Upper Valley Seed Savers

The mission of the Upper Valley Seed Savers is to save seed of open-pollinated vegetable and herb varieties that have regional history, exceptional flavor, good storage capabilities, particular beauty, or are in danger of becoming unavailable commercially, and that contribute to a locally-grown, year-round food supply.

About the Upper Valley Seed Savers

The Upper Valley Seed Savers is a group of gardeners and farmers who meet monthly in an effort to increase our seed saving knowledge and create a local collection of seeds that would support a year-round food supply. We have varying degrees of seed saving and gardening experience. Some of us have large gardens where we grow much of our own food, some of us have small gardens where we grow whatever we can fit. Some have farms or businesses related to growing vegetables and seeds.

Visit UVSS Wiki

A leek flower from seed saver Stuart Blood's garden

Goals/Vision

To develop and share our knowledge of seed saving
To identify and preserve open-pollinated varieties that thrive in our area
To build a collection of locally grown seeds that extend the season and help feed us year-round
To create a community-based seed saving network that will enhance our own community and serve as a model for other communities

Pink bean flowers from seed saver Ruth Fleishman's garden

Project Highlights

Most seed saving projects are confined to individual gardens or fields, although often more than one garden will be producing a seed crop of the same variety.

Some, such as the ongoing onion project, which you can see here, are more coordinated to make sure that certain varieties are maintained locally.

Occasionally, a project will require more space than an individual home garden can provide because the crop needs a large population for successful trait maintenance. For a variety of cabbage—a biennial crop that requires two seasons to produce seed—we partnered with a local farm that provided 300 row feet in one of its fields for each of the two years.