Building a Seed Bank

Imagine sitting on a five gallon bucket among vines bursting with tomatoes of every color of the rainbow. It is the stuff of poetry.

Saving seeds is an ancient art. For generations, gardeners have saved and passed along seeds of their favorite plants to ensure the survival of the genetics. Perhaps the juiciness of a brandywine tomato surpasses all others. The grower wants more of these tomatoes next season so she saves seeds from this particular strain and re-sows them. She also shares the seeds with friends and family, spreading the love.

Since the dawn of agriculture, seeds have been saved and passed along from one generation to the next.

Creating and building a seed bank in your home is one way to ensure your personal food independence and prepare for future gardens. It is also one way to prepare for the day when food does not come to you by way of the grocery store. Seed banking is an excellent skill to share with children and within communities. Imagine a world where every home and every community center has a bank of viable heirloom varieties just waiting to explode with genetic diversity and flavor.

Some folks dedicate their lives to saving seeds for the world to sow.

I was fortunate enough to grow up in Northeast Iowa, a land untouched by glaciers, ripe with limestone bluffs and rich dark earth. Scandinavian heritage abounds and some say the Nisse still roam the wild parts of the countryside. Visionaries live there too.

Seed Savers Exchange was founded in 1975 by Diane Ott Whealy and Kent Whealy to honor the tradition of preserving and sharing. Their collection started when Diane's terminally-ill grandfather gave them the seeds of two garden plants, Grandpa Ott's morning glory and German Pink tomato. Grandpa Ott's parents brought the seeds from Bavaria when they immigrated to St. Lucas, Iowa in the 1870s.


Diane and Kent planted the seeds and then sought out seeds the world round. The best seeds. Seeds passed on from one generation to the next because of desirable traits. They found the land and planted and propagated year after year the best seeds. And they saved the seeds. These seeds are available at Seed Savers Exchange.


My Spinner friend down the road wrote a great piece on creating a personal seed bank. I defer to her expertise and invite you to partake in the ancient art of seed saving in your home and your community. Follow the link below...

http://ruralspin.com/2012/02/12/creating-a-personal-seedbank/

Apothecary

A Kind Cup of Tea

“The spirit of the Tea is one of peace, comfort, and refinement.”- Arthur Gray

Living at elevation, we find ourselves privy to certain delights. Like the way the sun shines when it snows, and the infinite still blue of the midnight sky. A warm cup of herbal tea from the home apotheacary on a chilly winter afternoon is one of nature’s simple pleasures and medicine for the body and soul.

What is an apothecary? The word is derived from apotheca, meaning a place where herbs and spices are stored. But in colonial times, most kitchens were outfitted with herbs used both as spice in cooking and in tea for medicine. Like Native Americans, pioneer women and doctors used a variety of roots, leaves, seeds and flowers to cure ailments and promote health. Apothecarians eventually became pharmacists as chemical compounds replaced herbs as healing remedies. Chemistry extracted single compounds from plants or created them synthetically in laboratories and folk medicine became a thing of the past.

With all the attention these days being given to ‘alternative’ and ‘natural’ medicine, herbs are coming back as a complement to traditional western medicine. And kitchen herbal apothecaries are a great way to integrate herbal medicine into everyday life.

It all starts with the herbs, and they start from seeds. The source of seed is vital if you intend to grow your own herbal medicine Certain strains of herbs are selected for their medicinal quality. Take calendula for example. Calendula officinalis is the latin name and Pot Marigold is the common name. Common marigold has medicinal value in the garden because it is a natural pesticide, but has little value in the tea apothecary. Strains are bred and selected for medicinal properties and seeds are saved and sold “medicinal”. Seasoned herbalists also collect seeds from wild plants growing in nature. Horizonherbs.com is also a fine source of quality strictly medicinal seeds.

According to the philosophy of folk medicine it is best to gather and grow your own herbs, dry, them and store them in airtight glass containers in a cool dry place. The seed to storage method imparts the most healing properties in the finished product. As you plant the seeds in soil, your hands contact the earth and provide genetic information the seed uses to create compounds specific to your constitution. The same can be accomplished by placing the seeds in your mouth for a moment before planting them.

Of course it is of the utmost importance that the herbs not be treated with chemical pesticides or fertilizers as residues can remain well after harvest. Growing and harvesting organic is the only way to grow.

Nature is perhaps the best source for quality medicinal plants and seeds. Red Clover, Mullein flower, Wild Rose hips, Willow Bark, and Juniper Berries are a few native herbs that can be easily harvested in High Elevation backyards. Our mountain meadows and forests blossom in June with a plethora of medicinal herbs and mushrooms. An understanding of ethical wildcrafting is essential to preserving genetic biodiversity and the potency of the plant medicine.

Equipment necessary for kitchen tea apothecary is minimal. A variety of pint, quart and gallon glass jars with lids for storing dried herb is a great beginning. Canning  jars work well. A stainless steel tea pot and a fine mesh strainer for straining are required. Always use glass and stainless steel when handling herb as plastic lowers the vibration of the medicine and can off gas when heated. 

The source of water for your medicinal teas and infusions is of the utmost importance. Of course tap water is adequate, but for the most healing tea experience I recommend water from a local spout.  

Once the apothecary is stocked, teas, steams, salves, herbal baths and stronger infusions, decoctions and tinctures can be made from the herbs. Having bulk herbs in stock is one way to take responsibility for your health. Herbal teas, steams, and baths are a delightful way to enjoy nature and maintain a strong healthy body. 

On Foundation

The basement, the cellar, the foot of the structure. What is the foundation of a soul? The body? The heart? Or perhaps the experiences that shape the core of the individual. My grandmother comes to mind. There was something foundational in dropping by her house for fresh baked bread after school then sitting with her on the front porch not saying much of anything.

The foundation is the basis upon which something stands or is supported. It is the ground upon which something is built. In the experience of the physical body, the foundation is the skeleton. The bones are raw material upon which viscera is attached. The bones of the skeleton remain longer than the rest of the physical body. Martha Graham talks about the "feet" or foundation of the skeleton being the jaw bones just below the ears, the hips and the heel bones. Remaining aware of these six points as we move through space allows for a more foundational, balanced experience in the physical body. 

Fool’s Crow, Native American healer and visionary bridged the gap between the bones of the physical body and the spirit world when he spoke of “becoming a hollow bone” during healings.

In his becoming a hollow bone, Fools Crow believed that he went through four stages.

First, he called in Wakan Tanka to remove everything that would get in the way, such as doubt, questions or reluctance. Then he recognized himself as a clean vessel or tube, ready to be filled with hope, possibilities, and energy. He experienced the power as it came surging into him. In the fourth stage, as a hollow bone, he transferred the power to others, knowing that as they are emptied out, the Higher Powers will keep filling them with even greater power.

Perhaps Fool’s Crow’s “hollow bone” is a foundation for the spiritual body. The image of “being” a hollow bone frees up space and allows one to open to the universal flow. The feeling of emptiness created through  meditation is a similar concept. Letting go of discursive thought and simply being is a foundation for the soul.

The foundation of the tree is the strong root structure commingling with soil and attaching firmly to the terra. It is the roots and the ground that act to hold the tree upright. For humans, the gentle yin and yang of polarity allow us to move fluidly through space. Foundation is internal and external.

Ken "Bear Hawk" Cohen author of the critically acclaimed classic, Honoring the Medicine: The Essential Guide to Native American Healing (Random House, 2003), is a  health educator, a traditional healer, and scholar of indigenous medicine. He speaks of the Earth as a foundation in the excerpt below, which is a translation of a vision he had in 2001…

"The wars will not cease until human beings learn the lesson of simplicity. Two-leggeds are removing the bones of their ancestors, the plant people whose ancient bodies are coal, oil, and gas ["fossil fuels" created when carbon in vegetation is compressed underground for millions of years]. These bones are sacred. When you mine coal, oil, or gas, you rob the graves of your ancestors.
"When you stand on the ground, you stand on your plant elders. They support you, and their energy is the source of feeling centered, rooted, and in touch with nature. As two leggeds pull up their own roots, they become incapable of making wise decisions, whether in the Middle East, the United States, or elsewhere. If they hoard resources or continue to disrespectfully excavate, burn, and consume my body, conflict will continue or get worse."

And at the core of foundation, again I am reminded of Grandmother and my early experiences. The lessons of kindness in the garden. The gentle way old hands knead bread. And the profound reverence for the magic of the natural world.