seedman

Generally, your call to buy organic seeds is a good one. I detest the use of any biocides. However, the big picture is a bit more complicated. We are in a period when centralized, industrial agriculture is causing the destruction of much of the world's agricultural genetic diversity. The strength of any ecosystem is its diversity. If we are going to have a sustainable agriculture we need to preserve diversity. The sad fact of the matter is that the majority of the world's seeds for sale or trade right now are not certified organic. If we all abandon buying seeds because they are not organic, we doom much of the genetic diversity we will need to sustain agriculture in the future.

A smarter call to action is this. Find the open-pollinated seeds best adapted to your needs and specific climate. Grow them organically. Save your own seeds. Organize a pot luck dinner in the fall. Ticket for admission is at least one variety of seeds for trade. Bring what you grow. Trade for what you need.

Buy your seeds from companies that have signed the Safe Seed Pledge. You can find them here: http://www.gene-watch.org/programs/safeseed/sourcebook.html This will guarantee the seeds are not GMO.

Choose seeds that are untreated with chemicals. Most non-organic seeds are available untreated if you request. You don't want chemicals introduced into your soil from seeds. The seeds themselves carry no chemicals even if they are not organic.

We want an all organic agriculture. We also want the genetic diversity to sustain that agriculture. Let's not throw out the baby and keep the bathwater. There are many ma and pa family seed sources left from before WW II who offer heirloom treasures that are not certified organic. Start your seed saving adventure toward sustainability with the best genetics, no matter where you find them.

You can find detailed seed saving instructions on the website of this 20 year-old non-profit:

http://www.seedsave.org/issi/issi_904.html