Heirloom Seeds and Their Keepers

Heirloom Seeds and Their Keepers

Author: Virginia D. Nazarea

Publisher: University of Arizona Press

Published: 2005-05-01

Total Pages: 208

ISBN-13: 0816544921

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Farmers and gardeners have long appreciated a wide variety of plants and have nurtured them for meals, healing, and exchange. But diversity too often has been surrendered to monocultures of fields and spirits, predisposing much of modern agriculture to uniformity and, consequently, vulnerability. Today it is primarily at the individual level—such as growing and saving a strange old bean variety or a curious-looking gourd—that any lasting conservation actually takes place. As scientists grapple with the erosion of genetic diversity of crops and their wild relatives, old-timey farmers and gardeners continue to save, propagate, and pass on folk varieties and heirloom seeds. Virginia Nazarea focuses on the role of these seedsavers in the perpetuation of diversity. She thoughtfully examines the framework of scientific conservation and argues for the merits of everyday conservation—one that is beyond programmatic design. Whether considering small-scale rice and sweet potato farmers in the Philippines or participants in the Southern Seed Legacy and Introduced Germplasm from Vietnam in the American South, she explores roads not necessarily less traveled but certainly less recognized in the conservation of biodiversity. Through characters and stories that offer a wealth of insights about human nature and society, Heirloom Seeds and Their Keepers helps readers more fully understand why biodiversity persists when there are so many pressures for it not to. The key, Nazarea explains, is in the sovereign spaces seedsavers inhabit and create, where memories counter a culture of forgetting and abandonment engendered by modernity. A book about theory as much as practice, it profiles these individuals, who march to their own beat in a world where diversity is increasingly devalued as the predictability of mass production becomes the norm. Heirloom Seeds and Their Keepers offers a much-needed, scientifically researched perspective on the contribution of seedsaving that illustrates its critical significance to the preservation of both cultural knowledge and crop diversity around the world. It opens new conversations between anthropology and biology, and between researchers and practitioners, as it honors conservation as a way of life.


Heirloom Seeds and Their Keepers

Heirloom Seeds and Their Keepers

Author: Virginia D. Nazarea

Publisher: University of Arizona Press

Published: 2014-11-21

Total Pages: 208

ISBN-13: 0816531633

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Through characters and stories that offer a wealth of insights about human nature and society, Heirloom Seeds and Their Keepers helps readers more fully understand why biodiversity persists when there are so many pressures for it not to. The key, Nazarea explains, is in the sovereign spaces seedsavers inhabit and create, where memories counter a culture of forgetting and abandonment engendered by modernity. A book about theory as much as practice, it profiles these individuals who march to their own beat in a world where diversity is increasingly devalued as the predictability of mass production becomes the norm.


The Earth in Her Hands

The Earth in Her Hands

Author: Jennifer Jewell

Publisher: Timber Press

Published: 2020-03-03

Total Pages: 325

ISBN-13: 1604699027

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

“An empowering and expertly curated look at the horticultural world.” —Gardens Illustrated In this beautiful and empowering book, Jennifer Jewell introduces 75 inspiring women. Working in wide-reaching fields that include botany, floral design, landscape architecture, farming, herbalism, and food justice, these influencers are creating change from the ground up. Profiled women include flower farmer Erin Benzakein; codirector of Soul Fire Farm Leah Penniman; plantswoman Flora Grubb; edible and cultural landscape designer Leslie Bennett; Caribbean-American writer and gardener Jamaica Kincaid; soil scientist Elaine Ingham; landscape designer Ariella Chezar; floral designer Amy Merrick, and many more. Rich with personal stories and insights, Jewell’s portraits reveal a devotion that transcends age, locale, and background, reminding us of the profound role of green growing things in our world—and our lives.


From Our Seeds and Their Keepers

From Our Seeds and Their Keepers

Author: Bevin Cohen

Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform

Published: 2018-06-27

Total Pages: 154

ISBN-13: 9781721090709

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Just a few generations ago we were a nation of seed savers because it was essential to our survival. Many of us have lost touch with this ancient practice, but the knowledge is still inside each and every one of us just waiting to be unlocked. As the demand for locally grown food increases, the demand for local seed is not far behind. After all, food is only as local as the seed that grows it. Remember, there are seed stories within all of us and there are new stories waiting to be written every day. The following pages are filled with tales from many seeds and their keepers; I hope that they inspire you and I hope that they entertain you but most importantly, I hope these stories get you to ask yourself the most important question, "What's your seed story?"


Seeds of Resistance, Seeds of Hope

Seeds of Resistance, Seeds of Hope

Author: Virginia D. Nazarea

Publisher: University of Arizona Press

Published: 2013-12-05

Total Pages: 313

ISBN-13: 0816599076

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Food is more than simple sustenance. It feeds our minds as well as our bodies. It nurtures us emotionally as well as physically. It holds memories. In fact, one of the surprising consequences of globalization and urbanization is the expanding web of emotional attachments to farmland, to food growers, and to place. And there is growing affection, too, for home gardening and its “grow your own food” ethos. Without denying the gravity of the problems of feeding the earth’s population while conserving its natural resources, Seeds of Resistance, Seeds of Hope reminds us that there are many positive movements and developments that demonstrate the power of opposition and optimism. This broad collection brings to the table a bag full of tools from anthropology, sociology, genetics, plant breeding, education, advocacy, and social activism. By design, multiple voices are included. They cross or straddle disciplinary, generational, national, and political borders. Contributors demonstrate the importance of cultural memory in the persistence of traditional or heirloom crops, as well as the agency exhibited by displaced and persecuted peoples in place-making and reconstructing nostalgic landscapes (including gardens from their homelands). Contributions explore local initiatives to save native and older seeds, the use of modern technologies to conserve heirloom plants, the bioconservation efforts of indigenous people, and how genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have been successfully combated. Together they explore the conservation of biodiversity at different scales, from different perspectives, and with different theoretical and methodological approaches. Collectively, they demonstrate that there is reason for hope.


Saving Our Seeds

Saving Our Seeds

Author: Bevin Cohen

Publisher:

Published: 2019-09

Total Pages: 190

ISBN-13: 9780578555898

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Seed activist Bevin Cohen takes a deep dive into the hows and whys of the modern seed saving movement. A great how-to guide, leading the reader step by step through the process of saving their seeds from 43 different crops. Seed savers of all levels will benefit from Bevin's easy to follow instructions.


The Artisan Herbalist

The Artisan Herbalist

Author: Bevin Cohen

Publisher: New Society Publishers

Published: 2021-04-06

Total Pages: 199

ISBN-13: 1771423471

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Start your journey as an artisan herbalist and take back control of your health and well-being the natural way with this accessible guide. From urban apartments to wild countryside, The Artisan Herbalist is an easy-to-use guide that teaches you how to identify, grow, harvest, forage, and craft herbal allies into an assortment of useful health and wellness products. Through storytelling and step-by-step instruction, The Artisan Herbalist covers: The uses and benefits of thirty-eight easy-to-find yet powerful herbs Harvesting from the wild, foraging in the city, and using store-bought herbs Growing herbs in small areas, balconies, and pots Principles, tips, techniques, and formulas to create teas and tinctures Infusing oils for the creation of salves, lotions, and balms Beneficial herb-based recipes Marketing and selling your products through a home-based business Whether you live in the city, suburbs, or countryside, take back control of your health and begin your journey toward independent self-care as a budding artisan herbalist. Praise for The Artisan Herbalist Winner, 2022 International Book Award, Health: Alternative Medicine “A thoroughly delightful, practical, and well-organized introduction to the uses of plants as medicine and food.” —Rosemary Gladstar herbalist and author, Rosemary Gladstar’s Medicinal Herbs “A masterpiece! Not only is this book beautiful, but it is highly useful. . . . This is the book every beginner herbalist should have on hand to start on their herbal path.” —Kristine Brown RH (AHG), author, Herbal Roots zine, Herbalism at Home, The Homesteader’s Guide to Growing Herbs, and Nature Anatomy Activities for Kids


A Way to Garden

A Way to Garden

Author: Margaret Roach

Publisher: Timber Press

Published: 2019-04-30

Total Pages: 321

ISBN-13: 1604698772

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

“A Way to Garden prods us toward that ineffable place where we feel we belong; it’s a guide to living both in and out of the garden.” —The New York Times Book Review For Margaret Roach, gardening is more than a hobby, it’s a calling. Her unique approach, which she calls “horticultural how-to and woo-woo,” is a blend of vital information you need to memorize and intuitive steps you must simply feel and surrender to. In A Way to Garden, Roach imparts decades of garden wisdom on seasonal gardening, ornamental plants, vegetable gardening, design, gardening for wildlife, organic practices, and much more. She also challenges gardeners to think beyond their garden borders and to consider the ways gardening can enrich the world. Brimming with beautiful photographs of Roach’s own garden, A Way to Garden is practical, inspiring, and a must-have for every passionate gardener.


100 Heirloom Tomatoes for the American Garden

100 Heirloom Tomatoes for the American Garden

Author:

Publisher: Workman Publishing

Published: 1999-01-01

Total Pages: 264

ISBN-13: 9780761114000

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Covers all the "ins" and "outs" of tomato growing, from planting and harvesting to fertilizing and caging, in a guide that comes complete with a review of tomatoes of all shapes, colors, and sizes


The Seed Keeper

The Seed Keeper

Author: Diane Wilson

Publisher: Milkweed Editions

Published: 2021-03-09

Total Pages: 240

ISBN-13: 1571317325

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

A haunting novel spanning several generations, The Seed Keeper follows a Dakhóta family’s struggle to preserve their way of life, and their sacrifices to protect what matters most. Rosalie Iron Wing has grown up in the woods with her father, Ray, a former science teacher who tells her stories of plants, of the stars, of the origins of the Dakhóta people. Until, one morning, Ray doesn’t return from checking his traps. Told she has no family, Rosalie is sent to live with a foster family in nearby Mankato—where the reserved, bookish teenager meets rebellious Gaby Makespeace, in a friendship that transcends the damaged legacies they’ve inherited. On a winter’s day many years later, Rosalie returns to her childhood home. A widow and mother, she has spent the previous two decades on her white husband’s farm, finding solace in her garden even as the farm is threatened first by drought and then by a predatory chemical company. Now, grieving, Rosalie begins to confront the past, on a search for family, identity, and a community where she can finally belong. In the process, she learns what it means to be descended from women with souls of iron—women who have protected their families, their traditions, and a precious cache of seeds through generations of hardship and loss, through war and the insidious trauma of boarding schools. Weaving together the voices of four indelible women, The Seed Keeper is a beautifully told story of reawakening, of remembering our original relationship to the seeds and, through them, to our ancestors.