A bouquet of yellow and orange 'Lorenzo Trussoni' safflowers with spiky safflower leaves

‘Lorenzo Trussoni Heirloom’ safflower brings beauty, history to any garden.

In July 2015, a few Seed Savers Exchange preservation staff members drove about an hour-and-a-half from Decorah, Iowa, to Genoa, Wisconsin. Their mission? To meet Marilyn Leum, longtime steward of the ‘Lorenzo Trussoni Heirloom’ safflower, at an annual picnic held on the Fourth of July at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church.

Varieties

‘German Pink’: the tomato that started it all

Here at Heritage Farm—the Northeast Iowa home of Seed Savers Exchange—the ‘German Pink’ tomato is perhaps best known as “tomato number one” or “the tomato that started it all.”

Varieties

New Seed Varieties – 2024

The latest Seed Savers Exchange catalog includes 20 new seed varieties and two new seed collections for 2024, and they promise to be popular picks of gardeners everywhere!

White and red speckled 'Lina Sisco Bird Egg' beans

Varieties

The story of the ‘Lina Sisco Bird Egg’ bean

Lina Sisco of Wadena, Missouri, was one of the original listed members of the True Seed Exchange (as Seed Savers Exchange was known until 1979) and the donor of the beautiful and popular ‘Lina Sisco Bird Egg’ bean.

Varieties

Heirloom Collard Trials

Discover the rich history and diverse performance of heirloom collard greens through the 2020 Heirloom Collard Variety Trials. Learn how 250 gardeners and farmers across the U.S. evaluated 18 unique collard varieties, with insights into taste, yield, vigor, and adaptability. This collaborative project celebrates the preservation of Southern food traditions and highlights the ongoing efforts to conserve rare seed varieties for future generations. Explore trial results and find the perfect collard variety for your garden or farm.

Varieties

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 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.

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.

Yellow sunflowers tower over a wall of red-flowering runner beans.

Varieties

Quintessentially British: The Unjustifiably Shunned Runner Bean

In the United States, runner beans are undervalued as an edible crop and usually grown as ornamentals for their large, showy, often scarlet-colored flowers. American horticulturalist Fearing Burr recognized their eating qualities in his 1863 book Field and Garden Vegetables of North America, stating “its value as an esculent has not been generally appreciated.” This remains true today.