Discover Rare Apples at Seed Savers Exchange’s Historic Orchard

Explore the rare and historic apple varieties growing at Seed Savers Exchange’s Heritage Farm orchard, including Gano, Golden Russet, and Virginia Greening. Learn about their rich history, unique flavors, and how you can help preserve these 19th-century apples for future generations.

A pile of papers organizing information about different potato varieties

Stewardship Stories

Curzio Caravati, SSE’s own ‘Johnny Potato Seed’

Meet Seed Savers Exchange member Curzio Caravati, self-described “horticultural researcher,” caretaker of rare potato varieties, and founder of the Kenosha Potato Project (KPP)—an initiative to augment the work of Seed Savers Exchange, the U.S. Potato Genebank, and others to safeguard the genetic diversity of the potato, one of the most important crops in the world.

A close up of a pile of large, black and purple-dappled runner beans

Stewardship Stories

Seeds, Resurrected

In the summer of 2018, Seed Savers Exchange regenerated, or “resurrected” three rare seed varieties from the collection, including a runner bean, black oats, and corn.

A large garden with many plants with a red barn in the distance

Varieties

Community Scientists Make A Difference

The 2018 community science programs, consisting of 80 Seed Savers Exchange members, helped us take another giant step forward in preserving our collection.

Four red peppers, a group of pepper seeds and a small jar of pepper seeds on a small blue styrofoam plate

Stewardship Stories

Amy LeBlanc: Seed Saver, Preservationist, Educator

Amy Frances LeBlanc, a lifetime SSE member since 1996, truly embodies the mission of SSE to promote and preserve our garden heritage.

Many small orange flowers in clusters surrounded by their stems' foliage

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Prairie Flowers for Pollinators

Scott Leddy, a habitat-restoration practitioner well known among naturalists in the Midwest, has devoted the majority of his life (more than three decades) to restoring the bluffs and prairies surrounding Rushford, Minnesota, part of the Driftless Area of the Midwest.

A close up of a leafy green lettuce plant with some splashes of bronze color

Varieties

Members Help ADAPT Program Shine

The year 2017 proved a success for Seed Savers Exchange’s new Community Science programs. Myriad SSE members answered the call to participate in one (or both) of the programs—ADAPT and RENEW.

one red-yellow apple nestled in tree boughs

Varieties

Laura Ingalls Wilder: Pioneer, Author, Orchardist

Beyond the years covered in the beloved Little House on the Prairie series, and before the books made Ingalls a household name, Laura and her husband, Almanzo, tended an orchard in Missouri, growing Missouri Pippin and Ben Davis apples. Both varieties are part of the Seed Savers Exchange collection and are offered on the Exchange.

Small seedlings emerge from the soil in the cells of plastic trays

Learn

Adventures of a First-Time Seed Starter

With the start of each new year at Seed Savers Exchange come seed orders from gardeners across the country who are eagerly anticipating another spring of growing heirloom and open-pollinated vegetables and flowers. And 2018, I discovered, was no different.

A celeriac plant lies across a cutting board, with a white root and purple and green stems

Recipes

Three Recipes from Our Table to Yours

Food is central to holiday gatherings and often a celebration isn’t complete without that one dish made especially for the occasion — be it your Grandma’s pecan pie or the green bean casserole, customized to your family’s exact liking.

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