With the seed catalogs rolling in, Melinda's new Growing Challenge could not have arrived at a better time. I missed the boat last year, but for those of you familiar with The Growing Challenge this year has a new twist: from Seed to Seed. All you have to do is plant at least one new crop from seed, grow it organically, and save the seed to plant next year.

I had every intention of doing this last year. I planted 24 plots of organic heirloom seeds, right under a line of Black Walnut trees. Yeah, it did not go well. Apparently, walnuts are toxic to plants. Shade + Toxins = Shopping at the Farmer's Market. This year I am armed with the All New Square Foot Gardening book from the library, a willingness to cooperate with Mother Nature, and a total disregard for the law*.

With all the effort I have been putting into reducing: reducing consumption, reducing packaging, reducing processed foods, reducing dependence; seed saving just makes sense. It accomplishes all of these in one fell swoop. I do not have to spend money every year to replenish my garden. I can reuse the seeds! No seeds to buy, no package for them to come in! I can replace trips to the processed food grocery store with a hop, skip and a jump to my whole foods garden. And, by preserving my bounty I am no longer at the mercy of escalating food prices or shortages in times of crisis.

I did manage to salvage some cucumber seed from my toxic wasteland of a garden. Assuming I do not spend my summer in perjury*, I will surely post on my misadventures in square foot/organic/heirloom/seed saving lackadaisical gardening.

*Don't ask, you could become an accomplice.

If you are interested in The Growing Challenge from Seed to Seed, head on over to One Green Generation and get yourself signed up!