Author Archives: Alison

Final Thoughts on the Native Seed Conference

During the drive home from Santa Fe I studied my notes of the conference and developed a list of things we will try and reflected on some issues we cannot resolve but should follow.  My favorite quip was “we need … Continue reading

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Inspiration – Gary Nabhan

I read Gary Nabhan’s book Coming Home to Eat in 2002 or so.  It inspired me to be a better gardener and forage for more than mushrooms in the wild.  For one year he ate only what he could grow, … Continue reading

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Native Seed Conference – Monday thoughts

We’re in Santa Fe, New Mexico at a “national” native seed conference.  National is parenthesized because the conference is sponsored by the Bureau of Land Management and managed by the Institute for Applied Ecology both based in the western US.  … Continue reading

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Understanding place, or, my mistake

My sister and I grew up in Illinois surrounded by cornfields.  Before I left the state I volunteered briefly with the Natural Land Institute in Rockford and visited some land they owned and managed.  One piece was remnant savannah: red … Continue reading

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Who We are

Shoestring Acres Seed is a fledgling native seed farm located in northeast (verging on north central) Nebraska.  Here is where our great grandparents homesteaded in 1881.  Approximately 25 acres of pasture harbor remnant prairie.  The swales consist of tallgrasses: big … Continue reading

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