The Garden

SEED SAVING

In our Garden, we cherish heirloom, heritage and landrace crops by saving their seeds to plant year after year. From pencil cob corn to brown crowder peas and homestead tomatoes, much of the produce you enjoy at the Farm starts with seeds that hold a rich history within their hulls. Our seeds date back centuries, and some can be traced as far back as the 1700s. The genetic makeup of some of the produce you enjoy when dining in our restaurants mirrors the produce that graced the tables of our Appalachian ancestors.

Seed Saving

Protect resiliency and preserve quality

The Farm's Master Gardener, John Coykendall, is a seed saver with decades of expertise in preserving heirloom seeds gathered from across the globe, with a special focus on heritage seeds from the Appalachian region. Appalachia has a rich agricultural history with thousands of seed varieties—each with its own name and unique genetics. These varieties thrive in our region by working in harmony with our local climate. Seed saving started as a means of survival, and today protecting these varieties is an art and an essential part of our sustainable agriculture practices. We save seeds to protect the resiliency of our food system and preserve the quality of the plants. The seeds must be grown in the right way to ensure future generations enjoy the same robust flavors you taste today. The process of saving seeds provides opportunities to educate our guests on the Farm. We host seasonal events where you can learn about the crops that grow in the Garden and even taste fresh heirloom tomatoes picked fresh from the plant.

Blackberry Magazine

Heirloom Tales

We asked Farmstead Manager Christen Waddell to tell us a little more about the heirloom seeds we celebrate in our Garden program and why they are important to gardeners and food lovers at Blackberry Farm and beyond.

Read The Story