New On Our Blog

Reviving Jack Beans

April 17, 2018 | Melissa Kruse-Peeples

Imagine if you could take a time machine and visit an ancient Hohokam agricultural field 1,000 years ago. The crops in that field would contain corn, green-striped cushaw squash, and tepary beans – varieties familiar to contemporary Pima and Tohono O’odham farmers. But you might also find an unu...

Caring for Tomato Plants in the Desert

April 10, 2018 | Laura Neff

In the low desert, it is ideal to start tomatoes by seed early in the season to allow the plant to be transplanted as soon as the threat of frost is over (around early to mid March through early April in the low desert areas of Tucson). Tomato seeds need about a 6-8 week growing period before yo...

ARIZONA GIVES DAY: THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT

March 28, 2018 | Joy Hought

By Joy Hought, Executive Director. Published March 28, 2018. Did you know that southern Arizona is home to the earliest documented agriculture in the United States? For over 4000 years the farmers of this region have sustained their communities by growing nutritious, desert-adapted crop varieties...

Germination Testing at Home

March 19, 2018 | Laura Neff

As a home gardener and seed saver, you can use the same principles of germination testing to make sure your seeds are going to sprout when planted. You may have some packets of seeds that are a few years old, or recently saved some seeds and are curious if they are viable. Seeds are living things...

Trip Report: Native Health Traditional and Community Gardens

March 13, 2018 | Laura Neff

It was a brisk Saturday morning, February 24th, when three Native Seeds/SEARCH staff traveled from Tucson to Phoenix to offer assistance with weeding and planting seed at the Native Health Traditional and Community Gardens in Phoenix. Access to the spacious farmland in the heart of Phoenix at Ind...

Understanding and Nurturing Desert Native Bees

March 05, 2018 | Laura Neff

Do you know that every desert native bee is a wonder woman? The females of these mainly solitary, stingless bees are pollinators supreme in gardens, orchards, and natural spaces. Yet they go about their vital work largely unsupported. It’s time to correct this – and you can be part of the solution!

Growing Teosinte (Zea mays parvaglumis)

February 05, 2018 | Store Staff

There is so much to learn about the mysterious teosinte that I was stumped when asked to create a report on growing it, so I’ll simply share what I’ve read and observed while studying the plants growing at the retail store in mid-town Tucson, Arizona.

CSG Highlight: Orchard Community Learning Center

January 18, 2018 | Laura Neff

In 2017 NS/S donated over 3,916 seed packets to 157 organizations, and we are ready to kick off 2018 with the next cycle of Community Seed Grants. If you are a part of an organization in the Greater Southwest region that supports educational, food security, and community development projects, the...

Starting Tomato Seeds in the Desert

December 22, 2017 | Laura Neff

Tomatoes are one of the most popular garden foods grown by home gardeners. The diversity of tomato varieties and uses have increased dramatically from its original domestication in the tropical climates of Central and South America to the point where now it is use in cuisines from all around the ...

Adopt-A-Crop 2017 Update

December 11, 2017 | Nicholas Garber

Article by Nicholas Garber. Conservation Program Manager. Published December 11, 2017 Last May, Native Seeds/SEARCH announced our 2017 Adopt-a-Crop campaign. During our campaigns we draw upon NS/S members and supporters to provide financial assistance with growing out rare and endangered seed var...