We stopped in to visit and join the Tucson, Arizona based Native Seeds / SEARCH. Located on 4th Ave just north of downtown, Seed Search is an interesting Non-Profit organization thats goal is to preserve historic strains of plants used in the southwest by native people
Native Seeds / SEARCH 526 N. 4th Ave. Tucson, AZ (520) 622-5561 Fax 622-5591
Mondays thru Saturdays 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sundays - Noon to 4 p.m.
Fourth Ave is lined with stores and restaurants. This is a good spot for the Native Seeds / SEARCH store, it fits right in the neighborhood.
The Native Seeds/ SEARCH location is just north of 6th street on the east side of Fourth Ave across the street from Delectable's (a well known restaurant in Tucson)
The Native Seeds / SEARCH building is painted to look like a garden with the top half of the building painted blue and white which seemed to blend into the sky on the day we visited
A major portion of the store is devoted to seeds (go figure) and they have dozens, if not more varieties of native seeds. Most are available in the front of the store, some of the most rare and difficult to preserve are kept in back, just ask. There is a seed catalog tied to the seed rack in case you forgot yours at home.
The rest of the store is filled from floor to ceiling with natural products and gifts. Gourds, Chili's, Food Products, Books, and lots more
Logo shirts, hats and garden wear are available near the door. Food stuffs are on shelves near the back. Food seeds, Flour, meal and other preparations from the native plants are on shelves on the back wall of the store
We joined Native Seeds / SEARCH again during our visit. It's been many years since I've let my membership expire and it felt good to support such a worthwhile organization again. You can join also, at the store , by mail or on their website. Do yourself a favor and join at the $25 or any amount higher and join the fun of growing native species. As a new member I received membership packet with a welcome letter, a recent newsletter, window decal, seed catalog, and more
The mission of Native Seeds/SEARCHis to conserve, distribute, and document the adapted and diverse varieties of agricultural seeds, their wild relatives and the role these seeds play in cultures of the American Southwest and Northwest Mexico.
Native Seeds/SEARCH is a nonprofit conservation organization based in Tucson, Arizona. NS/S works to conserve, distribute and document the adapted and diverse varieties of agricultural seed, their wild relatives and the role these seeds play in cultures of the American Southwestern and northwest Mexico. Our mission began in 1983, springing from the nexus of cultural longing and impending loss of genetic diversity. Today we safeguard 2000 varieties of arid-land adapted agricultural crops. Some, like watermelons, were adapted from seeds brought by early Europeans. Most of our collection consists of varieties of indigenous crops developed over centuries or millennia to suit the needs of their human partners. We promote the use of these ancient crops and their wild relatives by distributing seeds to traditional communities and to gardeners world wide. Currently we offer 350 varieties from our collection, grown out at our Conservation Farm in Patagonia, Arizona. We also work to preserve knowledge about the traditional uses of the crop we steward. Through research, seed distribution and community outreach NS/S seeks to protect biodiversity and to celebrate cultural diversity. Both are essential in connecting the past to the future.