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The Jewish Seed Project
The Jewish Seed Project is a collaborative of Jewish growers, seed keepers, researchers, and storytellers committed to (re)growing relationships with culturally relevant seeds. Naturally, this mission prompts us to ask:
WHAT IS A JEWISH SEED?
It’s a good question, we think, and while we are doing our best to cultivate convincing answers (see our ongoing projects), in good Jewish fashion it is the question itself—and the cascade of further questions it prompts—that we find most compelling of all.
Where do our lives as Jewish farmers and gardeners intersect with the stories of seeds, both ancient and modern? How do the long and varied histories of Jewish exile, diaspora, and belonging complicate the picture? How can we find, grow, and share culturally resonant seeds across our community in ways that respect others who may also consider these seeds as their own? We’re not exactly sure yet, but if you have any ideas, perhaps you want to join us.
Check out our Jewish crops!
Click below to learn more about out crops. We started with Quishu'im and have now grown to include Garlic!
This project was instigated by sephardi Jewish seed activist and founder of the Hudson Valley Seed Company, K Greene. We are grateful to them and the Seed Growing Program at the Hudson Valley Farm Hub, to Nate Kleinman of Experimental Farm Network, to all the growers who have stewarded these seeds, and, of course, to the seeds themselves.
In keeping seeds, we honor their history, passed down from generation to generation, connecting us to those who have kept seeds before us.