Articles

Perennials are the gift that keeps on giving—bringing beauty, resilience, and endless harvests to the garden year after year.

An approach to controlling garden pests that leverages natural, mutually beneficial relationships within the ecosystem, promoting biodiversity and healthier, more resilient gardens.

Tales of seeds from times long past...

Simple Steps to Start Composting

One of the most effective and eco-friendly gardening techniques you can implement is companion planting. This method involves strategically planting different crops together to support each other’s growth, deter pests, attract beneficial insects, and improve yields—all without the need for chemicals or artificial fertilisers.

Getting kids involved in gardening helps foster a love for nature and an appreciation for where food comes from. These simple seed projects are perfect for little hands and curious minds, offering a fun way to spend time outdoors this spring.

A simple recipe to use your abundance of spring herbs in an easy and nutritious way

Myths, Magic and Nutritional Wonders of the Solanaceae Family

What to do with winter's bounty

Things to grow and cook to keep your internal fires stoked this chilly season

In the gentle sway of a farmer's field, lies a silent lesson in resilience and adaptation, echoing the timeless wisdom of Darwin's theory.

Dive in to the remarkable evolution of this incredible edible gourd. From tender green vegetable to exfoliating master!

Garlic (Allium sativum) is a versatile and essential addition to any home or market garden. Not only does it add rich flavour to a variety of dishes, but it also offers a plethora of health benefits. Growing garlic in your garden is a rewarding experience, and with the right care, you can enjoy a bountiful harvest to last you through to the next season. This guide will take you through the steps of successfully cultivating garlic in the unique Australian climate.

Some wise ideas to put your chilli pickings to their best potential.

What to plant when the going gets tough

Breaking down some of the terminology used with growing tomatoes. 

Crafted from locally grown and foraged herbs and wild weeds, this bio-regional pesto recipe captures the essence of the land it has sprung from in a unique-to-you sustainable, flavourful blend, embodying the true spirit of the region's culinary diversity. Enjoy a taste of the local terroir as you spread this verdant and health-boosting condiment on your favourite dishes. 

De-mystify successful seed starting in the early Australian spring with these tips - from choosing the right containers to maintaining proper records and ensuring optimal conditions for your burgeoning garden.

Herbalism offers a natural and gentle approach to healthcare, promoting harmony and wellness through the power of plants. It fosters a deeper understanding and appreciation of nature's healing gifts, allowing individuals to take an active role in their health and well-being. Herbal Teas are a great place to start. 

How to process, store, and use your healing roots

Collard greens growing and nutrition information, and a recipe for soup!

Apart from some overlapping tree growing seasons are recommended

It’s not uncommon to take seeds out of storage after 3 years and get over 90% germination. In fact we expect this will be the case after 7 years.
 

Seeds in correct storage must first be dry.

We are saddened to here of the passing of Michael Self in early August after a long illness.
 

Michael worked with Bill Mollison to start Self Reliance Seed Co which later became Phoenix Seeds.
 

When I moved from Brisbane in 1982 to Sandy Creek, Gympie, to build an adobe mud-brick house the garden often took precedence over building and seeds came from Phoenix Seeds. We extend our condolences to family and friends.

The butterfly effect is a parable for our thinking. The butterfly is a cosmic being. Thoughts cannot be measured or weighed; they are spiritual activity and not even our own until we choose them to be.

Site selection

Roots from adjoining trees and shrubs will thrive when the garden is watered and fertilised to the detriment of your vegetables.
So a site must be free of invading roots.

Vegetables thrive in sunshine. Only green leafy vegetables can best be grown under various levels of shade though it will alter their growth and flavour so a gardener ha to decide if this is beneficial. Consideration of roots and sunshine are crucial in the planning stage...

I was raised surrounded by the forest of the Blue Mountains National Park, wearing clothes when only in society. I spent my early years frolicking in the woods, climbing trees, and crossing fallen log bridges over streams. I stopped wearing shoes when I was at University. I got bored with University and began learning survival skills.

Reading books, talking with elders, watching videos and practising. A series of events left me homeless and I realised if I did nothing my situation would remain the same. However, if I planted seeds, then in 3 months or less, I could have a free meal...

Seed saving is an increasingly important need to enable us to have access to the widest range of old traditional open pollinated seed. This is necessary for the continuing of nutritious, hardy plants from which we can save seed of our food heritage vegetables which will grow true to type in the next generation. Truly these are some of the many good reasons to participate in saving for future generations.
 

Rowan is a great example of a..

The grass is greener on the other side.

These Jersey calves will produce manure to be added to horse manure and grass cuttings as the main ingredients. Lime, wood ash and rock phosphate are also added as well as a little soil.

At present our 16kw system installed earlier this year is producing as much excess power as we are using.

Two additional de-humidifying units are now in operation and humidity for seed storage in these cool-rooms is now 20% lower. We expect this will allow us to better store scarce seed and give high germination rates for longer.

When Alf and Nansi recently travelled to Perth to attend the Orchid Conference and bus tour of WA’s renowned ground orchids and wildflowers a delightfully surprising find was the Cultural Centre Urban Orchard.

http://www.seedthemovie.com

Thanks for offering to include an item in your next news, on new GM techniques - CRISPR/Cas9; ZFN; Talen; RNAi; etc. - (the GM industry calls them gene-editing). We need tough regulation, at least until their impacts are known and understood but the industry wants them and their products deregulated.

The GM-free Shopping List also attached FYI.

Darren Aitken is an Australian Demeter Biodynamic farmer, and owner of Vortex Vegies, in Inverleigh Victoria.
Darren has been involved in Australian Demeter Biodynamic agriculture, with the Biodynamic Gardeners Association and the Biodynamic Agricultural Association Australia since 1998, and from 2002 he has been providing training and mentoring to new biodynamic practicians.

Lucerne (Alfalfa) Medicago sativa
 

Attractive cool weather legume. Excellent for stock grazing in mixed pasture and use as a high quality bailed hay.
 

Does best in deep well drained soil as plants themselves are deep rooted and as such plants are excellent for producing organic matter into the soil. As a legume it is used to add nitrogen to the soil in its root nodules. Deep roots can access sub-soil moisture and respond quickly after rain.

Keen gardener Reginald Jenkins has won the Champion Vegetable at the Canberra Horticultural Autumn Flower Show.
Reg had 17 winners, 7 seconds and Champion Vegetable with Pumpkin Musque de Provence. Locals were astounded by the colour of the pumplkin.
Eden Seeds are used in Reg's garden.

Photo: Reg and Olivia with the champion pumpkin.

Whilst the work done by many seed savers to save the heirloom vegetable varieties has slowed down the ever continuing loss of excellent old traditional vegetables it is very sad when I think of the fruits I used to eat compared to the varieties offered today.
 

I grew up in an irrigation area in northern Victoria where there were three fruit preserving canneries nearby. Whilst some fruit for canning were used for cooking there were many tasty and delicious fresh fruits on offer in season.

Thank-you for your interest in the old traditional vegetable varieties. It has now been over 30 years since the hobby of saving our endangered food heritage became a registered business as Eden Seeds. In the late 1980's plant variety right legislation brought Australia in line with other Western nations to enable greater patenting of newly bred varieties for those who could afford it and had an interest in new hybrids.

In that time an estimated 60% of open pollinated varieties have disappeared from

Tree Lucerne is often called Tagasaste. It is a stock food and good windbreak to 4m tall. Pruning may keep it to 2m for easy access.

As a highly nutritious legume it can be cut and fed to stock and is good all-round with poultry and winter bee fodder.

Tagasaste is frost tolerant evergreen when mature and prefers well drained slightly alkaline soils but is hardy in other situations once established. Mature plants tolerate drought and frost. It is thought of as the temperate equivalent of leucaena.

Nasturtiums originate in South America where they were used to prevent scurvy and a nutritious supplement and flavour in salads.
In the 17th century England it was called Indian cress. It has a flavour similar to watercress. It is recognized as a source of vitamin C and antibiotics.

An important use for Sweet Cicely is to reduce the use of sugar when cooking sweet foods. The leaves and stems are used to reduce sugar use by half. It has a taste reminiscent of anise.

The plant is a hardy perennial which prefers a deep well drained soil but will tolerate harder conditions.

Blanch them in boiling water 2-3 minutes.
Take out of the water and dunk them in icy water
Place in freezer bags and then into the freezer
The best are firm vegetables 3-4 minutes) and leafy greens (2-3 minutes)
Tomatoes are best cooked before freezing.

At Eden Seeds Alf Finch has used solar hot water from the beginning. Solar Electricity has always been considered. Recently a new large shed was built and the desire to have battery storage was explored. The decision however is to proceed with a 16kW system and add batteries as these improve in the near future.

For the autumn planting a new compost was made in early summer.

Sandra Frain and Alf Finch demonstrated the bio-dynamic method. Sandra spoke of the preparations added to the heap and their connections with minerals and the ruling planets.

Eden Seed received a welcome visit from the Pacific Open Pollinated Seed Exchange Learning group.
The group is in close contact with Seed Savers Network (Australia) and Emma Stone has been co-ordinating activities for many years.

Once a Tomato is ripe then so are the seeds mature.
It is best when saving seed to let the tomatoes over ripen on the bush - but start the process as soon as any damage appears.

Tomato seeds have a jelly around the seeds which makes them difficult to handle and acts as an inhibitor to germination until it is rotted away.

Sow seeds in Spring or Autumn in warmer areas. Young flower buds can be harvested in late spring.

In winter cut the biggest stems back to 30cm and remove smaller ones. Add compost or manure and mulch.

By using old traditional open pollinated vegetable varieties and learning to save seed for distribution to other growers we can be part of the support movement to save our food heritage varieties.
From the Garden Seed Inventory between 1987 and 2004 there were 1791 varieties of vegetable seeds no long available in North America which represents a loss of 24.5% in 14 years.

Efforts must be made to keep seed moist for 5 to 7 days. Seeds can be covered with cardboard or plastic for this time that is a good method to keep seeds moist. Water daily. As germinated seed will need light at about 7 days after sowing uncover them and still keep moist.

To get seeds to poke through the soil use...

These plants will cross with their own kind (species)

So to save seed of these varieties there needs to be a distance sufficient to prevent insects from visiting for similar varieties. This is usually considered to be 3 kilometres.

Our aim has always been to make old traditional open pollinated seed commonly available to home gardeners.

To promote balance, and a healthy environment for healthy food production loosen soil with a garden fork and do not turn it over. Keep soil moist and healthy soil life will flourish. Plant roots will benefit, some green leafy vegetables will tolerate partial shade though most plants benefit from a sunny airy position.
Excepts from “Culture and Horticulture” by Wolf Storl....

Spring garden at Eden Seeds

To Everyone at Eden Seeds,

Thank you so much for the generous donation of seeds you made to support the recovery efforts on Tanna Island Vanuatu in the wake of Cyclone Pam.

Your seeds have been delivered to my team at  the TAFEA Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) who then distributed them to villages across West and North Tanna where there was a significant shortfall of seeds distributed by the FAO.

Closed.

Hello All,
Public comment is open till May 7th (or maybe 14th) on application 5 (c) to amend Section 3.3 of the National Organic Standards – Genetic Modification: 

Eden Seeds and Select Organic are pleased to be the distributor for many local seed savers.
 

At present we can see an ongoing need for small and large quantities of seed to be distributed to home-gardeners Australia wide of the following;

One of the delightful surprises I discovered on a recent visit to Canberra is the Plants of the Bible Garden 15 Blackall St Barton. The garden was establish from 2006 under the trust set up by Gerald Robinson and is on the west side and overlooking Lake Burley Griffin,

Early season tomatoes are in demand to be included in summer salads and cooking.
There are many advantages to planting seed inside whilst it is too cold outside. First, work out when you can transplant outside and sow seed so plants will be strong enough to survive transplanting. Let’s say transplant mid October. So sow seed inside in early September.

It is important to remember that organic grains and flours are most vulnerable to pest infestation in hotter month, as they do not have any chemical residue protection against pests. The purpose of this overview is to provide general information about pests, how we control them at Kialla and tips to protect your organic grain and flour stocks. Following our recommendations below will help reduce the risk of product infestation.

A small cartel of agrochemical and seed companies now owns much of the world's seed supply. They send seed and food where they are most profitable, not where they are most needed. So the work of independent heirloom and open-pollinated seed producers and seed savers is critical to food sovereignty and security for our children and grandchildren.

Hello Alf:
We are working hard on retaining South Australia's and Tassie's GM-free status till 2019, when it is due to expire on September 1, in the normal course of events. The GM moratorium in SA has had the support of all parties since its introduction in 2003, when the OGTR issued commercial GM canola licences to Monsanto and Bayer.

The following data supports the GM-free stance. On the figures we can secure, below, we conclude:

Recently while travelling to Victoria some interesting situations at the Airport showed how far changes have come for consumers and to me how much more we can still do.
Eden Seeds was started 26 years ago to give home gardeners the choice of being able to obtain the old traditional open pollinated varieties of vegetable seed in addition to growing organically.
My old property in Gympie was the first NASAA certified property in Queensland. The present property is registered Demeter. In the 1980’s we dreamt of a local store selling organic produce. Now there are so many retail outlets and farmers markets that the supermarkets are now taking interest as well.

2010 Field Day, Bio-Dynamic Agricultural Association of Australia
by Alex Podolinsky. Monday 26/04/2010

Condensed from tape. AGM 2010 Monday, farm field day opened to conventional farmers of Victoria’s mid western district on a well developed large Bio-Dynamic farm (grazing, sheep, modern flour mill). Estimated 200 farmers came, some 50 experienced Bio-Dynamic farmers present to answer question etc. after introductory lecture and after my departure. Not just a lecture by an individual, but a confrontation of the conventional farming system, which is based on Justin Von Liebig’s discovery that plants can take in only water soluble elements, which lead to the conventional system being increasingly hydroponic; almost totally disregarding soil and Nature’s organization.

By Alf Finch
Originator of Eden Seeds and Select Organic
 

Learning the simple art of seed saving is one way to beat GMO’s.
 

Another way to pressure producers to avoid using GMO’s is not to buy their produce. Home gardeners can ensure they use old traditional varieties by saving seed for themselves and others. Recent GMO’S are made from two unrelated species. The modern hybrid is a man made forced cross between two inbred varieties of the same species and as such is genetically modified. The result is a plant which will not grow true to type from seed and is usually bred for shelf life and appearance. What was our food heritage becomes patented by large companies, through this process of hybridization.
 

In taste and nutrition hybrids are usually far inferior...

Whilst reading “Articles by Ehrenfried Pfeiffer” volume 2
I noted that by “composting proper”
(a) nitrogen content can be increased
(b) minerals are made available
(c) acidification is avoided
(d) a stable product is obtained
B-D compost out-performs NPK fertilizers in vitamin A & C tests and is above average protein.
 

In the field treatment with compost and 500
1. Soil Structure is changed
2. Acidity of many soils is reduced
3. Within a few years organic matter doubles and moisture is retained

Working to keep Australia GE-free
The Gene Ethics Network was founded in 1988. This was done to promote critical community discussion and debate on the economic, market, environmental, social and ethical impacts of genetic engineering (GE) technologies. The Network campaigns for the precautionary principle to be rigorously applied to all uses of GE. We also promote...

Eden Seeds continues to make available by mail order the widest range of old traditional open pollinated seed.
This reflects not only our interest in making available a wide range of traditional varieties but the growing awareness of many gardeners and cottage industry growers of the need to contribute something toward the preservation of our food heritage and the desire to learn the skills needed for seed production and storage.

Traditional or Modern varieties of fruits and vegetables?
Amy Glastonbury,
The Seed Savers Network, 19th July 2004.
 

It is our belief at Seed Savers that older varieties of fruits and vegetables are more nutritious than modern varieties. Over the last century plant breeders have focused their efforts on breeding plants that have high yields, are easily transportable, have a long storage life and are pest and disease resistant. Until the last few years, little or no attention has been directed towards breeding plants that are tasty and more nutritious. This has resulted in a selection of fruit and vegetables in our supermarkets that are bland, uniform and of little nutritional value.