Local Seed for Local Success

Riddell’s Creek Seed Savers (RCSS) is a group of home gardeners dedicated to preserving traditional, non-hybrid, open-pollinated food seed varieties which do well in the Macedon Ranges.  Over the past 100 years or so, we have lost 80-90% of our fruit and vegetable varieties worldwide, this threatens the genetic diversity of our food plants. The big seed companies are focussed on profit, so we can’t count on them to maintain our plant heritage.  Home gardeners have a crucial role as the stewards of food plant biodiversity. This becomes increasingly important as we experience the effects of climate change on our food sources.

We can grow those varieties which do well in our area, eg Stupice tomato and Diamond eggplant for cooler districts.   We can do our own genetic selection the old fashioned way, by collecting seed from plants which have the characteristics we want to encourage, eg tomatoes which set fruit early, or continue fruiting into autumn, or coriander which does not bolt to seed.  In this way we are adapting the variety to our local conditions.

At the Macedon Ranges Sustainability Festival on the 2nd March we will be discussing seed saving and it´s role in sustainability , please come and talk to us. Sara Gormley O´Brien on behalf of Lyn Godfrey Riddell´s Creek Seed Savers.