Gaia Herbs Sustainability Report 2020 - Report - Page 10
PRESERVING OUR HERITAGE
THROUGH SEED SAVING
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As the beautiful Echinacea plants dry in the field, our farm crew works to collect the seed
heads, which hold the key for future plantings.
SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2019 // PLANTS // P.10
The Gaia Farm saves 80-85% of our seeds annually. This not only contributes to the
economic stability of our farm operations, but also ensures consistent bioactivity and yields
by saving seeds from the best-producing plants year after year. We have also been able
to gradually develop varieties that are better adapted to our unique growing conditions in
Western North Carolina.
Through our Seed Resiliency Program, we practice seed propagation and study seed
genetics on-site, which helps to guarantee future generations of efficacious plants.
We conduct seed trials on our farm with leaders in the organic seed movement, including
Johnny’s Seeds and Row 7 Seeds, and these partnerships enable us to deepen our learnings
on herbal plant propagation.
We partner with organizations such as the Organic Seed Alliance to ensure a resilient world
seed supply. This is crucial, because hundreds of varieties of seeds have been lost over the
years due to large seed corporations only focusing on a handful of varieties. By saving seeds
and partnering with organizations that focus on these efforts, we can ensure that these
herbs will be available for future generations.
