The Importance of Local Seed
It only takes two generations to lose a knowledge base. I often hear folks tell me their mum/dad/uncle/aunty/grandpa/grandma was really good at gardening and they wished they had listened when they were younger. Occasionally someone tells me they did listen, and they have passed the information down the line. But they are only a tiny percent of the population.
Although I was around when my grandma was gardening, I often wonder how her grandma grew so much tucker for the family. It was before the chemical revolution. It was before social media, popular gardening books and TV. So how did she grow so much tucker, in the cold, at altitude and without a greenhouse?
Communities work to maintain the knowledge base, investing time and resources trying to claw back the information. Unfortunately, we end up with an approximation of the original technique or skill and that’s where we are now in modern subsistence gardening. A lot of skill and know how has been lost to the ages and modern developments.
Its why I write and share what I have learned in my highland garden. The swapping of tales with others in your area and testing new ideas is the best way to learn. You don’t know what you don’t know, and I love to test new ideas to learn how much I actually don’t know. For me, every day is a school day.
The 5 Pillars
So far we’ve covered 3 of the 5 pillars of growing tucker in our Unpredictable Highland Climate: Soil Temp, Soil Prep and Aspect. These 3 will get you a long way to success, but the thing that grandmas grandma had, that was better than most modern offerings was her Seed Stock.
She collected it year after year and was probably passed it from someone in her village, or a similar microclimate, over in the next village. That’s some long term DNA sorting. The seed knew where it was and what to expect. It grew well every year, regardless of the weather cycle, and her family ate well. They were healthy and strong enough to work their subsistence farm until the wars came.
Today our seeds come from all over the world, and mostly from commercial greenhouses for use in commercial greenhouses. The seeds offered through commercial brands also appear to come from overseas. In fact, 40million tons of tomato seed was imported into Australia this season.
That’s a lot of seed. At BST we use a couple of grams every year to provide for our community. Some rudimentary maths and it appears almost every Tomato grown in a greenhouse or sold in a supermarket is from overseas seed stock. Even market gardeners who are buying seed from Australian sources may not realise that most of the seed inthis country is imported from overseas.
Biosecurity Risk
What does that mean for Australia’s biosecurity of our precious Tomato crop? It means every year we risk bringing in disease on seeds. This year it happened. Some seeds imported into Australia contained the dreaded Tomato Virus. Of the 40 tons imported only 1 ton was checked by Customs.
Customs said they weren’t ready to protect against the virus as they relied on the honesty of the seed seller to disclose contaminants. Are they suggesting the major seed companies aren’t honest?? Australian Customs are only providing banners of hope to protect our island nation. It is more likely that contaminated seeds were sent unknowingly, requiring more inspections than the 2.5% that was checked. The Customs procedures seem inadequate.
A Tomato grower in Adelaide self reported, and was told to destroy 1million Tomato plants, even though only 10,000 were infected. He is now suing for mismanagement and wondering why there wasn’t a plan ready to act. This news story may reduce the self reporting of other growers effectively indenturing the virus around the country. Brilliant biosecurity management!
Our Seed
This means the seed BST has been collecting for a decade, or more, is now super important and essential to the future of home gardeners in our region. It also means that market gardeners around our homes need to start collecting their own seed or find a new local source because they are risking the biosecurity of our region and limiting the future success of home gardeners if they continue to buy in seed from overseas.
Besides Biosecurity
Even if the biosecurity wasn’t a concern, it is important to have seed that knows where it is and what to expect from the climate. Imported seed has no history of your microclimate stored in their DNA. Seed grown in greenhouses is grown for greenhouses, in fully artificial environments. Not at all like your garden that’s why I grow my own seedlings.
It has been pointed out to me recently that seed packets from trusted commercial offerings now have warning labels on the back. Do not feed to livestock. This means it has been sprayed with some type of chemical ‘cide. If it’s not safe for animals to eat, it doesn’t sound suitable for humans to interact with, let alone introduce it to your garden.
Its time you start collecting your own seed, if you aren’t already. Your seed will adjust every year to your microclimate but also to you. Each year the seed will perform better for you, grow stronger regardless of the conditions, and if you choose well tastier.
Tastier means its Nutrient dense. Nutrient density means you need to eat less before you are full. It’s a chemical reaction that happens in your stomach to signal the brain to stop. Full is about nutrient load not the amount of food you consume.
Happy Summer
Stay Awesome
The Gordon Gnohm