Growth Cycles
Preserve those Genes : Share your Seeds
Sep
Around 100,000 plants worldwide are being threatened by extinction due to a loss of their natural habitat. There can’t be a world where humans survive without plant as we depend on plants for most things necessary for survival. Humans are a large factor involved in the removal of natural habitats and so we start preserving our seeds so the crops we crop can be seen and harvested by many future generations.
How to preserve those endangered plants
There are two ways of preserving and keeping endangered plants safe, inside the plants habitat or outside it (In-situ and Ex-situ). We growers can help preserve plants outside of their natural habitats and one way of doing this is using seed banks.
Seed banks are great when it comes to genetics and seed preservations. Most seed banks contain a large variety of seeds such as open-pollinated, heirloom, fruit and veg.
Gene banks? What are they?
Gene banks are also another place you can find plant materials that have been preserved for long periods of time. These materials vary from bulbs, seeds and roots. If you are looking for a certain type of crop genetic or a seed, try looking online because you can find almost everything in online seed banks, just be sure to purchase from a safe website.
Seed and Gene banks are not the only way to save or gain strong plant genetics. Saving seeds that sprung from strong plants in a previous harvest allows you to keep the strong genetics running harvest after harvest. Before you harvest the seeds from the strong and healthy plants, make sure they are ready and dry.
The old fashioned way – share them!
Sharing and trading seeds with your fellow growers is also a great way to maintain strong plant genetics. If something were to go wrong with your current harvest, ask a friend or grower that you previously shared seeds with for seeds with the same genes. Also remember to keep the seeds you intend to keep for future generations dry. Place them in a dry container such as a jar, bag or envelope. Keep them safe and out of harm’s way.
Preserving strong seeds and plant genetics is something every grower can take part in. Tell your fellow growers to keep their favourite crops through saving the seeds and trading them. Plant mutation happens naturally even if you have kept seeds preserved do not be surprised if things start to change over time, you might even be happier with the different results produced.
