Freighter View Farms

It’s early November here at Freighter View Farms along the shores of the Saginaw Bay, and the fall garden is winding down. Cool-weather crops like swiss chard, lettuce, kale, kohlrabi, carrots, celery, radishes, and hearty herbs still thrive in the crisp autumn air. Without a hard frost, flowers like calendulas, marigolds, and zinnias are still hanging on, their blooms adding a splash of color to an otherwise slowly fading garden. Though the days are growing shorter and the tasks in the garden are fewer, there’s still meaningful work to be done and today, that work involves the peaceful process of creating seed packets.

On a day like today, there is a sense of quiet purpose in the air. I find myself at the kitchen table, surrounded by piles of freshly harvested seeds and neatly printed seed packet envelopes adorned with the new Freighter View Farms logo. There’s something comforting about this moment, the table covered in small piles of seeds, envelopes scattered around, and the knowledge that what I’m doing isn’t just for myself but for friends and family, too. Many of these seeds will be gifted during the holiday season, small pieces of my garden sent across Michigan and beyond to bring joy to others as they plant their own. Each packet holds more than seeds, it holds the promise of new life, a connection from my garden to another’s.

The work is tedious, yes, but deeply rewarding. One by one, the seeds are sorted, counted, and poured into their labeled packets. This year’s seed collection includes a mix of vegetables and flowers: Provider Green Beans, Lemon Summer Squash, French Pole Beans, Calendula, Marigolds,  Zinnias and more. Each type of seed tells its own story, of summer days spent tending rows of green beans or the cheerfulness of zinnias lining the pathways through the garden. As I fold each packet and seal it, I imagine the hands that will open them next year, the soil that will receive them, and the gardens that will grow because of this moment of care and patience.

Taking this extra step, not just harvesting vegetables for now but harvesting seeds for the future, is one of the most rewarding parts of gardening. It’s a way to extend the life of the garden beyond a single season. It means that the care and attention put into growing each plant continue on, forming a beautiful cycle that connects year after year. When I hand these packets to loved ones, I’m giving them more than seeds. I’m sharing a moment of my garden, a season of growth and nurturing, and inviting them to be a part of it.

The process of seed saving brings about a contemplative calm. It’s an act of both looking back, remembering the sunny days when these plants grew in the garden and looking forward, imagining the green sprouts that will come up next spring. Sitting at the table, surrounded by the results of a season’s labor, there’s a sense of fulfillment in knowing that this simple, age-old act ensures that the beauty and bounty of Freighter View Farms will continue to grow, both here and in the gardens of those we love.

Gardening is about so much more than just growing food or flowers; it’s about growing connections, sharing abundance, and bringing a little more beauty into the world, one seed at a time.