When our family was young, we wanted to grow vegetables for baby food. That’s how it all started. Soon we were moving to a small acreage, and in 1986 Two Wings Farm was born.
Through the years we have grown produce for the fresh market, we made it a point to trial old and new varieties always looking for the “best” for our particular bioregion (the south coast of British Columbia & the islands).
We were often amazed at how well the old heritage & heirloom varieties performed, and how good they tasted.
In 1993, I had the good fortune to be involved with USC Canada(www.USC-Canada.org), and the Seeds of Survival program in Ethiopia. Myself and my friend Dan Jason of Salt Spring Seeds(SaltSpringSeeds.com) participated in the training for plant genetic resource conservation in Ethiopia.
It became clear that the loss of plant diversity that we were experiencing in North America was/is indeed a global problem. In Ethiopia, as elsewhere, farmer’s choices of what they can grow are being eroded along with the gene pool. Thousands of varieties were being reduced to just a few, and hybrid material promoted instead of the traditional “landrace” seeds that farmers have grown and selected down through the ages.
Returning home, I felt that we had to become a seed source for the region. Perhaps we can save a few wonderful old varieties that cannot be found in any catalog from becoming extinct.
Initially we were part of a seed co-op, but then in 2000, we launched Two Wings Farm Organic Seeds.
Many of our seeds were grown by our collective ancestors, and brought lovingly in immigrant’s pouches to Canada. They are far too good to lose.
All our seed is open pollinated public domain. We hope you grow them, save them, and share them with friends. Perhaps start your own little neighborhood seed bank.