Seed Savers Exchange deposits seeds at Svalbard
/Seed Savers Exchange (SSE) recently deposited 627,596 seeds, from 435 plant varieties, at the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway.
Read MoreSeed Savers Exchange (SSE) recently deposited 627,596 seeds, from 435 plant varieties, at the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway.
Read MoreAccording to Facilities manager Jim Edrington, “Our favorite part of our job is getting to build unique stuff.”
Read MoreHeritage Farm is a plant genebank - we maintain thousands of varieties of plant types. We call our seed bank, orchards, in vitro tissue cultures, and vegetative plant repository the collection and every year we grow out a portion of the collection to increase and/or refresh stock and for evaluation and observation purposes.
Read MoreLast week Phil and Steffen, the SSE evaluation team, were busy evaluating watermelons. This year Preservation grew 17 varieties of watermelon, a typical number, as it is a big crop that takes up a lot of space in the field.
Read MoreGrandpa Ott’s morning glories cover the south face of the iconic barn at Heritage Farm, home of Seed Savers Exchange (SSE). But don’t be fooled by the scenery! This barn is much more than a pretty postcard – especially come harvest time.
Behind that wall of sleepy purple blossoms lies one of the busiest seed-saving operations in the country — the first hint of which is the unmistakable sweet aroma of ripe melons drifting from the open double doors. Colorful piles of ripe fruits and veggies sit waiting in buckets while fans blow gently over screens and drying racks full of tiny seeds. The colors, smells and sounds are almost as overwhelming as the neatly printed to-do list on the staff white board.
But of course it hasn’t always been like this. SSE’s seed saving operation started in a kitchen, probably much like your own, almost 40 years ago. That’s where we started the seed saving renaissance that is taking place today. If you’re reading this post, it means that you’re part of this movement, and may want to do more.
You could start by saving your own seeds this season. But even if you don’t, there is something important you can do right now to help the cause of saving biodiversity and our country’s vanishing garden heritage. And you won’t need any special tools or equipment to do it.
By making a year-end gift to Seed Savers Exchange you can help fulfill our non-profit mission to conserve and promote heirloom vegetables, fruits, flowers and herbs. Your generosity will make possible the continuation and expansion of our critical preservation and outreach programs and will allow us to:
Thank you for your ongoing support and for making a gift to help Seed Savers Exchange do more to preserve our country’s rich agricultural diversity today! By safeguarding the seeds of our garden heritage you will ensure a healthy planet for generations to come.
PS: The Millennium Seed Bank Partnership estimates that 60,000 to 100,000 plant species today are threatened with extinction. Support us in our efforts to reverse this trend by giving a tax deductible donation today!
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Seed Savers Exchange is a non-profit organization located in Decorah, Iowa, with a mission to conserve and promote America's culturally diverse but endangered garden and food crop heritage for future generations by collecting, growing, and sharing heirloom seeds and plants.
Seed Savers Exchange is a nonprofit, member supported organization that collects, preserves and shares heirloom seeds for our future. Since 1975, SSE and our supporters have collected the seeds and stories that would otherwise have been lost.
Seed Savers Exchange is a tax-exempt 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation of heirloom seeds.
Seed Savers Exchange
3094 North Winn Road
Decorah, Iowa 52101
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