Steve Taylor Convenor	Ben Henley Co-Convenor	John Jarvie Treasurer	Julie Butel Secretary

Committee Members 

Collis Leaney	Helen Barlow	Shelley Wilson	Trish Jarvie

If you have any questions for the committee, please feel free to use the Contact Us page on our website and someone will be in touch as soon as possible.  

1. Know your seed. Don't save seeds from a hybrid variety (often labelled as "F1" in catalogues or seed packets). They won't grow "true to type" to the original parent, and the next generation of plants will be highly unpredictable in overall type, quality and flavour.
2. Save information, not just seed. Keep good records from the start. The information you pass on is as important as the seed. Make note of the common and Latin names; dates of planting, plant maturity, and seed harvest; whether off-types were culled; population size and isolation distance; and any other important observations about the variety.
3. Watch for cross-pollination. Different varieties of crops of the crops of the same species can cross-pollinate, producing offspring with different characteristics than the original variety. To keep a variety "pure", you should plant in isolation to minimise the chance of crossing. Crops that are wind or insect pollinated (often called "outcrossers") require a greater isolation distance from other varieties of the same species than those that self-pollinate (often called "selfers"). 
4. Consider plant  populations - numbers count. To maintain the genetic integrity of a variety, it's important to save seed from a diverse population of individual plants. The optimum population size differs depending on whether a variety is wind or insect pollinated, or self-pollinated.
5. Choose ideal plants for ideal seed. Healthy, vigourous plants are more likely to produce healthy, vigourous seed. Save seeds from disease-free plants to help prevent seed-borne disease. Also, collect seeds from plants that show ideal characteristics (shape, colour, dates to maturity) that match the variety's description.
6. Make it last. Good storage practices will increase the long-term viability of your seed. Store only seed that has been checked for pests and is fully mature and dry. The storage area should be dark, dry, cool and protected from pests.