News from: Seed Bank: Byron,

Report on Fourteenth Annual Conference

05 June 2002

Seed Savers fourteenth annual conference was held at The Seed Centre in Byron Bay the last weekend in October 2001.

Some of the participants at the end of the conference

Intern Marian Warren showing lettuces going to seed in the Trial Gardens

Reported by Kate Hay and Jude Fanton

SATURDAY

JUDE FANTON INTRODUCTION

A big thank you to all volunteers both for this weekend and throughout the year. Seed Savers wouldn't operate without volunteers preparing the garden, looking after the seeds and helping prepare this conference. We are very grateful to the speakers today and tomorrow who have volunteered their time to talk. The theme of the conference is "Local Seed - Local Food - Local Harvest"as we want to promote food that is fresh for the eaters and easy to grow for the gardeners. Plants grown from seeds that are locally adapted are stronger and more reliable than those bred, grown and marketted from elsewhere.

This year marks a new achievement in that all the food for the meals that will be served back at the Seed Centre are from the Seed Gardens and from those of the cook, Tanya Striebel. She has a team of workers preparing cassava and coconut rolls in banana leaves with basil and macadamia sauce, sweet potato curry, spinach and eggs from the Centre's chickens with salads of mesclun, yakon, celery, macadamia and tomato. Nearly nothing has been bought to provide this gourmet spread, a dream come true for us at Seed Savers.

MICHEL FANTON ON CONSERVING AGRICULTURAL BIODIVERSITY

Agricultural biodiversity is directly related to consumers. We have a symbiotic relationship with the plants that we eat and we raise them so they feed us.

- Agricultural biodiversity is about diversifying the number of species we eat. The majority of people are dependent on just three species: rice, maize and wheat. Zimbabwe's wide range of millet varieties has largely been lost and replaced by the less nutritious maize. The Andes had a innumerable root and cereal crops and India had wide variety of millets. Now they too are both dependent on rice and wheat. In New Guinea sago has largely been replaced by imported rice and wheat. The same applies to the Pacific Islands like The Solomon Islands. Europe's natural pastures have been sown with grain and potato for feedlot animals.

- Agricultural diversity is an insurance policy. The 1840s potato famine in Ireland was caused by not having a broad enough genetic variety of potatoes. Only one variety of potato was grown and it was not immune to blight so all the potatoes rotted in the field. We are in a similar dangerous position today. One variety of most species constitutes the majority of items in supermarkets. Agricultural businesses grow 200 acres of the same variety of, say, onions. How we eat is dictated by commercial agriculture. Michel proposed these solutions:

- Create biodiverse gardens and farms.

- Involve as many people as possible in keeping biodiversity. This is a safety net, provided those people are swapping.

- Produce bulk seeds for local distribution. It does not take much soil to produce a lot of seeds. In just 10m by 10m you can grow enough seeds of cherry tomatoes for 75 000 people. This hundred square metres can grow enough capsicum seeds for 500 000 people.

- Learn the selection of better quality seeds from elders who bring the knowledge from the many generations of seed savers.

There are too few campaigns on agricultural biodiversity. It is important work we are doing preserving this heritage.

RAYLEE DELANEY ON THE SUBTLE NATURE OF PLANTS

Since time immemorial flowering plants and trees have been respected and employed to benefit human health - both on the emotional and physical level. It was believed that our emotional lives were intertwined with plants and flowers which were endowed with magical, supernatural or divine properties ...

The use of flower essence reaches back into the history of human kind. Australian aborigines ate whole flowers for their benefit and drank the early morning dew. Often they would place their children in a clump of flowers to absorb the plants healing powers. All the plants and animals had a sprit. This old culture inherently understood subtle matter and it was integrated into their lives ...

Raylee then described flower essences in ancient Greek and Egyptian times and went on to discuss the work of Dr Bach's 38 essences.

He suggested that illness was a message from our inner being calling for a change in our way of living and our mental out look. The causative factors in many physical illnesses are often of an emotional or mental nature ... Raylee then analysed how flower essences work through subtle energies.

Flower essences help in daily life because they enhance self-awareness and understanding. For example they can increase self confidence, stop self sabotage, help us deal with fears, overcome loss, become more considerate or assertive; aid in trauma; they can also help with memory, focus, concentration and perseverance.

The pattern of flower essences resonates in the etheric field, harmonising and healing. Western society has become somewhat neurotic in nature. More than ever our emotional imbalances need to be addressed and the use of flower essences is a harmless, natural, effective way of doing this.

In conclusion I would like to pay tribute to the innovation and energy of Seed Savers in rescuing us from the big bulldozer of western multinationals. Never before have we been in so much peril as globalisation looms over our collective horizon, forcing small farmers off their land, taking away local control with international trade treaties and providing us with food that is sterile, genetically modified, and often irradiated. With thousands of plant species nearing extinction or extinct, the world's farmers are losing valuable crop alternatives. Even crops that may not produce huge returns or may seem undesirable could one day help fight disease or respond to future conditions. It is said that more plant species are threatened in the US than any other country - 4,669 or 29% of all varieties. Next is Australia with 2,245 species threatened. This is a serious loss for agriculture.

Although we have acquired unprecedented skills in moving genes around - only nature can manufacture them. If a plant bearing a particular genetic trait disappears - there is no way to get it back. It is not only obscure plants that are disappearing around the globe - common crops are also on the decline. For example in the West less than 20% of seed varieties listed in 1904 are available today. China has lost almost 90% of its traditional wheat varieties. Mexican farmers are growing only 20% of corn varieties cultivated there in the 1930s. We must keep up the fight to protect open pollinated species - they are the ones with spirit. We play God and ignore our divinity that includes the other resident species on our precious little planet.

BARRY WATERS ON SOWING IN SEASON

Barry has saved many generations of his own seeds. He was a finalist in ABC Gardening Australia Gardener of the Year.

Growing healthy plants with no pests or disease is all in the timing.

There are two main planting seasons in this subtropical climate - September to November to produce crops that mature in late summer. March to May to produce crops for spring.

By the end of November summer crops should be in the ground if they are to perform to their maximum. Any later and the plants will be subjected to harsh summer conditions and if really late may be caught by an early cold snap.

Winter growing crops should all be sown by the end of May so they will be fully matured before the warm weather in spring which will bring diseases and pests.

Watch the weeds in your garden. They will fall into two distinct groups - summer and winter. You don't have to sow the seeds of these weeds. They look after themselves and germinate as soon as their season arrives. In summer there are crows feet, cobblers peg, pigweed etc. In winter rye grass, chickweed etc. There may be a blending between seasons. The same applies to crops.

Buying Plants

Our nurseries carry a range of plants and seedlings. Quite often a percentage will be out of season. Plants grown out of season will invariably be subjected to stresses not experienced if grown at the right time. Grubs will devour cabbages in summer. Peas will succumb to powdery mildew in warm weather. Tomatoes will die in winter frosts. Lettuce will run to seed in warm weather or rot in humid hot weather. Bean seed will not germinate until the ground temperature is right. The list goes on.

Plants you do not know

Most of us are fairly familiar with most of the plants we grow but occasionally we come across plants that are new to us. If you have seeds and you do not know when sow them, sow half of them. Plant the other half in the next planting season. The results may be very different.

When was seed harvested?

A handy guide is to know when the seed is harvested. If harvested in autumn, the plant grew through summer. If harvested in spring the plant grew through winter.

REBECCA LINES-KELLY ON WHAT SEEDS NEED FROM SOIL

When a seed germinates first roots push down into the soil searching for moisture and nutrients and then a shoot pushes up through the soil to the sunlight. From the seed's point of view the soil needs to be easy to move through, and hold moisture and nutrients.

The ideal soil structure is a mix of sand and clay which holds moisture well but is easy for roots and shoots to move through. This ideal soil is known as sandy loam, but it usually only exists in textbooks and people's imaginations. What most of us have to do is adapt the soil we have to make it habitable for seeds.

Rebecca outlined the many organic methods of making soil more rich and soft. She then went on to describe how to sow seed.:

Seed depth

When planting seeds, don't plant them too deep as it might take more energy than the seed possesses to push the shoot through the soil to the sunlight. One rule is plant to a maximum depth of seven times the seed diameter, but you may have your own rules of thumb.

Air in the soil

It is important to tamp down soil around seeds so that you leave no air pockets. While plant roots need air, they need to be in close contact with soil to extract moisture and nutrients.

Soil covering

Use a thin layer of mulch when you plant seeds to keep the soil temperature even, and protect the soil surface so that it doesn't bake in the sun and form a crust. Plant shoots often do not have enough energy to push through a soil crust. If the mulch layer is too thick it will just make it harder for the seed to reach sunlight.

Conclusion

What seeds need from soil is lots of preparation so that you can provide the best environment for them to survive. The ideal soil is easy for plant roots to move through, holds moisture and nutrients, and drains well.

FORUM ON LOCAL MARKETS

A forum was held on setting up local markets with local organic farmer and organiser of the Lismore Organic Market, Hogan Gleeson.

WORKSHOPS, SEED EXCHANGE, GARDEN TOURS

In the afternoon participants moved to the Seed Centre where they could obtain seeds from the seed bank, take a tour of the gardens with Marian Warren intern and attend a two workshops from a choice of workshops:

Seed collecting and cleaning, seed banking, planning a biodiverse market garden, growing, harvesting and cooking greens.

SUNDAY

Former intern, AMBER TUCKER ON HER TIME IN INDIA AS A VOLUNTEER at the GREEN Foundation.

Another former intern, NIKKI WARWICK ON RESISTING GE CROPS

Nikki described her experiences in the UK with farming groups resisting the introduction of GE crops in their areas.

JUDE FANTON ON FUTURE DIRECTIONS FOR SEED SAVERS

Jude covered the formation of local seed networks and the building of the new seed bank and training centre.

TORSTEN WEIDEMANN, PHARMACIST FROM SHAMAN BOTANICALS

Torsten showed how using medicinal plants directly from the garden is more efficacious for healing than preparations, whether these are home or commercially made.

FORUM ON LOCAL SEED NETWORKS

A forum was held on setting up local seed networks with a display and demonstration by Marion Forrest from the Beelarong Community Farm in Brisbane.

PM

WORKSHOPS

Workshops after lunch: Beginners' seed saving, advanced seed saving, bamboo with Julianne Hartmann looking at the dozen species at The Seed Centre and at how to harvest and eat bamboo shoots, frog pond making with Keith and Leanne, harvesting exotic plants and preparing them with Tippy Heng, chef at Dish Restaurant.

MONDAY - TOUR OF MULLUMBIMBY BAMBOO FARM

by Marian Warren

On the Monday after the conference participants and volunteers visited Julianne and Martin Hartmann's 80-acre near Mullumbimby to see their large vegetable market gardens, specialty crops, orchards and bamboo plantations.

Six years ago Julianne and Martin started extensive plantings of bamboo and are now growing over fifty varieties, supplying Sydney markets with fresh bamboo shoots and timber. Dendrocalamus latiflorus, D. asper and Bambusa oldhamii are the main varieties cultivated for shoot production with Guadua angustifolia the primary timber variety. Galangal, Thai coriander and Keffir Lime leaves are also grown for the markets.

Creative uses of bamboo can be seen in the vegetable gardens, triangular bean trellises, a support for an overhead watering system and as a sturdy support for passion fruit, while around the propagation shed living bamboo has been bent over and anchored to give shade from the northern sun in summer. During winter, they are pruned back to give extra light. Bamboo is also being used to shade out local weeds, particularly camphor laurels and lantana, and to reafforest the bare hillsides. Well-rotted, organic pig manure provides nutrients, as bamboos are heavy feeders. The bamboo plantation is weed free as the clumps shed their sheaths and leaves to self-mulch to a depth of 20 cm.

It was truly like seeing a slice of heaven.

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Classification

Subject  Organisational