Amazing Stories of Seeds
- Jizzy Green
- Apr 16
- 6 min read
I want to take you on a journey—a journey that begins in the tiniest of packages, but holds within it the potential to change the world. I’m talking about seeds. These small, often overlooked wonders of nature are much more than just the beginnings of plants. They are survivalists, time travelers, and storytellers of the natural world. And through them, we can unlock amazing stories that reveal the resilience, innovation, and interconnectedness of life itself.
The Tiny Giants: The Power of a Seed
A seed might seem like a small, simple thing, but inside it, there’s an entire universe of possibilities. In a single seed, you can find the entire genetic blueprint for a future plant, tree, or flower. When conditions are right, that seed can grow into something far bigger than itself—a towering oak tree, a sprawling field of wheat, or an exotic orchid. What’s even more remarkable is how these seeds hold within them the potential to nourish entire ecosystems, support biodiversity, and provide for countless species, including humans.
But it’s not just about what a seed can grow into. It’s about how it survives, travels, and waits for the right moment to grow. So let’s dive into some of the most amazing stories of seeds!
Story 1: The Longevity of Seeds
Some seeds can survive for centuries before they even begin to sprout. Imagine this: in 2005, scientists discovered a 2,000-year-old seed from a date palm tree in an ancient fortress near the Dead Sea. They planted it, and to everyone’s amazement, it germinated and grew into a healthy tree! This ancient seed, known as the "Methuselah tree," had withstood the test of time and history—surviving through millennia of drought, changes in climate, and human civilization, only to spring back to life.
This incredible ability to stay dormant for hundreds or even thousands of years is known as seed dormancy. Seeds can withstand extreme conditions, from freezing temperatures to intense droughts. This allows them to "wait" for the perfect moment when the conditions for growth are ideal.
Story 2: The Incredible Journey of Seeds
Seeds are also incredible travelers. They don’t just stay in one place; they often journey across great distances, ensuring that plant life can spread to new regions and environments. Some seeds are carried by the wind, floating on the breeze like tiny parachutes. Dandelions are perhaps the most famous example, but many other plants use this strategy as well. The seeds of the milkweed plant, for example, can travel hundreds of miles on the wind!
Other seeds hitch rides on animals. The burdock plant has spiky seed heads that easily attach to fur, feathers, or even clothing, helping the plant spread far and wide. In fact, the invention of Velcro was inspired by the way burdock seeds stick to things.
And then there are the seeds that float across oceans. The coconut, for instance, can survive long journeys in the water, thanks to its tough outer shell. Some coconuts have been found floating in the middle of the ocean after traveling thousands of miles, eventually finding new shores to take root.
These stories highlight the way seeds are perfectly designed for travel and survival, helping plant species colonize new lands and adapt to changing environments.
Story 3: The Seed Saver; Vandana Shiva
Another incredible chapter in the story of seeds comes from our Seed Saver Queen, Vandana Shiva who started Navdanya, a community seed bank for farmers in India to store and protect seeds from all over India, preserving them in case of natural disasters, climate change, or human conflict. The goal is to ensure that, no matter what happens with biopiracy (hacking seeds to patent them), poor farmers will still have a backup of the seeds necessary to replant and rebuild their food systems. Unlike the giant Seed Vault in the Arctic, with it's hidden funders (big pharma and WEF ties), Vandana works to preserve the natural heritage seeds for the people, not for a few privileged billionaires with nefarious agendas.
Navdanya has set up 150 seed libraries across 22 states in India over the past 30 years. More than 4000 varieties of rice have been collected and stored!! In her book, Stolen Harvest, she catalogues how 200,000 varieties have been catalogued - where farmers have evolved varieties over many, many decades to increase diversity in their different climates. All is this under attack by globalised corporate regimes wanting to patent seed. In this book, we also learn that Papua Nieu Guinea had more than 5,000 varieties of sweet potato and in China, they used to have 10, 000 varieties of wheat, which were reduced to just 1000 by the 1970's! We are losing seed diversity and these seed savers are the heroes of our time.
Did you know we have a Grow On Katikati Seed Library where we have seeds on offer that have been grown and saved right here in our town
The Amazing Role of Seeds in Our World
These stories show us just how resilient, innovative, and vital seeds are. They teach us that seeds are not passive objects; they are active agents of life, capable of surviving the harshest conditions, traveling across vast distances, and even shaping the future of our planet.
Seeds are at the heart of the natural world. Without them, we wouldn’t have the plants that provide oxygen, food, and shelter to all living creatures. But they also remind us that life is interconnected—what happens to a seed, or to the plants that grow from it, can ripple out and affect entire ecosystems. And as we face challenges like climate change, habitat loss, and food insecurity, it’s more important than ever to recognize the power of seeds to shape the future of life on Earth.
The Miracle of Seeds:
They contain the DNA information bundle to create a whole new plant life
When you keep your own seeds, they already have the memory of growing in that soil and climate, so they are primed for success!
Vandana Shiva - seed sovereignty advocate from India says; “He who holds the seed in the palm of his hand, holds the entire world to ransom.” All life is sustained by the humble seed’s potential to sustain life.
Sowing seeds is hugely economical - take the cost of purchasing a punnet of lettuce seedlings - 6 @ $5, a packet of seeds contains perhaps more than 20 times that amount, so instead of 70c per lettuce seedling, you can potentially grow your own seedlings @ 0.8c each.
Feel free to save seed and share to our library!
Seed Library
Grow On has it’s own Seed Library, and we love the stories of those seeds coming in. Sometimes we have Hawera Beans - the growers didn’t know the real name, since friends in Hawera had given it to them, they called them Hawera Beans. After growing them myself, I called them Tom and Ruth Beans. Now we know they are called Selugia Beans - but that name just doesn’t reflect the story behind it in Katikati!
I took on growing beans for the Wanganui Health Food Trust one year, growing 3 different types of beans. The one I thought grew abundantly, called Turkey Craw beans, was my favourite. It was abundant, had great disease resistance, and so began my journey of sharing my Turkey Craw Beans with half of Katikati. 6 years on, someone corrected me and told me that my Turkey Craws were really called Valena Beans!! So that’s the story of my favourite bean with a case of mistaken identity!! I still grow the same beans, even though their name has changed!
Saving seeds is easy-peasy;
Leave one of your veggie plants to go to seed, once it grows tall and leggy, simply support it so that it doesn’t take up too much growing space. Flowering vegetables are beautiful, and the pollinators love them too! The flowers will create the seed pods, so you should have enough seeds for next season, plus plenty to share, just with the one seeding plant! How economical is that???
If you are going to harvest your first peas of the season, allow one or two pods to really fill out, then harvest and allow to dry before opening the pod and keeping the seeds for next season. Couldn’t be easier.
Beans - I select 3-4 beans of my favourite variety and tie a piece of string around each one, to make sure everyone picking beans knows to leave those alone to fatten up - these then become your seeds for next year’s bean crop.
Lettuce - once the flowers have bloomed, they will set seeds - you can harvest them once the seed capsules have fattened up and hang upside down in a dry shed, or place them head down in brown paper bag to make collecting easier.
Label your seeds so you don’t forget, I often make that mistake, thinking I will remember and then I don’t!! Lots of green leafy vegetables all set similar seed pods so it can be confusing.
Conclusion: The Power Within the Smallest Things
The next time you see a seed, remember—it’s not just a tiny speck; it’s a symbol of hope, survival, and the incredible power of nature.
