Small-ScaleOrganicSeedProduction

Patrick Steiner

Acknowledgements

This booklet was made possible throughfunding from FarmFolk/CityFolk, theOrganic Sector Development Program ofthe Certified Organic Associations ofBritish Columbia, and InvestmentAgriculture Foundation. I’d also like tothank the farmers I interviewed, thishandbook’s strength lies in theirexperiences… Greta Kryger, CarolynHerriot, Frank Morton, Maude Powell,Don Tipping, and Nash Huber. Specialthanks to FarmFolk/CityFolk for supportand encouragement to finish thismanual, to Colleen O’Brien for editing,and Michael Marrapese for the designand layout.

About the Author: Patrick Steiner is an organic farmer inSorrento, British Columbia. He operatesStellar Seeds, a certified organic seedcompany specializing in rare andheritage vegetable varieties.

© FarmFolk/CityFolk Society. All rights reserved.

ISBN# 978-0-9809387-1-7

Published by FarmFolk/CityFolk Society.

Funding for this manual came from the Organic Sector Development Program.

This 40-page manual is available for $10 in printformat or $5 as an electronic copy in pdf format.To get a copy of the manual, contactFarmFolk/CityFolk at admin@ffcf.bc.ca

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

The Art of Seed Growing: Voices From the Field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Marketing Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Seed Yields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Seed Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Seed Cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Disease Prevention and Seed Treatments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Appendix

Resource List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Tables

Table 1: Seed Economics Matrix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Table 2: Seed Yields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Table 3: Seed Longevity in Ideal Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Table 4: Minimum Germination Standards for Canada No. 1 Seed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Table 5: Hot Water Seed Treatment Guidelines . . . . . . . . 38

Contents

5

Introduction

Organic seed production in British Columbiais not new. There exists today a host of small-scale organic seed companies and growersthat have been producing and distributingseeds for some time. Their efforts have donemuch to provide BC citizens and farmerswith a wide selection of biodiverse and rarevarieties of vegetables, flowers, herbs andeven grains. Without the many peoplecommitted to growing these seeds, many ofthese varieties would be much harder toaccess for BC growers, perhaps evenimpossible.

Today, a new challenge faces the BC organicfarming community. The increase inconsumer demand for locally grown organicproduce leads to a greater demand fororganic vegetable seeds. Our task is to takethe commitment and passion that has drivenour local, small-scale seed saving efforts andexpand it, to enable the production of seedson a scale that allows us to provide them inbulk quantities to our market farmers. Aswith any expansion or growth, newapproaches and methodologies are needed toovercome challenges to increasing local seedproduction. This handbook seeks to provideinformation helpful in meeting that goal.

Producing seed locally in British Columbiapresents many opportunities for farmers. Asa tool for expanding biodiversity on ourfarms, seed production introduces newcrops, cropping patterns and evenbeneficial insects or wildlife to the farm.For growers looking to diversify theeconomic outputs on their farm, it opensnew possibilities for income generation,while reducing input costs through theproduction of seed for use within their ownfarm operations. Seed production alsostrengthens the resiliency of local foodsystems, ensuring that the basic startingpoint for all food production, the seed, ismanaged from within our communities.

“Our task is to take

the commitment and

passion that has

driven our local,

small-scale seed

saving efforts and

expand it, to enable

the production of

seeds on a scale that

allows us to provide

them in bulk

quantities to our

market farmers.”

6

There are those who claim that organicseed production needs will be met by thesame large, multinational seed companiesthat produce the vast majority of theconventional seeds used by organicfarmers today. Organic seed productionhowever is not simply about producingseed free of synthetic chemicals, but alsoabout producing seeds grown within thecontext of sustainable, local farmingsystems where farmers and consumersdefine how our food is produced.

In traditional farming societies seed hasoften been seen as a communal resource;by the same token it has also been acommunal responsibility. This holds truefor efforts to increase local seedproduction in BC today. It is impossiblefor any single producer or seed companyto supply the needs of a diverse andhealthy farming sector. A cooperativeeffort is required, with different regions,farmers and seed companies producingseeds and communicating amongst eachother about strengths, challenges and theoverall needs of BC’s organic farmingcommunity.

This is not a “How To Grow Seeds”manual. Such information already existsand still more is being produced. Aresource list at the end of this book detailssome readily accessible print and on-line

resources about the how-to ofseedgrowing. Beyond the mechanics ofgrowing and harvesting seeds however,there are other considerations for thefarmer seeking to incorporate seedgrowinginto their farming systems. The strengthof this book lies in the first-handexperiences of a number of growers whohave shared how seed growing hasbecome a part of their farm economy andecology. The insights they have gained,and the lessons learned are useful for anyBC or Canadian farmer looking to growseeds and contribute to the overallstrength of a successful and sustainablelocal agriculture.

“In traditional

farming societies seed

has often been seen

as a communal

resource; by the same

token it has also been

a communal

responsibility.”

7

Chapter 1

The Art of SeedGrowing:Voices From theField

Why Grow Seed?

The growers featured inthis handbook have allchosen to grow seeds ontheir farms. In every case,there was no single reasonto grow seeds, but rather a

variety of reasons including farm ecology,economics and personal interest. Nogrower began by trying to grow seedsbefore learning first how to grow crops.Indeed, most people would agree it is notpossible to grow a good seed crop withoutfirst becoming proficient at the skillsneeded to raise a good market, or eatingcrop. It typically follows that for anengaged grower raising crops forconsumption, there is a naturalinclination to explore the later stages of aplant’s lifecycle as they form flowers andset seed. Added to this natural curiosityare a host of other reasons for makingseedgrowing a part of one’s farmoperation.

Frank Morton, an Oregon farmer raisingmixed greens for the restaurant tradebegan noticing accidental crosseshappening in his fields, which manifestedas salad greens with novel traits. Hequickly realized he could develop a line ofhis own salad greens that would lookdistinctive in the marketplace. He firststarted saving seeds simply for his ownuse, but with the popularity of his diverseand unique salad mixes a demand for thevarieties he grew led him to making thatseed available to others.

Farmers often grow their own seed inresponse to the rising cost of purchasingseed for their farm operations. CarolynHerriot, a Vancouver Island grower,realized she could save seeds from herperennial plants to propagate seedlings inher nursery business, cutting considerableexpense from her yearly seed purchases.Nash Huber, a Washington State growersays, “I save seeds for the economics of it.Seed is expensive, I use thousands ofdollars of carrot seed in my operation.”

Like many of the other growers in thishandbook, Greta Kryger, an Ontarioseedgrower, found herself saving certainseeds because varieties she relied uponwhere becoming unavailable, or she hadproblems getting certain seeds acrossborders. Likewise, Nash Huber gives thisexample, “I can’t stress enough… we’reparticularly known for our carrot, and thecarrot we’re known for is not availablecommercially. It used to be, then becameunavailable, and it so happened I had astock of it. ‘Well’, I said, ‘I better startgrowing it.’ I also have a variety ofcauliflower that I’ve used for 30 years. It’snot my variety, but I’ve picked it up andmaintained it, it’s no longer availablecommercially and it’s a great variety. Itworks very well for us, fits a growingwindow ideally, so is important. In theportfolio of seed I use, at least one varietydisappears each year. So I save these

8

varieties because they fit into specific slotsin my farm operation, so I’m notdependant on those varieties [to besupplied by someone else].”

Some farmers save seed so that they canimprove on the lines that are availablecommercially, or adapt them to theirspecific farm ecologies. Frank Morton talksof having started with saving seed fromvarieties that he found weaknesses orflaws in, that he could then select againstand end up with better seed. Today he isconvinced that growing seeds for use onyour own farm leads to superior plantgrowth, “Your own seed will quickly adaptto your farm micro-environment, givingyou faster germinating, more vigorousplants. Within three seasons you will seea performance difference between yourseed and the identical cultivar ofcommercial seed.” And for Nash Huber,seedgrowing is like an insurance policy,“It gives me more control in the cropsthat I’m growing, in that I know I willhave that seed, or adapt that seed. Weplant several seeds in the range of carrots,cabbage, and spinach that we are selectingand breeding for our particular needs.We’re selecting for what our customerslook for, and also for our growingconditions and how we grow.”

It’s important to mention how manyfarmers grow seed for the enjoyment of itand the pleasure of learning more aboutagricultural diversity. Greta Kryger isfascinated by the diversity of heirloomtomatoes and squashes, Frank Morton bythe brassicas, a crop group that he notesprovides so many edible parts – roots,leaves, petioles, shoots, stalks, flowers andheads. This kind of diversity is thefoundation of our organic agriculture, oneof the most important traits that defines itfrom industrial agriculture. Farmers asseedgrowers are an integral part ofmaintaining that diversity. As Mortonsays, “all the different varieties that areneeded by our farming community canonly be grown with the heavy participationof many farmers. We need a million small

lots of varieties. We don’t need big fieldsof a few things. The organic seed systempeople really want is an inherentlydispersed kind of thing…I’m hoping.”

Benefits for the Farm Ecology

When planned properly seedgrowing canalso support or benefit other aspects of afarms’ operations. Don Tipping, a farmerwho grows seeds in southern Oregon says,“we’re part of a cooperative CSA with fiveother farms which dovetails into all theseed work nicely because our culls and ourrogues can go into the CSA or the farmersmarket. Or we’ll just plant a little bitmore of a seed crop so we can harvestsome for market.”

He continues, “seed growing works reallywell with our whole homestead systembecause the seeds [crops] are in theground so much longer that we don’thave to be as involved.”

“Whereas with market gardening you’re inthere harvesting all the time and crops arein and out of the ground really fast, youhave to pay more attention to that part ofit. With the seed crops we get themplanted, weeded, taken care of and thenwe work on other things, whether it’s ourperennials or picking raspberries or takingcare of our animals or constructionprojects in the summer.”

Seed crops can become part of a farm’splanned rotation, helping with fertility orsoil building. In the past Tipping grewhalf-acre blocks of peas and beans forseed. Though he didn’t find these crops

“Diversity is the foundation of our

organic agriculture, one of the most

important traits that defines it from

industrial agriculture.”

9

yielded a great deal of money, theyprovided an ecological benefit as legumesin his rotation. Huber grows rye, vetchand barley, both as cover crop and forseed production. “Rye has gotten fairlyexpensive”, he says, “it’s easy to grow, andbecomes part of our soil buildingprogram. We harvest the seed, and turnthe straw back under, which rots over thewinter.”

Frank Morton is perhaps the best knownpractitioner of seedgrowing as a methodfor introducing populations of beneficialinsects into the farm or garden. He speaksabout the incredible amount of floweringplants that a farm has during seedproduction, compared to regularvegetative production. These flowers areloaded with pollen and nectar, a criticalfood source for many predatory insects,and a large supply of this food meanspopulation booms that can thenoutcompete pests, which generally gettheir food sources through sucking orparasitism of the vegetative parts ofplants. If he ever writes a book on thissubject, it’ll be an instant farm-lit classic.

Inspiration, Mentors,and Ongoing Education

Most farmers have been inspired andeducated by others in their profession.Seedgrowers are no different. Mortonnotes he was inspired by the work of AlanKapular, a founder of Seeds of Change andwell-known organic plant breeder, as wellas by Rob Johnston of Johnny’s Seeds – itwas Johnston’s little book on how to growyour own seed that was Frank’s first seedgrowing manual. Carolyn Herriot recountsmeeting Dan Jason (of Salt Spring Seeds)while hitchhiking. She went to visit himat Salt Spring Centre, saw him amidst hisseedcrops and has visited him each yearsince. He was her inspiration. Carolyn isbasically self-taught as a seedgrower, butwould ask questions of other growers atSeedy Saturdays, a popular event heldacross Canada to swap and sell seeds.These events she characterizes as a

“brilliant opportunity to ask questions, orshare techniques, ie ‘I’m having troublecleaning leek seeds. How do you do it?’ SoI talked to other seedgrowers, and I wouldalways go in field and visit Dan everyyear.” She continues, “Whenever there is agathering [educational, on seeds] then I’mthere because I know I’m going to learnsomething. When I’m around otherseedgrowers I’m always bringingsomething back that makes my businessor my seedgrowing practices stronger.”She also strongly recommends that would-be seedgrowers, “visit, volunteer orapprentice with skilled, experiencedseedgrowers.”

Morton credits organic plant breeder JohnNavazio with formalizing hisunderstanding of genetics in plants,especially the critical difference betweencrossers and selfers and open-pollinatedpopulation breeding. Morton has no otherformal education in breeding and haslearned mostly through doing manycycles of growing seeds, with each cyclelearning more through observation; yetthat little bit of formal instruction was keyfor him.

John Navazio has taught several multi-dayworkshops in British Columbia and sharedhis knowledge with our community ofseed growing farmers. “Doing theworkshop with John opened my eyes tothe importance of selection,” Herriot says,“before, I’d always planted my rows,looked at it, ‘yes they all look healthy’,but I hadn’t taken the time to stop andinspect them side by side, one against

”Whenever there is a gathering [on

seeds] I’m there because I know I’m

going to learn something. I’m always

bringing something back that makes

my seedgrowing practices stronger.”

-Carolyn Herriot”

10

another. Now I have a new awareness ofthe importance of taking a close look ateach plant.” So now she is going back tomany of her peppers and roguing hard tore-establish uniformity and true-to-typeness.

This kind of formal and informal learningfrom others is part of the territory for seedgrowers. Many growers have learned bydoing, both on their own, or in thecompany of other, more experiencedgrowers with whom they have worked.But when growing seeds, one is alsoworking with genetics, and some amountof formal education is very helpful inunderstanding the processes that shapethe seeds we work with. That’s whypartnerships between farmers andeducators or scientists can be so fruitful.

Greta Kryger, of Greta’s Organic Seeds inOntario, speaks about her desire to accessthis kind of help from other experiencedseedgrowers and scientists. Since notmany opportunities exist in her area, shemakes the effort to attend conferencesand workshops in the Northeast U.S. Thishas led her to participate in farmer-ledcucumber seed selection using knowledgeshe gained from workshops organized bythe Restoring Our Seeds project. Shelearned to select for traits that affect plantuniformity and bitterness - tasting theleaf, once the first two true leaves are out.“If they’re bitter, the fruit will be bitter.This is how to select before crossinghappens, so that you can breed outbitterness,” she says.

While Nash Huber did his first seedsavingfor his own use, “without knowing muchof anything”, over time he began to learnmore, and work with others. He nowconsults with John Navazio, and LindseyduToit (a Washington State Universityseed pathologist). I asked him: “Is itnecessary to have a plant breeder and aseed pathologist available to you as afarmer?”“It depends on how complicatedyou want to make it, how refined youwant to get it,” he replied “For a long

time I didn’t, but spinach diseases can lastin the soil for quite a while, and we growa lot of spinach, it’s a commercial crop,we grow acres of it each year, you have todo a good job, and a lot of the diseasescan be seedborne. Until we learned howto deal with it we were causing ourselvessome trouble, so you need to know thebasics, maybe not having access tohotshots like Lindsey and John, but that’sthe great thing about working with OSA,we have those resources to help us.”

OSA is the Organic Seed Alliance, a non-profit organization based in PortTownsend, Washington. Throughcollaborative education and researchprograms with organic farmers and otherseed professionals they work to helprestore and develop seed varieties for theneeds of organic farmers today. They havebeen holding a series of field daysthroughout the Pacific Northwest focusedon delivering practical information tofarmers on how to grow seeds and how todo it well. These field days are well worththe effort for BC growers to attend. OSAalso works in a host of other capacities tosupport the development of networks oforganic seed producers and seedcompanies capable of delivering thehighest quality organic seed. Farmers canaccess a wealth of information, includingconstantly updated publications such ascrop-specific seed production guides, attheir website, www.seedalliance.org.

“In order for BC grown seeds

to meet with widespread support,

growers need to produce the varieties

farmers want, with consistent supply

and consistent quality.”

11

Quality Assurance

Even more than availability, perhaps thegreatest barrier to farmers wholeheartedlyswitching to seeding their crops withorganic seeds has been the issue ofquality. Many commercial growers havebeen wary of abandoning their trustedseed varieties and sources and tryinglocally grown, organic seeds in their farmoperations. Many organic certifyingbodies now require or stronglyrecommend the use of organic seeds onorganic farms, and with the growth inorganic agriculture across the world, moreseed varieties are being offered as certifiedorganic. While some of this seed demandwill be met by foreign seed suppliers thereis an opportunity for BC and Canadianseed growers to become an important partof the seed supply for BC farmers.Concerns around genetic engineering andlimits to the flow of seed across bordersare other important factors favouring thestrengthening of independent seedproduction and local seed security in BC.In order for BC grown seeds to meet withwidespread support from the farmingcommunity, growers need to produce theappropriate varieties farmers want, withconsistent supply and consistent quality.

This presents a dilemma for the BCseedgrowing community. While we have anumber of experienced seed growers here,we need to engage many more farmers inthe seedgrowing process if we want tomeet the needs of our growers with locallygrown seed. And we need to increase thesize of our seed plantings in order tosupply seeds in bulk amounts needed bymarket gardeners. As with any crop, thereis a learning curve to growing seeds. It’sinevitable that mistakes will be made andsome problems of quality will occur. We’resomewhat fortunate in that we can look atthe practices of seed companies in theU.S. that have led the way in developingnetworks of organic seedgrowers. Over thepast ten years companies like FedCo,Seeds of Change, and High Mowing haveall had to deal with the question of seed

quality, and have developed practices tohelp ensure they are selling high qualityseed. We can take the lessons they’velearned and try to implement them earlyon in our efforts to increase local seedproduction.

Grower education is paramount in theeffort to grow high quality seeds.Workshops and field visits are critical forfarmers to learn best practices forseedgrowing, as are educational materialssuch as seed production guides,collaborations with agriculturalprofessionals, and access to resources tohelp with harvest and post-harvest seedhandling. Greta Kryger notes there are“new challenges for seedgrowers whotarget market gardeners, not just backyardgardeners.” As both a seed producer andthe owner of a seed company, Greta looksto buy seed from others to offer more

diversity in her catalogue. While shewould like to be able to offer seed fromlocal growers, she has limited time andfinancial resources to visit potentialgrowers in the field and determine theirability to grow good quality seeds. Giventhis, how does she know she can count ontheir seeds? Even for more financiallyprosperous seed companies this can be aquandary. Take the example of Seeds ofChange, North Americas largest organicseed company. They have a long list offarmers who would like to grow seeds forthem, but even they can’t just fly out toevery farm that calls them up to look attheir operation. One example of how toaddress these concerns is the quality

“Strong partnerships between seed

companies and local farmers are

essential in developing a network of

competent seedgrowers and production

of high quality seed.”

12

assurance program developed by theSiskiyou Sustainable Co-operative inOregon. (see Ch. 2 Marketing Models fordetails).

Strong partnerships between seedcompanies and local farmers are essentialin developing a network of competentseedgrowers and production of highquality seed. To do so requires supportingsmall, independent growers througheducational initiatives like the onesmentioned above, backing them throughthe initial years when the learning curveis steepest, and realizing they will makemistakes when starting. This is particularlytrue in the case of working with open-pollinated cultivars where there may beless uniformity and the grower is reliedupon to do in-field selection. If a seedcompany has not provided a wellmaintained stock seed, a farmer may findhim or herself needing to rogue out asignificant portion of the crop, and facinga reduction in seed yield. Morton asserts,“When something goes awry the growershould be able to call the seed companyand openly communicate about it, andthey will work with the grower to make itwork. Not just cancel the project, butrenegotiate price, and give the growersome parameters on where to go with theroguing, how heavy, etc. The companyshould not penalize the grower, becausethat would be a disincentive to propermanagement of the seedcrop. They shouldwant the grower to do the right thing.”

Economic Considerations

Producing seeds on the farm haseconomic benefits beyond strictly theircash value. Nash Huber notes, “the crops Igrow for seed are multi-functional. I usethe seed myself, and the other part of itis...I’ll do it commercially - I’ll sell some ofit too.” As mentioned earlier, seedcropsalso benefit the farmscape biologically.Frank Morton points to a particularseedcrop, “I only grow 600 Sacred Basilplants, once every three years. But it’sgreat in my rotation, and brings in

excellent predatory insects.” The directeconomic benefits of increased predaciousinsects may be hard to calculate, but fewwould deny they exist.

Still, when planting a crop specifically forseed production most farmers also wantthere to be a dollar value attached to theseed, something they can put in the bankat the end of the day. Which seedcrop willsuccessfully deliver this is very farm-specific: it depends on your micro-climate,farm size, soil type, what crops you haveexperience growing, etc. Don Tippingsays, “We really focus on the high valuecrops because we only have two and ahalf acres.” Likewise, Huber notes that“I’ve come up with a number, on average,that I need to gross per acre on the farmin order to make enough money for allmy costs and some profit. A lot of

seedcrops stay in the ground a long time, sothey have to be higher value. Becauseyou’re tying your ground up for longer, youneed to squeeze more money out of it.”

While the dollar-value of a particular seedis obviously going to play a role indetermining whether a seedcrop is viableon your farm, it may take some trial anderror to figure out which seedcrops youcan grow, harvest and process efficiently,which in my experience, often determinesthe financial viability of a seedcrop.Tipping relates that, “the ones that we’vesettled on, that we like doing, and havefigured out a good system for are lettuce,tomatoes, onions and brassicas. Beet and

“Find a variety that you like within each

plant family. Then you can create a ‘seed

guild’ of plants that are genetically

diverse and won’t cross with each other.

Then you can sell to one seed company

many different offerings.”

-Frank Morton

13

chard work out well for us, too. In thewinter, when I have time, I calculate howmuch money a crop made per row-foot.That’s a good filter through which wedecide we’re not going to grow things likebeans or corn—we just don’t have theland.”

Frank Morton shares a little wisdom thathe has gained in relation to seedgrowingeconomics, “I think you should find avariety that you like, within each plantfamily. Then you can create a ‘seed guild’of plants that are genetically diverse andwon’t cross with each other. Then you cansell to one seed company many differentofferings, something from each crop type.So you’re not stuck selling only onemustard to a company, instead you cansell a mustard, a lettuce, a parsley, anamaranth, a squash, a tomato. Thatincreases your sales per customer. Perhapsfrom a purely economical view, you wouldjust specialize in one crop, like lettuce.Get all the equipment to grow, harvestand process the seed efficiently andbecome a specialty lettuce seed grower tomaximize the efficiency of yourseedgrowing. But it would skew the entirebiology of your farm by forcing you tomonocrop. So we don’t want to getpigeonholed into doing the plants thatare, a) easy, b) high in demand, or c)highest value. That is a formula foroverspecialization and eventually a crash.It goes against the organic philosophy ofmixing it up. So don’t just grow thethings that are easy and high value. Takeinto account that you can sell a lot morebrassica and lettuce seed than tomato.Focus on the brassica and lettuce, butdon’t neglect the tomato. It can add valueand diversity to your offerings to seedcompanies. It increases your sales to seedcompanies, who don’t really need a lot ofcertain minor crops either, like quinoa orlovage. Some of these small things arereally good for diversifying yourfarmscape. And remember, arugula wasonce a minor crop.”

In the case of organic seedcrops, Mortonalso contends that economies-of-scale playa decisive role in seed prices. “The moreyou grow of something, the lower theprice is going to be. It’s one thing to growan acre of something compared to aquarter acre. If you get down to a tenth ofan acre you expect the price to go up stillmore. This is how I am when I talk toseed companies about contracts. They’lltry to talk you down to the market level:‘Well, Frank, kale sells for $10 per poundin the Harris Seed cataloue, you can’t ask$50 per pound.’ If Harris was buying thesame kale from me it wouldn’t be $10 perpound, because I’d be growing a smallamount for them, and they would have topay small lot prices. That’s what you’repaying for - small lot production. That’swhy prices are different, it’s not becauseit’s organic seed. They’re high becausethey’re being grown on a tenth of an acre.At this stage, we are asking for a customproduct when we talk about organicseedgrowing. A seedcompany may try toget you to offer field-scale prices [read:conventional]. But until we grow on afield scale we can’t do that.” Companiesmay call Morton to set up a contract andask how much he’ll charge for seed. Hisfirst question is “How much do you want?If you want 1 pound it’s $100. If you want100 pounds, it’s $60/pound. If you want$1000 pounds, it’s $40/pound.”

Selection Stories

Although today more and more hybridsare being produced organically, only a fewyears ago all organic seed production wasof open-pollinated (OP) varieties. Ingrassroots, small-scale organic seedproduction communities across Canada

“Farmer-led seed selection has been

responsible for the development and

steady improvement of all the worlds

domesticated crop species.”

14

and the U.S., most seedgrowing continuesto focus on OP seed production, andindeed many would argue this isparamount to retaining seed sovereigntyand autonomy in the face of thecontinued concentration of seedproduction capacity locally and globally.Moreover, it is the rich diversity of open-pollinated varieties that form ouragricultural legacy which provide all thenecessary building blocks for developingplants capable of adapting to challengesin the environment, whether they comefrom climate change, pests or disease.Regional production, management anddistribution, as well as commercial use ofOP seeds is the best insurance that thesevarieties will be available to us when ourlocal agricultural producers need them.

In the conventional seedgrowing industry,seed companies typically provide farmerswith the initial seed which they wantfarmers to plant as a seedcrop. This seed,which has been grown and managed bythe seed company, usually under thewatchful eye of plant breeders and otherseed specialists is referred to as “stockseed”. It is a known quantity, in that theseed company can be confident that theplants grown from this stock seed are ofthe highest quality, true-to-type andconsistent in the various traits for whichthat line has been selected. Organicseedgrowers and seed companies in BCshould also make every effort to developstock seed for their growouts. This ensuresa quality product that delivers greateruniformity and trueness-to-type, as well asmaximizing the farmers efficiency byreducing the time spent roguing a poorlyselected seedcrop, or at worst abandoninga project because of obvious crosses,disease problems, etc.

Because those of us growing organic seedsin BC are working with open-pollinatedvarieties, which are inherently malleableand changing in nature, it is important tomonitor our seedcrops closely, selectingonly the plants with a compliment offavourable characteristics for seed

production. Additionally, since many ofthe OP varieties available are consideredto be of lesser economic value thanhybrids, less work has been done by seedcompanies to maintain them well. Thismeans that when we initially buy an OPseed for a growout to produce a seedcrop,we may find ourselves needing to do aheavy amount of roguing and selection toarrive at an acceptable set of plants forseed production.

This may seem like a lengthy anddaunting task at first, but remember thatonce you have developed your stock seed,you will never have to do this initial“cleaning up” of a variety again. Also, asregional organic seed companies acrossNorth America have been increasingproduction capacity, and seedgrowershave been increasingly able to accessresources to help them in theirseedgrowing efforts, OP seed quality hasimproved. So you may already start with ahigh-quality seed lot. Another way toensure you have the best possible seeds tostart your seedgrowing with is to followthe advice of John Navazio. He insists thefirst step to any serious seed project is totake a look at the breadth of germplasmavailable for any one crop type or varietyyou have selected to grow seed for. Bytaking one year to do a growout of manylines of the same variety you can see thestrengths or weaknesses of different linesand choose the one that most suits yourneeds. He claims doing this will save youyears of work that you might spendcleaning up a line that has been poorlymaintained.

The good news is that selection is notdifficult to do. Farmer-led seed selectionhas been responsible for the developmentand steady improvement of all the worldsdomesticated crop species. While the skillsand knowledge-base around saving ourown seeds have been less practiced byCanadian farmers in the 20th century,there are exciting opportunities to relearnthis craft for growers who want to saveseeds for on-farm use or for commercial

15

sale. I can say with confidence that thereis no substitute for experience when itcomes to making selection decisions. Themore you grow seeds, and practicewalking your fields with a critical eye, thebetter you become at selecting ideal seedproducing plants, or just as often,selecting out the plants you don’t want toproduce seed.

Nash Huber describes where selection fitsinto his seed production process,“Selection is an ongoing thing. For carrotseed we have three varieties of our own,and every two or three years we’ll groweach of those out. About every five or sixyears we’ll do a selection on thesevarieties. We’ll grow them out, pull theroots and select for type, appearance,flavour, for sweetness, and then we’llreplant and take seed from those and thatwill be a stock seed batch. We’ll use thatto produce seed from for the next roundin our production. We could go as muchas five or six years before doing anotherselection. It all depends on how the rootslook to us, whether we’re seeing changes,whether we’re happy with where we’re at.Someone might say, ‘we could change thetops on these a bit, maybe we could selectfor that…etc.’ It takes a couple of times ofselection to really shift the populationtowards the traits you’ve selected for.Particularly in an outcrosser like carrots, ittakes two or three times at least, and we’renot talking about big changes. We’re alsoworking with a cabbage and a kale thatwe’re trying to do more radical changeswith. You can do those things, it just takestime.”

Through seedgrowing workshops inBritish Columbia, John Navazio hasemphasized the importance of notselecting based on single-trait criteria. It isimportant to always be considering anumber of traits when making selectiondecisions. For example, don’t just selectfor shape, or for colour. Select for both,and ideally a number of othercharacteristics. Frank Morton describes aselection process he went through on a

lettuce variety, that illustrates this pointwell. In an effort to improve seed yield,Morton has been selecting for largerseedheads in his line of Outredgeouslettuce. But he hasn’t been extreme bybagging one or two plants with largeseedheads to then grow a wholepopulation from. Instead, he has gonethrough and selected 20-30 plants out of3000 plants, selecting for things likedowny mildew resistance, overall plantvigor, and seedhead size. Because hisselection criteria is not exclusive, this iswhy he only ends up with 30 ideal plantsout of 3000. If he were to only select forlarge seedhead size there would be moreavailable, but some would be prone todisease, etc. Morton does his selection allthroughout the growing season, selectingat the seedling stage (for colour, vigour,etc.) and throughout the vegetative lifecycle. He also makes selections whendisease presents itself, and again as amature seedbearing plant so that he cansee how fast the downy mildew hasspread, whether it’s development wasarrested or not, and look for other diseasessuch as erwinia, sclerotinia, and botrytis.He tags these plants with differentcoloured tape or ribbons to denote aselection for specific criteria. At the end,when all the different selections havebeen made, he keeps the plants that wereselected most of the time. The 30 plantsselected had a constellation of differentpositive attributes that ranged throughouttheir life cycle, from young plants tomature seedbearers. In the end, Mortonthinks he will have an Outredgeouslettuce that is more vigorous, more diseaseresistant and better seed yielding thanwhat he started with.

Saving seeds from one’s best plants hasbeen practiced for millenia; it works and itgives results. This method is called massselection, and it is the foundation of mosttraditional seed-saving practices. Huber’scarrots and Morton’s lettuces are examplesof crop management and improvementthrough mass selection.

16

Don Tipping relates this story of cleaningup a seed line using mass selection toproduce stock seed for a company. “Seedsof Change has been paying us to do someradish improvement work where we growout 20,000 roots of a variety, pull them allup, then select down to the best 2000.You basically eliminate 90% of thepopulation. There’s five or six criteria thatwe’re looking for: root colour, root shape,no really thick taproots or forked roots,and we’re also selecting against wire wormdamage and also weak top attachments.It’s a totally different thing than a regularseed contract. They pay [a set fee] for thewhole project - to grow the roots, do theselection and produce the seed, regardlessof yield.

“So last year, the first year, we grew fourvarieties of radish. We did all the rootselection on it. We grew one of thevarieties at our farm and then the otherthree we had other growers do forisolation purposes. So we made [half thecontract] on the selection and they made[half the contract] on the seed productionpart of it. Seeds of Change actually tookthe seed that was produced from thisgrowout and sent it to southern Californiathat fall to do a trial against the seed thatwas the initial planting stock before theselection, to evaluate how muchimprovement was made in onegeneration, and they noted massiveimprovement.”

In this case, part of the speed with whichTipping notes mass selection producedcrop improvement is likely due to howheavy he rogued the crop, eliminating90% of the undesirable roots. Growerspracticing less radical selection pressurewill also see crop improvement, it justmay take more time. The important pointis that the ability to improve crops rests inthe hands of the grower. All three of thegrowers mentioned above havecollaborated with educational institutions,seed companies and other seedprofessionals, underlying the importanceof accessing off-farm resources in helpinggrowers produce high quality seed crops.

Mass selection is not the only methodfarmers can use for seed selection. At oneof our seedgrowing workshops in B.C.John Navazio outlined the principles ofprogeny testing, a method for seedselection that can be quicker and moreeffective than mass selection, though todo properly it requires a greater deal oforganization.

Progeny testing involves using all thesame criteria for selection that one woulduse in mass selection. Instead ofharvesting all the seed and pooling it intoone lot however, the grower isolates seedlots from each plant. If collecting seedfrom 100 plants, for example, you harvestthe seed into 100 separate bags, eachlabeled with a number identifying theplant. The next season you plant 100rows, each row sown from one of thebags. This method allows for easier visualidentification of strong and weak traitsfrom the 100 mother plants. By groupingthe offspring from one mother plant in asingle row, favourable or deleterious traitsassociated with a specific plant becomemore distinctly obvious. You caneliminate quickly and efficiently anyproblems by roguing the entire offspringfrom a certain mother plant - you’veessentially isolated it and made it easier toselect out. Among the rows of plants thatyou have left to grow, you can also rogueout individual plants that don’t meet thecriteria you are selecting for. In thisselection method, a grower can makequick progress in achieving a specificbreeding goal.

17

Chapter 2

Marketing Models

For many farmers, thegreatest businesschallenge they face is notproducing a crop, butmarketing it. Selling seedsgrown on contract to a

seed company is the standard model formost conventional seedgrowers, a marketbeing assured before the crop even goes inthe ground. In small-scale organic seedproduction many Canadian growersdirect-market their seed, through anumber of different mechanisms. But inthe US, where networks of farmersgrowing commercial organic seeds aremore developed, contracts betweenfarmers and seed companies are more andmore common, and in fact, becoming thenorm.

An example of a hybrid approach betweendirect marketing and contract selling isthe model that Frank and Karen Mortonhave developed in their farm operation.Having started by direct-selling selectionsof unique varieties Frank had developedthrough his salad business, they created acatalogue in 1994 to put a face on thegrowing list of seeds they could offer, andto have something physical to showpotential buyers. Frank claims a catalogueor list helps show others yourunderstanding of what you have grown,“if you can write about it, it gives a buyersome confidence about your product, it’sone way to answer the question abouthow seed companies can trust your seed.”Frank recommends that anyone creating alist or catalogue like this should makeefforts to get it to the right people, theowners and purchasers at seed companies.

Because seeds are not a common crop forfarmers to grow and market, manyfarmers considering growing seeds have

no concept of how much a crop is worth,or what price they should ask for whentrying to sell seeds. Seed pricing hasseveral components to it, Frank says.“What is that seed worth on the markettoday? A company can’t offer you morethan what they can sell it for. I lookthrough all the catalogues and see whatthe market price for seeds is. If I’m goingto approach a company, I study theirprices closely before I ever talk to them.There is no sense in trying to bargain forsomething that is way out of whack forthat catalogue. I also keep a running trackrecord of prices I’ve sold seed for in thepast, and use that as a guide.”

Frank also struck on a novel approach tomarketing his seeds. He created the WildGarden Seed Society, a project in which heoffered his services as a seedgrower andfarmer/breeder to 4 or 5 seed companies.They send him a yearly “subscription”($1500-$2000), and then he sends them asample of his breeding work every year.The advantage to the seed companies isthat he sends them seeds he is developing,but not making available through his ownseed catalogue, he calls this The UnlistedList. It is a way to funnel his work to thepeople who support it, and underwrite hisbreeding efforts. By getting the companiesfinancially involved, by investing in hisbreeding work that they want to benefitfrom and buy, he has created both apatron to support his work and a buyer tobuy his seeds.

“In planning what seed crops to grow,

always take into consideration how much

demand there is for a particular seed.”

18

This is a rather rare situation, becauseFrank is a self-taught breeder with aunique body of germplasm to offer, but itcan certainly be an inspiration to otherfarmers about the value of innovatingnew varieties.

Seed Contracts

In planning what seed crops to grow,always take into consideration how muchdemand there is for a particular seed. Forexample, there is less call for tomatoseeds, because relatively few seeds areneeded. But root crops, salad greens, andother things that are grown in bulk, or assuccession plantings require morequantity of seed, and marketopportunities are greater. “It doesn’t take awhole lot of pounds of seed of any onevariety to fulfill all of our needs for ayear,” Morton cautions. “How manypounds of Lacinato kale seed get plantedacross North America in one year onorganic farms?” he asks, “probably nomore than a few hundred pounds peryear. It doesn’t take any great skill to floodthe market for one particular variety. Thenthe price is so cheap no one wants togrow it anymore. This is where contractsare very helpful, it helps you know howmuch to grow, because you’re workingwith a company who knows how muchthey’re going to sell. As a grower you wantto grow enough to meet that pluswhatever else you think is going to comealong, but you don’t want to overdo it, oryou’ll just end up throwing it away.Contracts are completely the right way togo, there’s no doubt about it.”

When initially working with a seedcompany it’s normal for contracts to besmall. With time, and positive experienceon both sides, opportunities will increase.Frank notes that last year he did $11,000 incontracts for one particular seed company,that used to be only a few thousand. “Youstart out with someone and you’re doing acertain amount and the more confidencethey have in you by looking at your seed,the more they’re going to contract with

you as they come into needing new things.They’re going to suggest something thatthey need grown and they’re going to giveyou the contract.”

Are contracts necessary? Perhaps for thesmaller scale of Canadian organic seedcompanies they may not be, but they canbe a reassurance for both sides. DonTipping speaks of an experience he hadwhile growing seed on a strictly verbalagreement. “We were to grow 300 poundsof calendula. We had all the transplantsand the greenhouse and were just aboutto plant it out and they called and saidthey wouldn’t need any of it. So there wewere, this was going to be four thousanddollars or something. For us that was abig deal. Plus we’d already grown out thetransplants. We had no recourse on it. Itreally hurt our friendship because we’dbecome friends with the people that ranthe company. Just the reassurance of awritten contract is helpful, I think.”

Contracts serve other purposes as well.Like defining the dates seed should bedelivered to a seed company, in whatcondition, who will clean it, what amountof roguing/selection should be done andby whom. Expectations for things likegermination rates or isolation distancescan all be laid out in a contract and helpgrowers know exactly what is expected ofthem. Contracts can also outline levels ofsupport to the grower by the seedcompany, like whether a representativewill visit the farm to help with things likeselection or quality control, and on whatdates. Is someone at the seed companyavailable for consultation by phonethroughout the growing season? Who isit? All this information can be clearly laidout in a contract, and helps both sidesunderstand who is responsible for what.

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Direct-Sales Marketing

Selling seeds directly to the end consumeris another approach, and the onepracticed by most organic vegetableseedgrowers in Canada. Carolyn Herriot isan example of a Canadian grower whocombines seedgrowing with another on-farm business. For many years sheoperated a nursery that brought inapproximately 70% of her income. Mostof that came within a short period duringthe busy spring gardening season.Throughout the rest of the season shetended her plants, harvesting and latermarketing their seeds through her seedcompany, Seeds of Victoria. The extraeconomic return she garnered from thismade up the other 30% of her income.

Customers at her nursery always asked herfor growing advice, so she decided towrite a book, A Year on the Garden Path,detailing seasonal gardening tasks andgiving tips for successful growing. It was ahuge success and made her aware of thecritical need for offering education aboutgardening and many other issues relatingto food, health and environment. Carolynnow plans to devote half of her time toseed growing and the other half to thedevelopment of an educational centre.

When it comes to the cost of growingseeds, Carolyn points out that it doesn’tcost much to grow seeds - she collects herseeds in brown paper bags, uses hairdryersand bowls, sieves and screens from aroundthe house to clean them, and stores themin recycled plastic tubs. The biggestexpenses come in marketing those seeds,she says. Printing seed packets is a bigexpense, as is a catalogue. Developing awebsite was an initial expense that shefeels has paid for itself many times over.Almost 80% of her seed sales comethrough her website, and she willdiscontinue creating a print catalogue,moving to a strictly on-line catalogue.Additionally she sells seeds through aboutten retail outlets in her area, and at SeedySaturday events.

Similar in scale to Seeds of Victoria isGreta’s Organic Gardens in Ontario,another regional organic seed company.Proprietor Greta Kryger uses many of thesame marketing models as Herriot. SeedySaturday events are a large part of hersales, and her website is another majorsource of revenue. Kryger hired a websitepromotion company to improve theranking she receives on search engines,and noticed an immediate effect. Withinthe first six months sales doubled over theprevious year.

For Kryger, advertising is one of thebiggest expenses for marketing her seeds,but has found that advertising through

the classified sections of regional andnational farming/gardening magazines isaffordable. She has explored the idea ofdoing retail sales through seed racks, butfinds the cost of developing racksprohibitive. In cases where stores alreadyhave seed racks, she finds it economicallyfeasible to work with them and createretail sales opportunities.

While many of her customers arebackyard gardeners, Kryger also claimsthat there is strong support amongOntario and especially Quebec marketgardeners for locally grown seeds, and shehas many customers who are commercialgrowers. Some have expressed interest inbuying bulk seed quantities from her, andbecause they are typically small-scalefarms, may only need 100 or 200g ofsomething. She says small-scaleseedgrowers can easily meet thosedemands.

”Maude Powell discovered that [seed]

companies liked the idea of working

with a group that had a coordinated

marketing effort.”

20

Marketing as a Co-operative:The Siskiyou Example

A common challenge small-scaleseedgrowers face in marketing seeds tolarger seed companies is the sizedifferential between the company and thesmall farm operation. To pool resourcesand offer a more complete program toseed companies the Siskiyou SustainableCo-operative (SSC), a group of growers insouthern Oregon, has developed aneffective marketing model that helps theirmembers sell seeds to companies acrossthe U.S.

Siskiyou member Don Tipping recognizedthe desirability of seed contracts as a wayfor farmers to diversify their incomes. Asan established seedgrower himself he hadspoken with one of North Americas largerorganic seed companies who said, “Wehave a whole stack of people that want togrow seeds for us, but how do we know ifwe can trust them? We don’t know whatquality seed they will produce.” Sogrowers at Siskiyou decided to develop aprogram for teaching members how to doit properly, and guarantee that growerswere observing important things likeisolation distances and paying attentionto diseases or other quality issues. Thecooperative became the intermediarybetween the grower and the seedcompanies, able to assure a high level ofquality control was being observed.

Through conversations with several seedcompanies, SSC member Maude Powelldiscovered that the companies liked theidea of working with a group that had acoordinated marketing effort, where theywould be able to communicate with oneperson representing numerous growers.Because the Siskiyou Cooperativemembers are mostly very small-scale, itsaves the seed company the time andenergy of dealing with a slew of smallcontracts with multiple growers.

Based on this, the Siskiyou Co-operativeapplied for grant money to develop aquality assurance program and marketingprogram.

The quality assurance program has fivecomponents, guaranteeing customers ofthe best quality seed possible. 1. All growers are certified organic

2. All seed is independently tested forgermination rates by accredited seedlabs

3. All seed is pathogen tested by theOregon Department of Agriculture

4. A GIS pinning system is used to mapseedcrops and ensure adequateisolation distances betweenfarms/seedcrops. (This anticipatesgrowth of co-op members, sincecurrently the distances betweenmember farms are large enough thatpinning is irrelevant.)

5. Growers have access to technicalassistance. (Grant money was securedto hire Don Tipping to be available forphone calls and email consultations toother growers. He was picked becausehe was the most experiencedseedgrower in the area. Additionally,the Organic Seed Alliance would helptrain Don, and he could refer to themfor any questions he may have.)Maude Powell notes that technicalassistance is the most importantcomponent of the quality assuranceprogram.

In the first year, the Siskiyou Co-operatives’ marketing program would aimto sell seeds for 9 growers, and hiredPowell as the marketing coordinator. Shespoke with each grower, totaled theavailable acreage for seedgrowing, foundout what they liked to grow and whatthey had experience at growing. By goingto the EcoFarm conference and theOrganic Seed Alliance conference she wasable to meet industry representatives andapproach them about seed contracts. Shealso cold-called seed companies, explainedwho she represented and found it

21

relatively easy to establish relationshipsand get seed contracts right away. In thiscase she was able to state that some of thegrowers had previous experience growingfor Seeds of Change and FedCo Seeds. Shecould also point to the Co-operatives’Quality Assurance program. In this waythey were able to land seed contracts withcompanies like Johnny’s Seeds.

Powell negotiated contracts for many ofthe Siskiyou Co-op members. Seedcompanies found it simpler andadvantageous to initially speak with oneprincipal coordinator. The companiescould later speak with individual growersthroughout the season about concerns orissues for specific seed contracts.

Powell noted that the Co-operative cannow get more contracts than they canactually accommodate, meaning there islots of room for expansion for individualgrowers or for other growers to join. Sowhy don’t members grow more seedsthen? She explains that most growershave a balance of seed and food cropsgrowing on their farm, and are notnecessarily looking to increase seedproduction. In her case, she feels sheearns more money per acre through seedcontracts than market production, butshe values the social contact with herlocal community that she gets throughmarketing produce, which doesn’thappen when growing seed contracts.Powell grows about a 70:30 ratio ofproduce to seeds, and is moving towardsa 60:40 ratio.

While having a marketing co-ordinatorrequires payment on the part of Co-opmembers, Powell claims most have foundit worthwhile. If a grower negotiates acontract on their own s/he gets the fullsum of the contract. If Powell negotiates acontract on behalf of a grower she gets a

percentage of that contract sum.“Particularly for new growers, a marketingcoordinator can provide a bit moreleverage with the seed company. It givesthe grower more credibility because theyare part of an established group with agood reputation. Other growers just prefergoing through a marketing coordinatorbecause it saves them the time and effortof marketing seeds themselves”, she says.

Siskiyou Co-operative considered the ideaof direct marketing it’s own seed,essentially establishing themselves as aseed company outright. But throughadvice from others they have decided notto do so for the time being. The level ofcoordination involved in running a seedcompany, and the investment needing foreverything from insurance, testing,overhead, capital expenditures and so onmakes it quite difficult, Powell explains.

The time and expense involved in sellingseeds is a challenge for all of the peopleprofiled in this chapter, and differentsolutions to that challenge have beendeveloped by all.

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Source: Organic Seed Alliance

Seed Produciton Tracking

Economic Analysis—Seed Production

Inputs/Expenses: Cost:

Land

Labor: management, planning hrs

Labor: field hours

Seed (planting stock) (wt. and est. value)

Fertilizer/Soil Ammendments

Pesticides

Irrigation

Certification Fees

Equipment

(rental or wear and tear cost est.)

Other Indirect costs

(depreciation, insurance, etc.)

Total Expenses =

Earnings: lbs seed value/lb total value

Seed yield:

Net Commercial Value: $

total crop value

total expenses

NET EARNINGS

Table 1: Seed Economics Matrix

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Chapter 3

Seed Yields

I am frequently asked howto best estimate seed yieldand am at pains toexplain that estimatingseed yields is exactly that,estimating. And usually a

very rough estimate is the most one canexpect. As C.R. Lawn of Restoring OurSeeds points out, yields vary dramaticallyfor many reasons, including “the skill ofthe grower and the fertility of her fields,the cultivar grown, crop spacing, and theweather that season. Because of this, thereis almost no such thing as an expectedyield.” Nevertheless, he agrees that roughguidelines for seed growers are helpful andworthwhile. Are rough guidelinesavailable? The answer is yes, and no.

While researching seed yields, it quicklybecame apparent that there are not manysources for this information, and thatmany are either contradictory, or rely onold information. Where information isavailable it comes from the conventionalseedgrowing industry, and data is given inyields per acre, something quite differentthan the scale that most Canadian organicseed growers are currently working in. AsFrank Morton points out, “going from aone-acre yield estimate to a tenth-acreyield estimate, you now have more eyes-per-square-foot. In theory you should beable to take care of one-tenth of an acrebetter, and get a higher yield per plantthan growing on a field scale. Withgreater care per plant you could easilydouble the yield. Of course, if you havetoo many one-tenth acre patches to takecare of, that is a problem too.”

Even the organic seed growers I spokewith say that in most cases they can’t getgood seed yield estimates from thecompanies who contract them to grow

seeds. These growers suggest the bestthing to do is to call another farmer whohas produced the seed crop you areplanning to grow and ask them directly. Ifyou are working with a seed companythey should be able to give you contactinformation for farmers with previousexperience growing specific crops.

Even in the case of receiving yield adviceon a particular crop, bear in mind thatyields vary widely from cultivar to cultivarwithin a crop type. Don Tipping relates anexperience growing tomato seed oncontract, “We were doing Roma for seedand also the Chadwick Cherry. Weplanted the same amount of each - 600row feet. The Roma yielded seven pounds,we didn’t even make our ten poundcontract. But on the cherry tomatoes wegot twenty-four pounds!” C.R. Lawn alsonotes that cherry tomatoes tend to bemore prolific than beefsteaks when itcomes to seed yield.

This is important to the farmer because itaffects the dollar value of the seed.Though Tipping was being paid $300 perpound for both the Roma and cherrytomato seed, he argues, “the cherriesshould be paying me $150/pound, andthe Roma more like $400/pound, becausenobody’s ever going to want to grow it.I’m never going to want to grow Romasagain.” He actually gave this feedback to

“Yields vary dramatically for many

reasons, including “the skill of the

grower and the fertility of her fields,

the cultivar grown, crop spacing,

and the weather that season.

Because of this, there is almost

no such thing as an expected yield.”

- CR Lawn

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the company he was growing seed for,and they have begun to make changesthat reflect the yield differentiation fordifferent cultivars, but this is a slowprocess that takes a lot of communicationand record-keeping on the part of bothgrowers and seed companies.

Frank Morton has extensive experiencewith lettuce and brassica seedgrowing andhas offered some general guidelines foryield. In general, he estimates that he willget 1oz. of seed from the average lettuceplant. He typically grows 600 lettuceplants in order to get 10 pounds of seed.(This refers to 600 transplants, not directsown plants. It could be interpreted as 600row feet of lettuce, or 600 plants that haveat least a foot of growing space.) He saysthis figure assures him of 10 pounds ofseed, even taking into account variablesthat can cause seed loss like disease, pests,bad weather, and roguing. On a good year,he might get 20 or 25 pounds of seedfrom these 600 plants, but he can alwayscount on 10 pounds.

He feels these numbers also work forarugula and mustard, but cautions that it’snot the same for all brassicas, which differwidely because of how many differentcrop types are in the brassica family. Andhe notes that cultural conditions affectseed yield too, “A direct-sown mustardcrop in April will bolt earlier and yield lessthan a greenhouse-to-transplant mustardstarted in January. This brings up anothervariable that affects yield - the size of each

individual plant in your particularmethod of growing. Another variable isweed pressure. If you have a lot of weedsthat haven’t been managed you will surelyhave a drastically reduced seed yield.”

Many growers and people at seedcompanies use Knott’s Handbook forVegetable Growers as a source for yieldestimates. It should be noted that theseare California yield statistics, and arelikely going to be higher than Canadianyields.

In short, seed yields vary greatly due tomany different factors. Growers wantingto maximize seed yield can do severalthings to ensure the best possible yield:

• ensure good soil fertility

• irrigate adequately, while consideringthe negative effects of certainirrigation practices like overheadwatering, which may cause diseaseand lower seed yield.

• control pest outbreaks quickly

• keep seedcrops free of weedcompetition.

• use proactive practices that maintainoptimal plant health.

With the disclaimer that seed yield ishighly variable, I have neverthelesscompiled a rough guideline of estimatedyields. Growers should use these only as avery general guideline, the bestinformation a grower can have for yieldestimates is to keep detailed records of theseedcrops they grow and note all factors,ecological,cultural, climatic, and others,that may have affected yield. A good setof records will be the best aid for anyfarmer in estimating seed yields.

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Crop Cultivar Amount planted Yield

BeanAverage Bush Bean 840rft 63#Shirofumi Edemame Soybean 1600rft 190#Generic Bush or Soy 1# planted 10#Generic Pole .5-1# planted 20#Broad Windsor Fava 200rft 27#

BeetsDetroit Dark Red Conventional 1 acre 1328#

BroccoliGeneric (ideal conditions) 10plants 1#

Brussels SproutsGeneric 1 acre 300-600#

BurdockGeneric 100-200rft 9#

Cantaloupesmall, seedy varieties 100 plants 1#

CarrotLong Orange Improved 930rft 12#Generic Conventional 1 acre 650-850#

Cucumber Boothby’s Blonde 1 acre 322#Generic Pickling Conventional 1 acre 1117#

EggplantRosa Bianca 50 plants 1#

GreensArugula 1750rft 40#Cress, Broadleaf 750rft 19#Kale 1 plant .68ozMizuna 1200rft 64# (.85oz/plant)Mustard 40 plants 1#Mustard, Giant Red 1600rft 52#Mustard, Southern Curled Conventional 1 acre 1700#Tatsoi 1500rft 25#

KohlrabiGeneric 1 acre 800-1300#

LeeksConventional 1 acre 300-500#Durabel 180rft 3.5#

LettuceGeneric average 1400rft 18#Generic 1g 1#

OatsTerra 1# 30#

OnionsRossa di Milano (poor yield year) 700rft 6.6# Early Yellow Globe Conventional 1 acre 375#Southport White Globe Conventional 1 acre 486#

Table 2: Seed Yields

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Crop Cultivar Amount planted Yield

PeasGeneric average 600rft 40#Generic 1# 20#

PeppersGeneric 188 plants 1# (.085oz./plant)Sweet Chocolate 145 plants 1.5# (.16oz/plant)Generic small, hot 75 fruits 1oz.Nardello 600 rft 5#Ancho 720 rft 13#

PumpkinLong Pie 1 acre 513#

RadishMisato Rose 420 plants (630rft) 7.5#Rat Tail 67 plants 4.4# (1.05oz/plant)Pink Beauty 400rft 3.75#Generic Conventional 1 acre 854#

SpinachBloomsdale Savoy 250rft 13.5#Bloomsdale Conventional 1 acre 1097#

SquashBlue Hubbard Conventional 1 acre 633#Table Queen Conventional 1 acre 810#

TomatoesGeneric 982 plants 15.4#

(approximately .2-.3oz. per plant,but can vary from .1-.5oz/plant)

Generic 100 plants 1#Generic 100# fruit 4-10oz.

Average 100g for 15plants = 6.5g/plant

TurnipShogone Conventional 1 acre 1500#

WatermelonGeneric, small, seedy 30 melons 1#

FlowersCalendula 1 plant 1oz.Marigold, French 132rft .9#Morning Glory 30 plants 4oz.

HerbsBasil, Lemon 150 plants 1#Cilantro, Santo 178rft 7#

Legend: All figures for organic crops unless noted as Conventionalrft = row feet# = poundg = metric gram

Sources: composite from Steiner, Lawn, Kavanya, Tipping, Knott’s

27

Chapter 4

Seed Storage

Good seed storage is thebest way to protect thetime and money a growerhas invested in their seedcrop. Poor storage canlead to reduced seed

quality through rapid loss of germinationability, decrease in longevity of seed, andexposure to antagonistic pathogens.

Seeds are living organisms that requirespecific conditions in order to remaincapable of producing healthy, vigorousplants. The general rule-of-thumb for seedstorage is cool, dry and dark. This chapterwill expand on this rule and give thefarmer specific information helpful inmaintaining highest seed quality for shortand longer term storage.

Seeds are hygroscopic, meaning that theyare able to both pick up moisture from theair and release moisture into the air. Inair-tight storage of small volumes of seed,seed moisture content will influence therelative humidity of the receptacle inwhich they are stored. In bulk storage, orin containers that are not airtight therelative humidity of the room willdetermine the seed moisture content.

Most seed companies that purchase seedfrom farmers will have adequate storagefacilities to keep seed in good condition.Farmers who grow seed and sell theirentire lot to a seed company will havelittle worry about seed storage specificssince the seed company will be doingmost of that. For growers who plan tostore their seed crops an understanding ofstorage requirements is essential tomaintaining optimal quality of seeds andprotecting the growers time and moneyinvested in growing the crop.

Influence of Temperatureand Moisture on Seed

Good storage can easily be accomplishedon-farm for minimal costs.

When storing seeds keep themconsistently cool and dry. Excessivetemperature and moisture, or evenfluctuations in temperature and moisture,are the primary factors that lead to seedquality deterioration. Once seeds havebeen dried down for storage they are in astate of dormancy. Technically still“alive”, the seeds’ metabolic process hasslowed, allowing the seed to sparingly usethe energy reserves it has. In dormancyseeds continue to respire; taking inoxygen and giving off carbon dioxide. Thekey to maintaining high seed quality isminimal disruption of this naturaldormancy. To do so means maintainingconsistent cool temperatures and lowhumidity levels.

Temperature fluctuation is one of theworst things for seed storage, as thisincreases seed respiration rate, anddepletes energy reserves quickly. Moisturealso increases respiration rate and cancontribute to the growth of micro-organisms and fungi that can attack theseed and render it less viable. Most seed

“Seeds are living organisms that

require specific conditions

in order to remain capable of

producing healthy, vigorous plants.”

28

storage fungi are inhibited when relativehumidity is below 65%. Hightemperatures will also increase respirationrate, and the combination of hightemperatures and moisture can be enoughto trigger growth in the seed. Theimportance of maintaining low storagetemperatures is illustrated by the rule thatfor each 5.6°C (42°F) decrease intemperature, seed longevity doubles.

For longer term seed storage (greater than18 months) many farmers put their seedsinto the deep freeze, typically storing it ina chest freezer on-farm. Freezing seeds inthis manner can result in excellentgermination results years beyond thelimits of “cool” storage outlined below(see Table 3). Nevertheless there are somedangers growers should know aboutbefore freezing their seeds. It is absolutelyessential that seeds be well dried beforefreezing. Improperly dried seeds may losetheir ability to germinate once frozen.This is because residual water, uponfreezing, can expand and burst cell wallswithin the seed, effectively renderingthem sterile.

An excellent on-line resource for detailedinformation on seed storage is SeedProcessing and Storage: Principles andPractices by Jeff McCormack available atwww.savingourseed.org

For storage of seeds less than 18 months,storing seeds at 2-10C (35-50F) withrelative humidity of 30-40% is ideal. Aquick guide which growers can use todetermine a suitable location on theirfarms is to use a thermometer andhygrometer to determine temperature andrelative humidity (RH). The followingformula will let you know if your storagelocation is appropriate for good qualityseed storage:

Temp (F) + RH < 100

The further below 100 the better. Avoidstoring seeds in temperatures over 50F,even if RH is very low. McCormack’s on-

line resource mentioned above details theeffects on seed viability of differenttemperatures and moisture readings.

A hygrometer is an instrument thatmeasures relative humidity in air. Thisdevice is commonly available at mosthardware stores and relatively inexpensive(approximately $30). Growers can choosebetween mechanical or digitalhygrometers, each having differentadvantages. Mechanical hygrometers are alittle less expensive, but the needle may“stick” if the humidity does not changefor a long time. Digital hygrometers cost alittle more and are accurate in the mid tohigh humidity ranges but can be lessaccurate when RH is below 30%. Digitalhygrometers often have built in digitalthermometers which reduces the need fortwo separate devices to determine a goodstorage location.

Drying and Storage Tips

Knowing these temperature and humidityparameters should enable farmers to findsuitable seed storage space on their farms.In the event that no space provides theclimate needed, or the climate is unstable,one can modify a room to provide theright environment. Good insulation is anexcellent buffer to outside temperatureand humidity fluctuations. Access toelectricity gives even more capacity tomodify the storage environment. I haveseen walk-in coolers, or even trailersoutfitted with air conditioners used toeffectively control temperature for seedstorage. Extraction fans or dehumidifierscan be added if reduced air moisture isdesired.

If seeds have been thoroughly dried andthe storage environment meets idealconditions, then airtight containers workwell for storing seeds. However, because itcan be difficult for the farmer todetermine exact seed moisture content, orbecause storage spaces may have unstableenvironments, a safe method for storingseeds is in paper bags and envelopes,

29

which are then placed into larger air-tight containers like sealable buckets ortote bins. This method allows for somemoisture exchange within the storagebin, meaning that seed moisture can bereleased into the inner environment ofthe bin. This guards against remnant seedmoisture spoiling a seed lot that is storedin a small air-tight, moisture-proof space,such as a glass jar. Essentially the largerstorage bin acts as a buffer betweenremnant moisture in the seed and airhumidity outside the storage bin.

How does one determine when seed hasbeen thoroughly dried and is ready forstorage? There are commercially availableportable moisture meters that can bebought which will give accurate seedmoisture readings. The Harvest Handmoisture meter is one example, and morecan be found through Internet searches.But most growers can determine thatseed is dry enough for storage by theprocess of simply allowing seed to drydown in a room or barn where airhumidity is minimal. Spreading seeds outon tarps, Remay, plates, baskets, orhanging in pillowcases, jute sacks orother breathable materials during the dry,warm days of summer or fall is enough todry most seeds. Large seeds can be

physically tested quite easily. For examplecucurbit seeds should snap, not bend,when folded. Large seeds like peas andbeans should not be able to be dented byyour teeth, or should crack or splitbetween your teeth, not squish down.

Smaller seeds are more difficult todetermine in this way, but adequate timein a dry environment will ensure you ofsufficiently dry seed. Frank Morton, whogrows a lot of brassica and lettuce seeddescribed one of his methods for testingseed dryness at a recent field day. Heburies a paper bag or envelope in a pileof seeds as a way to monitor seedmoisture levels. After a few days hechecks the bag/envelope. If it feels damp,or doesn’t make a crumpling sound whenhe squishes it he knows the seed is stilltoo moist and needs further drying. If thebag feels dry or makes crumpling noiseswhen squished he knows the seed is dryenough to put into airtight storage. Instorage he also keeps a paper envelopewith harvest/varietal records in the seedat all times for seed identification and asa handy moisture indicator. Bringingseeds into a house, or an environmentwith low, ambient heat will also help dryseeds fully.

30

Beans, bush and pole 3-4

Beans, fava 5-6

Beets 4-5

Broccoli 4-5

Brussel Sprouts 4-5

Cabbage 4-5

Cantaloupe 6-8

Carrots 3-4

Cauliflower 4-5

Celeriac 4

Chard 4-5

Chervil 3

Chicory 4

Collards 4-5

Corn 4-5

Cress 5

Cucumbers 6

Dandelion 2

Eggplants 4-5

Endive 4-6

Fennel 4

Kale 4-5

Kohlrabi 4-5

Leeks 2

Lettuce 3-4

Mache/Corn Salad 5

Mustard 4-5

New Zealand Spinach 3-4

Okra 2-4

Onions 2

Parsley 3

Parsnips 1-2

Peas 3-5

Peppers 2-4

Pumpkins 3-6

Radish 4-5

Rutabaga 4-5

Salsify 2-3

Scorzonera 2-3

Sorrel 4

Spinach 3-4

Squash 4-6

Tomato 4-7

Turnip 4-6

Watermelon 4-6

Sources: composite from H.G.Maine,McCormack/Knott’s, Abundant Life SeedFoundation

Crop Seed Life Span(years)

Crop Seed Life Span(years)

Table 3: Longevity of Seeds in Ideal Storage

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Chapter 5

Seed Cleaning

A good rule of thumb toall successful seedgrowingis to start small, thenexpand as one gainsexperience and tools tomake larger scale seedgrowing feasible. By

starting small one can learn through first-hand experience what parts of the seedgrowing process are most challenging,without the situation being overwhelmingin either time or expense. This isparticularly true of seed cleaning, whichmay require specialized tools ortechniques.

Threshing and cleaning seeds can seemdifficult and time consuming to thefarmer who has little or no experiencewith this activity. For many people I havespoken to it is the most daunting aspectof seed growing. I have been told by manythat they would be happy to plant a halfacre into squash for seed, but thechallenge of cleaning it makes it anunpalatable proposition. However, seedcleaning need not be a difficult task forthe farmer. There are simple andinexpensive methods, some manual andothers mechanical, for cleaning fairlylarge quantities of seed.

The first question a farmer asks when seedcleaning is whether the best way to cleanseeds is by hand or by machinery. Theanswer usually depends on the scale ofyour seed crop. For farmers doing smallseed lots the majority of seedcleaning canbe done by hand. Machinery becomesuseful when a seed lot is larger, orsometimes, during the final process of theseed cleaning when fine dust or small orbroken seeds are being separated from thegood quality seeds in the lot. In manycases, even this can be achieved throughhand cleaning.

Most of the Canadian seed growers I know

have amassed a collection of usefulscreens, strainers, colanders, bowls,buckets, tarps, and fans to aid them intheir seed cleaning, and almost all do itmanually. Others have purchaseddedicated seed cleaning screens fromsuppliers and mounted them on woodenframes. Some have purchased used seedcleaners and fanning mills that come witha variety of screens (with holes ofdifferent sizes and shapes) and may eitheruse the machine for cleaning seeds, orsimply make use of the variety of screensto manually clean their seeds.

Used equipment exists, but may takesome searching to find. If found, it can beincredibly useful to small-scale growers.The American Pacific Northwest is an areawhere lots of used seed cleaningequipment can be found, something BCgrowers may find useful. Nash Hubercleans his cauliflower seed with a Crippen143A that he bought used. It allows him

to get two or three different grades of seedfrom his harvest. But he also does a lot ofhand cleaning for smaller lots of seed, andhe notes that he enjoys threshing andwinnowing by hand.

I currently do all my seed cleaning byhand, with the aid of screens I haverescued from an old fanning mill and theuse of many tarps and buckets. Atremendous amount of dry-seeded

“Seed cleaning need not be a

difficult task for the farmer.

There are simple and inexpensive

methods, some manual and others

mechanical, for cleaning fairly large

quantities of seed.”

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vegetable crops can be threshed by simplylaying them on tarps and either beatingthem with sticks or flails, dancing onthem with one’s feet, or driving over themwith a truck or tractor—and all thesemethods are commonly used by smallseed farmers across the world. Oncethreshed the seeds and chaff can bequickly separated through the use ofscreens or by winnowing in front of a fanor a steady breeze. A littleexperimentation on one’s farm is enoughto establish which methods work best inany particular circumstance. It may seemthat these methods are time-consumingbut many would be surprised at thevolumes of seed that can be cleaned thisway. Hundreds of pounds of legume seedscan be cleaned in less than a day this way.Dozens of pounds of brassica seeds, and soon. It may not be as quick as if done bymachine, but this method requires verylittle capital expenditure. Start simple,once a farmer has increased the volume ofseed he or she grows, that is the time toconsider mechanical cleaning.

Nevertheless, seed cleaning machinerypresents certain indisputable advantagesin the right scenario. For example, theSiskiyou Co-operative decided it would beworthwhile to get equipment because itwould make the seed cleaning task easierand less labour intensive for growers.When the Co-op talked about expandingseed capacity the most limiting factor wasthe difficulty of cleaning large amounts ofseed. Quality was also considered alimiting factor, and mechanical cleaningwas seen as a way to increase quality andto ease the burden of manually cleaninglarger amounts of seed.

The machinery allows for faster cleaningof seed. It also gives seed companies moreconfidence in the ability of the growers todeliver a high quality product. Havingseed cleaning equipment at the Siskiyouco-op has led to seed companies givingthem bigger contracts. Maude Powellnotes this year’s germination tests havecome back with very high rates and seedcompanies have been very pleased withthe quality of seed. She attributes some of

this to the use of a Clipper Eclipse seedcleaner they have recently started using.

The Co-op was able to use grant money asa way to acquire seed cleaning equipmentand they have chosen to house it in adecentralized way, stored at three differentfarms. For members, there is a $100 initialfee to join the equipment Co-op, and theycharge growers $20/day to use equipment.This fund goes to machinery maintenanceand purchase of new machinery.

The Co-op utilizes two Alice-Chalmers All-Crop combine harvesters (with a thirdkept for parts) with which they can cleanmost of their dry-seeded crops. Due to thesize of the machinery a minimum of 10pounds of seed is needed for themachinery to be viable. The Clipper isthen used to do most of the fine or finalcleaning. Members come and use theequipment to clean their own seed,calling ahead and booking time to use themachine. Each member who houses theequipment is also paid to train the othergrowers on how to use the machine.

Powell and Tipping outline some of thedisadvantages to using the machinery.Cleaning the machinery between seedlotsis essential to avoid co-mingling of seedlots, yet it is incredibly time-consuming,so much so that when Tipping comparesthe mechanical cleaning to the handcleaning he notes, “some of the handmethods we’ve figured out are prettyfast.” And there is always the worryabout seeds stuck in small corners of themachinery that will then contaminatethe next seed lot.

There is a learning curve involved toeffectively using seed cleaning machinery,and in the beginning growers can loseseed, or damage it. Tipping relates his firstexperience using the All-Crop to cleanradish seed. “We had this big contract,100 pounds for Seeds of Change. We’ddone 20 pounds of radish before, butnever this much. It was twelve Toyotapickups completely full of pods, and wewere constantly evolving our techniques.When we were pulling up the plants westarted by clipping the roots and bottom

33

stalk from the seedheads. Then we startedjoking, ‘This is Oregon, everything shouldbe done with a chainsaw!’, so I went andgot my chainsaw and we packed it up likefirewood, with the pods all on the sameend. I just sawed off the lower half of theplant, and it worked really well. I wassurprised, we’d really been kind of joking.But compared to clipping all that byhand, you can imagine, it would havetaken forever.

“After that we ran it through the All-Crop,but we were cracking a lot of seed. We had[a technician] from Bejo Seeds help us setit up to exactly the tolerances and settingsthey would use for radish seed, and westill cracked a quarter of the seed. It wasso frustrating, I had over 100 pounds, butI’ll probably wind up with 70 pounds ofactual seed. I realized the machinerysometimes means you just have to growmore and plan on losses. And when youhave a sixth of an acre of something reallyhigh value you can’t afford to lose any ofit, much less a quarter of it.”

Still, Tipping has found the All-Crop reallyuseful for certain crops, he calls it “theideal onion and leek seed cleaningmachine.” He notes that there are moreappropriate machines for radish seeds, likea belt thresher, which probably wouldn’tresult in as much seed loss. But thatrequires more investment, which is thetrade-off. “For small lots, or especially wetseeds, we just do things by hand,” hesays.* “Tomatoes, for example: it’s a lot ofpicking, but we put them in five-gallonbuckets, let them sit for a week, and thensquash them. We have a Douglas Fir polewith a T-handle on the top, we smash thetomatoes in the bucket, put them in abarrel, and we can do a lot of seed thatway. It really doesn’t take long.”

In regard to tools and techniques forseedcleaning I have found that methodsthat work for one crop are often effectivefor all other crops in that plant family. Forexample, the screens and techniques I useto clean one type of brassica seed usuallywork for most other brassica seed, perhapswith minor modifications. The same rule

applies for legume seeds, cucurbits orsolanums, etc. Once you have figured outhow to clean one kind of crop, you canassume the ability to clean many othercrops in that plant family.

Frank Morton echoes this by mentioningthat he enjoys growing dry seed, not wetseed. He has developed techniques andamassed the tools and equipment to helpwith cleaning dry seeds. If he were doingwet seeds he would have to be handlingwater, hoses, sprayers and using differentscreens, barrel-washers, etc.—in short, awhole different set of equipment. Mortonsuggests a natural dividing line forseedgrowers is to work with one or theother, dry or wet seeds. And a good wayto choose is to consider your climate. Ifyou live in a wetter, humid climate (theeast, typically) you may find wet seeds aremore appropriate for you, while westerngrowers (typically a drier climate) mayfind dry seeds better.

* Wet seedcrops are crops whose seeds areencased in a fleshy or fruiting part of theplant, such as the cucurbits and solanums.They typically require the use of water in theseed separation/cleaning process. Dryseedcrops produce their seeds in pods, umbelsor spikes, such as the legumes, brassicas,composits, mints, etc. They do not require anywater in the seed-cleaning process.

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Artichoke 75

Asparagus 75

Bean, broad 85

Bean, garden 85

Bean, lima 85

Bean, runner 85

Bean, soy 85

Beet 75

Broccoli 80

Brussels Sprouts 80

Cabbage 80

Cabbage, Chinese 80

Cantaloupe/Muskmelon 80

Cardoon 55

Carrot 60

Cauliflower 80

Celeriac 60

Celery 55

Chard 75

Chervil 75

Chicory 65

Chives 65

Collards 80

Corn, pop 85

Corn, sweet 85

Cornsalad/Mache 75

Cress, garden 75

Cress, water 35

Cucumber 80

Dandelion, cultivated 55

Dill 50

Eggplant 65

Endive 65

Kale 80

Kohlrabi 80

Leek 65

Lettuce 70

Mustard (Brassica juncea) 80

Mustard (Brassica rapa) 80

Okra 55

Onion 75

Parsley 75

Parsnip 60

Pea 85

Pepper 65

Pumpkin 80

Radish 80

Rhubarb 65

Rutabaga 80

Salsify 75

Sage 50

Savory 50

Spinach 65

Squash 80

Thyme 50

Tomato 75

Turnip 80

Watermelon 80

Source: Canada Seeds Act

Table 4:Minimum Germination Standards for Canada No. 1 Seed

Crop Germination % Crop Germination %

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Chapter 6

Disease Preventionand Seed Treatments

Seed-borne diseases are ofgreat concern to both theproducer and thepurchaser of organicseeds. An understandingof how to prevent diseases

in the field is critical in the effort toproduce the highest quality, disease-freeseed. Seed-borne diseases can lowergermination rates, reduce seed storageviability, decrease seedling vigour or incases where environmental conditions areright even cause widespread diseaseoutbreaks in the field, leading to crop loss.

When talking about seed-borne diseases itis easy for the organic farmer to getoverwhelmed by the sheer magnitude ofdiseases that can affect seed crops,therefore I think it important to alwayskeep in mind that most of the time whenwe grow seed we are successful inproducing disease-free seed. Many of themanagement practices already employedby farmers to produce healthy crops andmaintain healthy soils are thefundamentals required to producehealthy, vigorous, disease-free seed.

After eight years of personal experiencegrowing seeds I have only once harvestedseed that presented obvious diseasepossibilities. The seed discolouration wasso noticeable that I sent a sample away fordiagnostic testing and upon confirmationof disease, destroyed the seed. Even beforetesting I knew trouble was brewing as theyear had seen tremendous amounts ofunseasonal rainfall, exactly the kind ofenvironment that can spoil an exposedseedcrop drying down in the field. I havecertainly left seedcrops unharvested forthis exact reason, knowing full well that

inclement weather has producedfavourable disease conditions on certaincrops, but as part of a diversified farmoperation these losses were not sotremendous as to be unsustainable.

Once diseases are established on aseedcrop, the tools available to organicfarmers or seed companies for eradicatingthese diseases are minimal. The bestapproach is for farmers to use proactivefarming practices that will minimize oreliminate seed-borne disease in the firstplace. This means practicing good croprotation, creating disease-suppressivesoil/compost,growing specific plants thatact as habitats for beneficial predators,and testing soil to make sure it has properamounts of trace elements, which arecritical for plants to withstand diseasepressure. Farmers should also observe

appropriate planting dates where soilmoisture and temperature allow for quickseed germination and plant emergence,reducing risk of exposure to diseases. Ifpossible, seedgrowers can start withdisease resistant varieties, and as organicseed growing expands, the in-situselection of seed within organicmanagement systems will naturally resultin varieties with greater disease resistance.Likewise, one should remove diseasedplant matter from the field or individualplants to limit disease spread.

“Timely seed harvest once

seeds mature is important

in order to eliminate possibilities

of disease invasion on seeds.”

36

Plant rows parallel with prevailing windsto funnel air movement that can suppressfungal growth. Wider row spacing alsoincreases air flow. Timely seed harvestonce seeds mature is also important inorder to eliminate possibilities of diseaseinvasion on seeds. The longer one leavesmature seed standing in a field, exposedto weather fluctuations and pest attack ortraffic, the more opportunities diseaseorganisms have to establish themselves.When it comes to harvesting mature seed,my experience (learned the hard way) isto not put off until tomorrow what youcan do today. Likewise, the sooner afarmer can clean the seed he or she hasharvested the better, thus separating seedsfrom chaff and other organic matter thatmay host disease organisms.

It’s also important to reduce weed pressurearound seedcrops, as many commonweeds can be alternate hosts to parasitesand diseases that can then attack one’s

seedcrop. Reducing “green bridges” canalso help in producing disease-free seed aspests like aphids can be vectors for certaindiseases. Green bridges are alternate hostplants that can allow disease or insects totravel between different areas of a field(knowing the alternate host plants fordiseases can help us reduce incidence ofdisease, ie: over 15 common weeds arehosts to powdery or downy mildew,which can then spread to our crops).

How do you know if your seed isdiseased? A common-sense approach willgo far in telling you whether the seed youhave grown is diseased. Following manyof the management guidelines describedabove will ensure healthy seed. If a grower

observes significant pest or weed pressurein their seedcrop it is more likely thatdisease can establish itself on seed.Likewise, inclement weather at the wrongtime is the farmer’s worst enemy when itcomes to disease. A significant bout ofrain and humid weather at the precisetime a crop is mature and drying downcan easily lead to disease. Seeddiscolouration that is visible to the nakedeye is a warning for the farmer to thinkseriously about getting a pathogen testdone, or informing the buyer of that seedabout disease possibilities. Germinationtests that return low results of such seedscan also be an indicator of disease.

Farmers growing seed crops will do well tomonitor their crops closely and tofamiliarize themselves with theidentification of diseases in-field. Thereare good resources available to aid in this.The book Diseases and Pests of VegetableCrops in Canada is a useful tool, withdetailed descriptions of common plantdiseases and excellent photos to helpgrowers identify problems. The book costs$65 and can be ordered by mail. Aprintable order form can be found atwww.esc-sec.org/disease.htm. As a farmer,I have found the book excellent foridentifying diseases in the vegetativestages of plants, though there is a distinctlack of information regarding diseases onthe seedbearing parts of plants.Nevertheless the book is a worthwhiletool for identifying early problems in aseedcrop.

Another tool seedgrowers can use arediagnostic laboratories where leaf,tissue, or seed samples can be sent fordisease identification, or even forofficial germination tests. In general it ishard to find labs that do much workwith vegetable seed as it is consideredsuch a minor crop. The closest labs BCgrowers can use for seed tests are inAlberta. 20/20 Seed Labs(www.2020seedlabs.ca) can performgermination tests on a wide variety ofvegetable seeds, as well as pathology

“Farmers growing seed crops will do

well to monitor their crops closely and

to familiarize themselves with the

identification of diseases in-field.”

37

tests on some vegetable seeds, though itis more costly. It should be noted thatfarmers can easily do germination testsin their own homes at no expense.

The Organic Seed Alliance website(www.seedalliance.org) has recently postedan excellent summary of plant diseasesaffecting spinach crops which was writtenby Lindsey duToit, a seed pathologist atWashington State University. OSA also hasa paper outlining weather-related riskreduction strategies for farmers growingseedcrops. These, and other helpfulinformation for seedgrowers, includingproduction guidelines for specificseedcrops, can be found at the OSAwebsite by clicking on the “Publications”tab on the home-page.

Preventing the onset of disease in aseedcrop is always the farmer’s first goal.Nevertheless, because of the complexnature of the farm environment, diseasesdo occur. The presence of disease on aseedcrop does not automatically mean thecrop is worthless. Both in-field and afterharvest, there are a number of methods forcontrolling or eradicating disease in seeds.

Since the vast majority of post-diseaseseed treatments developed by theconventional seed industry are notacceptable in organic managementsystems, research into methods oforganic disease eradication is ongoing. Atthe 4th Biennial Organic SeedConference held by the Organic SeedAlliance in 2006 the most effectivetreatment currently proscribed is hotwater treatment. The materials needed todo this treatment are easily available tothe farmer or small-scale seed company,which is one of the great benefits of this

method. Also, experiments have shownthis method to have widespreadapplication for many vegetable seeds,though notable exceptions are thecucurbit species, peas, beans, sweet corn,beets and some other crops whose seedscan be damaged by hot water treatmentor for which it is not practical.

This method involves carefully timedimmersion of seeds in a hot water bath;the heat kills most disease-causing bacteriafound on the seed coat as well as withinthe seed. Exact observation ofrecommended temperatures andimmersion times is critical to successfullykilling diseases with hot water treatment.Too little time or too low of a temperaturecan result in ineffective diseaseeradication; too much time or too high ofa temperature can harm the seed andnegatively affect its ability to germinate.Hot water treatment of seed should onlybe used for seed that will be planted inthe same calendar year. This is becausehot water treatment can lower the storagelife of seed. It is also recommended that asmall test batch of the seed be treated firstand then tested for germination ratebefore treating an entire seed lot. Hotwater treatment of old or poor qualityseed will result in serious damage to theseed and low germination results.

Step-by-step instructions on how to dohot water treatment of seeds, includingphotos of each step can be found atwww.ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/3000/3085.html. A list of crop seeds andthe temperatures and times recommendedfor hot water treatment follows.

38

Other approaches to seed treatmentinclude in-field applications to plants toreduce disease-causing fungi and bacteriathat can establish on the seed. Biologicalseed treatments control seed pests byparasitizing the pest organisms, out-competing them for food on the rootsystem, or producing toxic compoundsthat inhibit pathogen growth. Control ofsurface pathogens include beneficialmicrobes in compost teas, herbal sprays,washes and oils.

One biological agent that many BCgrowers have readily available to themthat is proving effective in seed diseasecontrol is garlic extract - which has shownexcellent abilities to suppress seed bornediseases without affecting germinationrates of the treated seed. Source:www.sac.ac.uk/cropsci/external/orgserv/orgpublications/juanmsc.asp. It should be

noted that this test was done in relationto Fusarium on barley, and the garlicextract has not yet been shown to beeffective on other diseases or onvegetable seeds.

Research into non-synthetic, biologicalcompounds for seed treatment continues.At Wageningen University in theNetherlands tests using thyme oil andascorbic acid have given promising initialresults in decreasing seed borne diseases.Research in other countries around theworld into biological control agents forseed born disease is progressing and manypositive findings are emerging. Theinterested reader can find a lengthy list ofprint and web resources athttp://www.growseed.org/seedtreatments.html.

Brussels sprouts, cabbage, spinach 122 25 Alternaria, blackleg, black rot

Tomato 122 25 Bacterial canker, Bacterial spot, bacterial speck

Tomato 132 30 Anthracnose

Eggplant 122 30 Phomopsis blight, anthracnose

122 20 Alternaria, blackleg, black rot

Mustard, cress, and radish 122 15

Pepper 125 30 Bacterial spot, rhizoctonia

Lettuce, celery and celeriac 118 30 early blight, late blight

Source: composite from Ohio State University’s “Hot Water and Chlorine Treatment ofVegetable Seeds” Factsheet HYG-3085-05 and Knotts Handbook for Vegetable Growers -Hot Water Treatment of Seeds, p.315.

Broccoli, cauliflower, carrot,collard, kale, kohlrabi, rutabaga,turnip

Table 5: Hot Water Seed Treatment Guidelines

Crop Temp (°F) Minutes Disease Controlled

39

Conclusion

The ability for BC farmers to play a role indetermining local seed security and seedsovereignty rests in our hands. Thereexists a good base of seed growers and aneven wider base of farmers with someexperience growing seeds for their ownuse. Broad-based cooperation betweenfarmers and other professionals will berequired to meet new challenges forfarmers producing seed, whether it bepost-harvest seed handling, marketing, orother issues. Most important of all is toexpand educational initiatives forfarmers, including workshops, field daysand mentorship programs in relation toseed growing. By building on thementorships and educational initiativesnow under way, and engaging morefarmers in the seed growing process, wecan expand the capacity of BC growers tosupply ourselves with the quantity andquality of seed our market farmers needin order to make BC’s organic agriculturetruly sustainable and successful.

“Most important of all is to expand

educational initiatives for farmers,

including workshops, field days and

mentorship programs.”

Books

Seed to Seed, Suzanne Ashworth, 1991, ISBN 0-9613977-7-2

How to Grow your Own Vegetable Seed, Seedsof Diversity Canada

The Seed Savers Handbook, Jude and MichelFanton, 1993, ISBN 0-646-10226-5

Back Garden Seed Saving: Keeping ourVegetable Heritage Alive. Sue Strickland, 2001.ISBN 978-1899233090

Vegetable Seed Production, Raymond A.T.George, 1999

Seed Production: Principles and Practices,Miller McDonald and L. Copeland, 1997

Breed Your Own Vegetable Varieties, CarolDeppe, 1993, ISBN 0-316-18104-8

Diseases and Pests of Vegetable Crops inCanada, Ed. Howard, Ronald, 1994, ISBN 0-9691627-3-1

Principles of Plant Breeding. 2nd Ed. R.W.Allard, 1999.

Knott’s Handbook for Vegetable Growers, 5th Edition, Donald Maynard, 2006, ISBN: 978-0-471-73828-2

Online Resources

The following crop-specific seed productionmanuals are available at www.seedalliance.org/index.php?page=Publications

1. “Principles and Practices of Organic BeanSeed Production in the Pacific Northwest”

2. “Principles and Practices of Organic RadishSeed Production in the Pacific Northwest”

3. “Principles and Practices of OrganicSpinach Seed Production in the PacificNorthwest”

The following organic seed productionmanuals are available atwww.savingourseeds.org/growguides.html

1. “Isolation Distances”2. “Seed Processing and Storage”3. “Bean Seed Production”4. “Brassica Seed Production”5. “Cucurbit Seed Production”6. “Pepper Seed Production”7. “Tomato Seed Production”

Other Helpful Information on Seeds

Information and interviews on growing,marketing and breeding organic seed can befound at www.growseed.org/realseed.html

“The Wisdom of Plant Heritage: Organic SeedProduction and Saving”, published by NOFA,Bryan Connolly with C.R. Lawn, 2005. 99pp. $9.50, can be ordered atwww.nofany.org/publications.html

“Diseases in Vegetable Seed Crops:Identification, Biology and Management - Part1, 2, 3” found at www.seedalliance.org/index.php?page=Publications

“Spinach Diseases: Field Identification,Implications, and Management Practices”found at www.seedalliance.org/index.php?page=Publications

“Weather-related Risk Reduction Guidelines”,found at www.seedalliance.org/index.php?page=Publications

“2006 Organic Seed Alliance ConferenceProceedings” found at www.seedalliance.org/index.php?page=Publications

“Hot Water and Chlorine Treatment ofVegetable Seeds to Eradicate Bacterial PlantPathogens”, found at www.ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/3000/3085.html

“The Cutting Edge” (e-newsletter from Seeds ofChange with information on seeds), found atwww.seedsofchange.com/cutting_edge/default.asp

“The Seed Bin” (e-newsletter from HighMowing Seeds with information on seeds),found at www.highmowingseeds.com

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Print and Online Resources for Seed Growing

Copies of thismanual are availablefor $10 in print or $5 in pdf format.ContactFarmFolk/CityFolk at admin@ffcf.bc.ca