Some Suggested Reading for Seed Saving People

Against The Grain, James Scott, © 2017 Yale University Press, Tossing most of our understanding of man's initial impulse to move from hunter/gathererSome Su to living in communities that farmed, Scott takes the whole explanation for why humans made the shift and calls our current hypotheses mostly fictional! Not a seed book or seed guide, but a discussion about the beginning of civilization.

A Seed Saving Guide for Gardeners and Farmers © 2010 Organic Seed Alliance Publication, available at seedaliance.org/ publications/guide/seed-saving-guide-gardeners-farmers This is a free guide of about 35 pages. For free, it is the best deal on this page. It covers everything you need for saving seeds and it does so without fuss or mess. This is excellent for any seed saver; I have a copy at hand on my desk that has seen its fair share of use. (I downloaded it, put it on a memory stick, took it to my copy center, they printed the whole thing out for a few bucks and I bought a cover for it. The cover has pockets and I've added single pages to that I have found over the years. It, and Deppe's book, make up the most used portion of my library.)

Breed Your Own Vegetable Varieties: The Gardener's and Farmer's Guide to Plant Breeding and Seed Saving, 2nd Edition, Carol Deppe, © 2000 Chelsea Green Publishing This is my go to resource when I have questions about seed saving. Deppe's first half is all about plant breeding and a lot of it is over my head, but the second half of the book is simple, direct and precious. This is my favorite resource about seed saving. And there's all that breeding information in the front if you ever get the call to start breeding your own varieties!

The Seed Underground: A Growing Revolution to Save Food, Janisse Ray, © 2012, Chelsea Green Publishing Janisse Ray is a writer with enough awards you'd think she'd give other, less-talented, writers a chance to win a prize or two, but in this offering, she presents a number of essays aimed at seeds and our understanding of them and how they affect our lives, our culture and our future on the planet. Of all the books here, this is the most charming and therefore easy to read, but she really does give instruction on saving seeds as well as everything else! If you can't imagine yourself reading anything about seeds, start here.

The Story of Corn, Betsy Fussell, © 2014, University of New Mexico Press This is a magnificent collection of our understanding of corn, from many different angles. Fussell has a masterpiece of a book, I have read it cover to cover twice and I'm planning to reread it again this year. This is a powerful piece of reading (as are most on this page), but I have special place in my heart for this book.

Where Our Food Comes From, Gary Paul Nabhan, © 2009, Shearwater Books, Gary Paul Nabhan has written a wonderful book describing the work of one of the world's most visionay seed scientist, Nicolay Vavilov and his efforts to end famine in our world. This book, while not about the act of seed saving, introduces the necessity of saving seeds cut against the background of the nascent Soviet Union's violent lurching towards a sustainable country. Surely as exciting as any who-done-it you've ever read and it really happened!

There are more... 

david 

Syllabus, Urban Food, Spring 2019 (2nd iteration)

Iteration Two

Course Number: Biology X 489.6  

Instructor: David King

310.722.3656

greenteach@gmail.com

There are no prerequisites for this course, although some experience with gardening will prove useful.

All classes meet at garden space on the UCLA Campus near DeVeve Hall on the north west portion of the campus. It is not easy to find, I suggest going as a group the first time (at least) and getting your bearing that way. We do NOT have a classroom after the first meeting so we will meat at some picnic tables for all classes after the first. ** If it rains we meet any way. Most of our heavy rain is behind us, class will continue in a light rain.**

The production, packaging, and transportation of food are large contributors to our global carbon emissions. Throughout the Los Angeles Basin, food gardens have sprung up to produce local healthy and nutritious fruits and vegetables while contributing energy and financial savings in difficult economic times. Using the history of growing food in the city in times of need as a template, this course explores how homegrown food can reduce your food budget and address environmental concerns. Participants each have a small plot for growing food where they can experiment with new ideas and enjoy their harvest. Topics include fruit trees, vegetables, and berries that do well in our climate as well as often overlooked food-producing perennials and how to grow food in modern city lots where the "back forty" describes square feet and not acres.

Textbooks Required If You Plan on Gardening Here A Lot (but not required for the class)
Title:  The New Sunset Western Garden Book Author Brenzel, Kathleen Norris (Editor) Edition Feb. 2012 Publisher Sunset Books ISBN 978-0376039170

There will be no assigned reading from the book, but it really is essential if you are gardening in Southern California. The most recent edition is not really necessary, however, it does have more data in it and with each edition Sunset pays more respect to food gardening. It is not required for the course.

This will be supplemented by postings on my Garden Notes blog, http://lagardennotes.blogspot.com/ . I hope to post most of the material in the days prior to the class when it will be used or immediately afterwards.

Textbooks, Recommended:
Title:  The Kitchen Garden Author Thompson, Sylvia Edition First Publisher Bantam Books ISBN 0-553-08138-1 *(She has a companion cookbook that is worth investigation too!)	Title:  Heirloom Vegetable Gardening Author Weaver, William Woys Edition Second!! Publisher Henry Holt ISBN 978-0760359921 A NEW edition at last!!!
Title:  Pests of the Garden and Small Farm Author Flint, Mary Louise Edition 2nd Publisher Univ of California Agriculture & Natural Resources ISBN-13: 978-1879906402	Title:  The Resilient Gardener Author Deppe, Carol Edition First Publisher Chelsea Green ISBN-13: 978-1603580311

There will be no assigned reading from any of these books. The rest of the literature, as references, will prove invaluable to any serious student in this field. There will be bibliographies describing other books as the quarter progresses, I am a ferocious reader and not at all shy about suggesting books I think deserve your attention. From the bibliography, you will choose one book to read and report on. This report will be turned in at the end of class; see the point assignment structure on the next page.

Course Schedule:

DATE	TOPIC
07 April	Introduction/Seed Starting/Urban gardening in context today/12 Points to a Better Garden Sustainability and Food Issues in Modern America/Visit Garden
14 April	Books/The Journal/Food crops of summer/growing up
21 April	HOLIDAY: EASTER
28 April	Tools/Urban Gardens Bigger Picture
05 May	Planting/Sheet composting/Composting/ Planting Timing and Design/SLOLA/Seeds/Light/Water/
12 May	Sources/Annuals/ Soil Contamination and Remediation
19 May	Planting/Companions/Crop Rotation in a Small Garden/ Beekeeping?/Introduction to goat keeping (?)
26 May	HOLIDAY: MEMORIAL DAY
02 June	Goats in the Urban Foodscapes
09 June
16 June	Planning for Continuous Harvests/Potluck/Submit your journal etc for a grade.

(Syllabus may be changed as needed to reflect reality.)

Please note that in Spring quarter there are a few holidays and plants do not take a holiday. – we will need to ensure that watering happens to keep the plants alive if there is no rain while we all enjoy our celebrations.

Point Assignment Structure

Class participation (and cooperation)	20		Grade of A	90%
Garden Journal	20		B	80%
1 page book review	20		C	70%
Planting Project	40		D and F	Failing
TOTAL	100

I have two over-arching goals in all the classes I teach:

1. To teach folks how to grow some of their own food.
2. To teach folks how to be a part of a community. 

If you want a good grade, keep that in mind. These are the things we will need as a people in the very near future. If we don't learn this, we will be in deep trouble.

Therefore, please note, I try to grade you on your personal improvement. Cooperation is counted more than competition in my classes.

Office hours are by appointment only – please call or email me. I am willing to meet with you; I want you to learn; I do not want you to struggle. Please do not hesitate to call me, rather than try to talk to me in class when I can't really give you undivided attention. Extra points are available if you wish to earn more credit.

Each class, as we start, will usually begin with lecture and then proceed to the garden where we will share the garden chores and harvest.

You are encouraged to experiment in the garden plot. Your process should be thoroughly documented in your journal – your thinking and your understanding of what is happening in your garden. If you have a problem, research a solution.

Pick one book from the ones presented in class to read and report on.

As often as I can, I will prepare some seasonal food to eat. There are no places to buy food while in class and we are here for four hours. Students are encouraged to bring in food to share with the class at all meetings. Students should bring in their own plate and eating utensils so we can have a minimum waste event. The last class meeting will be a potluck where we will all share local and fresh food! (That's the point, right?)

Criteria for your garden journal grade:

1. Documentation of what you planted when
2. Documentation of weather elements – temperature (minimum and maximum) as well as an precipitation and noting humidity or dryness, especially of Santa Ana winds.
3. Germination per cent of plant sown from seed
4. Choice of varieties sources and reasoning
5. Success/failures discussed – alternatives to failures/expansion of successes
6. Plans for the future
7. Drawings (or photos) of the garden (either done by hand or by computer program) NOTE: this notebook is NOT your class notes – they might be included, but what I want are your garden observations!

Criteria for your garden plot grade:

1. You should experiment and try something you have never done – explore!
2. Our plot and adjacent pathways must be cleared of weeds.
3. Our plot and adjacent pathways must be well mulched. (Up to me to find the mulch.)
4. All of our plot should be attractive and be growing some food.
5. Your journal should indicate you learned something from the plot, your journal and your plot are intertwined and work together.
6. When presented with the opportunity, you should cooperate with other students, help those in need and be team member of this class.

The person who starts from seed vs. bringing in growing plants, will have plants not nearly as far along as the others – but stands to make a better grade if they have experimented with growing from seed – I am more interested that you LEARN in this class – just doing what you already have done doesn't teach you anything. We are all gardeners here, if we don't have patience yet, we soon will. Cultivate patience with your plants in this class setting.

All handouts (including this syllabus) will be available on the blog site:

http://lagardennotes.blogspot.com/

Please keep a sweater or jacket handy. Class is not canceled on account of rain. As long as you can hear my voice, class will go on, though I will try to get us out of a rain.

First Adjustment to Our Class Schedule, Urban Food, Spring Edition

As mentioned in the first class there were adjustments that had to be made to the syllabus as the dates on the syllabus didn't match up with reality. This is still not final, there is still one day blank (09 June), but I think I might have some excellent material to cover on that day - though I am still open to suggestions! I appreciate your input! 

Course Schedule:

DATE	TOPIC
07 April	Introduction/Seed Starting/Urban gardening in context today/12 Points to a Better Garden Sustainability and Food Issues in Modern America/Visit Garden
14 April	Books/The Journal/Food crops of summer/growing up
21 April	HOLIDAY: EASTER
28 April	Tools/Urban Gardens Bigger Picture
05 May	Planting/Sheet composting/Composting/ Planting Timing and Design/SLOLA/Seeds/Light/Water/
12 May	Sources/Annuals/ Soil Contamination and Remediation
19 May	Planting/Companions/Crop Rotation in a Small Garden/ Beekeeping?/Introduction to goat keeping (?)
26 May	HOLIDAY: MEMORIAL DAY
02 June	Goats in the Urban Foodscapes
09 June
16 June	Planning for Continuous Harvests/Potluck/Submit your journal etc for a grade.