Seed Saving Tips and Basics

Before hitting the road as a roaming artist and show vendor, I was a produce farmer. I also grew up on a farm where we grew most of our own food in our extensive garden. I spent many summers harvesting food and flowers and choosing the best that my garden had to offer to save as seed for the next year. I propagated my own garlic, flowers, broom corn, tomatoes, onions, herbs, and more. I also learned that there are many species that it is not practical to propagate in a small space if you don’t have to, but I always keep seed on hand and grow what I can under the conditions at hand. Even in my friends small garden or in my RV, it is possible to do some gardening and seed saving.

So, here are the basics:

1) Start with annual plants that you love, that are easy to grow and propagate, and keep their pollen close. If the pollen is carried on the wind, like corn, you won’t get a true variety. The same is usually true if it is insect pollinated. Sometimes, this doesn’t matter, you might just want beautiful flowers or tasty herbs without caring about variety. The list in the quick tips is a good place to start with seed saving.

2) Choose the best that your plants have to offer to save as seed. The best flower should be left on the plant to mature, the best tomato should have the seeds removed before it is eaten.

3) Let the flower, fruit, and seeds mature on the plant before collecting, but collect the seeds before the seed pod shatters and scatters the seed. There will be a sweet spot that you will learn as you get experience. The onion seed below is an example of waiting too long. Oh well, I got a few seeds.

4) Learn what conditions each species needs for curing, storage, and germination. There is too much information for me to cover it all here, so check with a good gardening book or the resources at the end of the newsletter for more extensive help and information. I may also be able to help with some questions at [email protected]

5) For most plants, make sure the seeds are completely dry before storing them. Most, but not all, can be stored in the freezer if they are dry. Also note that there are some seeds that should be planted directly from the fruit, like citrus.

6) Try to collect fresh seed every year, but do not plant all of your seed each year. You will have crop failures and keeping some of your seed for two years is your insurance against a failure in seed production.

Here are pictures of some of the seeds that I am saving this year. Just note that onions are biannual plants so won’t produce seed the first year.

To find other how to articles, go to my Buy Me a Coffee page. My digital download art and stories are there too.

Seeds For The Future

“For our every deliberation, we must consider the effects on the next seven generations.”

This is a founding principle of the Iroquois Confederation and a cornerstone of Haudenosaunee philosophy. This principle is not limited to Native American spiritual beliefs. In some form or other, it is found in virtually every ancient spiritual tradition, including the Children of Abraham, Buddhism, Shamanism, and indigenous cultures worldwide. There are many ways of interpreting this statement of spirituality and each tradition has its own teaching around the concept.

To me, this is a statement of moral imperative, ethics, and physical reality. Morally, it states that everything you do today creates ripples both positive and negative through time. You should not inflict pain on the future generations through today’s actions. If you don’t like drinking poison, don’t poison your grandchildren. Ethically, it states that the future has the same rights and needs as the present and it is our job right now to understand that and to protect those rights and needs. Physical science and psychological science are both beginning to see the truth of this statement. Everything that has happened in the past few generations has an incredible impact on our health, culture, environment, beliefs, and well being. It then becomes incumbent upon us to learn the lessons of the past, both positive and negative, and to repair the damage that has been done and carry forward the gems. It is our moral and ethical responsibility to give the next few generations equal weight in our decisions as we give the here and now.

Seed saving is one concrete reminder of this truth, and a way for us to put this philosophy into practice. When you open a packet of seed, that handful of seeds represents thousands of years of work, love, attention, and hope. Generation after generation, those seeds were nurtured, watched after, and selected. Each generation of our ancestors took the time and care to select the best of what their plants had to offer and save that potential for the future instead of consuming it today. Year after year, generation after generation, they looked towards and cared for their descendants needs.

When we save our own seeds from our own loving efforts, we are active participants in that beautiful process. What we nurture, save, treasure, and preserve now informs the future that our descendants will have. In the seeds in your hand, our ancestors saved their best for us. I believe that our descendants deserve to be given the best of the gems that we have to offer.

The theme of this month’s newsletter is the western shield. For me, this is a lesson of connection between the past and the future through our actions today. We learn from the past, dream of the future, and act today. So, today, I encourage you to actively participate in this flow by choosing at least one type of seed to nurture and pass on. In the How-To section are a few easy ones to start with. Whether you are successful or not in your trial, you will take important lessons into the future.

Yona - Spirit of The West

Ah. A breath of fresh air. The turning of the seasons was finally here. The nights had been getting longer and the days shorter for a while now. Now, on this day, the light and the dark were equal. The morning had dawned crisp and refreshing in her valley. The afternoon was again turning warm. The hair on Yona’s back was becoming dense as a sign of what was to come.

Follow Yona through the West Shield with this story available on my Buy Me a Coffee page. Click the button below to purchase the story or subscribe.

And for a little bit more

Events

September 15 - International Day for Democracy

September 17 - Constitution Day

September 29 - Full Moon

October 4 - World Animal Day

October 11 - International Day of the Girl Child

October 14 - New Moon, Next Newsletter

White Sage

One of the practices that originated with ancient Native Americans is the spiritual practice of smudging with “white sage”. This is a practice that is done to promote health and balance in mind, body, and spirit. It is used to connect the us to the spiritual realm and the ancestors. “White sage” is actually a term that is used to refer to four different species in North America.

True white sage or California white sage is Salvia apiana and grows in the desert south west of California and western Mexico.

Mountain sage is Salvia regla. It grows primarily in Texas and Mexico.

Blue sage is Salvia azurea. It grows from Nebraska to Texas.

Prairie sage is Artemisia ludoviciana. This grows in the prairies of the mid-west and great plains of North America.

All four of these have spiritual and medicinal value. The salvias have culinary value. All are worth cultivating and preserving if you have the ability to do so. If you can’t grow them, they should be sourced from indigenous, sustainable suppliers.

For more information, check out my full article on my website by clicking the button below, or my source list at the end of the newsletter.

Bear

According to a number of Native American spiritual traditions, the bear is associated with the western direction and with autumn. This is a time of gathering and preparing for the lean times. The bear gathers in as much as she can to give her the reserves to get through the winter when her food is scarce. Then, she goes to her cave to sleep through the lean times of winter and give birth to the next generation.

The symbol of the bear gives us a lesson in the cycles of the earth. There is a time to gather and there is a time to reflect. The west shield along with The Spirit of The West is a lesson in learning from both our personal past and the past generations. But, it also asks us to dream of a better life for our descendants.

The bear is an icon that I use frequently in my artwork. This symbol and its various meanings speaks to my heart. For a more complete article and see my work for sale, click on the button.

Click below to purchase digital versions of my art. Every piece tells a story. Every piece has a story.

And I'm Not The Only One

Here are a couple of places to find more information.

Here are some places to find information about Native American topics:

powwows.com

kripala.org

For seeds look into:

 nativeseeds.org 

 seedsofchange.com 

 seedsavers.org

 rareseeds.com - Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds

Some one I'm following:

Robert Mirabal is a Native American musician, artist, and activist that I have been following for years. Recently I was looking up some of his music for my inspirational hit and ran across his seed project. I believe this is run through hobbyfarms.com 

13 Indigenous Grandmothers is an initiative through The Center for Sacred Studies. These 13 wise women collect their teaching and social initiatives and share them with the world. One of the projects is a seed exchange project.