Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["Patricia Ruggiero" <ruggierop@earthlink.net>]

Claudia wrote

> I recommend Baker Creek Heirloom seeds.  This small company 
> was started by a young man when he was 17.  He's been very 
> dedicated to keeping many heirloom seeds alive and fighting gm seeds.

I've been purchasing seeds from this company for 2-3 years, too, but it
wasn't until our Organic Gardening group looked deeper into seed sources
that we realized we didn't know how Baker Creek's suppliers grow their
seeds.

The catalog says they don't offer treated seeds or GM seeds.  In response to
my letters, one employee told me they don't buy from any of the
multinational corporations we listed (not that we expected they did, given
Jerre Gettle's strong opposition to GM seeds).  But from whom they do buy,
and under what conditions the seeds are produced, is information that is
only just now being compiled into a list that others may see (the rep said
such a list currently exists "only in Jerre's head).

"Heirloom," "open-pollinated,"  "non-GM," and "non-treated" seeds do not
necessarily mean they were produced under organic, or even sustainable,
conditions.  Give a second thought to where many of these seeds originate
and consider the agricultural methods likely being used.

Territorial Seeds is part of an initiative to require that food labeled
"organic" be produced from seeds that themselves are organically grown.   My
hope is that Jerre will  move Baker Creek in this direction.  Many of the
seeds I've purchased from him are of plants from which I can easily save
seeds, something I've been doing for several years now, a few more varieties
each year.

Pat