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Stewardship Stories

Stewardship stories have always been an important part of SSE’s preservation work. Seeds are not just a food source but a record of human history. Seeds are intrinsically connected to culture, health, technology, and the human experience. Many of the heirloom seeds in our collection have been grown and preserved by generations of families, each with their own stories of why they saved the seeds.

Hope and Practice: Kay Antúnez de Mayolo

If you stop by Kay Antúnez de Mayolo’s farmstand at Modoc Harvest’s Food Hub and farmer’s market, on the Great Basin’s western edge in rural northern California, she might sell you “regular” lettuces or tomatoes and let you be on your way. She’s not pushy about her produce. But if you look a little harder, you might notice that the baskets of cherry tomatoes are cut with something curious: a ground cherry called ‘Capuli’ in Peru, ‘Poho’ in Hawaii, and (long ago) ‘Cape Gooseberry’ in the English colonies.

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Small black peppers growing on a plant in a greenhouse

‘Angelica’s Little Diablo’ Pepper

When an unexpected challenge wiped out Norma’s supply of ‘Angelica’s Little Diablo’ seeds, she turned to Seed Savers Exchange for help. Thankfully, SSE had been stewarding these seeds and was able to reunite Norma with her beloved heirloom pepper. Without Seed Savers Exchange, this priceless variety and its history would likely have been lost.

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large tomatoes and purple morning glory flowers staged in a picture frame with a red barn in the background

Behind the Catalog Cover Shot

The 2025 Seed Savers Exchange Catalog proudly offers more than 600 unique, open-pollinated varieties, but its cover showcases only two—the delightfully delicious ‘German Pink’ tomato and the mighty yet majestic ‘Grandpa Ott’s’ morning glory (with the historic barn at Heritage Farm providing the backdrop).

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A hand holding white and black speckled bean seeds.

Planting Sacred Seeds in a Modern World

Rowen White reflects on her ancestral seed collection and the sacred significance of diverse corn varieties within the Haudenosaunee community. Through a journey of seed stewardship, she explores the cultural dimensions of biodiversity, emphasizing the role of cultural memory, tradition, and community relationships in preserving and restoring these seeds that have witnessed generations of history and nourished diverse cultures.

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A man stands in front of three large, floor-to-ceiling shelves filled with many small jars

Stewardship Stories: Russ Crow

Russ Crow’s earliest gardening memories are with his father, planting tomatoes. Inspired, Russ convinced his father to build a 2×2 foot plot in the yard to cultivate. “I planted it entirely in radishes. Solid radishes,” laughed Russ, nostalgically.

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A garden with many green plants

Stewardship Stories: Kathleen Plunkett-Black

Kathleen Plunkett-Black grew up in Vermont, gardening with her father. One year, he decided to let Kathleen and her two siblings each have their own small plots planted with anything they wanted. “I picked celery, my brother picked peanuts, and my sister picked Brussels sprouts,” she remembers, laughing.

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Small containers of sprouted plants with popsicle stick markers.

Stewardship Stories: John Coykendall

John Coykendall was born and raised in Knoxville, Tennessee by his mother and father—a school teacher and a banker, respectively. John’s grandfather owned a farm and was a congressman by profession. In 1954, when John was 11, his father taught him to plant potatoes and corn. It was then that John found his love of gardening. “I still get the same thrill out of digging new potatoes that I did the first year!” remembers John.

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