container of green seedlings wrapped in brown paper towels

A Month in the Seed Lab

From planning for the next year, to processing and packaging seeds from the previous growing season, there is plenty of work to keep everyone (including interns!) busy at Seed Savers Exchange in winter.

How Tos

Companion Planting for a Healthier, Happier Garden

Strategic planning is part of any good garden design, and companion planting is one of the best strategies to help gardeners do more with any space, no matter how big or how small.

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John Swenson on How to Grow Garlic

John Swenson, garlic aficionado, offers five tips for growing happy, healthy garlic. Since the 1990s, John has donated 150 varieties to the organization’s seed bank, including his beloved ‘Samarkand,’ a “moderately spicy” hardneck he came across in Uzbekistan.

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.

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

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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 group of many different plants growing together, with several plant labels

How Tos

Create a Small-Space Garden Like (Our) Pro

In 2017, we visited with Lou Ann Hall—gardener extraordinaire and Former Seed Savers Exchange retail seed program manager—to learn more about the lush and inviting small-space garden (100 square feet, give or take) she created that spring on the sprawling grounds of Heritage Farm in Decorah. Read on and learn how you too can make the most of even the smallest garden spot.

A light pink turnip with leafy green foliage grows in the ground

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Identifying Brassica Species by Seed…and the ‘Turnabaga’ Extinction

Until 2017, the Seed Savers Exchange collection included the “turnabaga.” What is a turnabaga, you might rightfully ask? Well, it was a very unique vegetable that we can now proudly say is extinct.

A leafy plant with many red tomatoes growing on it

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Exploring Tomato Flower Structure

One common belief among gardeners is that tomato varieties with potato-type leaves are much more likely to cross pollinate than regular leaf tomatoes. Is there any truth in it?

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Tomatillo Isolation Requirements

Learn the truth about tomatillo pollination and isolation requirements for successful seed saving. Discover why tomatillos must cross-pollinate, debunking common myths about their self-pollinating nature, and understand the proper isolation distances needed to preserve true varieties.