Seed Saving & Gardening Resources

A mulched path between garden beds filled with green plants

Seed Saving Resources

General Gardening Resources

Personal Benefits of Gardening

Resources at JMU Libraries

Books

Seed Libraries

by Cindy Conner

Seed Libraries is a practical guide to saving seeds through community programs, including: step-by-step instructions for setting up a seed library; a wealth of ideas to help attract patrons and keep the momentum going; and profiles of existing libraries and other types of seed saving partnerships.

The Seed Garden

by Micaela Colley

Filled with advice for the home gardener and the more seasoned horticulturist alike, The Seed Garden: The Art and Practice of Seed Saving provides straightforward instruction on collecting and saving seed from your favorite heirloom and open-pollinated plants.

Seeds: Time Capsules of Life

by Rob Kesseler

This large-format book melds art and science in an authoritative examination of the design and function of seeds.

Gathering

by Diane Ott Whealy

Presents the biography of the conservationist who began the Seed Savers Exchange with her ex-husband in order to save seeds passed down through generations and maintain horticultural diversity

A closeup split photo of a flower with the top half showing the flower's seeds and bottom half showing the flower in bloom with small purple petals. The book cover for The Complete Guide to Savings Seeds

The Complete Guide to Saving Seeds

by Robert E. Gough & Cheryl Moore-Gough

A full-color resource explains how to gather, clean, and store seeds for three hundred different kinds of vegetables, fruits, herbs, flowers, trees, and shrubs, as well as how to propagate and care for new seedlings

Streaming Videos

Seed: The Untold Story

Seed: The Untold Story follows passionate seed-keepers protecting our 12,000 year-old food legacy. These farmers, scientists, lawyers and indigenous people are fighting a David and Goliath battle to defend the future of our food. In a harrowing and heartening story, these heroes rekindle a lost connection to our most treasured resource and revive a culture connected to seeds.

A wooden box with mesh bottom holds seeds of different shades of brown

Seeds of Change

Seeds represent hope, a new beginning. Amid battles over GMO crops and monocultures that dominate American farmlands, FOOD FORWARD travels to meet seed savers pursuing grassroots alternatives. From the dry deserts of Arizona to corn and soybean growers in Iowa and Illinois, genetic diversity does matter and the roots of change are taking hold.

Open Sesame: The Story of Seeds

Open Sesame: The Story of Seeds looks at the extraordinary challenges that seeds face, placing our food supply at risk and threatening our farms. In it you will meet a diverse range of individuals whose lives center around seeds. Farmers, renegade gardeners, passionate seed savers, artists and activists all work to plant the seeds of information and inspiration within this film that tells the story of one of our most precious resources.