Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/a-manner-of-speaking/5024496/
You can identify the White Clover Grange in Nehalem, Oregon, by the large plastic cow that stands in front of the building. It is a community gathering place, with potlucks and pie auctions, and an annual seed exchange. New to actually growing vegetables, Roger and I were eager to see what a seed exchange might be. We had four raised bed containers awaiting our attention.
The grange hall was edged with tables covered with small packets and jars of seeds, bulbs of various sorts, jam and kale. Behind the tables were the gardeners who had raised the flowers and vegetables, harvested and prepared and packaged the seeds, and were eager to give them away. “Here, these are mammoth sunflowers, maritime popcorn, poppies ... these are cousin Ron’s tomatoes; he brought them from Russia.”
Have you ever really noticed the size of a tomato seed? How did such a tiny thing get from Russia to the palm of my hand?
Something happened to me that morning as we made seed tape, preparing seeds for planting using toilet paper rolls. I felt a deeper awe of the potential of each tiny thing. Carefully measuring planting distance, then using a toothpick to ...