Garden Detective

Aerial view of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault | Photo courtesy Cary Fowler/Global Crop Diversity Trust

When I start seeds indoors for my vegetable garden every spring, invariably some don't grow. Last year, I sowed an entire package of carrots and didn't get one viable plant.

What if those were the only seeds I had -- and there were no grocery stores? I'd be up a creek, I'm afraid, without the proverbial paddle.

To avert such a calamity should disaster strike, Norway has created a "Doomsday Vault," and placed within it 4.5 million seed samples from around the world. At a cost of $9.1 million, the concrete vault dug into the side of a mountain was built to withstand climate change, wars, natural disasters such as earthquakes, and nuclear attacks in order to protect those seeds, and will reside deep in the permafrost of an Arctic mountain. Its steel airlock doors ensure a tight seal.

Its aim? To make it possible to re-establish crops should they be obliterated or become extinct.

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault will be officially inaugurated officially tomorrow, less than a year after crews started drilling for it in Norway's Svalbard archipelago.

Photo at left (courtesy Mari Tefre/Global Crop Diversity Trust) shows the inside of the Doomsday Vault.

But this isn't the first time anyone has thought of such a thing. There are some 1,400 other seed banks in the world. Svalbard is a Plan B of sorts, in case those others don't make it. A few have already bitten the dust: Seed banks in Iraq and Afghanistan have been destroyed by war, another in the Philippines was wiped out in a 2006 typhoon.

Though Norway owns the vault, each country that 'deposits' seeds will continue to own their contributions.

Armed guards protect against polar bears, but threats such as war aren't a likelihood in the isolated region, some 600 miles from the North Pole.

The vault is expected to last at least as long as Egypt's ancient pyramids.

It's good to know my carrots will have a backup.

One thing I've learned about gardeners is we all love to share. Sometimes, though, it can be difficult to find like-minded folks to share with -- or who'd like to reciprocate. So I've created the all-new official Garden Detective Long Island Seed Exchange.

Just a few rules to note before you get started:

1. Do not offer to buy or sell seeds. This is a trade, and as such, no money can be exchanged.

2. Nobody wants old seeds. Be sure to list seeds from last season only.

3. Please refrain from listing or requesting invasive species. They might be beautiful, but they're bad for the environment.

4. Sorry, out-of-towners, this seed exchange network is limited to residents of Long Island and the 5 boroughs of New York City.

5. Please use these all-caps tags in your subject line: WANTED and OFFERING. For example,"WANTED cherry tomato/OFFERING 25 gaillardia. (Be sure to indicate the number of seeds you are offering. Twenty-five is the suggested offering.) Use Latin botanical names, if available.

6. Next, in the COMMENTS section, enter your email address. PLEASE DO NOT POST YOUR HOME ADDRESS OR PHONE NUMBER IN THIS FORUM. If there is anything special about your seeds (are they organic? Did their mother produce award-winning blooms?) be sure to mention that, too.

7. When an interested party has contacted you, privately arrange to send each other self-addressed stamped envelopes. Wrap your seeds in a piece of paper (never use plastic,) enclose in the envelope and ship. If your seeds are very large, be sure to mention that, as they will likely require extra postage and / or special handling to ensure they don't break through an ordinary envelope in transit. In such cases, a padded mailer would do the trick.

8. When you have made a successful trade, please post another message with COMPLETED in the subject field and your email address and original offering in the Comments section. I will periodically remove these, but in the meantime others will get to see that your seeds are no longer available.

9. This year, the exchange has been expanded to include divided perennials. These should be packed carefully either in small pots or with water-soaked paper towels surrounding the exposed roots. Put a plastic bag over the towel for good measure and secure it with a rubber band. Please DO NOT arrange to meet anyone in person.

10. Jessica Damiano will not be involved in any swaps you arrange and cannot mediate any unforeseen problems that might arise.. (However, she might participate in swaps from time to time.)

HAPPY SWAPPING!

Click HERE to get started.