Download - Victoria Seed Library - LifeCycles Project€¦ · The Victoria Seed Library offers everyone free access to seeds and seed-saving education. Our Seed Library contains over 200 varieties

TheVictoriaSeedLibraryisoperatedthroughapartnershipbetweentheLifeCyclesProjectSocietyandtheGreaterVictoriaPublicLibraryWeoperateontheterritoriesoftheLekwungenpeoplesoftheSongheesandEsquimaltNation.Someofourseedsandourmethodsofgrowingthemcameherethroughtheongoingprocessofdispossessionandcolonization.Weaimtoholdthisunderstandinginouractivitiesandinteractions.

Victoria Seed Library Curating a Collection of Southern Vancouver Island Seed

TheVictoriaSeedLibraryofferseveryonefreeaccesstoseedsandseed-savingeducation.OurSeedLibrarycontainsover200varietiesofseed,mostofwhicharerelativelyeasyforbeginnerseedsaverstogrowandsave(inotherwords,theyareprimarilyopenpollinatedandself-pollinating).Thecollectionisdonatedbyregionalgrowersandincludesavarietyofvegetable,flower,herbandnativeplantseeds.

BorrowingSeed

TosignseedoutfromtheVictoriaSeedLibrary,youmustbeamember.Membershipisfree!AllyouneedtodoisattendoneofourworkshopsorMemberOrientation/SeedSaving101session.Ourseedswapshappen:

WHERE:GreaterVictoriaPublicLibrary’sCentralBranchWHEN:Saturdays(lastSaturdayofFebruarytolastSaturdayofApril)from10:00–1:00Forfurtherinformationaboutallofourupcomingprogrammingandseedswaps,visit:www.lifecyclesproject.ca/seedlibrary

ReturningSeed

ANYONEcangiveusseed.YoudonotneedtobeamembertogiveseedstotheVictoriaSeedLibrary.

Borrowersfromourcollectionarenotrequiredtoreturnseeds,butweaskthatyoucommittotrying.Ifyouhavesuccess,pleasebringusbacksomeofyourseeds.Wewillneedsomepeopletoreturnseedifwearetomaintainourcollectioninperpetuity.

GrowerscanreturnseedtousatalleventsandSeedSwaps(wewillhostswapseachfallattheGVPL’sCentralBranch).YoucanalsobringusseedstoVictoria’sSeedySaturday,wherewealwayshaveatable.

Weacceptseedsoflocal,organic,non-hybridplants.Weaskthatourgrowersuseorganicmethods,meaningthattheydonotusefertilizersorpesticidesunlesstheyarecertifiedorganic.

Ifyouwouldliketodonateorreturnseeds,weneedtoknowthenameandvarietyoftheseedinordertolistitinourcollection.Wealsoappreciateknowingthefollowingthings:

• SourceofSeed:Whereorfromwhomdidyouoriginallygetthisseed?• DateofSeedHarvest:Inwhatyearwastheseedharvested?• GerminationRate:Google“germinationtest”andlookatvideosifyoudonotunderstandthisterm.• DetailsofPlant:Telluswhatyoulikeaboutthisplant,howitgrows,thingsotherswillbeinterestedin.• SeedStoriesandAnecdotes:Storyofwheretheseedcomesfrom,anecdotes,etc.


GlossaryofTermsSelf-Pollination(Selfers):Thepollinationofaflowerbypollenfromthesameflowerorfromanotherfloweronthesameplant.Insomevegetablecropspollinationalmostalwaysoccurswithinaclosedflower–wecallthesecrops“selfers”(lettuce,peas,beans,tomatos).Becausetheyareveryunlikelytocrosswithothervarietalsandcreateahybrid,theyaretheeasiestvegetablecropstosaveseedfrom.Hybrid:Cross-pollinatedwithanotherplantofadifferentvariety;seedswillproduceplantswithavarietyofcharacteristicsandwillnotbecloselysimilartoparentplants(ortrue-to-type).Seedcompaniesbreedandsellhybridvarietalswhicharecarefullybredbyplantbreeders(anyseedlabeledF1isahybrid).Seedsfromhybridplantsdonotgrowtrue-to-type.Forthisreason,theSeedLibrarydoesnotaccepthybridseedsinitscollection.

Cross-Pollination(Crossers):Plantsinwhichthetransferofpollencaneasilyhappenfromthemalereproductiveorgan(anantheroramalecone)ofoneplanttothefemalereproductiveorgan(astigmaorafemalecone)ofanotherplant.Insectsandwindarethemainagentsofcross-pollination.Ifaflowerofavarietalyouaresavingseedfromisfertilizedbythepollenofadifferentvarietal,theresultingseedwillbeahybrid.Tosaveseedthatwillgrowtrue-to-typefromcross-pollinatingplants,thegrowermustensurethatthevarietaltheyaregrowingisisolatedfromothervarietalsinthatspecies.

Open-Pollinated:Generallyreferstoseedsthatwill"breedtrue".Whentheplantsofanopen-pollinatedvarietyself-pollinate,orarepollinatedbyanotherrepresentativeofthesamevariety,theresultingseedswillproduceplantsroughlyidenticaltotheirparents.Inseedcatalogues,openpollinatedseedsareidentifiedwiththemarkerOP.WheretoStartasaSeedSaver?

Startwiththeeasystuff!Werecommendopen-pollinated,self-pollinatingannualssuchastomatoes,lettuce,beansandpeas.Manyherbsandflowersarealsorelativelyeasytosaveseedfromandgrowtrue-to-typegenerationaftergeneration.Thegoalsofgrowingqualityseedsaretoproducetrue-to-typeseeds,withgoodgermination,thatstorewellandkeeptheirstoryandhistory.

HarvestingSeed

Whenharvestingseed,timingiskey.Itisbesttoharvestafterseedshaveripenedandbeforeseedsarereleasedfromtheplant.Itisoptimaltocollectfromdry-seededplantsduringdryweather,oncetheseedpodshavecompletelydrieddown.Collectfromwet-seededplantswhenfruitsareextremelyripe.Wheneverpossible,seedsshouldbelefttoripenontheplant.

Selectseedsfromplantsthatthrivedandproducedwelltogrowheartyplantsthatproducewell.It’simportanttosaveseedfrommorethanoneindividualplant.Eachindividualplantcarriesspecificgenes,andasaseedsaveryouwanttopreserveallofthatvarietalsgeneticdiversity.Toensureyoudothis,trytosaveseedfromtherecommendedpopulationsize–forself-pollinatingplants,10plantsisusuallytherecommendation,forcross-pollinatingplants,you’llneedmanymore.Savingseedfromfewerindividualscanresultininbreedingandgeneticbottlenecking,whichwillresultinplantsthatlackvigorinsubsequentgenerations.


WhatSeedsNottoSave

Theseedlibrarywillnotaccepthybridsandwillbeverycautiousaboutputtingcross-pollinatingcropsfromamateurseedsaversintotheofficialcollection.Ifyouaretryingtosaveandreturncross-pollinatingcrops,youwillneedtodescribeindetailthemethodyouusedtoisolateyourcropifitisgoingtobeenteredbackintoourofficialcollection(weputall“questionable”seedintoour“CommunityBin”).

CleaningDry-SeededCrops

• Separateseedfromthechaffbystomping,rubbing,hitting,shaking,crackingand/orhangingwithsomethingtocatchseedbelow

• Sorttheseedfromthechaffbyusingwind,screensand/orhandsorting

CleaningWet-SeededCrops

Inallwet-seededcrops,seedneedstofullyripeninfruit,preferablyontheplant.Usually,leavethefruitbeyondedibility(withtheexceptionoftomatoesandpeppers).Don’tincludediseasedfruit.

• Maceratepulpwithseedsinabucket,(ifneeded,addwatertoensureseedsarenotexposedtoair),coverthebucket,andletstandafewdaysforthemixturetoferment

• Decanttheliquid,andrinsetheseedsundercoolrunningwater(easiesttodothisinawiresieve)

DryingSeeds

Dryseedsbyspreadingthemoutonaclean,dry,non-sticksurfaceawayfromheatsourcesanddirectsunlightandletthemairdryforaboutaweek.Recordseedinformationandkeepwithseedatalltimessothere’snomix-up.

StoringSeeds

• Packair-driedseedsinsmallpaperpackets,envelopes,plasticfoodstoragebags,masonjarswithtightfittinglids,orglasscanisterswithgasketlids

• Labelthemwithplantname,date,andotherinformation(seebulletpointsinReturningSeedabove)• Storedriedseedsinacool,dryplace.Humidityandwarmthshortenaseed’sshelflife

GerminationTesting

Putyourseedsinamoistenedpapertowel,putthepapertowelinaplasticbag(donotseal).Lettheseedssitintheirmoistcoveringinyourhomefor1-2weeks.Openandcountthepercentageofseedsthatsprouted.Thisisyourgermrate.Ourprojectrunsonvolunteerenergyanditisahugedrainonourresourcestotrytogermtestalltheseedsthatcomein(we’vegermtestedeverythinginourcollection!).Pleasetrytoreturnyourseedswithagerminationtestresult.Ithelpsusoutimmensely.

Facebook:www.facebook.com/VictoriaSeedLibraryEmail:[email protected] Phone:250-383-5800


Victoria Seed Library Seed Steward Program

TheVictoriaSeedLibraryhasidentifiedanumberofuniqueseedvarietalsinourcollectionthatarewelladaptedtogrowinginourregionandarerareorendangered.Loosingtheseseedsfromourfreelyavailablecommunitycollectionwouldbeasignificantloss.Eachyearwelookforgrowerswithatleastafewseasonsofgardeningexperienceand16squarefeetofgrowingspacetogrowoutone(ormore!)varietalsforus.Basicallywegiveyouasmallpackageofseedsandyoutrytoreturnusalargerpackageattheendoftheyear.Thishelpsus“bulkup”ourcollectionandensuretheseseedsarepreserved,sothattheycancontinuetosupportourcommunity’shealthandlong-termresilience.Don’tworry!Wewon’tgiveyouthelastoftheseseedsandweknowthingscanhappen…We’recommittingtoworkincommunitytoidentifyandpreservethoseseedsthatareideallysuitedtofeedingourcommunity.Ourseedstewardprogramisawaytoensurewecanpreservetheseseedsforourcommunityforthelong-term.AsasmallcommunityofcommittedgrowerswecangrowthebestseedforourgardenshereonLekwungenandWSANECterritories.WhatYouGet

• Seedtoplant(atleast5xthecommerciallyrecommendedminimumpopulationsizeforthatvarietal)o Enoughseedfromwhatyouharvestforyoutoplantoutoverthenext2years

• Mentorshipfromexperiencedseedgrowerso Invitationstoattendseedstudygroupsinlocalgardensandfarmso Seedsavingresourcesandadvice

WhatWeAsk

• Youmakeefforttoplanttheseedyouaregivenduringtheappropriatewindowinthespring• Youtend10-40plantsofeachvarietalandletalloftheflowersandfruitsonthatplantproduceseed• Youallowthatseedtoripenandthenharvest,cleanandreturnaportionbacktous

SignUpToregisterasaseedsteward,pleasecontactvicseedlibrary@lifecyclesproject.caorcallLifeCyclesat250-383-5800andspeakwithMatthew.