SAVING SEEDS.
Dyer’s Coreopsis
Urban Harvest’s Colette Murphy Wild arugula going to seed
Garden sorrel seeds
GROWING SEED using organic practices can transform our food and counteract climate change, too. Plants bred under organic conditions can better adapt to a changing climate. By saving some of your own seed and purchasing seed from small-scale seed farmers you can participate in this adaptation to changing conditions. One of the questions we are often asked at Urban Harvest Organic Seeds is, “If I am growing organically in my garden, why should I consider buying organic seeds?” Our answer is always the same. It is about stewarding the
Peppers
land, the soil and the creatures that inhabit it. Growing organically with organic seed is better for the environment. If you pay a little more for a package of organic seeds you are helping others to continue to provide good quality seed. Food grown organically in mineral-rich soil also provides vitamins and minerals that may be sorely lacking in food grown by agribusinesses. Healthy soils maintained and nurtured organically act as natural storage sinks for atmospheric carbon, thereby helping to combat climate change.
TORONTOBOTANICALGARDEN.CA
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WINTER/SPRING 2018
PHOTOS: COURTESY URBAN HARVEST ORGANIC SEEDS
The life of a seed farmer involves a dance with an uncertain peril, says Colette Murphy. The effects of climate change seem to have accelerated. All the more reason to take care of our own gardens.
