Seeeeeeds!

Seeds are wonderful balls of potential! They house the DNA to grow a mature living species, then produce 100’s of replicas of themselves to spread far and wide and multiply all over again.

I'm enamored of seeds. Each one a miracle waiting to unfold given the right environment.

Seeds exist to do one thing, fulfill the promise of who they are. They don't need much from you.

Can you get them started inside by giving them a bit of dirt and keeping the top moist? Yes

Can you give them a bit more space once they are ready to leave your loving nursery and bust into a bigger world? Yes

Can you celebrate each new leaf, give them water now and again, protect them from a few slugs, the dog, the kids? Yes

Can you resist eating them until they've grown nice and big? Yes

Can you imagine a salad of sweetness and vitality, colour and light that grew because you said yes?

Please don't tell me you're too busy. It's the plants that do all the work, they are generous like that. They're just need the opportunity.

When I started giving away seeds through our Outdoors is Good blog, I didn’t realise the potential, to multiply and spread was going to be the essence of our sharing, but that is the potential of a tiny seed ready to take on a new life. 

The Seed Celebration started simply in September 2014 with 203 people receiving 609 seed packets.

We then started a campaign to give away “Seeds to Good Homes” on Facebook with Eco Deals.

We had over 900 people sign up in the first hour. And then the e-mail system crashed. Over the next 2 days, that number grew to 3200! 

It got a lot more exciting in October with 3200 people in NZ receiving 7300 seed packets. (Think kitchen tables and seeds everywhere for days).

And I missed it completely.

I was in Auckland during the blackout helping Mum move from her home to a managed apartment.  I didn't check e-mails or social media for 48 hours, and you guys had a whole party without me! Good on you.

First, I must honour this enthusiasm. The fact that a seed giveaway can go viral on Facebook gives me hope for our future. We are meant to grow stuff. 

After I recovered from the shock of how many people love seeds. I spent the last few days figuring out how to respond.

You grew my horizons. I know I didn't HAVE to send out seeds to thousands, but I couldn't let go of the idea of how good it would feel. So, I started learning and stretching. HOW could we do it?

We applied for a Permit Post number so that we had a bulk mailing rate. A lovely company in Auckland called Simpson's Data have helped me figure out how to handle this many envelopes.

Then we had to hand fill 6400 seed envelopes at the kitchen table.

 

So many people offered to pay for post that it gave me an idea, a sort of Pay it Forward. For every $2 you gave, we sent two packets to one more person. It was very cool.

It was to say thank you for making these seeds go further than anyone imagined.

So, blessed seed lover, we sent out seeds to everyone who signed up, we're going to grow stuff together!

I love hearing from you. Where you live, what you plant, that your dog Taka looks after the seedlings. 

Whatever you do, you make a difference. As do I.