We have new heirloom seed from our growers! Here is a peek into what heirloom seed looks like as it arrives to be packed at Terroir Seeds.
“The Seed Underground – A Revolution to Save Food” by Janisse Ray is an amazing book for everybody, whether you are a gardener, seed saver or foodie or not.
The holidays come early when you work with heirloom seeds, as shipments from growers start arriving in early November and continue as the seeds are harvested, cleaned, dried and shipped to us for packing.
Some of our seeds arrive in cloth bags with hand-written variety descriptions on them, others arrive in large paper bags tied shut and yet all of them clearly show the care and love put into their growing and production. We wanted to give you a short tour of what it is like when seed arrives!
This particular shipment is always accompanied with high anticipation, as it comes to us from one of our growers who is incredibly talented and experienced. Their advice has been invaluable, whether it is in recommending new varieties to offer or catalog suggestions.
Bags of Heirloom Seeds
Each variety is in its own cloth bag with the variety name handwritten on it. They are wrapped in plastic to protect them from possible moisture in shipping. This particular box was a bit smaller this year, as we brought home almost this same amount when we visited our grower this past September.
Heirloom Seed Treasure
When we received the very first shipment of seeds, we were talking about how they resembled bags of treasure. Cindy remarked that this is very much just that- treasure from the past that has been kept alive by people before us that valued these seeds enough to save and preserve them for the future.
That future is now, and we are the recipients of that treasure of knowledge and hard work. This Katanya watermelon is from a woman named Katanya who brought its seeds with her when she immigrated from Russia. It is humbling and thrilling at the same time to hold more than a hundred years of history in a bag in your hands, along with who knows how much future!
Papalo Seed!
Some of the seed is just fun to handle and play with. Papalo is one such variety; an ancient Mexican herb that was largely replaced by Cilantro, a Chinese herb. It is extremely light and feathery, resembling a dandelion seed with its “parachute”. Papalo requires special handling and packaging, as if the seed is broken off of its parachute, the germination suffers drastically. The bag Cindy is holding weighs a couple of pounds at the most.
Handful of Papalo
This handful of Papalo has about a hundred seeds, which have to be packed and shipped in small boxes to prevent them being broken in transit. When we do bulk sales on this it is by the number of plants needed, not by weight!
Bag of Heirloom Corn
This package was a new treat for us. It is Oaxan Green Dent corn from one of our newest growers. Oaxan Green Dent makes green corn tamales for the Zapotecs of southern Mexico and a very tasty green masa. They produce everything by hand, even the shucking of the cobs and shelling of the corn kernals.
First Peek of Oaxan Green Dent Corn
Here is what we saw on our first peek into the bag! Very colorful and striking. Very unlike what we are used to seeing as bulk corn.
Oaxan Green Dent Corn
A closer look at its colors. Heirloom corn glamor shot!
Hand Packing Melrose Pepper Seed
Of course, all of this new seed arriving means there is work to do. Everything we sell is hand packed, every single packet! As each new shipment of seed arrives we re-verify the number of seeds to a packet, then count that number and find a measurement that corresponds to it. We always try to give a bit more seed than advertised, as each packet is packed by measurement, not individually counted. A new shipment of Melrose Pepper is ready to be packed here.
Thanks for joining us, we hope you enjoyed a brief look at what happens when we receive new shipments of heirloom seed!
The Seed Underground was introduced to us by one of our book suppliers – Chelsea Green who is the publisher for Janisse. We were familiar with her writing from reading Orion magazine over a number of years, but had not heard of her newest book. On our rep’s recommendation, we ordered a copy with our regular gardening book order.
I fell in love with this book within the first couple of pages of the introduction. Her writing and words moved me so much that I wrote an article based on a short couple of paragraphs that she wrote in the introduction. She has a way of writing that brings out deeply held feelings and unspoken beliefs that have circulated deep underground, not really ever having been named or recognized in a physical way, only glimpsed as they moved past my mind’s eye, shadows behind other thoughts.
Reading this book, I immediately felt as though I knew the writer or that she knew me; the words spoke directly to me, seemingly written for my mind and way of thinking. What she said and the concepts she talked about just made sense on a gut-instinct level. She knows and writes about several of the same people I know, admire and have a tremendous respect for. One of them I am fortunate enough to call my mentor – John F. Swenson. Another we met on our travels to Slow Food Terra Madre – Holli Cederholm of Proud Peasant Farm. I hadn’t read quite that far in the book at that point, but read about her just after we returned. Others that she writes about I want to get to know and build relationships with.
This is a book about hope, love, patience, endurance, excitement, revolution and a newly rediscovered, sustainable way of living that is all embodied and contained in seed. Not just any seed, either. Those seeds of home gardeners, seed savers, small heirloom seed companies that work and strive to preserve heirlooms, those diverse multitude of seeds that have fed our ancestors for long years and have become cherished in so many ways; their stories, adaptability, flavors, productivity and history of keeping us alive for so long.
What is amazing is that Janisse wraps a story about such a sprawling subject as heirloom seeds, seed saving and the importance of both. She not only makes sense of it all, but makes it entertaining and educational at the same time; a testament to her writing and researching skills. The story comes to the reader in an intriguing way, not shying away from difficulties but not overplaying the importance to each of us in our daily life. A thoroughly enjoyable, enlightening and educational book that deserves more than just one read.
New Heirloom Seed Arriving!
We have new heirloom seed from our growers! Here is a peek into what heirloom seed looks like as it arrives to be packed at Terroir Seeds.
The Seed Underground – A Revolution to Save Food
“The Seed Underground – A Revolution to Save Food” by Janisse Ray is an amazing book for everybody, whether you are a gardener, seed saver or foodie or not.