The Hudson Valley Seed Company (HVSC), a nationwide pioneer in the preservation and circulation of heirloom seeds, has long been dedicated to preserving biodiversity through the intertwined processes of storytelling and farming. Known for their colorful, artist-designed seed packs, the Accord-based company highlights the cultural and historical significance of each seed in their catalog. Recently, HVSC expanded its mission with the opening of a new retail store and education center on the site of their farm and seed processing facility, providing a space for the community to engage with sustainable agriculture, seed saving, and the stories behind the seeds.
HVSC has its roots in the Gardiner Public Library, where K Greene, a librarian at the time, developed an interest in the local food movement. Noticing a lack of dialog around the seeds that grow our food, he founded the nation’s first seed library program in 2004. It became a space where the community could borrow seeds to plant, grow, and return to the library at the end of the season. As Greene dove further into the subject, he realized working with seeds was a way to work with intersecting issues concerning the environment, health, history, culture, and foodways.
In 2008, the seed library went online. Nationwide, interested gardeners reached out wanting to buy sustainable, heirloom seeds to support the program, and from there, the project blossomed. A year later, the seed library program ended and the seed company began, becoming the values-driven business it is today, practicing and celebrating responsible seed production and stewardship.
Humble Beginnings
Greene and his friend and cofounder Douglas Muller’s seed collection began in an oak dresser. When they outgrew the dresser, they moved the operation into the renovated concession stand of the old summer camp where they lived. As the project grew more, they bought a trailer, and eventually renovated a two-story house on the property. Today, the company has expanded again, now operating from an abandoned airport strip in Accord, which houses both its five-acre farm and newly debuted retail space, selling around 650 seed varieties.
On September 12, HVSC hosted the grand opening of their Accord retail space and rotating art gallery, which occupy the airplane hangar, as well as demonstration gardens and three greenhouses running down the runway. The event kicked off with ceremonial Taiko drumming by Shumei International, an agricultural cooperative based out of Japan that has a close partnership with HVSC; followed by a land acknowledgment statement given by Curtis Zunigha, the director of cultural resources for the Lenape tribe.
“It was everything we could have dreamed of,” says Crimson Krier-Glading, the company’s director of sales and customer experience.
This site unifies the business with Four Fold Farm, the certified organic farm where the company grows about half of the seeds it sells. The remainder of seeds are cultivated by a network of small farms across America, with a close connection to HVSC. Merging the two functions of the company onto one property—as farmers and as seed packagers and educators—has always been a goal. The recent change allows this dream to become reality.
“I think it’s particularly important in this moment to have the connection with our farm and to know where our seeds are coming from, how the seeds are treated, what conditions they’re in, and how the people working on the farm are treated,” says Krier-Glading. “It’s important to have the human beings producing the seeds used to feed people treated with love and compassion, and to have that resource of knowledge to help people in their own gardening journey,” she says.
The company is working to finalize plans for weekly tours of the trial gardens, seedling sales, mushroom foraging walks, classes with the farm crew on topics like how to plant garlic and bulbs, and seed processing demonstrations.
Harvesting Hope
Along its journey, the Hudson Valley Seed Company has been “a real labor of love,” says Krier-Glading. “Even as the company continues to gain recognition across the country and beyond, our mission of biodiversity and storytelling remains as pure and powerful as a seed.”
The company’s iconic art packs, their most well-known seed packs, have been a core part of the business since its early days. Each year, HVSC collaborates with a diverse group of artists to craft the visual seed stories inside their four-fold art packs, offering a glimpse into the history, culture, and stories behind the seeds. Inside, there is an inner seed envelope with growing instructions, a brief introduction to the plant variety, and more information about the artist.
One story particularly special to the company is that of Hank’s Xtra Special Baking Bean, a creamy regional heirloom legume selected and beloved by Hank Losee, a gardener in Ghent, and the first seed in Greene’s dresser. A coworker at the library, Peg shared with Greene the story of her whole life with her father and their journey growing and saving this bean. She rediscovered the variety after her father’s passing and passed the torch to Greene, who has been growing them for the 16 years since. A few years ago, there were only a few pounds of this bean in existence. HVSC promoting, sowing, and growing these cultivars helps to ensure their survival.
At HVSC, the priority is preserving crop diversity by selecting hard-to-find varieties. Every seed in their catalog is open-pollinated, most are heirloom and organic, and they are never genetically modified. The organization was one of the first companies to sign the Open Source Seed Initiative (OSSI), and “will remain committed to our values of sustainability to the last,” according to their website.
A belief in the value for society and culture in preserving open-source seeds and their histories has always informed the backbone of the company. “It’s really always been a love of the seeds’ stories, their importance—the importance of seeds in our food systems and in our cultures—how we tell the stories of ourselves, and how to share that with as many people as possible,” says Krier-Glading.
“Seeds are life in the same way water is life—a necessary part of existence,” she says. “The Open Source Seed Initiative is trying to promote this concept that none of us own a tomato. It's a tomato seed. It's a food. It's a living thing coming from the earth, and none of us have ownership over that.”
The Hudson Valley Seed Company has itself become a nourishing force. As the largest seed farm in the Hudson Valley, they hold a special place in the food chain and agricultural systems, ensuring the continued availability of high-quality vegetable, flower, and herb seeds for growers in the community. And while HVSC seed packs have always been available at local food co-ops and health food stores, the new retail store offers a space for engagement and exchange with customers that the staff has long been craving.
“We're so excited to open a public-facing space. We want to engage with them. We want to talk to them about art. We want to talk to them about the trials and tribulations of growing kale this season,” says Krier-Glading. “That kind of community is important for growing and sharing. We're excited that we are finally in a place where we can grow and share with others.”
The store is open Thursday to Monday 10am-4:30pm, and closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Information on tours, workshops, and demonstrations can be found on the website’s events calendar.
