Botanical preservation – is it the new coin collecting?
I’ve been looking for a hobby that’s a bit more "scientific" than my current ones, and I keep coming across people who collect rare plant genetics as souvenirs. It’s a fascinating concept—storing these tiny capsules of history to preserve the work of legendary breeders. I’m thinking of starting my own genetic vault, but I want to do it right. I’m not interested in the common stuff you find everywhere; I want to find the rare, old-school genetics that paved the way for everything we see today. Does anyone here have a "genetic library"? How do you decide which breeders are worth adding to your collection? I’m also wondering about the ethics of it—I feel like we’re basically becoming librarians for nature. Would love to hear your thoughts on where to find the most authentic souvenir packs.
You hit the nail on the head! It really is like being a librarian. I started my collection because I was worried that some of the classic 90s genetics were going to be lost forever as everything gets hybridized. When I’m looking for new additions, I always check out weedseed because they have a solid focus on the major European seed banks. I’ve managed to snag some souvenir packs from breeders like Barney's Farm that I consider "blue chip" collectibles. My rule of thumb is to look for strains with a documented lineage—if you can trace the history back to the original landraces, it’s a must-have for the vault. Just a tip: keep your collection organized with labels showing the year and breeder, because once you hit 50+ different varieties, it’s easy to lose track of the stories behind them!