A bunch of colorful snapdragon flowers next to shorter purple flowers in a large garden

Hope and Practice: Jane Frandsen

Jane Frandsen, Exchange lister, recounts why and how she began saving seeds: ‘Seeds Are Amazing Things.’

sunflower growing with two buildings and mountains in the background

Hope and Practice: Terrence Kerwin

I’ve been a Seed Savers Exchange member since about 1980, but I didn’t join the Exchange until three years ago, when I offered two tomato varieties from my garden in Silverton, Colorado.

A man wraps his arms around a giant pumpkin resting on the ground

Stewardship Stories

Exchange Spotlight: Steve Strickler

It’s a fact—the Exchange remains a vibrant source of unique, awe-worthy seeds because of our passionate listers and their distinctive interests. One such lister is Bloomington, Indiana, resident Steve Strickler, a grower of state record-breaking produce.

Stewardship Stories

Exchange Spotlight: Julie Sheen

Julie Sheen is a farmer, growing and sharing seed adapted to the Mountain West through her seed company, Giving Ground Seeds. In the past, Julie has also shared seeds via the Exchange, our gardener-to-gardener seed swap.

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.

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.

A woman in a red shirt smiles and holds a leafy vegetable in a garden

Stewardship Stories

The Revolutionary Work of Sara McCamant

Sara McCamant of Sebastopol, California, has never met a garden plot she didn’t like. “Gardening’s in my blood,” she says. “Growing up in a family of gardeners, I’ve always had a passion for planting things and digging in the dirt.” And she has happily spent much of her life pursuing that passion.

exchange lister