Planting the seeds of greatness (and also tomatoes)

Right now, I'm looking at the wilted, brown leaves of my dying container garden and ruing the white-hot Atlanta sun. I'm pretty sure we spent $30 on supplies that produced four very small tomatoes and one hideous cucumber. But the joy on…

Planting the seeds of greatness (and also tomatoes)
Right now, I'm looking at the wilted, brown leaves of my dying container garden and ruing the white-hot Atlanta sun. I'm pretty sure we spent $30 on supplies that produced four very small tomatoes and one hideous cucumber. But the joy on my kid's face as we sprouted, planted, and nurtured our little garden on the back porch? Priceless.

[don't miss learning about a cool giveaway after the jump]
Knowing what it can mean to our children to take an active part in gardening ups my appreciation of the Seed Savers Exchange, which is the largest non-governmental seed bank in the US. Since 1975, the SSE has distributed around one million samples of rare garden seeds to restaurants, small farms, seed companies, chefs, and even home gardeners like myself-- and probably much more talented ones.

If you're into gardening and would like raise Hot Biscuit Amaranthus or Aunt Ruby's Green Tomatoes, you can shop the Seed Savers Exchange online store for thousands of fruits, veggies, flowers and more. If you become a member of the SSE, you'll gain access to over 13,000 additional seed varietals. Or you can always visit their beautiful gardens and walking trails in Iowa.

Personally, I think I'll be watching their news page to see when they come up with heirloom Chia pets for black-thumbs like myself.~Delilah

Visit the Seed Savers Exchange to learn about and shop for rare and heirloom seeds.

EXTRA COOL: SSE is having a contest with Organic Valley right now. You can win a Membership and $250 gift certificate to the SSE or a year's supply of Organic Valley products. Every entry means they donate $1 to the Center for Ecoliteracy. Enter here!

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