Buffalo Rising Online

Apr 27th 2007, 7:44am By Christa Glennie Seychew

Planting season is just around the corner. Late April into early May is the perfect time to begin germinating seeds. If you’re not the germinating type, it is a good idea to get out and pick your seeds up now, before all of the best ones are gone.

In the case of Richard Price’s Faerie Garden Seeds, all of them are the best.

It is rare when a hobby, fueled by passion, can stretch beyond pleasing oneself into the realm of making a difference. Richard Price and the Upstate Faerie Herbal Collective are doing just that, contributing to a movement made up of those passionate about gardening, fresh produce and preserving heirloom varieties.

Richard is a one of an ever-growing group of folks that call themselves “seed savers”. As a member of the national organization, Seed Savers Exchange, he is able to network with gardeners and farmers procuring and producing the seeds from vegetables and other plants that would otherwise disappear.

How do specific varieties of cucumber, squash or other plants vanish? Often it is because they do not fit within the confines of mass production. Perhaps they don’t have a long shelf life, are difficult to grow, require too much maintenance, or are just plain ugly. For whatever reason a particular strain of tomato may begin to be less and less available, there are seed savers out there trying to preserve it; making sure that those that want a tomato that tastes like a tomato can get it.

Richard’s Faerie Garden Seeds is a non-profit endeavor, born wholly out of enthusiasm. “Most of all, I want to spread the concept, to keep varieties available. Most of the seeds that are sold today are only hybrids.”

His seeds come from all over and many have interesting roots (pun not intended). Catalogna leaf lettuce was brought from Italy in 1990 and the Purple Dragon carrot, with its red/purple exterior and yellow interior, comes by way of the O.S. Seedsavers’ Exchange.

For entirely selfish reasons, I wanted to know what would grow best on my very sunny, very hot upper porch. I thought others would like to know this too, as many of us live in similar homes. “Peppers, tomatoes, lettuces, mixed greens- they all do well in a lot of sun. For peppers I’d use a 2 or 3-gallon container. For tomatoes, I’d suggest a 5-gallon bucket for each plant. Cherry tomatoes are best in that situation.”

In addition to being a member, Richard sits on the advisory board of Urban Roots and hopes to soon offer workshops about seed saving. In the interim, adding some of these varieties to your summer planting is the way to go.

Faerie Garden Seeds offers seeds for many vegetables, herbs and flowers. They can be found at the Lexington Co-op, Urban Roots and Rustbelt Books.