Sustainable seeds

Gardening has seen an increase in the last year and especially food gardening. The downturn in the economy coupled with the food poisoning scares have people thinking more about their food and where it comes from but there is more we need to be aware of when purchasing seeds for gardening. Not all seeds are created equal for the eco-conscious consumer, and if you are ready to dig in (pardon the pun) to gardening for food then there are certain ‘green’ aspects to consider.

Organic
More and more consumers are looking for organic fruits and vegetables wanting to eliminate unnecessary chemicals in their diets, but organic produce can be expensive. One way to cut the costs on organic food is to grow your own, and whilst you can do this with regular seeds it really is the eco-friendly choice to go with seeds grown and saved organically. No chemicals (herbicide, pesticides etc) used in the growing of the plant, and no chemicals used in the seed saving process. Not many people know that some seeds (melons for example) often come pre-coated with fungicides. Opting for organic seeds is the best choice if you are trying to reduce your consumption of chemicals. Many mainstream seed companies offer organic selections in their catalogs alongside conventional seeds.

Heirloom seeds
Growing plants from seed falls into two categories, those plants that grow true to seed and those that don’t. This is due to hybridization of plants and seeds. This basically means two plants being merged together to form a new species. The problem with hybrid plants is that once they fruit you (the consumer/gardener) cannot save the seed to grow the same plant again next season. Any eco-gardener knows that saving your own seed is one of the great joys of gardening. Planting seed you saved yourself, then saving seed from that plant season after season! Plants that have proven again and again to grow true from seed are called Heirloom seeds or sometimes heritage seeds. These are seeds that have been around for decades and were planted by our ancestors.

Seed saving
Having been a home food gardener for a few years now one of the greatest achievements was harvesting food from plants I grew from seeds I had saved from the previous season. I personally had a hand in the whole growth cycle of that food from seed saving, to seedling, plant and harvest. Being responsible for your own food is such a feeling of independence and really requires very little in the way of knowledge (or a quick goode search) for most vegetables.

GM Seeds
This one is the big one as far as gardeners and eco-conscious consumers are concerned. Since the introduction of GM crops, the GM seeds have been making a slow and steady impact on the common household gardners seed supplies without many even being aware of it. The companies that own the patents to the GM crops (yes that’s right a patent to FOOD), have since begun digging their claws into the general population. The huge corporations that own these patented crops now also own many “common” varieties of seeds. These companies have had many severe negative environmental impacts and eco-conscious gardeners should think twice about purchasing seeds linked with these companies, not just because of the patenting of food but the fact that these companies are also manufacturing herbicides, pesticides etc which damage the environment.

In a nutshell we need to think, what is going to give us optimum nutrition, save the planet and provide us with satisfaction knowing we grew the food that is on our table? Homegrown is best, hands down, and organic sustainable seeds make the whole gardening process environmentally friendly. Do a google search to find sustainable seeds, save your own seeds or swap with friends.

dalgal | My Bio & Articles