A Seed Saver's Garden

[heirloomgal]

An interesting article for seed savers. Food for thought indeed. And if you look into what RAFI is about all the more reason for great concern about any claim they make. The map in the article has become the most oft quoted 'stat' in the seed saving world, but in the meantime nobody has looked into it's veracity.

I don't share much common thinking with this org, but the facts they present in the article are certainly interesting.

Anti-GMO myth busted—We’re not losing plant genetic diversity after all

Anti-GMO activists and even some science publications claim GMOs are accelerating the trend toward a drastic loss in biodiversity. They don't know the science or the history of crops.

geneticliteracyproject.org

 

[ducks4you]

..."which was never published and never went through peer review."
I an posted an article on apple varieties which I posted last year. A few varieties didn't taste very good and had specific uses, which I believe is reason enough to keep them going, as they Were heirloom and Somebody bred them in the long ago past.
I think the genetic diversity should really focus of animals that we raise for meat. Heirloom cattle, for instance, have breeds that are not prolific but edible and the meat tastes good, so why not keep them going at our historic sites?
Same with chickens. When you consider the loss of egg layers last year, and how, IMHO (no real proof, just conjecture,) creates more chicken animal abuse, layers living their lives out in cages, and in large numbers in buildings, which are just Bigger cages. "Cage Free" is a big umbrella.
Again, no real proof, but white feathered chickens don't show missed plucked feathers, hence the largest numbers bred for eggs, where they lay for 6 months-1 year, then they are slaughtered.
The slaughtering after a year doesn't bother me. Their lack of access to fresh air and dirt, Does sadden me.
Nobody seems to be able to even Find pigs raised where they can walk in and consume grass, and shortages mean we rely on abusive behavior.
I learned recently that the Spanish explorers on the East Coast would let loose pigs to live and breed on islands, and, when they sailed back, they had an ample supply of meat without having to work at it.
My last flock was massacred by a weasel. All 12 killed, bitten on the neck. None eaten. No animal but a weasel could have gotten access through the chain link fencing and typical of their killing behavior.
Somebody now has a "shanty town" farm 1/4 mile south of us and their chickens are much more accessible to the weasel dens, so I am ready to try again.
I enjoyed dumping tomato skins, and vegetable pieces and stale bread as treats to my chickens.
It takes 6 months from chick to layer.
There is also the same psychology that antibiotics, which saves chickens from many ailments usually picked up by infected fowl, or, unfortunately, bad hygiene. Here is one example:

https://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.html?pgguid=708FEB40-A880-402A-ACAB-35AF5A46A51C

My chicken's coop was very clean. I had a routine when I cleaned it out. When Eldest DD and I assembled it, we put a piece of vinyl flooring over the wooden floor, so that I could thoroughly disinfect it periodically, and otherwise clean it up really well in between.
It was a LOT less work than cleaning out a horse stall--usually only one wheelbarrow full--and I used pine pellets as a base, then medium shavings (bc their poo would stick to it), and, in the winter, straw for extra warmth.
I would often crawl inside, so I'm glad that I didn't have to do that this last winter!
Next winter, I will be in much better physical shape!
ANYway, we have kept many heritage breeds going, which can keep us diversified, in case of another emergency.