The Seed Garden: The Art and Practice of Seed Saving

Winner of the American Horticultural Society Award for Excellence In Garden Book Publishing

Winner of the Silver Medal for Best Reference from the Garden Writer’s Association

Filled with advice for the home gardener and the more seasoned horticulturist alike, The Seed Garden: The Art and Practice of Seed Saving provides straightforward instruction on collecting seed that is true-to-type and ready for sowing in next year’s garden. In this comprehensive book, Seed Savers Exchange, one of the foremost American authorities on the subject, and the Organic Seed Alliance bring together decades of knowledge to demystify the time-honored tradition of saving the seed of more than seventy-five coveted vegetable and herb crops―from heirloom tomatoes and long-favored varieties of beans, lettuces, and cabbages to centuries-old varieties of peppers and grains.

With clear instructions, lush photographs, and easy-to-comprehend profiles on individual vegetable crops, this book not only teaches us how to go about conserving these important varieties for future generations and for planting out in next year’s garden, it also provides a deeper understanding of the importance of saving these genetically valuable varieties of vegetables that have evolved over the centuries through careful selection by farmers and home gardeners.

Through simple lessons and master classes on crop selection, pollination, roguing, and the processes of harvesting and storing seeds, this book ensures that these time-honored traditions can continue. Many of these vegetable varieties are treasured for traits that are singular to their strain, whether that is a resistance to disease, an ability to grow well in a region for which that crop is not typically well suited, resistance to early bolting, or simply because it is a great-tasting variety. In an age of genetically modified crops and hybrid seed, a growing appreciation for saving seeds of these time-tested, open-pollinated cultivars has found a new audience from home vegetable gardeners and cooks to restaurant chefs and local farmers.

Whether interested in simply saving seeds for home use or working to conserve rare varieties of beloved squashes and tomatoes, this book provides a deeper understanding of the art, the science, and the joy of saving seeds.

"An indispensable, brilliantly written, and beautifully illustrated resource."–Paul Oster, garden columnist for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

"This is the only book people will need to grow plants and save their seed."–Jeff Cox, garden columnist

"A comprehensive overview of seed-saving – both art and science."–Margaret Roach, blogger and garden writer, A Way to Garden

"Critical information packaged in an attractive way."–Rita Haster, botanical librarian for the Morton Arboretum

Lee Buttala is an Emmy Award–winning television producer of Martha Stewart Living and was the creator, producer, and director of Cultivating Life, a PBS series on outdoor living and gardening.  He has written for The New York Times, Martha Stewart Living, New York, and Metropolitan Home. As an editor, he has worked for magazines ranging from Saveur, Garden Design, and Interview, and for the book publisher Alfred A. Knopf. He also served as the preservation program manager for the Garden Conservancy and has studied garden design at the Kyoto University of Art and Design, the Chelsea Physic Garden, and the New York Botanical Garden.

Shanyn Siegel has worked in sustainable agriculture and horticulture for over fifteen years, specializing in organic vegetable gardening and organic seed production. For over four years, Shanyn worked as collection curator for Seed Savers Exchange, conserving and promoting America’s culturally diverse but endangered food-crop heritage for future generations. As curator, Shanyn grew, evaluated, and saved seeds from thousands of heirloom and open-pollinated vegetable varieties. She is presently working in New York’s Hudson Valley to build local seed-saving networks.