A bunch of colorful snapdragon flowers next to shorter purple flowers in a large garden

Hope and Practice: Jane Frandsen

Jane Frandsen, Exchange lister, recounts why and how she began saving seeds: ‘Seeds Are Amazing Things.’

Hope and Practice: Robert Lobitz

Robert Lobitz—one of the most active members of Seed Savers Exchange—had many listings in the Yearbook from 1984 up to 2006, when he passed away.

Stewardship Stories

Hope and Practice: Christina Wenger

In the first third of the 20th century, the agricultural valleys of California were full of sweet peas grown for seed.

two little girls in bib overalls holding tomatoes

Stewardship Stories

Hope and Practice: Niki Stevens

My path to seed saving started around the age of four. I knew that those red things (tomatoes) my mom had picked were bad news.

sitting man in a red, collared shirt, holding and surrounded by cucumbers

Stewardship Stories

Hope and Practice: Jay Tracy

While gardening in Arizona, I discovered the snake melon and carosello cucumbers as well as many other muskmelons that, for millennia, have been cultivated as delicious cucumbers.

man in plaid shirt and woman in purple sweater stand in front of green garden

Stewardship Stories

Hope and Practice: Kris Fox

My fascination with seed diversity started when I saw a colorful display of dry beans in one of the seed catalogs I had requested.

woman in sleeveless top stands in garden surrounded by white picket fence

Stewardship Stories

Hope and Practice: Jeanine Scheffert

Jeanine Scheffert, an artist native to Decorah—and Seed Savers Exchange’s education and engagement director for nearly a decade—looks at a project (any project) like a canvas, full of opportunity and potential.

people form circle in front of small, red hen house

Stewardship Stories

Hope and Practice: Glenn Drowns

It seems like just yesterday when I first stumbled across a small advertisement in the back of a magazine in the fall of 1978. The ad was plain and simple: “Send $3 for a copy of the Seed Savers Exchange list of members and seeds.”

sunflower growing with two buildings and mountains in the background

Stewardship Stories

Hope and Practice: Terrence Kerwin

I’ve been a Seed Savers Exchange member since about 1980, but I didn’t join the Exchange until three years ago, when I offered two tomato varieties from my garden in Silverton, Colorado.

man and woman sitting outdoors behind a table displaying beans in jars and fresh flowers

Stewardship Stories

Hope and Practice: Gayle Saberniak

I’m a lifelong gardener and plant nut. I started saving seeds in the early ’90s when my favorite ‘California Giant’ petunias started disappearing from catalogs and the local store that carried the seeds closed.