Conner - Seed libraries : and other means of keeping seeds in the hands of the people

Praise for

Seed Libraries

Seed Libraries is must-read for anyone concerned about the absorption of small, regional seed companies into large, petrochemical multinationals; the rise of GMO seeds; and the loss of genetic diversity in our food crops. Cindy Conner introduces a movement to keep seeds in the hands of the people while revitalizing public libraries and communities. She encourages us to set up our own local seed libraries with step-by-step instructions on getting started, as well as how to keep it going. As Cindy says, whoever controls the seeds controls the food supply.

Ira Wallace, Southern Exposure Seed Exchange and author, The Timber Press Guide to Vegetable Gardening in the Southeast

Cindy Conner is a woman after my own heart: focused on cooperating with lifes generosity to shape a bountiful future. Seed Libraries opens wide a door to the world of seed saving for the curious and committed alike. The only seeds I now save are from generations of neglected self-seeding Russian Kale plants, but with this book I believe I could be my own empowered seed-mistress.

Vicki Robin, author, Blessing the Hands that Feed Us

Seed saving groups of all kinds are sprouting up across the country. Seed Libraries adds important perspective to the resources available for gardeners to develop their own living, resilient, and fundamentally nurturing seed sources. Rather than saying there is just one way to save and share seeds, this book will help groups find their own path and reassures us that diversity is a cultural and genetic necessity for both seeds and healthy communities.

Ken Greene, Founder, Hudson Valley Seed Library, and board member, Organic Seed Alliance.

As someone who has been involved with seeds for the past 30 years, I highly recommend Cindy Conners book, Seed Libraries. She has thoroughly researched her subject and has written a full and fascinating account of the seed movement in North America. Not only does her book have much great advice and tips about starting seed libraries, her friendly writing style makes the book such a pleasure to read. What warmed my heart most of all were Cindys many poetic gems about seeds, observations that could only come after long and passionate intimacy with them. Way to go, Cindy!

Dan Jason, President, Salt Spring Sanctuary Society and owner, Salt Spring Seeds

Cindy Conner brilliantly chronicles the seed library movement and provides practical tools and strategies on how to preserve our genetic and cultural heritage in seed libraries.

Rebecca Newburn, Co-Founder, Richmond Grows Seed Lending Library

Conners informative book, Seed Libraries, is a must-read for anyone embarking on the task of setting up their own seed library, or those just interested in becoming more informed on the issue of genetic diversity in our food systems. It combines practical knowledge with the philosophy behind seed libraries and would be useful in your first or tenth year of operating a seed library and saving seeds. Highly recommended!

Paul Hrycyk, Seed Library Coordinator, Seeds of Diversity

Books for Wiser Living

recommended by Mother Earth News

T ODAY, MORE THAN EVER BEFORE, our society is seeking ways to live more conscientiously. To help bring you the very best inspiration and information about greener, more sustainable lifestyles, Mother Earth News is recommending select books from New Society Publishers. For more than 30 years, Mother Earth News has been North Americas Original Guide to Living Wisely, creating books and magazines for people with a passion for self-reliance and a desire to live in harmony with nature. Across the countryside and in our cities, New Society Publishers and Mother Earth News are leading the way to a wiser, more sustainable world. For more information, please visit MotherEarthNews.com

Copyright December 2014 by Cindy Conner.

All rights reserved.

Cover design by Diane McIntosh.

Unless otherwise noted, images copyright Cindy Conner.

Chapter illustration: Bean Sprout MJ Jessen

New Society Publishers acknowledges the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund (CBF) for our publishing activities.

Paperback ISBN: 978-0-86571-782-4

eISBN: 978-1-55092-575-3

Inquiries regarding requests to reprint all or part of Seed Libraries should be addressed to New Society Publishers at the address below. To order directly from the publishers, please call toll-free (North America) 1-800-567-6772, or order online at www.newsociety.com

Any other inquiries can be directed by mail to:

New Society Publishers

P.O. Box 189, Gabriola Island, BC V0R 1X0, Canada

(250) 247-9737

New Society Publishers mission is to publish books that contribute in fundamental ways to building an ecologically sustainable and just society, and to do so with the least possible impact on the environment, in a manner that models this vision. We are committed to doing this not just through education, but through action. The interior pages of our bound books are printed on Forest Stewardship Council-registered acid-free paper that is 100% post-consumer recycled (100% old growth forest-free), processed chlorine-free, and printed with vegetable-based, low-VOC inks, with covers produced using FSC-registered stock. New Society also works to reduce its carbon footprint, and purchases carbon offsets based on an annual audit to ensure a carbon neutral footprint. For further information, or to browse our full list of books and purchase securely, visit our website at: www.newsociety.com

LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA CATALOGUING IN PUBLICATION

Conner, Cindy, author

Seed libraries : and other means of keeping seeds in the hands of the people / Cindy Conner.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Issued in print and electronic formats.

ISBN 978-0-86571-782-4 (pbk.).--ISBN 978-1-55092-575-3 (ebook)

1. Seeds--Collection and preservation. I. Title.

SB118.38.C65 2015 631.521 C2014-907287-2

C2014-907420-4

Contents

BILL MCDORMAN AND BELLE STARR

A T ONE TIME OR ANOTHER, many of us have been pulled into the magic of seeds and have found ourselves sharing their stories. Our seed stories are as diverse and colorful as the tiny seeds themselves. Perhaps your most memorable account took place in an alley, stumbling upon an unlikely bouquet of gorgeous wildflowers cozied up next to their seed heads. A handful went into a pocket immediately. Or maybe it was one morning, while walking in your garden, you were suddenly struck by the beauty of a patch of cosmos flowers finishing off the season with their profusions of long, straight, and thin seeds ready for picking.