"We are a living gene bank."
So proclaims the Mission Statement on the inside cover of our magazine.
It's easy to buy seeds for your garden - seed companies and garden centres carry them - even grocery stores put them out on promotional racks during the spring months. But, for the most part, these seeds represent such a tiny drop in the food gene pool. What if you want to grow something less ordinary? What if you want to contribute to the building of true food security?
Seed Exchanges
Running from January to May across the country, every Seedy Saturday or Sunday hosts a seed exchange. Even if you haven't saved seeds of your own seed to swap, many events will allow you to purchase seeds that others in your community have saved. If you've experienced the satisfaction of buying food direct from a local farmer, the next step may be the satisfaction of getting seed direct from a local seed saver! There's nothing quite like taking home a cute little hand-written seed package to get you excited for the start of the growing season.
Member Seed Directory
Have you ever heard of Litchi Tomato, Wonderberry or Ground Cherries (hint: they're species not varieties!)? Have you grown a purple potato or jerusalem artichoke? Our members make thousands of both standard and bizarre varieties available in our Directory every year. Fruits, vegetables, flowers, herbs, grains and even some trees and shrubs are listed. Not just a seed catalogue, the directory is a preservation tool - allowing for rare and regionally-adapted varieties to be saved and grown out by more and more people every year. We encourage anyone to give seed saving a try. Request a variety, grow it out, save the seed, and offer it back the following season. The directory is available both in book form and in an online database, but only members can list and request seeds: join today if you want to check it out.
Canadian Seed Libaray
Finally, if you're not a grower yourself, you can still contribute. Our Canadian Seed Library is also a living gene bank. Supported by donor adoptions, hundreds of varieties which are not carried by many (if any!) Canadian seed companies are grown out and increased every year. Bit by bit we will be able to make more varieties accessible to the public so you can grow them yourselves.
Berkeley Tie-Ye Pink Tomato...Old Time Looney Lettuce...Rose Finn Apple Potato...Dragon's Tongue Bean...Green Sausage Tomato...Purple Glazer Garlic...Strawberry Spinach...Utrecht Blue Wheat...Collective Farm Woman Melon... This growing season, DON'T MISS OUT ON THE EXTRAORDINARY!!!