Frank Morton of Wild Garden Seed

You can plan for growing seed in as little or as much detail as you can plan for growing any other crop. Up until now, I’ve been encouraging you to slow down and take it easy. Start your seed growing small and learn from it. Don’t worry about the details too much. But eventually, when you start feeling more comfortable growing seed, you’re going to want to plan your seed crops more precisely.

This is the 5th and final weekly episode of a mini-series all about the basics you need to know so you can plan your first seed crop for the coming growing season.

I would love to know how you like these mini-episodes. Send me a DM or an email to tell me what you think - is this a format you’d like me to repeat in the future?

Mentioned in the show...

Seed Q&A Workshop on April 20

Crop Plan Template

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Dan's list of Seed Grower Resources

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The Seed Growers Podcast is produced, in part, by No-Till Growers

No-Till Growers is powered by the folks who support it every month over at patreon.com/notillgrowers, you can also pick up a copy of The Living Soil Handbook if you don't have one already, as well as a No-Till Growers hat, and you can ask you questions or share your insights into ecological market gardening on the brand new growers forum at notillgrowers.community.chat

What seed will you harvest this summer from your market garden?

In episodes 1-3 of this miniseries, we’ve talked about some key considerations for growing seed. We’ve discussed open pollinated and hybrid varieties. Selfer and crosser crops. Annual and biennial plant life cycles. Now, let’s look at what crops you’re actually growing for market or CSA or wholesale and let’s see which of those crops would be great first seed crops.

This is the 4th of 5 weekly mini-episodes all about the basics you need to know so you can plan your first seed crop for the coming growing season.

I would love to know how you like these mini-episodes. Send me a DM or an email to tell me what you think - is this a format you’d like me to repeat in the future?

Mentioned in the show...

GUIDE SUR LA PRODUCTION DE SEMENCES À LA FERME

Ask a question for future Seed Growers episodes

Dan's list of Seed Grower Resources

Follow Dan Brisebois on Instagram

The Seed Growers Podcast is produced, in part, by No-Till Growers

No-Till Growers is powered by the folks who support it every month over at patreon.com/notillgrowers, you can also pick up a copy of The Living Soil Handbook if you don't have one already, as well as a No-Till Growers hat, and you can ask you questions or share your insights into ecological market gardening on the brand new growers forum at notillgrowers.community.chat

Have you ever had that perfect bed of lettuce in the field and a few days before you’re going to cut it for market, you discover that the stems have all bolted, the lettuce has gone bitter, and you think to yourself “I should really be a seed grower?” But, once you’re trying to harvest that seed, you’re getting awfully close to the rainy days of autumn and your lettuce has barely begun to bolt, you’re thinking, “I should have cut this lettuce and sent it to market!!!” If you want to reliably grow seeds, you need to align your farming systems to respect your plant’s life cycles.

This is the third of 5 weekly mini-episodes all about the basics you need to know so you can plan your first seed crop for the coming growing season.

Mentioned in the show...

Ask a question for future Seed Growers episodes

Dan's list of Seed Grower Resources

Follow Dan Brisebois on Instagram

The Seed Growers Podcast is produced, in part, by No-Till Growers

No-Till Growers is powered by the folks who support it every month over at patreon.com/notillgrowers, you can also pick up a copy of The Living Soil Handbook if you don't have one already, as well as a No-Till Growers hat, and you can ask you questions or share your insights into ecological market gardening on the brand new growers forum at notillgrowers.community.chat

Are you afraid to keep your own seed on your farm? Does the terror of cross-pollination keep you up at night? Are you worried that any seed you kept would unleash legions of unruly crossed-up mutant plants onto your market gardens and that there would be no turning back the ensuing chaos? Let me put your mind to rest. It’s not that dire.

This is the second of 5 weekly mini-episodes all about the basics you need to know so you can plan your first seed crop for the coming growing season.

Mentioned in the show...

Take Podcast Host Natalie's Survey!

Ask a question for future Seed Growers episodes

Dan's list of Seed Grower Resources

Follow Dan Brisebois on Instagram

The Seed Growers Podcast is produced, in part, by No-Till Growers

No-Till Growers is powered by the folks who support it every month over at patreon.com/notillgrowers, you can also pick up a copy of The Living Soil Handbook if you don't have one already, as well as a No-Till Growers hat, and you can ask you questions or share your insights into ecological market gardening on the brand new growers forum at notillgrowers.community.chat

You can grow seed on your farm. And it’s easier than you think. 

This is the first of 5 mini-episodes to get ready for the season 2 of The Seed Growers Podcast. Today’s episode is about getting into the mindset for your first seed crop. By starting small and taking your time, there is a greater chance that seed growing seems realistic on your farm and that you persist and develop your seed skills. This is how you become a cornerstone in a resilient seed and farming community system.

Ask a question for future episodes

Dan's list of Seed Grower Resources

Follow Dan Brisebois on Instagram

The Seed Growers Podcast is produced, in part, by No-Till Growers

No-Till Growers is powered by the folks who support it every month over at patreon.com/notillgrowers, you can also pick up a copy of The Living Soil Handbook if you don't have one already, as well as a No-Till Growers hat, and you can ask you questions or share your insights into ecological market gardening on the brand new growers forum at notillgrowers.community.chat

Chris & Owen are the founders of Truelove Seeds,a Philadelphia, PA farm-based seed company offering seeds grown by 70+ small scale urban and rural growers. They discuss their seed stories, how they came to be seedkeepers (and how they intentionally use that word), and Truelove's network of seed growers and how they support the growing of culturally important seed. They also talk about the difference between technology and technique when harvesting and cleaning seed. For the technical breakdown, Chris talks about growing and harvesting crowder peas and Owen talks about cucuzza bottle gourd seed.

Truelove Seeds

https://trueloveseeds.com/

https://www.instagram.com/seedkeeping/

https://www.patreon.com/trueloveseeds

Seeds and Their People Podcast

https://trueloveseeds.com/blogs/satpradio

Sankofa Community Farm at Bartram's Garden

https://www.bartramsgarden.org/farm/

Please TAKE THIS SURVEY to tell Dan what you think of The Seed Growers Podcast and what you want to hear in season 2!

Dan’s Collection of Seed Saving Resources

Robin Tunnicliffe grows seeds and veg at Sea Bluff Farm in BC, Canada. She is also one of the co-owners of Saanich Organics Marketing Cooperative. Robin talks about how she selects veg for seed from a 10 acre farm and transplants them into a 1/4 acre seed plot, coordinating seed production and sales through the cooperative, her love of seed and farming conferences, and her work with the BC Eco Seed Cooperative, a 20+ member seed coop. For the technical breakdowns, she dives into brassica greens and Swiss chard.

Also mentioned in the show...

All the Dirt (book)

The Sucky Seed Separator

Please TAKE THIS SURVEY to tell Dan what you think of The Seed Growers Podcast and what you want to hear in season 2!

Dan’s Collection of Seed Saving Resources