Over a year ago I ordered and received a very nice seed deal from the Ark Institute in Ohio. It contained 50 vareties of veggies, fruits and herbs. She (Geri Guidetti) included her book, Build Your Ark. I have no $ interest in her business nor am I acting as a shill. I do know she is part of the fight to prevent the seed companies from creating the terminator seeds that only last one season. I also know she has given her time (at least 2 years) to moderate and answer questions on Norths open forum: nonhybrid gardening. link

Today I recieved a 7 page letter from Geri and I would like to pass along her first paragraph.

This is an incredibly interesting time to be alive. Within a mere handful of days I believe we will begin to experience and witness what history will eventually record as the first truly global, manmade, non-military threat to the survival of modern, industrialized civilization. The year 2000 computer crisis, now officially trivialized as a "glitch" by governments fearful of the effects of panic on banks and business, will likely impact our lives for years to come. In fact, it has already begun, but events have yet to reach "critical mass." They will. They will, and how we manage the consequences all around the world will, in large part, define history's view of our intelligence, our will to preserve our technology and our adaptability.

-- rb (ronbanks_2000@yahoo.com), November 23, 1999

Answers

Shouldn't we be getting the seed catalogs by now? I've only gotten one. I ordered seeds last year, in bulk, from Wilhites, divided the packages (envelopes from office supply) and sealed half the seeds in big canning jars, using nitrogen. Then, this year, the plants that grew were allowed to make seeds, which I collected. I now have a "bank" of seeds of plants that have begun to adapt to my particular climate, soil, pest level, etc. I was late in starting the fall garden, but when I went out to the garden after the first fall rain, the seeds that had "escaped" the mother plant (and me!) had all sprouted. So now all I have to do is transplant to a selected area. It seems like I did something right in spite of myself!

-- Mary (CAgdma@homeinthegarden.com), November 23, 1999.