“I'm a grower. I'm a learner. I'm a lover.”

-Gabe Lewis

Gabe, a conservationist, cultural seed saver, and farmer, reminisces about her very first memory of cultivating food – precious seed she continues to nourish through her work to preserve seeds for future generations. 

Gabe’s earliest food memories began in her grandmother’s garden.

Gabe shares the story of how she came into her love for growing food in her elder’s garden. 

As a kid, warm sunny days out in the Virginia sun were filled with exploring the luscious flora of Gabe’s grandmother’s bountiful garden. One summer, her nana gave her a handful of seeds to cultivate her very first tomatoes with. Curious and unbridled with excitement of what was to come, Gabe dug her little fingers into the dirt, sparking what would become her legacy in seed sowing and saving.  

Gabe’s grandmother was her portal into kinship with her Earth’s niblings. With the help of her beloved, Gabe successfully grew her first tomato garden. She was profoundly nourished by care, devotion, and tenderness that came from cultivating  sweet juicy tomatoes that summer, discovering more than just her green thumb: it reared the full-fledged farmer in her too.

“Soil just wants to be tended to a little bit. Then, that soil will give you and share with you everything.”

—Gabe Lewis

Gabe shares the wisdom she’s cultivated in giving thanks to the cosmic pleasures of Mother Nature’s bounty.

Fond memories growing up in Virginia instilled in her the intimacy found among all living beings. By tending to the tiny tendrils, the soil, and its microbial companions across the seasons year-round through the embodied wisdom, grace, and patience of her foremother’s hands, she unlocked her keys to abundance.

Cultivating Legacy through Seed Saving

Through saving seed, greatness propagated beyond Gabe’s wildest imaginations. Her humbling call into Mother Nature’s power invited the unearthing of her plant-cestral DNA – as a farmer, friend, and lover to planetary Earth. 

“Saving a seed means you know that there is a future to look forward to.” 

-Gabe Lewis

When we tend to the precious seeds of our memory, we reap life’s greatest treasures - ourselves.

Like soil that is generous to give, and joyful to receive, Gabe is sowing seeds of sovereignty, community foodsheds, and ancestral seed saving by creating rich foodways that she hopes will proliferate abundant storehouses for generations to come.

Image of delicious feast prepared by the helping, loving hands at SeedEd Farm

Amid the uncertainty of the pandemic, Gabe chose fellow plant-cestors and seed sojourners, Sam and Monica to usher in a portal for community belonging and Earthship care. In 2021, they founded SeedEd Farm ,crafted on a bit of dirt nooked away from the bustle of the greater DC area. 

From 2021 to 2023, SeedEd served as a sustainable educational gathering space for the community to steward their well-being, safety, and friendship to a planet that was facing incredible hardship and transition. 

SeedEd Farm: An Oasis for Plant Companionship

 I plant seeds for the future ‘cus I hope they go wild.

— Gabe Lewis

A final farewell from Sam, Monica and Gabe in December 2023. Pictured is a collage created for SeedEd’s farewell newsletter. You can read their loving goodbye to the community here.

  • A place where seeds are plentiful, where there is no shortage of food supply for the human and non-human journeyers…

    ….where a saved seed planted in the farthest corners of the farm can become a tree to shade the furry friends of the meadow, or become a food forest for foraging and grazing for the next generation…

    …In the meantime, Gabe continues to be an gracious steward to the land by keeping the seed bank well stocked – with volunteer tomatoes, squash plants, and native okra. For she holds in her the ever-renewed hope that one day, they will set and go to seed as helpings for the next passerby in the ecosystem…

Cultivating Cultural Resilience Through Seed Saving

Gabe’s journey transcends the mere act of cultivation; it embodies a legacy of reverence for the stories encapsulated within every seed. Through her stewardship, Gabe upholds the unbroken thread of cultural wisdom and resilience. She nurtures it with unwavering dedication so that the legacy endures – a timeless and bountiful heirloom for the generations yet to unfurl their own tales with Spaceship Earth

Her purpose is to give back to the ecosystem one saved seed at a time. Today, we honor her story and living legacy, inspired to take up our call to become a regenerative role model of resilience for the future by sowing seeds of sustenance, reciprocity, and cultural continuity for all who come after.

Gabe shares the wisdom she’s cultivated in giving thanks to the cosmic pleasures of Mother Nature’s bounty.

Digging Deeper

Show your support by following the people, places and spaces Gabe calls home.

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If you would like to find more information on Gabe or reach out to her, connect with her on the following:

  • Gabe’s IG Page

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