Michael Crofoot – Native Seed Harvest and Sowing
In Michael’s own words:
“I arranged with the French and New Zealand governments to harvest the seeds and nodules of West Coast USA actinorhizal plants 35 years ago. You know– Ceanothus, Mountain Mahogany, Buffaloberry, Alder. There are about 250 species in the world, California is the world’s center of diversity in the main. I got pioneer permaculturalist Guy Baldwin and Vicki Mendell to help me. We harvested the seeds of 54 species of actinorhizal plants and the nodules of 8 genera and I sent them out to our sponsors. New Zealand used them for erosion control and animal browse and Yves Dommergue of France used our seed and nodules for stopping and reversing man made deserts in Senegal…
“I started 5 plant nurseries with a bunch of Maori people in NE New Zealand 1992-1994 in the midst of the 2nd worst erosion in the world and we collected a lot of native seeds for these nurseries
I have harvested various native plant seeds over the intervening years for various projects– I have started 10 plant nurseries, new one starting just now. For 20 years I earned my living via ecological restoration and thus I have harvested native plant seeds in the high desert in the high desert mountain foothills above Albuquerque New Mexico every year the past 15 years, working with around 100 species. I bought $5000 worth of native plant seeds and put my native plant seed harvests together with it and thus planted out about 100 million seeds on around 5000 acres over the years in my ecological restoration business in the high desert.
“I have learned how to make real good seed balls and seed clods with my native plant seed inventory in the high desert– much damaged by overgrazing and overbrowsing. Gave workshops on seed ball making and sold a bunch of seed balls for our church and our community library there in the high desert.
“I have been collecting the seeds and soon the nodules of southwest coastal Oregon beach legumes. Much of the Oregon coast looks beautiful and is devastated by landslides with much overgrazing by sheep. I got around 20,000 seeds of four species and gonna make seed clods to guerilla plant the landslides and species-depauperate beach shores come late winter.
“I am beginning a seed collection of the West Coast native Ceanothus genus (55 species total last I looked)– nitrogen fixing, pollinator plant and excellent browse for the elk and deer
“I am becoming very familiar with the National Seed Strategy– a far reaching multiple-federal agency national effort to harvest the seeds of “restoration plants”, plant them out and grow them on to harvest millions more seed to help with assisted migration, facing up to climate change erosion control wildlife values and straight out ecological restoration. This behemoth effort of the Forest Service, Fish and Wildlife, USDA, Coop Extension, universities, botanical gardens and users and producers of native plant seeds et al is a fundamental and very hopeful shift in the federal governments relationship with public (and private lands…).”
Baltimore Center Mail and Shipping, 1130 Baltimore Avenue Southeast #A
Bandon, OR
United States
505 934-8818
Workshop(s)
Workshop 1: Native Seed Harvest and Sowing
We first canvassed the native plant seed harvesting experience and interests in the workshop room space and tailor my presentation accordingly. We spoke about seed harvest and cleaning, including innovative approaches; about observing germplasm variety in wild populations and harvesting accordingly. There was discussion about seed harvest and sowing for special outcomes – for instance, harvesting the seeds and nodules of nitrogen fixing plants, and seed harvest for assisted migration and for broadscale ecological restoration.
