On The Trail To Preserve Appalachia's Bounty Of Heirloom Crops
Last edited Tue Nov 4, 2014, 05:59 AM - Edit history (1)
Fascinating! Who knew?
Article and podcast at the link provided.
http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/npr/360434287/on-the-trail-to-preserve-appalachia-s-bounty-of-heirloom-crops
NPR
On The Trail To Preserve Appalachia's Bounty Of Heirloom Crops
by Roxy Todd
Nov, 03 2014
Appalachia may be one of the poorest regions of the U.S., but when it comes to heirloom crops, it's got the riches.
James Veteto is an anthropologist at Western Carolina University and an apple farmer who directs the Southern Seed Legacy Project. He's has spent the past 16 years traveling throughout Central and Southern Appalachia, talking with farmers about the heritage fruits and vegetables they grow.
That journey lead him (and other researchers) to realize that, with some 1,500 heirloom fruits and vegetables under cultivation, Appalachia is the most diverse foodshed in the U.S., Canada and northern Mexico. Among that bounty are 633 distinct varieties of apple and 485 distinct varieties of bean.
The heritage seeds central to this "agrobiodiversity" have been passed down through generations of families. In many cases, the seeds date back hundreds of years to when Native Americans were cultivating seeds from woodland plants like pawpaws. Other crops like corn traveled to Appalachia from southern Mexico via the Southwest U.S.... MORE
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seed sharing program like the Seed Savers Exchange to ensure that they continue to exist - seeds are a "living museum" that must be regularly grown in order to survive, and each particular type (tomato, squash, bean, etc) has a germination age limit. And of course for crops like apples, the original tree and wood from it is what is important, since apples typically don't breed true from saved seed - scions from the original tree must be grafted onto other, younger trees or root stock to maintain the varieties.
This sort of thing is what first attracted me to joining the SSE in 1986 - and it is still an important part of my gardening life.
The key as indicated in the article is to regenerate interest - ensure that enough young people get involved that the varieties are carried on. I do know that there are quite a few Seed Savers members from the region, and lots of effort has gone into collecting varieties from West Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky and more.
High level overview http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seed_Savers_Exchange
Their own website http://www.seedsavers.org/
I would pose a question to them - great folks out there, and they will know more about local efforts than I, though I do have the annual yearbook that lists members by states/cities.
My role is their advisor for tomatoes - my collection is around 3000 varieties. It is quite addictive!
