We make it a habit to store away extra seed each year. Seed storage is a good idea for several reasons. It is satisfying to know that you have a viable store of good open-pollination seeds for the future, no matter what is happening in the market place and the world. Seed storage is very simple. Just remember to keep them cool, dark and dry. I keep a year’s worth of seeds in our pantry where it is cool and dark. We store them in zip lock bags that are then put into mason jars with the year dated on the top. Seeds stored in this way will keep for from 3 to 4 years. This is only an average as some seed will keep longer. We also keep a supply in our freezer. Seeds kept in the freezer will stay viable for 30 to 40 years. We use the same technique for freezer seeds.
We also belong to a local chapter of Seed Stewards. This is a group of gardeners who are dedicated to countering the effects of large seed companies like Monsanto who sell only genetically modified seeds. The Seed Stewards Group creates seed banks of locally grown open-pollination non-hybrid seed for the community for future use. www.southsoundseedstewards.org and www.seedsavers.org
Check in with us each month for our posts: Short Courses on Seed Saving. Our first instrallment in December is on saving Tomato Seed.
“Haitian Farmers Commit to Burning Monsanto Hybrid Seed” www.truthout.org 5/18/10 Beverly Bell
Chavannes Jean-Baptiste a peasant farmer and leader of The Peasant Movement of Papay called for the burning of 475 tons of GMO, pesticide treated seeds from Monsanto. He called for a protest of the presents of the corporation in Haiti on June 4th, World Environment Day. The corn seeds that Monsanto has donated to Haiti are treated with the fungicide Maxim XO and the tomato seeds with thiram. Thiram belongs to a highly toxic class of chemicals called ethylene bisdithiocarbamates (EBDCs). The US Environmental Protection Agency deemed EBDC treated seeds and plants to be so dangerous as to require workers to wear special protective clothing when handling them. The Haitian peasant movement’s concern is not just about dangers of the chemical and the possibility of future GMO imports, they claim that the future of Haiti depends on local production with local food for local consumption, in what is called food sovereignty. They say that Monsanto’s arrival in Haiti is a further threat to this sovereignty.
“Thousands of Asia Farmers May evict Monsanto in Philippines” Organic Consumers Association
Thousands of farmers belonging to the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Philipinas (KMP) and 20 foreign participants are rallying is a common ideal: Land and Food Without Poisons. After the successful activities in India and Bangladesh, they end a massive protest rally against globalization and for genuine agrarian reform to achieve food security, social justice and land and food without pesticide poisoning.
A detailed chapter all about seeds is included in our Winter Gardening Guide ebook.
The Winter Gardening Guide