Seed Saving Season Is Here!

Further exploring the untapped potential in a handful of heirloom seeds and Regenerative Agroforestry

This time of year I am often out in the garden selecting the largest fruit I have allowed to ripen on my tomato and pepper plants, tapping bean pods to see if they are dry, peeking into sunflower heads and loosening seeds to test if they are cured, caressing amaranth flower heads to see if the shiny seeds drop out easily and collecting an array of medicinal herb seeds from our raised beds.

select (self sown) Chiltepin peppers (Capsicum annuum var. glabriusculum) harvested from our garden this year (7th gen in our garden now).

Chiltepin seeds (Capsicum annuum var. glabriusculum)

Hopi Black Dye Sunflower seeds (known as Tceqa' Qu' Si to the Hopi people that developed this beautiful heirloom variety). Now I will learn how to weave cloth using local organic fibers so I can use some of this glorious high potency anthocyanin to infuse some cloth with a beautiful natural purple pigment

Scarlet Runner Beans (Phaseolus coccineus) from our garden

Saving seeds always provides me food for the soul but this is especially so with fragrant medicinal herbs such as Lemon Balm, Mountain Mint, Anise Hyssop and Holy Basil (aka "Tulsi").

Vana Tulsi (Ocimum gratissimum) leaves and flower spikes

As one rubs the holy basil seed pods together in one's hands to separate the seeds from the chaff a rich aroma of cloves, mint and a touch of licorice fills the air.

Vana Tulsi (Ocimum gratissimum) pollinated flower spikes full of seeds and ready for harvest

Vana Tulsi (Ocimum gratissimum) mature pollinated flower spikes ready for separating the seeds from

This poetry for the senses is almost as nourishing as the knowing I will be able to share seeds enabling many (including myself) to be able cultivate an abundance of this healing plant in the future, providing for native pollinators all over, offering delicious tea to humans, inspiration for creativity in the kitchen, medicine for the body, peace for the mind and food for many souls.

In a post a while back I explored a thought experiment aimed at illuminating the untapped potential that dwells within a handful of kale seeds when we unlock the regenerative abundance that moves freely within Nature’s ancient Gift Economy (via sharing the seeds with others and encouraging those others doing the same ‘pay it forward’ gifting cycle for 7 years).

I compared that ‘investment in the Earth’ to an investment in a bank for some frame of reference.

After investing the original money spent (about 5 dollars) invested in a pack of seeds, some water and tlc, and sharing the resulting seeds after only two years a return of $2995.00 would be collectively accessed and enjoyed. While that same five dollars invested in a bank would have earned me you guessed it! A colossal 30 cents! :)

After seven years continuing this ‘pay it forward model’ investing in the earth compared to investing in a bank you would have this:

Bank total (money value accessible by one): $6.17

Earth total (latent collective money value) : $30,000,000.00

For more details on how I came up with those numbers you can read the entire post here:

Beyond just invigorating and nourishing poetry for the senses, I find saving seeds from long lived perennial food and medicine producing plants and trees (such as Goji Berry vines, Echinacea flowers, Wild Apple Trees, Camellia Sinensis or ‘Green Tea’ bushes, Paw Paw trees, Elderberry Shrubs, Blueberry Bushes, Serviceberry Trees and White Pine Trees) to be especially rewarding as it serves to nurture my hope for a brighter tomorrow.

Today I was saving seed from our 7 year old (third generation) Goji Vine and as I held a handful of the seeds I imagined how much abundance the vines that could grow from those seeds could produce in their lifetime. If one was to quantify that abundance in terms of fiat currency value, the numbers are quite staggering. If one was to add up all the potential Goji berries that could be grown in the long life of a handful of seeds (that likely contains well over one hundred seeds) that fiat currency value would easily surpass one million dollars (and that is just in the first generation of those seeds living one lifetime and producing for many different people).

If one was to extrapolate what latent fiat currency value is in that handful of seeds if one calculated for each person who is growing a vine, also saving seed, and sharing seed (and others doing the same), after a few years you will find yourself dealing in numbers that look like the combined portfolio assets of Blackrock and The Vangaurd Group.

That is of course, latent value assessible by many in the context of communities filled with people embracing a Gift Economy model with their heirloom seeds, but it is nevertheless a real potential for cultivating True Wealth that can be tapped into through nothing more than a handful of seeds and a heartful of love.

That is not to say I think we should prioritize things based on their fiat currency value (as many things, and some of the most nourishing and important things in life cannot be quantified in that way) nor is it to say I think we can starve the beast of the multi-generational plutocracy that has gone by many names with nothing more than a handful of Goji Berry seeds, it is just a thought experiment intended to illustrate the immense untapped potential in a handful of seeds.

In James Corbett’s excellent recent article titled How Vanguard Conquered the World he wisely stated:

“..the fundamental solution to the problem of Vanguard and BlackRock will not come from some outside force. It will come when we withdraw our wealth from their system.”

I agree whole heartedly, and I would like to expand on that by saying:

It will come when we withdraw our wealth from their system 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐄𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬.

Red Goji Berry (lycium barbarum) seeds saved from choice berries from our garden. Latent money value contained within (if these seeds all grew to be healthy long lived vines and were harvested each year) : well over 1,000,000.00 $ CAD, and if you did that same seven year gift economy thought experiment I did with the kale seed above with the seeds in this pic above, then we are talking Trillions.

Now imagine how those numbers would play out if you were talking about a handful of Malus Sieversii or Pinus strobus seeds (both would produce trees that would each have the potential to live and produce food and medicine for hundreds of years).

malus sieversii seeds harvested from our own tree that was grown from seed

Pinus strobus seeds

Then imagine how the latent money value would add up if you took those handfuls of seeds and layered those species in with others like Elderberry, Blueberry, Paw Paw, Echinacea, Service berry trees, nut trees and then you inoculated fallen logs with medicinal fungi… and imagine you saved seeds from those crops and gathered knowledge from your experiences cultivating them together as part of a symbiotic ecosystem, shared those seeds and knowledge, and helped others to do the same. You would quickly be dealing with numbers that surpass the entire fiat currency economy currently in play on Earth.

That is the untapped potential in cultivation models that are described under the umbrella term Regenerative Agroforestry

The image above is a page from the recently published “The Regenerative Landscaper: Design and Build Landscapes That Repair the Environment” by Erik Ohlsen, 2023)

These are some of the reasons why I included a collection of ideal plant/tree species lists for designing a Food Forest, specific to each cold hardiness in my recently published book.

Here are a few pics of pages from my book (Recipes For Reciprocity : The Regenerative Way From Seed To Table) pertaining to Food Forest design.

For additional Book Recommendations and info on Food Forests check out :

https://recipesforreciprocity.com/book-recommendations/

If we combine Regenerative Agroforestry (Food Forest design) with seed saving (and seed sharing) we can create such overwhelming abundance and resilience in each of our communities that we will no longer be susceptible to the economic warfare tactics of the plutocracy and we will plant the roots for a way of living that will render their centralized parasitic systems obsolete so we can one day leave them behind.

Such is the power of saving (and sharing) heirloom seeds, learning from the genius of Creator’s design that is embodied in a functioning ecosystem and investing in the living economy of the Earth with our hands and our hearts. This simple act is an investment that provides exponential gifts in one's life (and in one’s community).

For more info on Saving Heirloom seeds, why it is important, how it can increase your quality of life, food security and the resilience of your communities check out this post :

(For those interested in sourcing out some good seeds for starting or expanding a garden I also provide a list of good heirloom seed companies at the bottom of the article linked above)

I hope you are all taking time to save lots of heirloom seeds in your gardens this autumn and that if you have not heard of Regenerative Agroforestry or Food Forests until now, this will inspire you to do some of your own research and begin experimenting.

Now I need to get back to sorting and packaging up seeds to share with people far and wide who are interested in creating their own food forests. Until next time, Happy Seed Saving my friends! :)

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