Pine Spring Creek Restoration Project

Last week marked the official groundbreaking for the Pine Spring Creek Restoration Project at Heritage Farm—and with it, an exciting advance for genetic diversity here at Seed Savers Exchange headquarters.

As a partnership between the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Trout Unlimited and Seed Savers Exchange, the project will restore stream habitat for native Brook Trout as well as a number of native plant species.

Years ago, a previous owner of the property created the pond for trout fishing. Over the  years, however, the stream-fed pond has silted in, increasing the water temperature by nearly 8 degrees, making it less suitable for native Brook Trout.  Removing the pond and restoring the stream will lower the water temperature closer to the 65 degrees preferred by Book Trout, which were stocked by the DNR in 2003 and 2004.

In addition to restoring the flow of the original stream bed, gravel substrate was introduced to the new section of stream to improve the habitat for spawning. Brook Trout are already reproducing naturally in Pine Spring Creek, according to Bill Kalishek, a fisheries biologist with the DNR. The planned restoration will greatly improve the likelihood that this trend continues.

The area where the pond was will be planted with grass and White Pine and Bur Oak trees. There will also be a small wetland to provide habitat and feature native plants such as Marsh Marigold and Skunk Cabbage.

SSE would like to thank the numerous Trout Unlimited chapters and other fishing organizations for their generous financial support for this project.

Heritage Farm is the headquarters of Seed Savers Exchange. The farm is located six miles north of Decorah, Iowa. Nestled among sparkling streams, limestone bluffs, and century-old white pine woods, the 890-acre farm is a living museum of historic varieties. Thousands of heirlooms are grown in certified organic fields. The farm includes preservation gardens, a historic orchard as well as ancient White Park Cattle. The Lillian Goldman Visitors Center is open 9-6 Monday-Friday and 10-6 Saturday and Sunday, tours depart at 1 p.m. both days.

More information about Heritage Farm and the Lillian Goldman Visitors Center.

Voices from the 31st Annual Seed Savers Exchange Conference & Campout

The Annual SSE Conference and Campout is a great place to meet like-minded gardeners, learn from experienced seed savers, and enjoy the beauty of Heritage Farm—but don't take our word for it. Hear what this year's participants had to say about the experience: [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgPnJdemUlA[/youtube]

Conference highlights: 'Speed saving' with Suzanne Ashworth

Are you interested in the idea of seed saving but think it sounds too difficult or technical to actually try yourself? Let seed saving expert Suzanne Ashworth convince you otherwise. Suzanne led a number of workshops at this year's Conference & Campout. I caught up with her for a few minutes between sessions—and according to Suzanne, a few minutes is all you need to get started. In fact, you could have your own seed collection started in less time than it takes to cook dinner! Check it out: [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zz9H8Wj_bFM[/youtube]

Want to learn more? Here are a few tips from our Public Program Manager Shannon Carmody to help you get started:

If you’re interested in seed saving, understanding some basic concepts before you get started will make the process easier. It all starts in the planning stage; here are a few guidelines to get you started.

• Who’s your daddy? Know whether your parent plant is a hybrid, heirloom or open-pollinated variety.Hybrids, which are created by crossing plants of two different varieties, generally do not produce offspring with the same traits as the parent plant. Seed saved from open-pollinated varieties, on the other hand, will produce plants identical to the parent.Heirloom seeds, which are handed down from generation to generation, can be saved and re-planted and still maintain most of their original characteristics and qualities. In other words, they remain true-to-type.

• Become a mad scientist. Know your plants scientific name (genus and species).Cross pollination is the transfer of pollen between plants. To save pure seed, you want to prevent two different varieties in the same species from cross pollinating. Different varieties of plants within the same species will cross-pollinate, but this doesn’t usually happen between plants in different species. Planting just one variety in a species will help ensure you save pure seed.So if you know your plants scientific names, you will know which ones will cross-pollinate. For example, what we commonly refer to as squash could fall into one of four species: Cucurbita maxima, C. argyrosperma, C. moschata, and C. pepo. These four species won’t typically cross-pollinate. On the other hand, Brassica oleracea includes broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, collards, kale and kohlrabi, all plants you might think wouldn’t cross but actually do!

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• The birds and the bees. Know how your plants pollinate. Understanding how garden plants pollinate will help you prevent cross-pollination. For example, some plants, like beans or lettuce, will self-pollinate before the flower is even open, making them less susceptible to cross pollination. Although on occasion insects can cross pollinate. Saving seed from “selfers” is a good way to get started.On the other hand, plants that are insect-pollinated (squash or cucumbers) or wind pollinated (corn and spinach) are more likely to cross-pollinate if varieties in the same species are grown together.

• Hey, give me some space! Plan your garden accordingly.Some fruits being saved for seed must be grown to full maturity and allowed to ripen after the fruit’s edible stage. Let’s take carrots for example. When you pull this sweet root out of the ground after about 2 months, there isn’t too much showing above ground. However when you’re harvesting seed, a carrot plant can be up to 4 feet tall!

• Keep up with the Jones. Know what your neighbors are growing. Some varieties, especially those that are wind or insect pollinated, need a certain distance of isolation to ensure seed purity. For example, sunflowers must be isolated by ½ - 3 miles, and corn needs a distance of 2 miles. So, you may have to consider what your neighbors are growing. Others, like tomatoes, lettuce and beans might only need to be grown in different parts of your garden.

• So, what’s the hurry? Plan on your plants being in the ground longer.Imagine your favorite lettuce plant - you love eating the fresh crisp leaves of an early summer lettuce, and then pulling it out to make room for a heat-loving plant. Harvesting lettuce seed, however, requires leaving the plant in its spot, letting it bolt, flower and go to seed. All of this will take more time. But you may be surprised, and impressed, to see your 3 foot tall lettuce plants with delicate yellow flowers.

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Remember, some plants are easier to save seed from than others, so start simple. Doing your research in advance will save you time and energy in the garden later.

For more information on getting started with seed saving, check out Suzanne Ashworths classic book "Seed to Seed"