We love hearing about how our seeds are growing, but were particularly delighted to have an update from Joan Horwitt, who founded the Lawns 2 Lettuce 4 Lunch initiative in Arlington, Virginia. Joan writes: "We’ve had fun using the great variety of lettuce seeds from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange for our school and community collaboration, LAWNS 2 LETTUCE 4 LUNCH. We’ve added a variety of SESE greens and garlic . . . and a great fall harvest of sweet potatoes."

She also shared a video from Arlington Public Schools on the Reevesland-Lawns 2 Lettuce 4 Lunch event at Ashlawn Elementary School last November and the recent AbundantCommunity article highlighting the addition of sweet potatoes to their program!

Left to right: Founder, Jeff McCormack, in 1987; Southern Exposure’s first catalog, from 1983; and the company’s flagship tomato, Radiator Charlie’s Mortgage Lifter

The inspiration for Southern Exposure Seed Exchange can be traced back to the 1970s. Jeff McCormack and his wife, Patty Wallens, were in New England, where Jeff was a graduate student and later a biology professor. On a weekend trip to Old Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts – a restored early 1800s farm and village – Jeff was intrigued by heirloom poultry breeds and also by the colors of an heirloom bean, Jacob’s Cattle.

Further inspiration came with Jeff and Patty’s move south in 1977 – Vermont’s cold, cloudy climate and short growing season frustrated them. Without any jobs lined up, they moved near Charlottesville, Virginia. They built their own passive solar-heated house heated mostly by an attached greenhouse. “I took a course on basic house design, Patty took a course on plumbing, and we both took a course on wiring. Later we went to the building site with our box of tools and our box of books. When it came time to do the roof, we opened to the chapter on roofing, and did that!” Jeff and a friend started a consulting business in solar greenhouse design and construction. Named Southern Exposure of Charlottesville, it operated for many years, and eventually lent its name to the seed business.

Read the full article, in honor of Southern Exposure’s 30-year anniversary >>

Our gardens have slowed down for the winter, but the activity never really stops. In our high tunnel, we’ve recently seeded onions and transplanted collards and parsley (photo on the right). In our outdoor gardens (photo on the left) we’re harvesting lettuce, kale, baby spinach, late carrots, salsify, and storage radishes. Our potato onions have sent up the green shoots and are tucked into mulched beds for winter (photo below). We know how gardening can and working with dirt can make your house less clean and after a whole day working hard you don’t have enough time to clean the house, that’s why you can always hire a cleaning company. You can click here for more info on pressure washing.

If you love plants as much as I do, you probably know how hard it is for us to take all of our plants and avoid getting them killed or crushed on their way to the new house. So, I’m here to talk about the great experience I had with Move office Perth because they specialize in home, office, heavy and fragile moves while also coming with comprehensive insurance their teams practice strict furniture protection policies to care for your belongings as if they were their own.

If you do own a farm and you need more extra help, contact a staffing agency for any service that you need, like janitorial staffing, grounds, building maintenance, production and security to name few.

Our growers are still sending the last of this season’s seed lots, so we’ve been busy with germination tests and putting seeds into packets. We’ve had over 150 germination tests underway at once! We’re finishing cleaning seed from crops we grew on our own farm, including a few experimental crops like tansy, clary sage, and papalo (an herb tasting “somewhere between arugula, cilantro and rue” used in the bouquet in the middle photo above).