Saving Seeds & The Circular Economy

Now, more than ever, there’s conversation about a circular economy. The importance of regenerating over extracting and how it’s time to forget sustaining and start rebuilding our world. It’s inspiring but can feel overwhelming and out of reach. So what’s the easiest way for you to feel the magic of a circular economy? What one act can inspire you to take many little acts almost without any effort at all?

MOTHER NATURE

Like every problem I face, the answer is found squarely in the middle of Mother Nature. The original founder of the circular economy.  

Every October, around Canadian Thanksgiving, we save the seed-of-the-season. It’s the final part of the harvest that allows us to give our fullest thanks for the bounty that fed us all summer. Saving the seed of a least one plant a year has become a Thanksgiving tradition. It’s one simple act that allows us to contribute to a circular economy in a tiny way that’s amplified exponentially.

TINY GARDEN SUPERSTARS

This year we targeted snap peas, our tiny-garden superstar! Every day we harvested up to 50 peas from a 3-foot-square plot in our garden. There’s nothing quite like watching your child hunker down and eat lunch in the garden straight from the plant jar of dip in hand so naturally we decided that the peas had to be saved!

There’s something remarkably satisfying about saving seeds in a pod. All you have to do is leave the plants in the ground until the pod dries and shrinks around the pea inside. The breathable pod allows the peas to lose moisture slowly until is shriveled and dry. If wet weather makes an appearance before your pods are dry, simply pull the whole plant and hang it in a cool, dry place. 

THE HARVEST

Harvesting the dried peas proved to be exactly as exciting as eating them for our kiddo. Popping them out of the dry shell was like opening a Hatchimal. (Not sure what a Hatchimal is? Consider yourself lucky. Ask your local 4-year-old toy expert.) We found everything from a ‘Sealark’ to a ‘Draggle’ and the activity kept us busy for the better part of an afternoon. Once the dried seeds are harvested store them in a cool, dry place protected from moisture and humidity. We keep our peas in a sealed mason jar.

Saving seeds, closes one season but is the first chapter of the next. It allows even the littlest mind in our home to understand a circular economy and what it means to be regenerative. It’s a small act, that doesn’t appear to have an abundant impact but we believe it’s millions of small things that have the greatest impact.

Happy Thanksgiving from our Hive,

Toni Desrosiers