A small plant with four starter leaves in a plastic cell with soil.

Thinning Seedlings

What?! I have to toss some of these perfectly healthy seedlings I worked so hard to start? Which do I save and which do I not? That is the reaction of many a new gardener upon first learning that thinning seedlings is a necessary step to ensure healthy growth of plant starts. The reality is that, if left in crowded environs, your seedlings will eventually suffer.

gardens, trees, and buildings topped with snow

How Tos

How to sow seeds in winter

Did you know that there are certain seeds that you can sow when the temperatures are still cool and there’s still snow on the ground?

packets of seeds and small jars of seeds spread out on a red tablecloth

How Tos

How to Organize a Seed Swap

A seed swap is a gathering of people, usually gardeners and farmers, who have come together to share seeds. Open seed sharing is one of Seed Savers Exchange’s core values since our founding 50 years ago. Keep reading to learn how to organize a seed swap of your own!

A white head of cauliflower surrounded by its leaves

Growing Guides

Growing Guide: Cauliflower

Cauliflower is a biennial crop belonging to the species Brassica oleracea, and requires a generous amount of space in the garden, especially in its second year of growth. Start cauliflower seeds in early spring and overwinter the plants to save seeds the following year.

Many squashes sit on tables in a greenhouse

Learn

How to Store Winter Squash

For some folks, harvest season brings hours and hours of canning, freezing, and drying to preserve crops for the colder months ahead. But if you’re looking for a crop that stores well all on its own, look no further than winter squash! Winter squash are versatile, nutritious, and can store for months.

A pile of many squashes with different colors, shapes, and sizes

How Tos

Squash Hand-Pollination

Hand-pollination of squash ensures that the plants produce true-to-type seed and that the flowers are not contaminated by the pollen from another variety when the required isolation distance is impractical. Because the large male and female blossoms are easily distinguished, hand-pollinating squash can be easy for gardeners of all skill levels.

Three pale yellow ears of corn with the husks pealed back

How Tos

Corn Hand-Pollination

In absence of isolation, hand-pollination ensures that the corn plant’s flowers are not contaminated by pollen from another variety. Hand-pollination prevents hybridization and ensures that the plant produces seeds that are true-to-type.

Rows of plants in the evaluation garden at Heritage Farm

Learn

It’s National Weed Your Garden Day!

So maybe it doesn’t spark the excitement of National Doughnut Day (June 2) or National Chocolate Ice Cream Day (June 7) or even National Selfie Day (no, you haven’t missed that—it’s June 21). But here at Seed Savers Exchange, we think National Weed Your Garden Day—observed annually on June 13—has a whole lot going for it too.

Four beets with the ends sliced off lying in a row on a rock surface, with each beet a different color: yellow and white, red, yellow, and white.

Learn

What to Plant in Your Garden in June

Did you know you can still plant in your garden in June? Odds are good you’ve already transplanted your tomatoes and peppers and harvested lettuce or other greens to serve up fresh for dinner. Yes, your garden has sprung to life, but if you’re interested in more than just weeding and watering, plenty of crops are still ripe for planting in many regions of the United States.

A garden with many plants and trees and a sign saying Edible Schoolyard.

Learn

Cultivating a Collard Curriculum

Seed Savers Exchange is excited to announce a multi-partner collaborative effort with Alice Waters’s Edible Schoolyard Project. This effort will continue the work of the Heirloom Collard Project and bring in longtime Seed Savers Exchange partner SeedLinked. The purpose of this project is to create a curriculum for middle school students around growing collard greens.