Vegetable Seed Enterprise in the

MidwestBy Erica Kempter

Nature & Nature Seeds, Ann Arbor, MI

Seed Production Resources Books

The Organic Seed Grower: A Farmer’s Guide to Vegetable Seed Production, John Navazio, 2012

The Seed Garden: The Art and Practice of Seed Saving, Jared Zystro & Micaela Colley, Seed Savers Exchange, 2015

Organic Seed Production and Saving, Bryan Connolly, NOFA, 2011

Knott’s Handbook for Vegetable Growers, Maynard & Hochmuth. Section on Vegetable Seed Production.

Online Organic Seed Alliance

Free How-to-Guides for Seed Production https://seedalliance.org/all-publications/?fwp_publication_category=how-to-guides&fwp_publication_topic=seed-production-farm-scale

Enterprise Budget https://seedalliance.org/publications/seed-enterprise-budgeting-tool/

eOrganic, online guides, webinars https://eorganic.org/menu/905

https://seedalliance.org/all-publications/?fwp_publication_category=how-to-guides&fwp_publication_topic=seed-production-farm-scalehttps://seedalliance.org/publications/seed-enterprise-budgeting-tool/https://eorganic.org/menu/905

Benefits of Growing Vegetable Seeds

Financial

$ Diversification

Seeds are easily stored & shipped which creates opportunity:

To add an enterprise in a saturated local vegetable market

If you are located far from direct markets

Seed contracts

You will have a guaranteed buyer

Winter cash flow

Save $ on seed by growing seed for yourself

Less summer hustling

No succession plantings & weekly harvesting

Hustling is in August – October with seed harvesting and cleaning

Challenges of Growing Vegetable Seeds Learning curve

Need to learn technical aspects of seed growing

Requires good observation skills and attention to detail

Midwest is a challenging climate for seed production Learn about climate challenges and grow the more reliable seed crops

Infrastructure & equipment needs

Communication with seed company – very important

Be realistic about the demands & risks of seed farming 8-10 months between planting and payment (annual seed crops); 17 months

(biennial seed crops)

Entire crop can be lost to low germination rate, seed-borne diseases, birds

Expect challenges and even failures - don’t take it personally

What does vegetable seed growing look like? Wet-seeded crops (solanums,

cucurbits)

Dry-seeded crops (brassicas, lettuce, legumes, herbs, chenopods, alliums, flowers)

Growing Tomatoes for Seed: Inspect Plants

Labeling!Label immediately: label seedlings, plants in field,

harvest crates, drying seeds, stored seeds

Growing Tomatoesfor Seed: Harvesting

Growing Tomatoes for Seed: After-ripen Seeds Inside Fruit

Ferment Seeds - 3

days at 83 degrees

Cleaning Tomato Seeds: Decanting

Spreading tomato seeds on screens

Seed Drying

Environment: Air circulation

Low humidity (ideal)

Tomato Seed Cleaning

(dry)- use

screens & winnowing

Germination Test

Growing Kale Seed

Siberian kale (B. napus)

Annual vs Biennial Seed Crops Annual – make seed in one growing season

Biennial – dig up plants in fall and store in cold storage; re-plant in spring

Growing Kale

Seed

Siberian kale (B. napus)

y.Harvestin

gKaleSeed

Drying Kale Seed

Threshing Seeds

- stomping, threshing machine, many ways to do it

Dry Cleaning Seeds – use

screens & winnowing

Germination Test

Seed Germination Testing labs Pennsylvania Dept of Ag

Maryland Dept of Ag

Do it yourself Moist paper towel

Temp

Technical aspects of seed growing Planning

Isolation distance Know the species of your crop Know the isolation distance required for your seed crop (see The Seed Garden book)

Climate considerations - Choose seed crops/varieties that are easiest to grow in our Midwest climate Yield – see books: Knott’s Handbook & NOFA Organic Seed Production and Saving Plant spacing (see The Seed Garden book)

Growing Fertility Variety maintenance/rogueing Disease considerations for each crop – seed borne diseases (see The Organic Seed Grower book) Moisture management

Use drip irrigation instead of overhead Irrigate like you would veg crops

Harvesting Seed maturity –learning this takes practice Moisture management

Post-harvest handling & drying Dry-seeded crops (seeds on plants): dry on fabric, tables or screens in dry, well-ventilated area Wet-seeded crops:

after-ripen seeds by curing fruit in dry environment above freezing temp (tomato, squash, cucumber) Wet clean seeds Dry seeds immediately after wet cleaning

Manage moisture Drying Storing Germination testing

Technical aspects of seed growing: Isolation

Flower anatomy

Technical aspects of seed growing: Isolation

Pollination

Isolation: How to Prevent Cross Pollination?Called “Isolation” or “Isolation Distance” controlling the pollen source by isolating

plants by species and variety Learn crop species (especially cucurbits &

brassicas)

Techniques

Isolation distance – separate each variety within a species by a certain distance (in feet or miles)

Caging/row cover to prevent insects

Covering flowers and hand pollinating

Isolation Technique is Determined by mode of pollination

Insect pollinated crops

Wind pollinated crops

Self pollination

Isolation Distance“Out-Crossers” – Crops that tend to Cross Pollinate

(ie crops that easily cross with other varieties within the same species) Mode of Pollination

Insects – Isolate by ½ mile Brassicas (flowering)

Radish Brassica oleracea

(cabbage, kale, cauliflower, etc) - will cross with other Brassica oleracea)

Brassica rapa (turnips, chinese cabbage, mizuna etc)

Arugula Onions Carrots Cucurbits (cucumber, squash,

melons) With these crops you will need to

know what your neighbors are growing

Mode of Pollination Wind

Chenopods – isolate by 1 mile Spinach Beets and Chard

Corn – isolate by 1-2 miles

Isolation DistanceSelf-Pollinated Crops

“Selfers”

Isolation distance :short Lettuce 10-20ft

Beans (Phaseolus vulgaris), peas, & soybeans - 20 ft

Tomatoes 50 – 100ft

“Promiscious Selfers”

Isolation distance: 300ft or cover plants/flowers with row cover fabric

Peppers

Eggplant

Isolation DistanceResource: The Seed Garden book

Technical Aspects of Seed Growing: Climate Considerations

Rain, humidity & dew Can cause damage to dry-seeded crops Foliar diseases

Short growing season Choose crops/varieties that will be able to fully ripen a mature seed crop

Heat & humidity Warm nights

Lower Midwest has warm nights – this is good for the hot-weather crops! (solanums, cucurbits)

Sometimes it is too hot for good seed development in certain seed crops (lettuce, spinach, broccoli …)

Cold winters Biennial crops must be dug up and put in cold storage or over-wintered in a hoop house

Best Seed Crops for the Midwest

Field Grown Wet-seeded crops

Tomatoes

Peppers

Isolate varieties by covering with row cover fabric

Ground cherry

Tomatillo

Melon

Watermelon

Cucumber

Squash (choose early varieties)

Dry-seeded crops

Amaranth, sunflowers, other flowers

Okra

Arugula

Mustard greens (Brassica rapa – i.e. Mizuna, Brassica juncea –i.e. Ruby Streaks)

Radish (biennial types – i.e. Daikon, Watermelon)

Onions & Leeks (biennial)

Kale, collards, cabbage (biennial)

Beans (beware of viruses)

Peas (beware of viruses)

Hoophouse Radish (spring radish varieties)

More difficult seed crops for the Midwest (grow seeds for small contracts or for yourself)

Lettuce, spinach, beets, chard Field grown: Rain can damage

seeds

Hoop grown: high temp can cause low germination rates

Eggplant Choose early varieties

Grow in hoophouse

Chives, Garlic Chives Small, specialty contracts

Carrot Isolate from wild Queen Anne’s

Lace

Dill, Cilantro Can have random low germ rates

Technical Aspects of Seed Growing: Seed Borne Diseases

Seed borne diseases are those that are carried on or inside of the seed

Learn the seed borne disease for your seed crop Seed book: The Organic Seed Grower (Chapter 16)

Fungi & bacteria

Viruses

Variety Maintenanc

e

Minimum Population Size

Moisture Management

Pay attention to seed moisture! Dry-seeded crops (brassicas, lettuce, legumes,

herbs, chenopods, alliums, flowers)

Harvest when seeds/pods are dry

Dry seeds some more

Then clean and store seeds dry

Wet-seeded crops (solanums, cucurbits)

once you remove seeds from the wet fruit, get them cleaned and dry asap

Equipment

Infrastructure Somewhere to dry

plant material & seeds

Seed drying area

Equipment Tubs, bins, buckets

Box fan

Screens

Seed Cleaning: Winnowing

Winnow Wizard -http://luterra.com/winnow-wizard/

http://luterra.com/winnow-wizard/

Seed Enterprise: Budgets

Enterprise budgethttps://seedalliance.org/publications/seed-

enterprise-budgeting-tool/Download publicationWatch webinars (Part 4)

https://seedalliance.org/publications/seed-enterprise-budgeting-tool/

Seed Enterprise: Marketing & Sales

Seed contract MOU between the grower and seed company

Due dates: Progress reports, seed due

Quantity, price to be paid

Your responsibilities as a grower (isolation, crop monitoring, rogueing, cleaning, labeling, minimum germ rates)

Seed company responsibilities (germination testing, payment

Advantage of contract is guaranteed buyer

Choose seed company(s) based on your scale; start small

Practice growing seeds

Both you and the seed company are taking risk so develop a relationship

Build relationships & communicate, communicate, communicate!

Seed Enterprise: Marketing & SalesDirect marketing

Selling your own seed packets

Sell seeds to local farms

Cooperative models

info@natureandnurture.org

Vegetable Seed Enterprise in the MidwestSeed Production Resources �Benefits of Growing Vegetable SeedsChallenges of Growing Vegetable SeedsWhat does vegetable seed growing look like? Growing Tomatoes for Seed: Inspect PlantsLabeling! �Growing Tomatoes�for Seed: HarvestingGrowing Tomatoes for Seed: �After-ripen Seeds Inside FruitFerment Seeds - 3 days at 83 degreesCleaning Tomato Seeds: DecantingSpreading tomato seeds on screensSeed Drying Tomato Seed Cleaning�(dry)�- use screens & winnowingGermination TestGrowing Kale Seed Annual vs Biennial Seed CropsGrowing Kale Seed�y.Drying Kale Seed� Slide Number 21Dry Cleaning Seeds – use screens & winnowingGermination TestTechnical aspects of seed growing�Technical aspects of seed growing: �IsolationTechnical aspects of seed growing: �IsolationIsolation: �How to Prevent Cross Pollination?Isolation Distance�“Out-Crossers” – Crops that tend to Cross Pollinate�(ie crops that easily cross with other varieties within the same species)Isolation Distance�Self-Pollinated Crops Isolation Distance�Resource: The Seed Garden bookTechnical Aspects of Seed Growing: �Climate Considerations�Best Seed Crops for the MidwestMore difficult seed crops for the Midwest �(grow seeds for small contracts or for yourself)Technical Aspects of Seed Growing: �Seed Borne DiseasesVariety MaintenanceMinimum Population Size�Moisture ManagementEquipmentSeed Cleaning: WinnowingWinnow Wizard - http://luterra.com/winnow-wizard/Seed Enterprise: BudgetsSeed Enterprise: Marketing & SalesSeed Enterprise: Marketing & SalesSlide Number 44