Online marketplace SeedLiving promotes biodiversity at home

A vibrant new marketplace and online community for seed swapping, posting articles and finding open-pollinated seeds.
By: Anna-Monique West
 
Feb. 1, 2011 - PRLog -- How many species are in the average garden? The more diverse a garden is, the more robust, with less pests, weeds and disease. Using open-pollinated seeds preserves genetic diversity in the community. SeedLiving is an online marketplace for buying, selling and swapping open-pollinated seeds and live plants.

SeedLiving is a community of like minded people with a larger agenda. It is not just a listing service. It is building awareness about the importance of open-pollinated seeds, with a political edge.

“Our vision is to promote the use of open-pollinated seeds to sustain biodiversity for the health of generations. Our purpose is to help build local seed economies that are self-sufficient.”

Open-pollination matters because it is the oldest method of developing seeds, using natural mechanisms such as wind, insects and birds. Open-pollination helps increase biodiversity because it increases seed varieties. Gardeners who choose open-pollinated seeds can save them and hand them down to the next generation of growers.

Saving seeds should be a human right. Seeds that are sold commercially are often hybrid, genetically modified, or patented; none of which can be saved. These seeds are bred in controlled environments for specific traits such as colour or firmness.

There are 450 million small farms in the world farming on less than 2 hectares. Imagine if each of these small farms grew only one or two varieties of seeds? It would be a colossal mistake. Currently, much of the gene pool is being lost, as the same species of peas or carrots are grown for hundreds of miles. We have to grow them or lose them.

On SeedLiving, users can buy or swap directly with growers. They know their seeds because they grew them. Many are organic, without chemicals, or heirloom. Growers are invited to start using this resource to promote heirlooms in their community.

Registration is simple to join the growing SeedLiving community. The fees for using the site are Pay What You Can. Users may post news, gardening tips and events for free. They may swap seeds with another grower, or give them away online. SeedLiving is an exciting resource for increasing biodiversity in the garden.

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Buy, sell, and swap organic, rare and heirloom open-pollinated seeds. Our vision is to promote the use of open-pollinated seeds to sustain biodiversity. Our purpose is to help build local seed economies that are self-sufficient.
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Source:Anna-Monique West
Email:***@seedliving.ca Email Verified
Zip:T2G0X1
Tags:Gardening, Biodiversity, Crops, Farming, Permaculture, Seeds, Heirloom, Plants
Industry:Environment, Home, Food
Location:Calgary - Alberta - Canada
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