[UrbanCropCircle] Fwd: where is the UCC group meeting on Dec. 6?

[Susan Helf]

Ellie,
I realize that I caused some consternation when I mistakenly stated last
winter that Territorial had been
acquired by Montsanto, I regret that I spoke out before I researched the
issue. Members of the group rightly
corrected me. However, it is true that Territorial has a connection to
Monsanto through selling seeds from
Seminis, a subsidiary of Monsanto.

Since I have no desire to create further conflict, I will  withdraw my
objection to Territorial based on the Monsanto
connection.

However, I think it is essential for the group to consider which seed
company best meets the needs and
interests of our members.  It could be Territorial, or perhaps one of the
excellent companies you mentioned.
I wasn't aware until today how many choices we had. Thanks for educating me.


Many members of our group seem to be enthusiastic about planting heirloom
and open-pollinated
seeds as opposed to patented seeds. I'm excited that we are moving in that
direction.

I agree that the December meeting isn't the best time to deal with this
issue.  Therefore, I propose that we discuss
at the January meeting which seed company we'd like to patronize. Since we
are the organic gardening guild
of Sustainable Ballard, I think we have an obligation to consider which seed
companies' products most closely fit
Sustainable Ballard's mission.

Susan








On Tue, Nov 23, 2010 at 11:19 AM, Mewmere <mewmere at aol.com> wrote:

> Susan: Territorial does not get all of its seeds from a company that is now
> owned
> by Monsanto. That company supplies some of Territorial's seeds, but not
> nearly all.
> *One is not supporting Monsanto by buying Territorial's other seeds.*
> This is business 101--and should be intuitively obvious. Many people
> in this group still wish to support Territorial. If you don't want to buy
> those seeds, you
> don't have to. But please, don't push your will on the rest of us. *The
> last time this
> group debated this topic, many people were so angry they didn't want to be
> part of
> this group anymore. I strongly suggest this is not a topic for the
> Christmas gathering,
> and should be delayed until January. *
>
> I have no problem supplementing our order with seeds from other companies,
> especially
> where there are varieties not available through Territorial.  However,
> we have learned about other great companies in your absence. One is a very
> small
> seed company in Bellingham, which specializes in seeds that do well in our
> environment
> (I can track down name, but not now.) This is way more exciting than Seeds
> of Change.
>
> Another is Johnny's Seeds (can't remember precise name right now)
>  out of Maine, which I discussed at the last meeting. When
> I asked a farmer at the Farmers market from whom I had bought some starts
> that did
> so well that Ingela wanted to know what the seeds were, we discovered they
> come
> from this soon-to-be 100% employee owned company in Maine. The farmer told
> me these
> seeds performed better than any others she encountered--and that they were
> her
> favorites, even if they were not organic. In other words, organic is her
> first choice. But
> her second choice was some non-organic seeds from this company rather than
> organic
> seeds from others. (This company also sells Eliot Coleman's tools,
> specially designed
> for small farmers.) This company has way, way more offerings than
> Territorial. You can
> see the catalog on-line and/or order it. However, these seeds go so fast
> that they
> really should be ordered by January at the latest.
>
> A third company we learned about was one that through our winter gardening
> guru,
> Laurette Chasse. Again, I have the name somewhere (I subscribed to their
> email
> list). In effect, it is Italian, which she thinks has a similar climate to
> our own.
>
> --Ellie
>
>
>
>   -----Original Message-----
> From: Susan Helf <shelf30 at gmail.com>
> To: Sustainable Ballard Urban Crop Circle <
> urbancropcircle at lists.sustainableballard.org>
> Sent: Tue, Nov 23, 2010 10:24 am
> Subject: [UrbanCropCircle] Fwd: where is the UCC group meeting on Dec. 6?
>
>  Dear fellow gardeners,
> The next UCC meeting is at 6 p.m.  Monday, Dec. 6,  at the home of Sooz
> Appel
> Her address is 2533 Westlake Ave. N. Park across the street from Sooz'
> house.
> Bring a potluck dish to share as well as one exchange gift.
>
> The gift can be homemade, used, "regifted" or newly purchased. Each person
> will leave with a different gift than the one she brought.
>
> Our January meeting with focus on garden planning. At the February meeting,
> we will put together our bulk seed order.
>
> I'd like to add a discussion item to the agenda for December. Should
> we continue to order seeds from Territorial? That company distributes some
> seeds from Semanis, which is owned by Montsanto. Should we do continue
> to do business with Territorial, which indirectly helps enrich Montsanto?
> Or should
> we give our business to a company with no ties to Monsanto?
>
> I ordered seed catelogs from Baker Creek, Seeds of Change and one other
> company. If the catelogs arrive in time, I will bring them to the December
> meeting.
> All three of these companies focus on open-pollinated heirloom seeds and
> none has any
> dealings with Monsanto.
> Depending on the group sentiment, we could either switch to another
> company, or
> perhaps send in two separate orders - one to Territorial and one to a
> different company.
> I'm looking forward to discussing this issue in December
>
>
> Susan Helf
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Thanks,
>
> Susan
>
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