In recent years Dan Jason, founder of Salt Spring Seeds, has produced an impressive string of books, beginning with The Power of Pulses: Saving the World with Peas, Beans, Chickpeas, Favas and Lentils in 2016.
In 2017 Dan released a revised edition of his popular guide: Some Useful Wild Plants: A Foraging Guide to Food and Medicine from Nature.
Awesome Ancient Grains and Seeds: A Garden-To-Kitchen Guide followed in 2018.
Last year, Changing the Climate with the Seeds We Sow presented a descriptive directory of nutritious, earth-friendly, easy-growing food plants in an exploration of the theme: The foods we choose to grow and eat, and how we grow them, can enhance our health and the health of the climate.
All the books share a common theme of honouring, preserving, and enjoying local, sustainable food supplies while boosting our own nutrition levels and contributing to environmental wellness.
Today, Dan’s latest book will make an appearance in local book stores.
Saving Seeds: A Home Gardener’s Guide to Preserving Plant Biodiversity Harbour Publishing, 96 pages, paperback, $14.95
The book’s publication date is timely, as Seedy Saturday events are occurring throughout Vancouver Island.
A key component of these events is a “seed swap.” Gardeners who have saved seeds from plants they’ve grown package and label them, and bring them to the swap table at their local Seedy Saturday. In return, they can take home seeds that other gardeners have saved.
Dan devotes a section in the book to ways of connecting with communities of people keen on growing and saving locally raised seeds. Seedy Saturdays present opportunities to participate. Joining a seed library program at a public library is another way of engaging with the local seed saving community.
The opening pages stress the importance of saving seeds of time-tested varieties as Dan describes changes in the seed world over the past few decades. Those years have witnessed the disappearance of many time-honoured and time-tested varieties as seed research and development has passed largely into the hands of transnational corporations whose agendas for seeds may have more to do with making money than with preserving life.
There remain some seed companies dedicated to the survival of heritage seeds. A list of them can be found on the Seeds of diversity Canada website: seeds.ca. These sources encourage individual seed saving of fine old flower, vegetable and herb varieties. The more people save the seeds, the more secure is their future.
Anyone interested in learning about saving seeds will find all they need to know in the third section of the book, where all the basics of growing, harvesting and storing seeds are described. All commonly grown vegetables, and flowers in general, are covered in clear, concise terms.
The author’s enchantment with the process shines through the text. He describes the flowering stems that lettuce plants produce as having a “candelabra-like appearance” with significant esthetic appeal.
“A single lettuce can produce hundreds of small yellow flowers atop its stalk. The flowers become bunches of feathery little seed sites. … Anyone wanting to have enough seed for the coming year could simply pluck two or three fuzzy seed heads to get a couple dozen seeds.”
GARDEN EVENTS
VRS meeting. Victoria Rhododendron Society meets Monday, 7:30 p.m. at the Horticulture Centre of the Pacific, 505 Quayle Rd. in Saanich. Margaret Cadwaladr will speak about Darts Hill, an award winning Surrey orchard and rare plant garden.
Gordon Head meeting. The Gordon Head Garden Club meets Monday, 7 p.m. in Gordon Head United Church, 4201 Tyndall Ave. Marika Smith will speak about keeping plastic out of your garden. The evening will include a parlour show and raffle. Visitors are welcome at no charge.
VHS meeting. The Victoria Horticultural Society meets Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. in the Garth Homer Centre, 813 Darwin Ave. Robin Tunnicliffe, co-owner of Saanich Organics and farm manager at Sea Bluff Farm, will speak about seed breeding techniques and the role of community seed savers. The pre-meeting workshop at 6:30 will feature Ryan and Brian of the Planted Farm displaying succulent varieties and speaking about their care.
HCP classes. The Horticulture Centre of the Pacific offers the following classes. Register at 250-479-6162. Details: hcp.ca
• Grow a Career in the Floral Industry, Sunday, Feb. 9, 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. HCP members $70, others $80.
• Willow Chair Workshop, Sunday, Feb. 9, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Members $250, others $275.
