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Frequently Asked Questions
Why should I become a member of SSE?
Do I have to become a member to order from SSE
catalog?
What is an heirloom?
Why should I grow heirlooms?
Are my seeds irradiated in the mail?
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1) Why should I become a member of
SSE?
Imagine a seed catalogue with thousands of varieties of tomatoes, potatoes,
peppers and beans. As a member of SSE you’ll have access to over
11,000 unique varieties of heirloom vegetables, fruits, grains, flowers
and herbs through the Seed Savers annual yearbook. Every year you’ll
receive the yearbook that lists available varieties, their characteristics
and histories, and information on how to obtain them through other members.
Many of these varieties are extremely rare and would probably be extinct
if it weren’t for a community of gardeners who are committed to
keeping these treasures alive. Seed Savers Exchange has provided an
organized link for gardeners who feel the importance of maintaining
the existing biodiversity of our food supply. In 1970, a corn blight
devastated more than 15 percent of the North American corn crop. The
corn was particularly susceptible to the blight because over 70% of
the corn being grown in the U.S. came from the same parent lines. Not
only does maintaining heirlooms prevent occurrences like the corn blight,
but as you will discover, growing them is a lot of fun!
In addition to the SSE annual yearbook, you will also receive two other
annual publications containing articles from around the globe pertaining
to seeds, plants, gardening and food. Articles range from the latest
news and commentary on the world of biotechnology to timeless articles
exploring the origins and peregrinations of various food crops.
As a SSE member you are invited to attend the Annual Convention held
on the last full weekend in July at Heritage Farm in Decorah, Iowa.
Past keynote speakers have included Wendell Berry, Wes Jackson, Eliot
Coleman, Gary Nabhan and Roger Swain. Demonstrations and workshops,
garden and orchard tours, delicious food and a barn dance are all a
part of the weekend festivities.
Becoming a SSE member brings with it the reward of knowing you are a
part of an organized effort to preserve heirloom varieties. The typical
gardener or grower does not have the resources to save thousands of
plant varieties on his or her own. Government- funded seed banks such
as the National Seed Storage Laboratory in Colorado are inadequately
funded. Furthermore, to guarantee their viability these varieties need
to be grown out on a routine basis, the seed collected and saved under
optimal conditions until it is time to repeat the process. Presently
only organizations such as Seed Savers Exchange are growing out and
maintaining the heirloom varieties. Our members support us in our efforts
to preserve these treasures for future generations. In perpetuating
these varieties we are keeping genetic material alive which may be called
upon to protect our food supply from unforeseen challenges such as drought,
global warming, pesticide-resistant insects and diseases.
2) Do I have to become a member to order
from the Seed Savers catalog?
No! We love it when non-members order from our catalogue In the catalogue
you will find varieties that are available through other sources, as
well our unique offerings. Once you experience the wondrous world of
heirloom varieties, particularly the incredible flavors, you’ll
want to keep growing them. You might even find yourself saving your
own seeds and exchanging them with others!
3) What is an heirloom?
We think of heirlooms as seeds that are passed down within families
of gardeners, exactly the way that a piece of jewelry or heirloom furniture
is passed down from generation to generation.
4) Why should I grow heirlooms?
If you want variety, superior flavor, unusual colors and shapes and
unique histories, heirloom gardening is a wonderful alternative to growing
the F1 hybrids featured predominately by many large seed companies.
Most home gardeners and growers don’t need tomatoes with skins
tough enough to withstand cross-country shipment, or potatoes that will
pass the McDonald’s uniformity test. Since the 1940s the hybrids
have been the most marketed varieties to home gardeners. Choices grew
increasingly smaller as the seed companies discarded those varieties
that did not fit the factory-farm, monoculture mold.
Although the old time varieties were worthy of continuing, many were
dropped by seed companies in favor of the hybrids and gradually home-growers
couldn’t get the same tomatoes and peppers they remembered from
childhood. An entire generation grew up believing that all tomatoes
were red, round and identical in taste. However, heirloom gardening
is putting an end to that myth! There are hundreds of different tomato
varieties, and although some are red and round there are many others
with incredibly complex flavors and a virtual rainbow of colors!
Many heirloom varieties can be recognized by their names as having folk
origins. These gems were often grown by generations of families, ethnic
enclaves and communities and are usually found in isolated and mountainous
regions. Frequently they took the name of their ethnic origins, as in
Zapotec Ribbed and Cherokee Purple tomatoes. Sometimes they were named
after the family or person who bred them or made them available to other
gardeners such as Djena Lee’s Golden Girl tomato and Jimmy Nardello’s
Sweet Italian Frying Pepper. Some got their name from unusual physical
traits, examples being Moon and Stars Watermelon and Rattlesnake Snap
Bean. The Aconcagua Pepper was named after Mt. Aconcagua in Argentina,
where it originated.
If you aren’t already convinced that you want to try growing heirlooms,
another one of their desirable traits is that the ripening process is
staggered, which means you get produce that ripens on an ongoing basis.
Many hybrids were bred to ripen at the same time, which optimized mechanical
harvesting. This trait is a disadvantage for the home gardener who might
want to pick ripe tomatoes over a period of weeks, not days.
As a home gardener, you can make a difference simply by growing heirlooms
and helping to keep the genetic reservoir well stocked for future generations.
Imagine a seed catalogue with two or three tomato varieties –
all red, round and similar in taste. What a dull world it would be without
variety!
5) Are my seeds irradiated in the mail?
After the anthrax attacks in New York and Washington D.C. The USPS began
considering the use of irradiation to disinfect the mail. There were
many rumors of what mail was going to be irradiated. After a discussion
with a Postal Authority and a clarification by the American Seed Trade
Association, only mail that is delivered to government offices in Washington
D.C., starting with the zip codes 202-205, is currently being irradiated.
All other mail is not being processed through any form of irradiation.
This could change in the future. We will keep you posted on the situation.
Pictures to download
coming soon
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