Seed Talk.

Week #3. Let’s talk about heirloom seeds and why they matter.

“Telling a story is like reaching into a granary full of wheat and drawing out a handful. There is always more to tell than can be told.” ― Wendell Berry

Good news! I am giving away two free copies of my book to readers. Simply leave a comment in the space below, and let me know what your favorite heirloom variety is to save and share. If you are selected, I’ll contact you directly. ( offer ends 01.27.23)

My most recent book, with designs and recipes for cooks who love to garden.

Hello Everyone.

This week I’ve been going through my seed box, sorting and making a list of new seeds to order for my kitchen garden. In real life, I keep an orderly garden and house, yet when it comes to seeds, I’m a bit of a hoarder. I love seeds, their colors, shapes, and their capacity to transform from a tiny speck into a full-grown head of lettuce. Yet some of my packets are dated from 2017.

Seeds are living organisms, and unlike cheese and wine, they won’t get better with age. This is why tossing out old seed packets to bring in the new is a gardener’s spring ritual, yet how do we know when it’s too old?  Maybe it is optimistic thinking that keeps me clinging to some varieties because as a seed saver, not all seeds are the same when it comes to longevity. Especially if they are saved in optimal conditions.

Seed chart courtesy of Fedco Seeds.

I’ve asked seed experts for answers to how best to keep seeds, and the general response is in a dry, dark, moderately cool location. Preferably inside glass jars with a small desiccant pack to absorb extra moisture, and of course, marked with the variety and date. Saving seeds in the freezer is okay for long-term storage, only, since once they thaw will too quickly absorb moisture.

Yet even among experienced gardeners, seed storage varies. Most often seeds are stored inside an old shoe box or plastic bags. This is not ideal, yet in our golden age with the abundance of seed catalogs, taking care of seeds is not considered a priority. Buying seed, rather than saving seed, is the easy, modern method. And frankly, it is also a lot of fun to spend a Sunday afternoon with seed catalogs.

I am often asked where I buy my seeds, which should have a simple answer yet it’s complicated. The short answer is from several different catalogs: Wild Garden Seeds, Select Seeds, and Fruition are all favorites. The long answer involves looking at the provenance of where the seed is grown and how it is delivered to my mailbox. Most home gardeners don’t care. But I do.

The guidelines I follow are the same as I consider when shopping for food: if I know the people behind the seed catalog, where the seed is grown, and what makes their seeds unique, it fills me with respect and appreciation. I favor small niche catalogs because more often, the seed is either grown on their own farm or sourced from an organic grower, and the variety is above average.

But I also grow and save my own seeds, especially heirlooms that are open-pollinated. This is the true meaning of heirloom: passing along seeds to keep the variety going year after year. Again, like wine and cheese, once you understand the terroir of how the seed has been nurtured, it can add a new depth and perspective that goes beyond the mere act of pushing a seed into the soil.

Seeds from a friend, with advice on how to start, are always appreciated!

Reading Seed Catalogs

The truth about seed catalogs is that few of them grow their own seeds. It is mostly a buy-sell business, where seeds are grown on large farms, harvested, and sold to a middleman who sells them to a garden catalog to repackage. Rarely do they get involved with plant breeding, and certainly don’t encourage seed saving because they want to sell seeds each year. Especially hybrids often touted as “ bigger, better, and disease resistant”

Yet gardeners are missing out on a range of diverse crops, but also buying seeds that have been grown on large farms all over the world – no longer adapted to their individual climate. This is starting to change with the introduction of a smaller, regional seed catalog, and I invite you to read more on my blog.

Red Deertonque lettuce, going to seed. Allow a single plant to grow into a seed pod, and it will produce 1,000 seeds. You’ll never buy lettuce seeds again.

Why open-pollinated seed? 

Open-pollinated means the flowers are fertilized by bees, moths, birds, bats, and even the wind or rain. The seed that forms produces the same plant the following year. While hybrid seeds are bred to perform, and saving seeds will result in a failure to reproduce

The good news is that there is change happening in the seed industry. Micro companies are springing up, with a stable of regional seed growers that are also farmers. These farm-based seed companies are growing organic food while saving their own organic seeds to sell to local customers. The result is a whole panoply of varieties that only existed long ago and are now available to grow and flourish in our home gardens. 

Protecting seeds and maintaining seed integrity truly matter. Consider saving a few of your own varieties this year, starting with the legume family; peas and beans, or flowers such as poppy and calendula.  Share with friends and spread them around. While our mission ( as gardeners and seed savers) is to preserve seeds, it is also to keep heirloom varieties in circulation for the future.

From my garden to yours,

Ellen Ogden

Ellen Ecker Ogden is a writer, educator, and garden designer. Her books and articles have been featured in numerous national magazines. More can be found at www.ellenogden.com or link-tree.

I am giving away two free copies of my book to readers. Simply leave a comment in the space below, and let me know what your favorite heirloom variety is to save and share. If you are selected, I’ll contact you directly. ( offer ends 01.27.23)

5 Reasons to Grow Heirlooms:

In my book, The New Heirloom Garden, seed-saving experts chime in on why they grow heirlooms in their gardens:

1.     Flavor: “If I don’t like the taste, I am not going to eat it. There is a wide difference between varieties and heirlooms taste the best.” - Rosalind Creasy, Author &  Edible Landscape Pioneer

2.     Fragrance: “The heirloom peonies around my house have no name, yet they have a fragrance that makes me weak in the knees.” - Marilyn Barlow, Select Seeds Catalog

3.    Preserve History: “Here today. Gone tomorrow. Unless we preserve something, it will disappear.” -W. W.Weaver, Seed Historian

4.     Genetic Diversity: “Extinction is a term we often hear attributed to wild things but not to agriculture.” - Will Bonsall, founder of the Scatterseed Project 

5.    Seeds are mnemonic: “A seed has the capacity to contain memories of people, places, food, and fragrance.” - Lee Buttala, former director of Seed Savers Exchange