CSN: Seed Savers Connect, Exchange Across US & Canada
By SSEHeritageFarm
TL;DR: The Community Seed Network offers an online platform and resources to connect seed savers and community projects for knowledge sharing and seed exchange.
- Learn best practices for seed stewardship and purity.
- Access tools for finding and growing rare varieties.
- Participate in virtual and in-person seed swaps.
- Understand critical seed storage requirements.
- Contribute to decentralized seed resilience networks.
Why it matters: Community seed networks are vital for preserving biodiversity and ensuring food security through localized adaptation and knowledge sharing.
Do this next: Join the Community Seed Network online to explore their resources and connect with other seed savers.
Recommended for: Anyone interested in advanced seed saving techniques, community organizing, and preserving agricultural biodiversity.
This YouTube webinar by the Community Seed Network (CSN), co-chaired by Steph Hughes and partnered with Seed Savers Exchange, details an online platform, social media group, and seed exchange supporting over 3,000 members across the US and Canada in connecting seed savers and community projects. Practical resources include networking tools for finding rare varieties, grow-out comparisons, and stewardship best practices. Key methods: side-by-side grow-outs to assess seed lots—plant duplicate plots, compare vigor, flavor, disease resistance, determining purity and differences via metrics like germination rate (>85% target), uniformity, yield. Platform facilitates seed swaps with guidelines: donor cards noting source, year, isolation method; viability testing protocols. CSN provides templates for community seed libraries—inventory systems, lending policies (e.g., borrow 10 seeds, return 20). Webinar covers stewardship challenges: maintaining open-pollinated traits through roguing (removing off-types pre-flowering), isolation (time, distance, barriers). Hands-on advice: storage audits matching seeds to sources; collaborative breeding projects selecting for resilience (e.g., drought trials). Networking emphasizes regional groups for local adaptation—e.g., Northeast savers sharing cold-hardy tomatoes. Implementation: join via website/Facebook, participate in virtual swaps, host events. Insights from Evan Wisdom on storage: temperature-controlled units (35-40°F), humidity <50%, rotation FIFO. Seed legacies section teaches documentation—pedigrees tracing lineage for integrity. Practical path: start with 5-10 varieties, scale via exchanges; use CSN's matching service for grow-outs. Addresses resilience: decentralized networks ensure seed flow post-disaster. Concrete learning: troubleshooting low germination (scarification for hard seeds), purity tests via progeny rows. Over 80 minutes, it builds skills for pick-your-own models integrated with saving, enhancing farm profitability through heirloom sales. This high-signal content equips users to launch or join initiatives, fostering regenerative communities with actionable, expert-driven strategies.