This fall I’ve been saving seeds from my annual flowers. Pretty flowers that I want to keep in my flower pots. I find it relaxing and a way to focus. But I generally only save seeds for fun and it’ll cost a little less than buying seeds every year. I take it for granted that I can go to a big-box store or find seeds online. While I grow tomatoes, peppers, herbs, potatoes, and other crops, it’s only in very small amount and for my enjoyment of seeing plants grow. I have no real need to grow my own food. Because there are other people out there doing it.
I was reading about the International Center for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA) and the work that is going on with wheat and their storage facility that farmers world-wide depend on. Seed conservation and work on creating new strains of seeds is amazing. Check out this article from the New Yorker – A Syrian Seed Bank’s Fight to Survive. How climate change and economics and politics affect our food sources.