It's easy to buy new seeds in spring, but saving your own will not only save you money but perhaps provide some satisfaction as a minor act of empowerment against globalization - in the privacy of your back yard. Multinationals may now own the rights to many of the world's food seed varieties, but any keen gardener can short-circuit the system by saving his or her own.

Seed saving has also been driven by the growing interest in "heritage" or old varieties lost to general cultivation, says gardener and keen seed saver Oraina Jones. "Essentially, we're fast losing our genetic (plant) heritage," she says. Genetic engineering has also raised public awareness and interest in plant varieties and seed supplies, adds Jones.

But it's not just a fascination with the diverstiy of old varieties and non-GE varieties that prompts people to collect seed. It's also the flavours and nutrients the old varieties contain. "So many modern varieties now are full of sugar," says Jones. Good examples are the incredibly sweet taste of modern corn and the move to sweeter types of apples, away from old-fashioned, tart varieties.

A growth in community-led seed saving initiatives also help to ensure the plants are kept going and passed on. Seeds of all kinds can be kept in high technology atmosphere-controlled environments, but growing them is the simplest way to keep them viable. And sharing seeds not only empowers people, says Jones, it also helps to mitigate risk of losing them.

The trick is knowing what types of seeds to save. Blame genetics. Some seeds, the "open-pollinated" varieties, will produce consistent crops each year, but seeds from hybrid varieties will produce unpredictable crops. Many modern flower and vegetable garden varieties are hybrids, producing vigorous plants and big crops, but they can't be reproduced from their own seed. That's why it makes sense to collect varieties that not only do well in your microclimate, but also will keep on producing a predictable and reliable crop year after year.

A short-cut to ensure your grow open pollinated types, check the back of seed packets to see if they are labelled as a hybrid variety. Alternatively, look for seed from suppliers who specialise in open pollinated varieties. Plenty of new suppliers have sprung up in response to the demand for old, open pollinated varieties of seed.

Now seed saving has extra status as part of the global effort against climate change and loss of biodiversity. London's Kew Gardens' Millenium Seed Bank initiative was started to safeguard the world's 24,000 known plant species from extinction and has spawned similar efforts elsewhere.

Seed collection and saving of indigenous plants, particluarly those threatened species, requires that various protocols be observed to ensure species are not compromised in the survival stakes. Saving your own seed at home might seem insignificant compared with the noble task of of saving the country's flora from extinction, but it can also be hugely satisfying - especially when you see your new baby seedlings emerge next spring. And share your seed-sowing experience with your children so they know that vegetables and flowers come from the soil, not just the supermarket.

Sourced from Fairfax 11 April 2008