ABOUT THE LONG ISLAND SEED PROJECT
Long Island Seed Project's mission is to educate and inform the
public about seed production issues and learn about how you can help in decentralizing seed
production by creating your own garden and farm adapted varieties.
We are grateful to the Public Seed Initiative funded by USDA for it's
leadership and inspiration and to the follow-up Organic Seed
Partnership, locally administered by New York NOFA (Northeast Organic
Farmers Association). In a world with increasing restrictions to
access of germplasm because of what we believe are unfounded
regulations both in the United States and abroad, plant patenting laws
and "white lists", the OSP is a refreshing program that has breeders
working with small farmers to produce better farm adapted varieties.
Flanders Bay Farm which is host to the Long Island Seed Project is
pleased to be a participant farm in that partnership.
We applaud the public and private sector plant breeders and seed savers
all around the world who continue to allow access to their seeds so
that sustainable varieties can continue to be grown and developed to
benefit and serve the needs of the small farmer and gardener.
Long Island Seed Project was formed primarily as an outgrowth of the
participation of our Flanders Bay Farm in the Organic Seed Partnership
sponsored by NOFA-NY which promoted farm-based plant breeding to
develop varieties bred especially suited to organic culture and
ecological agriculture systems. NOFA-NY organized two
breeding workshops (2006 and 2007) at Flanders Bay Farm which brought
together vegetable breeders Michael Glos and George Moriarty from
Cornell University, Jim Myers from Oregon State University and Brian
Connelly from the University of Connecticut to help teach breeding
techniques and inspire Long Island farmers.
Long Island Seed Project focuses on the issues involving seed breeding
and the access to sustainable varieties that growers can maintain by
traditional seed saving. The project helps to distribute
potentially useful "unfinished" vegetable varieties and "gene pools"
from the Project's Seed Bank to farmer breeders and hobby breeders
sometimes referred to as "back-yard breeders".
Long Island Seed assists backyard breeders in developing their own
regionally adapted varieties by sharing seed saving experiences and
providing information through the internet site: www.liseed.org.
Through this web site, the distribution of seeds of potentially
valuable genetic material to it's members and the local projects we are
involved in, it is our hope that we can help make your "growing"
experience more rewarding, enjoyable and sustainable.
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