Page 26 - sept_2022

Title photo: https://shakermuseum.org

Seeds of Simplicity

The Shaker Seed Industry

by Angela Goodson

Originally posted in 2012 at www.statebystategardening.com • Edited by Judy Gonyeau

arden seed envelopes and catalogs are staples of modern gardeners. These
conveniences are so much a part of home gardening that one would think
Gthey are the product of 20th-century companies. Yet, the beginnings of
these indispensable elements of today’s garden are much older, originating not
from the corporate boardroom, but from the simple, functional ingenuity of the
19th-century religious group known as the Shakers.
Today, the Shakers are remembered for their down-to-earth, practical
innovations. Despite their desire to live outside of the material world, Shaker
communes required income to provide for their members. Beyond the need to
provide for their own survival, Shakers also believed that hard work was itself a
way to please God. Founder Ann Lee taught her followers to “put their hands to
work and their hearts to God.”

Much of Shaker life was devoted to the production of food through
agriculture. The Shakers honored gardening as a religious ritual.

“If you would have a
Shaker seeds placed in a large
lovely garden box and ready for sorting.

Building the Shaker Economy
you should live The Shakers’ heavenly desires guided their earthly economic pursuits. In their

many industries, the Shakers emphasized cleanliness, order, hard work, ingenuity
and quality. The outside world soon began to recognize the superiority of Shaker
a lovely life.” fruits, vegetables, herbal medicines, brooms, cheese, candies, hand-crafted boxes,
woven cloth, straw bonnets, buttons, buckles, leather, barrels, bricks, lead pipes
and furniture. Although they never intend to make large profits, Shaker goods and
– Shaker Saying, 1867 services became an economic boon for the communes.
In many ways, the Shakers’ most successful industry was their garden seed
enterprise. In the 1790s, the Shakers of New Lebanon in New York began putting
up their own garden seed. Over a 25-year period, 37,242 pounds of seeds were
24 Journal of Antiques and Collectibles