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As more and more of our world, our world's heritages, traditions and lifestyles change and even disappear it is most important that we seriously consider becoming savers and sharers of heirloom seeds. The emphasis is on the word heirloom seeds simply because hybrid seeds or most of today's seeds will not reproduce a second crop. They are scientifically designed that way to make sure the seed company's customers have to come back each year and buy some more seed.

Years ago seed companies started to design hybrid seeds for farmers so they would be able to grow high yielding crops that were insect resistant and herbicide resistant and these biotech seeds, these genetically modified seeds became seed that usually were not seeds that one could save and replant the following year. They were and still are designed to do nothing but create profits for their manufacturers!

Along the way unstable hybrids resulted which made preserving seed crop almost impossible. Plus I personally think that these seeds changed the way our bodies reacted to what we ate and perhaps brought on a whole new onslaught of cancers. Many of us are still ignorant of the fact that cancer is not just ONE illness or disease. There are so many types of cancers that I do not think a cancer cure-all is in our foreseeable future. Regardless, to get back on the track of being a seed saver and sharer I do believe that it is every farmer and organic gardener's obligation to buy and plant only heirloom seeds.

Sure they cost a little more. However, one can take a part of one's yield and dry out the seeds and replant them next year thus preserving some of our gardening heritage, to say nothing of keeping the genetic strain pure.

Since the Aids outburst in the mid 80's the hue and cry has been practice safe sex. Well it is time for us gardeners to take the pledge to plant and practice safe seeds!

Lets seriously consider only buying heirloom seeds and saving some of the seed crop each year and sharing it with some friend and neighbor who enjoys organic gardening, asking them to engage in the same safe seed practice.

What better way to help ourselves and our planet? When I do this as an artist I get quite "arty". Since I like to paint flowers, fruits and vegetable paintings and since I always take a picture of these paintings saving the pictures on my computer I have some neat resources on hand to make a statement with my seed sharing.

I find a painting or picture I like and I have my adobe photo shop program give me a print preview of a 4" x 3" photo of whatever I have chosen, center it in the middle of an 8" x 10" sheet of paper and I print it. Next I cut a small triangle out of each corner of my paper (almost to the edge of my photo) so I can fold up the bottom and then the two sides onto the bottom using a glue stick to make it all stay together. Now I can add some of my saved heirloom seeds and then glue stick the sides of the top and fold it down to the back. Next I create a "label" that says what the seeds are, how to plant, where to plant etc with my statement "Tread the Earth Lightly" and my name and any other personal information I want to share and I paste it onto the back of my seed packet. I now have a neat little gift to give to another organic gardener.

You can do something similar. Put your own picture on it or your kid's artwork or whatever, even just put them in a plain envelope, but at least do something and start doing it by buying and planting only heirloom seeds and sharing them with someone.

 

Author's note: This article was originally written for GreenThumbArticles.com