Agricultural Diversity and the Joy of Gardening
I grew up spending summers at my grandparents’ cottage in rural Wisconsin—the kind of rural punctuated by dirt roads and the thick aroma of cow manure—and the highlight of these getaways was working alongside my grandmother in her vegetable garden.
Tomatoes, peppers, squash, beans—Grandma had it all. I loved getting to dig around in the dirt, collecting a small army of earthworms as soil crusted beneath my fingernails. My forearms would break out in a rash from brushing against the weeds, and my hands would be stiff by the end of the day from pulling them, but this was never a deterrent. With Grandma knelt down by my side, bowed down beneath a gilded sunset sky, these rituals felt sacred.
In subsequent years, I’ve come to cherish the fact that these rituals were also an heirloom. The knowledge I harvested in my grandma’s garden was sowed in another family garden generations ago, passed down through each, seed to plant to seed.
It’s memories like these that make me excited to see gardening, which had for several decades been drifting further and further from the limelight, begin to make a comeback.
And this gardening revolution couldn’t come sooner. According to the Food and Agricultural Organization of the UN, of the 6,000 plants that have historically been cultivated for food, a mere nine account for two-thirds of all global food production today. According to Seed Savers Exchange, in the last century, 75% of edible plant varieties have been lost. This dramatic decrease is alarming: soil health, plant health, pollinator wellbeing, pest and disease control, and food security in the midst of climate change all hinge on agricultural biodiversity, and the plummeting of such biodiversity bodes ill things for our human societies, wildlife, and ecosystems alike.
Unfortunately, the incentive among major food producers to plant diverse crops just isn’t there. Monocultures tend to be easier and more efficient to grow and harvest, resulting in higher profits for farmers. For food production companies, crops like wheat and oat are inexpensive staples. Thanks to our high consumption of animal products, corn—which accounts for 95% of feed grain in the US according to the USDA—continues to dominate the physical landscape. The economic landscape is dominated by commercial seed companies, which tend to favor hybrid and genetically modified seeds bred for specific traits like flavor or yield; indeed, a mere four companies control 60% of the world’s seed market.
This last point is especially concerning as the preservation of heirloom seeds, or those that have been passed down through generations and produce “true to type,” continues to be in jeopardy. Just as knowledge can be either passed down or erode through the years, so too can heirloom varieties, and their disappearance is as permanent as the extinction of any other species.
The tomatoes I harvested with my grandma, likely identical to those grown by her grandmother, might not exist next summer. For all I know, they’re already gone.
The good news is that gardening, especially when it utilizes heirloom seeds, acts as a sword that anyone can yield to combat such loss and protect our diverse agricultural heritage. And I do mean anyone. Whether you’re working with tens of acres or limited to a single window box, gardening is versatile—now more so than ever thanks to shared knowledge, community gardens, and movements like seed exchanges and seed libraries.
Last year, through the hard work of the Manistique Women’s Club and dedicated volunteers, Schoolcraft County saw the opening of its first community garden. This year, it will get its first seed library.
Much like a traditional library, seed libraries allow area residents to “check out” open-pollinated and heirloom seeds for planting. At the end of the harvest season, the seeds from the resulting plants can then be collected and returned to the library for other community members to enjoy the next spring. By participating in seed libraries, communities can both help preserve plant varieties under threat of dying out and promote the agricultural biodiversity that we, our pollinators, and our ecosystems rely on.
The Schoolcraft Conservation District Seed Library is open for use to all residents of Schoolcraft County. A catalog of seeds in stock can be found at schoolcraftcd.org/seed-library, and seeds can be checked out at any time at our office in the building across from the Manistique School & Public Library. Donations of open-pollinated and heirloom seeds are also welcome.
Gardening is a living link to those who came—and ate—before us. As I remember kneeling in the soil beside Grandma, breathing in the manure and petrichor air, I think about how such moments embody centuries worth of growing, knowledge, family, and culture. By preserving and sharing seeds, we can ensure the continued diversity and resilience of our food crops while honoring the traditions and insight of those who came before us.
Tomatoes, peppers, squash, beans—Grandma had it all. I loved getting to dig around in the dirt, collecting a small army of earthworms as soil crusted beneath my fingernails. My forearms would break out in a rash from brushing against the weeds, and my hands would be stiff by the end of the day from pulling them, but this was never a deterrent. With Grandma knelt down by my side, bowed down beneath a gilded sunset sky, these rituals felt sacred.
In subsequent years, I’ve come to cherish the fact that these rituals were also an heirloom. The knowledge I harvested in my grandma’s garden was sowed in another family garden generations ago, passed down through each, seed to plant to seed.
It’s memories like these that make me excited to see gardening, which had for several decades been drifting further and further from the limelight, begin to make a comeback.
And this gardening revolution couldn’t come sooner. According to the Food and Agricultural Organization of the UN, of the 6,000 plants that have historically been cultivated for food, a mere nine account for two-thirds of all global food production today. According to Seed Savers Exchange, in the last century, 75% of edible plant varieties have been lost. This dramatic decrease is alarming: soil health, plant health, pollinator wellbeing, pest and disease control, and food security in the midst of climate change all hinge on agricultural biodiversity, and the plummeting of such biodiversity bodes ill things for our human societies, wildlife, and ecosystems alike.
Unfortunately, the incentive among major food producers to plant diverse crops just isn’t there. Monocultures tend to be easier and more efficient to grow and harvest, resulting in higher profits for farmers. For food production companies, crops like wheat and oat are inexpensive staples. Thanks to our high consumption of animal products, corn—which accounts for 95% of feed grain in the US according to the USDA—continues to dominate the physical landscape. The economic landscape is dominated by commercial seed companies, which tend to favor hybrid and genetically modified seeds bred for specific traits like flavor or yield; indeed, a mere four companies control 60% of the world’s seed market.
This last point is especially concerning as the preservation of heirloom seeds, or those that have been passed down through generations and produce “true to type,” continues to be in jeopardy. Just as knowledge can be either passed down or erode through the years, so too can heirloom varieties, and their disappearance is as permanent as the extinction of any other species.
The tomatoes I harvested with my grandma, likely identical to those grown by her grandmother, might not exist next summer. For all I know, they’re already gone.
The good news is that gardening, especially when it utilizes heirloom seeds, acts as a sword that anyone can yield to combat such loss and protect our diverse agricultural heritage. And I do mean anyone. Whether you’re working with tens of acres or limited to a single window box, gardening is versatile—now more so than ever thanks to shared knowledge, community gardens, and movements like seed exchanges and seed libraries.
Last year, through the hard work of the Manistique Women’s Club and dedicated volunteers, Schoolcraft County saw the opening of its first community garden. This year, it will get its first seed library.
Much like a traditional library, seed libraries allow area residents to “check out” open-pollinated and heirloom seeds for planting. At the end of the harvest season, the seeds from the resulting plants can then be collected and returned to the library for other community members to enjoy the next spring. By participating in seed libraries, communities can both help preserve plant varieties under threat of dying out and promote the agricultural biodiversity that we, our pollinators, and our ecosystems rely on.
The Schoolcraft Conservation District Seed Library is open for use to all residents of Schoolcraft County. A catalog of seeds in stock can be found at schoolcraftcd.org/seed-library, and seeds can be checked out at any time at our office in the building across from the Manistique School & Public Library. Donations of open-pollinated and heirloom seeds are also welcome.
Gardening is a living link to those who came—and ate—before us. As I remember kneeling in the soil beside Grandma, breathing in the manure and petrichor air, I think about how such moments embody centuries worth of growing, knowledge, family, and culture. By preserving and sharing seeds, we can ensure the continued diversity and resilience of our food crops while honoring the traditions and insight of those who came before us.