In 1975, while practising as a lawyer, John Swenson became interested in alliums while flipping through a seed catalogue. Out of sheer curiosity, he ordered rocambole garlic bulbs and never looked back. According to Seed Savers Exchange, he became a lifetime member in 1985, listed 133 varieties in its Yearbook over 33 years and donated 150 varieties to its seed bank collection. In 1989, he joined a USDA team on a mission through Russia and Central Asia, which returned with 120 varieties of garlic. His sharing of some of those varieties helped spark a "Garlic Revolution" in the United States seed trade.
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How John turned his curiosity into detailed historical research
John Swenson graduated magna cum laude from Dartmouth College in 1950 with majors in philosophy and sociology before attending Northwestern University School of Law. The organisation describes his successful career in law as one that "translated seamlessly into every aspect of his life". It also credits him with a relentless pursuit of truth and accuracy and a wide-ranging intellect.
In the late 1980s, John turned those qualities and his passion for alliums towards a multi-year project on the etymology of the term Chicago. He had come to realise that the common story, that the city was named after a common prairie onion, might be false. The organisation says he researched regional history methodically, teaching himself to read 11 Native American languages along the way.
How John’s rocambole garlic discovery led to decades of seed saving
John's interest in alliums began in 1975 while he was flipping through a seed catalogue. He ordered rocambole garlic bulbs "out of sheer curiosity". The organisation notes that later that same year he first read about Seed Savers Exchange, then called True Seed Exchange, in Organic Gardening magazine.
John officially became a listed member in 1984 and a lifetime member in 1985. Over 33 years, it records, he listed 133 varieties in the Yearbook and donated 150 varieties to the organisation's seed bank collection. He also acted as an advisor to Seed Savers Exchange for several years. The organisation adds that John mentioned he often ate 12 varieties of garlic in a day.
How a 1989 USDA mission brought 120 garlic varieties back
John joined a USDA team of biologists in 1989 on a collections mission through Russia and Central Asia. The team searched remote hillsides and bustling marketplaces for every garlic, onion, shallot and carrot possible. Although the team entered what was then the USSR fully accredited, foreign agencies often treated its members with suspicion.
Seed Savers Exchange states that John, who stood 6'2", remembered being assigned the smallest seat on a flight from Moscow to Ashgabat. He recalled that the only flights available to Americans were at night. "It was like a military drill," he said, laughing. "They didn't want us American spies to fly out during the daytime because we could see." The organisation reports that the team returned with 120 varieties of garlic alone.
How John Swenson helped spark America’s Garlic Revolution
USDA materials are generally kept in their collection, but John procured samples from as many of the USSR accessions as possible and grew them all in his backyard. He later shared his entire collection with Seed Savers Exchange, which became the foundation of the organisation's garlic collection. He also listed many of his garlic varieties in the Exchange and later sold much of his collection to Filaree Farms in Washington. Of his approach, John said: "My attitude is, what good is knowledge if you can't share it?"
His efforts to share helped spark a "Garlic Revolution". The number of garlic varieties available in the United States seed trade rose from 18 in 1987 to 274 by 2004. In 1991, it adds, John wrote "Chicagoua/Chicago: The Origin, Meaning, and Etymology of a Place Name" for Illinois Historic Journal, after finding the diary of Henri Joutel, a French soldier who travelled through the area in 1687. Even in retirement, John continued to help people track down varieties and volunteered with the Chicago Botanic Garden. "I have an ongoing project of selecting and donating unusual seeds," he explained. John Swenson passed away peacefully in his sleep on 9 July 2024, aged 95.
