12.22.08
It’s dreary here today, but all is okay. . .
Yesterday marked the winter solstice for 2008. So, apparently, yesterday was the shortest day of the year, and today starts the increase of daylight until the summer solstice where we will have our longest daylight of the year. The arrival of the winter solstice brought to mind our seeds because now that the days are starting to get longer again, we know that planting season is not far off. It’s raining and quite dreary here this AM in Los Angeles, so there won’t be any planting here today or likely for a few weeks time, yet, but the knowledge that planting season is approaching brings to mind freshness, growth, and healing. So today I look out at the dreary rain and feel happy that the rain is only helping to prepare our soil for it’s new harvest. In that spirit, I took a peek at our seed drawer this morning to make sure they were still there. . .
Brian suggested that we try to focus more on climbing plants this year since we have such little yard space. I definitely want to do the pole beans again as they were very good and very prolific.
I think seeds are fascinating because they’re generally very small, yet grow to amazing sized plants or even animals, for that matter (sperm and egg cells, and marrow can be looked at like seeds). To think about how small and tiny seeds can be it’s a wonder that they have all the genetic material to make up a whole plant, produce and all, which is essential to nourish and keep humans and animals alive. Seeds are truly one of God’s ingenious creations, and I think every child should experience the miracle of planting. Seeds not only grow and retain all that genetic information for all the various plants, but they also go dormant so that they can be stored for years and still grow into viable plants. I’ve read of wheat seeds being found in the tombs of some Egyptian mummies that were still viable. Seeds can be carried in the wind or washed to different shores and still grow. Like the sun and the rain, God lavishes us with seeds to feed and clothe us.
When I think of the gift of seeds that God gave to us, I can’t help but also think with disdain of corporations like Monsanto who seem to work tirelessly at modifying seeds. I think cross breeding seeds are fine, but I am against genetic engineering of seeds such as the controversial “terminator seeds” by Monsanto. Basically, terminator seeds will allow corporations to monopolize seeds, so that farmers would have to go to those corporations to “buy” seeds instead of collecting and saving their own seeds from previous crops. I think that is so wrong. Here’s a short paragraph from a link that explains it a tad:
“The patented technology enables a seed company to genetically alter seed so that the plants that grow from it are sterile; farmers cannot use their seeds. The patent is broad applying to plants and seeds of all species including both transgenic (genetically engineered) and conventionally-bred seeds. The developers of the new technology say that their technique to prevent seed-saving is still in the product development stage, and is now being tested on cotton and tobacco. They hope to have a product on the market sometime after the year 2000.”
I know that there are quite a few stories and articles on the terminator seed which did alarm me when I first read about it around 2000. The news did scare me into thinking that maybe I should be hoarding seeds! I’m happy to say that here we are in 2008, but we still have access to “normal” seeds. Then I think, would it even be possible that they could gain full control of all the world’s seeds? I think it would be a difficult task, but just the thought that there are those trying to do just that does make me uncomfortable. So I will continue to try to save viable seeds and hope many others will do the same.
In light of saving seeds, I was happy to come across an interesting article by Discover dated December 18, 2008. The article is titled, The “Doomsday Vault” Stores Seeds for an Agricultural Reboot. Apparently there is a “vault” on the archipelago in Norway, which store thousand upon thousands of seeds. Yeah, the Norwegians to the rescue! Such a relief to know that there are those out there who value the importance of our seeds. The article is short enough, so I figure I might as well post it here:
“On February 26, 2008, on a rocky seashore hundreds of miles north of the Arctic Circle, the Svalbard Global Seed Vault opened for business, receiving its inaugural shipment of seeds from around the world. Nicknamed the Doomsday Vault, the structure is built on Spitsbergen, the largest island in the Svalbard archipelago in Norway, and is designed to preserve hundreds of thousands of seed types from across the globe. Created by the Norwegian government and funded by foundation donors, the vault is built to withstand centuries of climate change, natural disasters, and even a nuclear attack. Now locked in the chamber deep inside a frozen mountain are seeds contributed by more than 100 countries.
“The Svalbard site is a second line of defense, on top of individual nations’ agricultural seed banks. Altogether, these banks house millions of seeds of remarkable diversity—including about 200,000 types of wheat and 30,000 types of corn—and provide backup seeds after crop-destroying events like typhoons and mudslides. Even if a national bank is destroyed, the Svalbard vault assures that the plants will soldier on.”
Now I wonder how many people realize that there are about 200,000 types of wheat and 30,000 types of corn? Oye! I knew there are a lot, but didn’t realize there were that many.
So moving right along about seeds. . . I found this article interesting. “2,700-Hundred-Year-Old Marijuana Stash.” This blog has the complete article. In short, some cannabis was discovered in a burial site in China. Here’s the short of it:
“The 789 grams of dried cannabis was buried alongside a light-haired, blue-eyed Caucasian man, likely a shaman of the Gushi culture, near Turpan in northwestern China.”
Hmmm, 2,700 year-old pothead? What was it again that Soloman said? “There’s nothing new under the sun.”
Well, time to make myself useful around here. Enjoy your day. . .
Marlakins
