up on garden fresh food, loves his Arkansas Traveller, Big Boy, Better Boy and Early Girl tomato varities and he's been growing them for years. But unlike my father, I plan to save my seeds instead of paying $2.50 a plant every spring. My father guided me into a seed saving conversation saying "..take your tomato, cut it in half, get the seeds out, dry them in the sun, then stick them in the freezer.." to which my response was "If its that easy, why are you paying $2.50 a plant for them?" He actually said because he supposed he was lazy. Uh-huh.

But I did get something out of it other than sarcasm. I learned about how important the varity of the tomato is and once you find that perfect one for your purpose, you'll never use anything else and swear by it until your dying breath. My father grows several different kinds because he uses them for different things, all for eating, but each of them will add their own distinct textures, sweetnesses, acid content, flavors and aroma to whatever it is that you're cooking up or canning. He also doesn't save the seeds from these delicious tomatoes because they are all hybrids and the seeds don't do anything for him.

This presents an interesting delima for the self sustaining life I want to lead. I don't want to be bound to put more money in the pockets of "the man" so that I can have my tomatoes every year. I'm trying to get away from that. So I told my father that I'd split heirloom seeds with him. I'll buy them, I'll send them to him and he can grow them and save the seeds. With luck, he'll get addicted to an heirloom varity of tomato instead.

Interestingly enough, he talked about a 2 pound tomato that the plant grew to be 18 feet tall. I'd like to see that one myself. I'll try to find out the name and post it.