Show #13/1513. Monticello

Saving Seeds

And they save seeds. Seed saving is an important part of the mission here. This is a seed bank of old varieties and traditional varieties. This past April, the White House chef, Sam Kass returned from Monticello to the White House with seeds from this garden. He planted a special Jefferson garden section devoted to and attributed to Thomas Jefferson in the White House kitchen garden. Peter believes that to be a sustainable gardener one needs to save seeds. Alloium cepa Tree Onion is also called the Hanging Onion or Egyptian Onion. It was a favorite onion of Jefferson's and is a perennial onion, it keeps coming back year after year. So, what could be more sustainable. And it's easy to save the seeds and pass them around. By snipping off the seed bolts they can actually be set in the ground or dry them for sending on to a friend later. The guys view a plant. At this stage there is a stem coming out of the onion. Peter believes this is an ideal time to save the seeds. Now they wouldn't need to be dried too long. He would try to get it into the ground fairly soon because it is sprouting and he thinks the plant would relish the opportunity to get back into the ground, a new home.