EFN Rare Seed Saving & Increases | Experimental Farm Network

For volunteers anywhere interested in being mailed seeds or other plant material to be grown out. You will be asked to mail back seeds at the completion of the growing season.

Description

EFN organizers have been building an impressive collection of rare seeds for nearly a decade. Most varieties come from government or private seed banks, while plenty were purchased from small seed companies, given to us by individuals, or in a few cases collected from the wild.

We could not possibly steward all of these rare varieties ourselves -- not only do we lack the time, but with just a few pieces of land at our disposal, we could never keep all of these varieties from cross-pollinating with each other. That's why we need volunteers.

Depending on how much space you have available and your experience level, you might be sent just one or two packets of seeds, or you might be sent a dozen different seed packets along with a couple grape cuttings and some garlic bulbs. Most people will be sent annuals, but if your circumstances permit it, we might want to send you some perennials too.

Ultimately we hope this project will become something of a de-centralized seed bank, or perhaps more aptly a centralized seed bank with a de-centralized variety maintenance strategy, focused on preserving diverse landraces, hard-to-find old varieties, crop wild relatives, and potential perennial crops.

Joining this project is not a guarantee that you will be sent seeds, but we will try our best to send something to everyone.

Researcher background

Nate Kleinman and Dusty Hinz are the co-founders of EFN.

Are you seeking volunteer growers or other types of volunteers?

Yes, seeking volunteer growers

How many volunteers do you need?

200

What will you ask volunteers to do?

Grow out rare plant varieties, keep them isolated (as required), harvest seed or other propagative material (germplasm), and send germplasm back to EFN organizers. Certain growouts may require more in depth work, including hand-pollination, data collection, complicated seed processing, etc.

Other requirements of volunteers?

Volunteers must be willing to prioritize EFN growouts. For instance, if you usually grow 'Trinidad Scorpion' peppers but EFN sends you a rare Syrian sweet pepper, we will expect you to grow only the Syrian pepper in order to ensure they don't get crossed.

Is this a multi-year project?

Yes

Can volunteers expect to be able to keep some germplasm (seeds, bulbs, cuttings, spores, etc) at the close of the project?

Yes, of course

Anything else?

Even if you've signed up to EFN in previous years, please join this project if you'd like to continue receiving seeds.

Researcher Location

08318
United States

Agro-Ecology or Permaculture

Project Updates

Looking to volunteer some land/garden space

project update by
southshorefarmstead

Tuesday, January 16, 2024 - 08:47

I am in the process of starting a farm near Syracuse, New York (zone 5, 420ft elevation) and I am carving out the bandwidth for some projects this year, I'm super grateful to have found this. (thanks to Edible Acres on Youtube for mentioning the project!)

Our farm is in a unique microclimate right next to NY's largest lake (Lake Oneida.) I'm interested in saving seed, testing seed varieties, disease resistance, and really anything that can help this project or any others with the same mission move forward. The mission of the project really resonates with my goals in life and I would love to offer space in any of the separate fields I have. I have access to over 240 acres of land, I am currently only planning to use around 60. There are multiple open fields, tons of forested land, different soil types and microclimates even within the property - some parts are extremely wet, others are nice and dry so there are a lot of options. We receive a good amount of rain here being right next to the lake, however the snow over the past few years has been historically low with higher temperatures still bringing rain in January of this year.

I hope to be of some assistance - if anyone wants to discuss my relative experience feel free to reach out, southshorefarmstead@gmail.com - thanks for all the work you've done on this project!

Best,
Chase
South Shore Farmstead

New to group

project update by
missygardenpa

Saturday, January 7, 2023 - 01:20

I am a back yard gardener and have love growing new varieties and am very interested in helping save seed diversity. How can I get involved in this program?

Awesome Network of Growers

project update by
hay7410

Friday, July 26, 2019 - 03:31

This is such a great community. I would be glad to help in anyway possible. I have a small urban home/garden, as well as access to a larger plot of mixed woodland area I could grow some things on.