The Art of Saving Heirloom Vegetable Seeds

Reader Contribution by Natalie Schaefer
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“At the time, I assumed everyone had grandparents who hoarded rare seeds, enjoyed food they grew themselves and dabbled in the kind of connoisseurship that comes from eating only what is fresh and local (especially your own). I was soon to learn that this was not the case and that what we had found in the freezer was a major collection of very rare seeds, very rare indeed.”

This quote from William Woys Weaver’s Harvesting Our Heirloom History pinpoints the moment when heirloom seed preservation became his lifework.

Weaver describes heirloom seed saving as the link to a rich horticultural and culinary heritage. In his book, Heirloom Vegetable Gardening: A Master Gardener’s Guide to Planting, Seed Saving and Cultural History, he takes readers through the seed saving mastery of indigenous peoples and the waves of immigrant farmers and homesteaders who followed.

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