SCATTERSEED
PROJECT
(click here
to visit Scatterseed's website.)
 In
1971 Will Bonsall moved to Industry, Maine, to live simply and self-sufficiently.
From the beginning, he realized one of the cornerstones of self-reliance
was saving his own seed. He discovered that older farmers and gardeners
in his area grew varieties of their own that had never been in any
seed catalog. Some of these varieties were in danger of extinction
as their keepers died and no one else grew the seed. Will became
the guardian of these heirloom varieties, among them Cowhorn potato,
Orange Sweet apple, Orlando’s Horticultural pole bean, Boothby’s
Blonde cucumber, Waldoboro rutabaga and Byron flint corn. The genetic
diversity he encountered inspired him to start saving plants such
as biennial outcrossers that are more difficult to propagate.
Naturally, Will became involved with the Seed
Savers Exchange; his Scatterseed Project is now by far the largest
member. In addition to serving on SSE’s Advisory Board, he
is also its central curator for potatoes, peas, jerusalem artichokes,
fava beans, runner beans, radishes, turnips, rutabagas, leeks, parsleys,
parsnips, carrots, beets, chards and brussels sprouts. In addition
to the varieties he curates, Will saves and reoffers seed for most
everything that comes his way including hundreds of beans and tomatoes.
His collections comprise 3-4000 varieties; he’s lost track
of the total.
The Scatterseed potato collection requires a complete grow-out of
all 700-800 varieties every single year. Biennial crops such as
parsnips, carrots, leeks and turnips need to be stored over winter
in a protected cellar and then replanted. Will keeps each variety
pure by a combination of caging and planting in isolated plots.
All of this is very labor intensive and demands attention to details
like introducing pollinators into the cages or controlling pest
infestations.
Lack of funds for labor means these details sometimes don’t
get done in a timely manner and results in the loss of varieties.
Scatterseed may be the only place on the planet where some of these
varieties are still alive. Here a little more labor can mean huge
success. Any time a variety is rescued, Will has more diversity
to scatter. He thinks farm fields and backyard gardens are ultimately
the safest place to preserve crop genetic diversity. Your donations—almost
$2600 in 2008, enabling him to hire and train more workers—have
made a very real impact! We thank everyone who has donated in the
past; those planning to support Scatterseed this year, please see
the Moose Tubers order form.
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