Scott Leddy, a habitat-restoration practitioner well known among naturalists in the Midwest, has devoted the majority of his life (more than three decades) to restoring the bluffs and prairies surrounding Rushford, Minnesota, part of the Driftless Area of the Midwest.
The year 2017 proved a success for Seed Savers Exchange’s new Community Science programs. Myriad SSE members answered the call to participate in one (or both) of the programs—ADAPT and RENEW.
With the start of each new year at Seed Savers Exchange come seed orders from gardeners across the country who are eagerly anticipating another spring of growing heirloom and open-pollinated vegetables and flowers. And 2018, I discovered, was no different.
Food is central to holiday gatherings and often a celebration isn’t complete without that one dish made especially for the occasion — be it your Grandma’s pecan pie or the green bean casserole, customized to your family’s exact liking.
Come behind the scenes as Seed Savers Exchange’s preservation team shows how they regenerate seeds on Heritage farm. This is a vital step in caring for our collection.
In 2017, we visited with Lou Ann Hall—gardener extraordinaire and Former Seed Savers Exchange retail seed program manager—to learn more about the lush and inviting small-space garden (100 square feet, give or take) she created that spring on the sprawling grounds of Heritage Farm in Decorah. Read on and learn how you too can make the most of even the smallest garden spot.
Sara McCamant of Sebastopol, California, has never met a garden plot she didn’t like. “Gardening’s in my blood,” she says. “Growing up in a family of gardeners, I’ve always had a passion for planting things and digging in the dirt.” And she has happily spent much of her life pursuing that passion.
Until 2017, the Seed Savers Exchange collection included the “turnabaga.” What is a turnabaga, you might rightfully ask? Well, it was a very unique vegetable that we can now proudly say is extinct.
From Washington to Massachusetts, John Withee’s collection is being honored and protected by the next generation of seed savers who carry on his legacy of growing and sharing heirloom beans. Here you can follow the plight of just a few of the varieties in the John Withee bean collection.
John Withee became a legend championing bean biodiversity and seeking to protect heirloom beans from extinction. John took his hobby to the extreme, building a national network of bean aficionados, amassing a collection of 1,186 varieties, and gaining national fame for his humble campaign.