The Seed Farmer Podcast

Dan Brisebois

The Seed Farmer Podcast with Dan Brisebois of Tourne-Sol Co-operative Farm. Every episode I'm going to bring you a conversation with a grower who has integrated Saving Seeds into their own farm systems. Some grow seed crops to sell commercially and some do it just for their own farm use. I'm hoping their stories will make you want to save seed on your own farm... and if you already save seed on your farm, I hope it makes you want to save more!

  1. Jun 17

    Ep. 71 Eggplants and The Virtue of Patience: Chris Sanford, Yonder Hill Farm

    Chris Sanford runs Yonder Hill Farm with Garrett Lauten on the South Shore of Nova Scotia. Her seed journey is deeply anchored in a commitment to regional resilience from working to preserve the local Tancook Island Cabbage to breeding and establishing hardy hazelnut, chestnut, and walnut orchards. In this episode, Chris shares the logistics of running a small-scale seed farm. We talk about how having  backburner crops lets you adapt to the natural rhythms of the farm.Chris reflects on the power of community seed partnerships, highlighting how seed producers can work directly with market gardeners to stabilize and select regional strains.  In the deep dive, Chris and I get into growing eggplant seed. We break down how to plan your fruit harvest and seed extraction to get great germination. And we talk about why patience is a virtue for eggplants. Enjoy the conversation!   Support the Seed Farmer Podcast https://www.farmerspreadsheetacademy.com//supportpodcast   🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱 Episode links Yonder Hill Farm website https://yonderhillfarm.ca/   Yonder Hill Farm on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/yonderhillfarm   🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱 Tell me what crops you think I should cover in my summer Seed Farmer school. Fill out this form to let me know: https://forms.gle/sZES93eNahtXi44y7   🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱 Stay in Touch Follow the Seed Farmer on instagram https://www.instagram.com/danbrisebois.farm/   Get my weekly seed newsletter https://www.farmerspreadsheetacademy.com/seeds   Order Tourne-Sol seeds (Canadian orders only) https://fermetournesol.qc.ca/   Get my new book The Seed Farmer https://danbrisebois.com/seedfarmerbook   ❤️ Thanks for listening!

    1h 13m
  2. Jun 3

    Ep. 69 The Magic of Sharing Seeds - Petra Page-Mann, Fruition Community Seed Farm

    Petra stewards  Fruition Community Seed Farm with Matthew Goldfarb in the Finger Lakes region of New York. Petra's seed journey began at a young age in her father's garden, harvesting seeds and packing them into homemade seed packets to then share them with others. This early love for the magic of sharing seeds eventually led to founding Fruition.   In this episode, Petra shares the evolution of Fruition from a commercial regional seed company to a community seed farm. We discuss the structural pivot away from running a commercial online business toward a non-commercial gift economy model. Petra shares how they use interactive community storytelling, theater, and Seed Feasts to move past simple transaction-based seed swaps and cultivate collaborative relational seed stewardship instead.   In the deep dive, Petra and I get into two seed crops. First, we talk about breeding the Dulcinea carrot for uniformity and reliability in a market farm. Then, we talk about crossing collards and cabbage to develop Mermaid's Aurora, a gorgeous gene pool of tender greens with kaleidoscopic diversity. We also get into the technical seed production of each crop: growing second year carrots in high tunnels, harvesting seed umbels by hand, and how to thresh carrot seeds. For the brassica cross, we talk about how they harvest first year plants, how they overwinter in a root cellar, and of course how they clean the seeds.   Enjoy the conversation! Support the Seed Farmer Podcast https://www.farmerspreadsheetacademy.com//supportpodcast     Episode links Fruition's Website https://www.fruitionseeds.com/   Fruition on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/fruition_seeds Stay in Touch Follow the Seed Farmer on instagram https://www.instagram.com/danbrisebois.farm/   Get my weekly seed newsletter https://www.farmerspreadsheetacademy.com/seeds   Order Tourne-Sol seeds (Canadian orders only) https://fermetournesol.qc.ca/   Get my new book The Seed Farmer https://danbrisebois.com/seedfarmerbook   ❤️ Thanks for listening!

    1h 3m
  3. May 20

    Ep. 67 Sharing Seed Research with Farmers - Fanny Lebrun, Les Marequiers

    Fanny Lebrun is the driving force behind Les Marequiers, a Belgian non-profit dedicated to regional food autonomy. Through their flagship program, Semences d'Ici (which translates to Seeds from Here), Fanny works to strengthen the local organic seed sector. Prior to that, Fanny started the seed company Cycle en Terre by herself then built it into a citizen-owned seed cooperative.   In this episode, Fanny shares the logistics and challenges of scaling a seed business from a one-person operation to a ten-person team. We discuss Fanny's transition into Les Marequiers and how she is trying to bridge the information gap from academic research to the practical realities of the farm. We also talk about the organic disease and pest management guide she has recently written.   In the deep dive, Fanny and I talk about growing carrots for seed. We get into the difficulties of growing seed carrots in humid, short-season climates, covering overwintering roots in a simple cellar and how to balance the harvest of primary and secondary umbels.   Enjoy the conversation!   🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱   Support the Seed Farmer Podcast https://www.farmerspreadsheetacademy.com//supportpodcast   🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱   Episode links   Les Marequiers website https://lesmarequiers.be/   French organic disease and pest management guide: Gestion des bioagresseurs en production de semences potagères biologiques. https://lesmarequiers.be/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/SDI-Dossiers-LesBioagresseurs.pdf   🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱   Use code HARVESTREADY  for 50% off the Harvest System Designs course https://www.farmerspreadsheetacademy.com//courses   🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱 Stay in Touch   Follow the Seed Farmer on instagram https://www.instagram.com/danbrisebois.farm/   Get my weekly seed newsletter https://www.farmerspreadsheetacademy.com/seeds   Order Tourne-Sol seeds (Canadian orders only) https://fermetournesol.qc.ca/   Get my new book The Seed Farmer https://danbrisebois.com/seedfarmerbook   ❤️ Thanks for listening!

    45 min
5
out of 5
35 Ratings

About

The Seed Farmer Podcast with Dan Brisebois of Tourne-Sol Co-operative Farm. Every episode I'm going to bring you a conversation with a grower who has integrated Saving Seeds into their own farm systems. Some grow seed crops to sell commercially and some do it just for their own farm use. I'm hoping their stories will make you want to save seed on your own farm... and if you already save seed on your farm, I hope it makes you want to save more!

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