On The Trail To Preserve Appalachia's Bounty Of Heirloom Crops

[NRaleighLiberal]

2. Great article. What is critical is that the unique varieties make their way into a central

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.