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Calendar of Events, SSE
What's New at Heritage Farm
Posted 9/19/2008
Seed Savers Exchange was recently awarded a $100,000 grant by the Educational Foundation of America to fund the Intern and Volunteer Program at Heritage Farm, starting with the 2009 crop year. The funds will be used to permanently develop intern positions and volunteer programs in three areas: preservation gardens, organic seed production and education. Seed Savers Exchange has devoted resources and staff to preserve the integrity of its seed collection since 1987. The tasks required have been varied and the experience accumulated during that period has been unique. This expertise is well defined and can provide important skills needed for the recent revival of organic agriculture, heirloom seeds, saving seeds and genetic diversity.
Seed Savers Exchange has identified three specific areas that the Intern and Volunteer Program would benefit: Education and Outreach Intern with Diane Ott Whealy, Vice President of Education; Organic Seed Production Intern with Aaron Whaley, Vice President of Sales; and Horticultural Intern with Matthew Barthel, Vice President for Gardens and Collections.
The Seed Savers Exchange Intern and Volunteer Program will not only assist SSE but will offer hands-on experience for interns and volunteers in a variety of horticultural venues. While utilizing the unique resources available at SSE, interns will have the opportunity for work-based learning experiences in seed saving practices, organic gardening, strengthening educational programs and other site services while gaining knowledge and experience in their field of study. The interns will also benefit from assisting in a project's inception through completion.
The staff at Seed Savers Exchange is most grateful for this support and pleased to be involved with a new generation of motivated leaders in agriculture. The Intern and Volunteer Program will not only strengthen our existing programs but will provide a ready supply of bright young people to work with SSE.
Please continue to check our web site for more details including the posting of job descriptions and starting dates for each of the positions.
Posted September 1, 2008
Press Release
The Board of Directors is pleased to announce the appointment of George Donald DeVault as Executive Director of the Seed Savers Exchange. He succeeds Kent Whealy, a co-founder and former Executive Director.
About George DeVault
Photo by Mitch Mandel
Posted 6/3/2008
This year at Heritage Farm we are regenerating
50 varieties from our collection. Included in the
selection for this year are leaf, butterhead,
crisphead and romaine (cos) type lettuces, with leaves
displaying various morphologies and colors ranging
from yellow-green to blue-green to red. As most of you
already know, lettuce is generally believed to be
self-pollinated, thus making it one of the easier
vegetables for seed saving in the home garden. A
lettuce seed crop takes up relatively little space (smaller
population sizes are required of self-pollinators), and
multiple varieties can be saved with minimal isolation
distance. For those of us in wet climates (as we
are here at Heritage Farm), the biggest challenge in producing a lettuce seed crop is preventing fungal pathogens from colonizing lettuce seed heads if rains occur late in the season. To minimize this risk, our collection lettuce is grown in pots in a sheltered location. After fertilization has occurred, we cover the developing seed heads with breathable bags to prevent any seed loss.
Posted 2/10/2008
More Information:
Ministry of Agriculture & Food
nordgen.org
croptrust.org
Press Release: American Food supply safeguarded
by SSE contribution to Svalbard Global Seed Vault
Seed Savers Exchange in Decorah, Iowa is pleased
to announce its participation in the Svalbard
Global
Seed Vault in Norway. This project is a global
effort to
secure and protect the astounding genetic
diversity of
the world’s food crops. Seed Savers
Exchange will be
one of numerous seed banks from
around the
world that will be depositing samples of
seed from
their collections in the Svalbard vault.
The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is a massive seed storage facility that has been built into the side of a mountain on the Svalbard Archipelago, 300 miles north of mainland Norway. The vault is being cooled to 0 degrees Fahrenheit for the long-term storage of food-crop seeds and has a capacity of up to 4.5 million seed samples and will eventually be home to practically every variety of almost every important food crop in the world, making it, when in full use, the world’s largest collection of seeds.
The purpose is a hedge against disaster so that food production can resume if seed resources become otherwise depleted. According to the project web site, seed banks face a wide variety of threats, like the national seed bank of the Philippines that was recently wiped out by a typhoon and Iraqi and Afghan seed banks that have been destroyed by war. Lack of resources and funding continues to be the biggest threat to seed banks today, however. The site in Norway was selected for its ability to keep seeds cool and viable for a long period of time. Permafrost conditions there ensure that the vault’s sandstone walls never rise above about 25 degrees. Additionally, an ultra-efficient refrigeration system maintains the temperature in the vault at around 0 degrees. Under these conditions, some seeds which are most fit for storage, like grains, could be stored for up to 1,000 years.
The vault is located at an altitude and depth in the mountain such that neither a potential rise in sea level nor melting of the permafrost are considered potential threats in the foreseeable future The Svalbard vault is intended as a final backup for all other seed banks. While Norway has constructed and will own the vault, countries and organizations sending seeds will own the material they deposit, functioning ultimately like a bank safe deposit box. It opens officially on February 26, 2008. Seed Savers Exchange is among the opening-day depositors, making an initial deposit of seeds from 485 different vegetable varieties. With planned annual deposits of 2,000 vegetable varieties over the next several years, its deposits will eventually be among the largest at the Svalbard vault.
The Seed Savers Exchange is a non-profit organization founded in 1975 and located in Decorah, Iowa. Seed Savers is committed to the distribution and preservation of heirloom vegetable varieties. Seed Savers has a membership of 7,000 gardeners who maintain and distribute thousands of heirloom vegetable varieties. Seed Savers also maintains a seed collection of over 25,000 varieties of rare and unique vegetables.
Posted 6/16/2008
Seed Savers recently received funding from the 1772 Foundationto construct a
greenhouse at Heritage Farm. Seed Savers has needed another
greenhouse to support
the efforts of preserving its seed collection of over 25,000 varieties of vegetables. At Heritage Farm we rely on greenhouse
space to both produce seed and start transplants for some of the most endangered heirloom vegetables. The 1772 Foundation mission is to preserve and enhance American historical entities for future generation to enjoy with particular interest in farming, industrial development, transportation and unusual historical buildings.
Heirloom vegetable seed has been passed on to Seed Savers from gardeners all across America. Frequently, the seed comes in small samples that are old and have poor germination rates. It is not uncommon for only a few seeds to be passed on to Seed Savers from a member of a family that has been maintaining a variety for many generations. Growing rare and old seed directly in a garden is a risk even in an ideal growing season. The vast majority of Seed Savers preserved varieties are grown successfully in open gardens, however Heritage Farm’s current greenhouse is what allows us to save varieties in the most peril.
Heritage Farm’s current greenhouse allows for controlling the variables of temperature, moisture, and wind. The ability to control these environmental variables is crucial in maintaining the health of the most endangered heirlooms. Compared to growing rare and old seed directly in the gardens, the current greenhouse gives us drastically improved germination rates for transplants, reduced disease levels, better success with controlled pollinations, a longer growing season for plants maintained in the greenhouse and a high level of assurance that we will be able to harvest and preserve good quality seed.
Increasing greenhouse space has become an integral part in further allowing Seed Savers to pursue its mission of preserving and maintaining the collection of over 25,000 varieties of vegetables. Seed Savers is grateful for the support provided by the 1772 Foundation and honored to have them play a role in our efforts to preserve America’s vegetable heritage.
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