Seed Matters
Ethiopian Blue Tinge Wheat. This variety can be easily grown, then cooked and eaten like rice!
Hi Folks. The weather here on Gabriola Island is rain mixed with the barest tinge of sleet; in other words, it is an inside day. The animals think so too. They are inside their shelters munching contentedly on hay, not even curious about venturing out of doors.
If you have recently perused the online catalogs of the big seed companies you will have noticed that backlogs are already starting to happen. Because of the pandemic last year, there was a buying panic on vegetable seeds, which caused huge wait times for shipping, and some companies flat out stopped selling to home gardeners (Johnny’s Seeds).
Well, the pandemic is still here and it looks like there is a continuing fervor around all things seeds. We are certainly noticing it here at Sweet Rock Farm. I have a request of ya’ll, those of you who garden and grow our seeds or anyone else’s. This year, when you plan your garden and you are dreaming of plucking ripe tomatoes off the vine, or harvesting that huge broccoli crown you just know you can grow, this year plan to save some seeds. Nothing crazy, something easy like beans or peas to start with. Why?
Seed Matters. Seeds matter. They are the base of our entire food chain and in all cultures, across all of the time that we have practiced agriculture, seeds have been cherished, grown, traded, and given as gifts. In North America, even 75 years ago it was the usual practice to save your own seed from year to year, as a farmer or gardener. Its not that hard, all it takes is intent. There is a ton of information online about saving seed if you are not sure. It just takes you to do it.
This may seem self defeating at first. After all, it is in my interest as a seed producer to have you come back year after year to buy my seed. But its not, not really. it is really difficult to produce all of one’s own seed, just as it is very hard to grow all of one’s food. So you’ll keep coming around (I hope!).
What this is about is relocalizing our food web. The pandemic has shown us that our globalized food chains are brittle, and in fact, are quite fragile. We need to start producing more of our own food. In Canada, in BC, and in our own cities and locales. And this begins with seed. Which begins with you.
Like I said above, it doesn’t have to be a huge ordeal. The lettuce seed you save from your best two or three lettuces would be enough for a couple years of harvests. If we all do this, we become stronger together as a community and a nation.
Have a great gardening year everyone,
Sal Dominelli
Sweet Rock Farm Seeds