Decorah, IA: Heirloom Seed Sanctuary

When my friends Molly and Heidi told me they would genuinely consider moving to Decorah, Iowa, I had a hunch it would score high on the Julie scale. Nestled in river bluffs, with a thriving main street of locally owned businesses, Decorah wins as a quaint town with strong community. The Oneota Food Co-op and Hotel Winneshiek (opera house included!) sealed the deal for downtown Decorah charm. The true purpose of the trip to Decorah was a visit to Seed Savers Exchange.

The Seed Savers Exchange is committed to sustaining heirloom varieties that have been personally passed down from generation to generation in certain families, but have become nearly extinct as a whole. It is the largest non-governmental seed bank in the United States. Since the exchange began over 30 years ago, over one million rare seeds have been preserved and re-distributed including: Smoke Signals corn, Kiss-Me-Over-The-Garden-Gate flower, Minnesota Midget melon, Black Sea Man tomato, Love, Lies, Bleeding Flower...you get it...naming your family heirloom seed is a blast! My family on my Mom's side has some Hollyhocks passed on from my great grandma Amy, and I'm hopin' to win the title of official seed namer.

The coolest part of this farming project is the generational connection to gardening. I have fond memories of both my Grandparents' gardens, and believe my love for growing my own food began with them. Seed Savers' Co-founder, Diane Ott Whealy started the exchange when her terminally ill grandfather passed on seeds for Morning Glories and German Pink tomatoes. The seeds were brought from Bavaria to Saint Lucas, Iowa in the 1870's. Seed Savers Exchange "permanently maintains more than 25,000 endangered vegetable varieties, most having been brought to North America by members' ancestors who immigrated from Europe, the Middle East, Asia and other parts of the world". Seriously, you gotta go check it out. I can hardly wait to unleash my Seed Savers membership on garden season 2010.

Final anecdote: the lovely towering hollyhocks you see above are of the "outhouse" variety, because back in the day, a proper Iowan lady didn't have to ask where the outhouse was, she just looked for the gigantic flowers to lead the way!