Seed Saving, Continued

This week, we were successful in saving one more type of seed. We now have pepper seeds AND acorn squash seeds. They had similar processes - the squash seeds were slightly more fussy, but still very easy. We plan on attempting tomato seeds after break, using the rather stinky process of fermentation. What fun!

We also designed seed packages, after looking very carefully at store-bought seed packages. We noticed many things by looking at the front of the packages - a very colorful picture or photograph, the specific type of the fruit or vegetable, whether it was organic or not, the name of the company, and the price. The back of the package gave a ton of information, regarding how deep to sow it, when to plant, and so on. I think our packages turned out as pretty, if not more so, than the ones you find in the store.

On Thursday afternoon, Eric from the Ann Arbor Seed Co., came to share his expertise about seed saving. He spent nearly an hour with the children, and we all learned a lot. The students had excellent questions - like, where do you find carrot seeds? and - more philosophically - what came first, the plant or the seed? He also answered specific questions to our project, like how many seeds should we put in a package?

I encourage you all to find Eric at the Farmers Market and purchase some of his wonderful seeds. I appreciate the process and his hard work all the more now!