Seed Provenance — Where Your Plants Come From

Every plant has a story. Bought from a nursery? Grown from saved seed? Gifted by a neighbour? That origin matters — it tells you about variety, adaptation, and the web of relationships behind your garden.

Why Seed Provenance Matters

• Variety performance — "Roma tomatoes from Jane's saved seed did better than the commercial packet." You only know this if you tracked the source.
• Local adaptation — Seeds saved over multiple generations in your climate adapt to your conditions. Provenance tracking shows that multi-generational journey.
• Sharing and trust — When you share seeds, the recipient can see the full lineage: where they came from, germination rates, what they produced.
• Seed saving decisions — Which plants to save seed from? The ones with the best provenance — healthy parents, good yields, disease resistance.

The Seed Cycle in Libre Grow

Seed Lot "Roma 2024" (element)
  → Germination Test (activity) → 92% germination rate
  → Planting (activity) → Plant "Roma #3" (output element)
    → Harvest (activity) → 4.2kg yield
    → Seed Saving (activity) → Seed Lot "Roma 2025" (output element)
      → Germination Test (activity) → 88% germination rate
      → Planting (activity) → ... next generation

Each generation links back through the complete chain. After 3 years of seed saving, you can see the full genetic history: where the seeds originally came from, every generation's performance, every adaptation.

Creating Seed Lot Elements

When you create a seed lot element:

• Label: Include the variety and year (e.g., "Roma Tomato 2025")
• Type: Seed Lot
• Description: Source (purchased/saved/gifted), supplier, quantity, storage conditions
• Organism: The species or variety name

If the seed lot was saved from a plant you grew, create the "Seed Saving" activity and link the plant as input and the new seed lot as output. The provenance chain forms automatically.