We live in a world of seeds. From our morning toast to the cotton in our clothes, they are quite literally the stuff and staff of life: supporting diets, economies, and civilizations around the globe. Just as the search for nutmeg and pepper drove the Age of Discovery, coffee beans fueled the Enlightenment and cottonseed sparked the Industrial Revolution. Seeds are fundamental objects of beauty, evolutionary wonders, and simple fascinations. Yet,...

Historically, seed companies were generally small, often family-run businesses. Because they were regionally based, they could focus on varieties well-suited to the local environment. However the absorption of these small, independent seed businesses into large multinationals, combined with the advancement of biotechnology resulting in hybrids and GMO seeds, has led to a serious loss of genetic diversity. The public is now at the mercy of the corporations...

Annual. Old kitchen garden flower, 18?20" tall, also known as Pot Marigold. Beautiful daisy-like flowers feed pollinators, are good for informal bouquets, and are also edible. Blossoms can be snipped from their stems, dried and added to soups, salads and stews. They are also used in homeopathic remedies and herbal tinctures and ointments for their antiseptic and soothing qualities.

This is a complete seed saving guide that describes specific techniques for saving the seeds of 160 different vegetables. 80 photos.

Light up your salad patch with contrasting colors and leaf forms! At least a half-dozen different lettuces, all suitable for cut-and-come-again culture.

The standard crinkled-leaf spinach. Very good cold soil emergence. Much better in fall than in spring when it bolts in the heat. Recent hybrids surpass it in production and bolt resistance.

"Seeds can be big or small, round or pointy, and all sorts of colors. They can become flowers, trees, fruits, or vegetables, and they grow all times of year, during spring, summer, fall, and winter. But all seeds have one thing in common--inside each is a new plant life waiting to emerge. What kind of plant will bloom? Wait and see what will grow! This jacketed companion picture book to What Will Hatch? features all kinds of seeds, from flowers and...

Introduces children to the subject of agriculture, showing not only how plants germinate, grow and produce food, but also about the composition of soil and the creatures who live in it.

The last dandelion seed clings to the flower until it is blown away to discover there is more to the world than it had believed