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. 4d ago

    Ep. 87 Behind the Zigzag Cleaner - Kate McEvoy and Ben Gabel, Real Seeds

    Kate McEvoy and Ben Gabel run Real Seeds in Pembrokeshire in  west Wales.   In this episode, Ben and Kate talk about how seed for home growers is not the same thing as seed for large scale farms, and how they go about selecting varieties for cool, humid conditions that do well for their customers. We discuss their company structure that operates without shareholders to prioritize high quality seed, fair staff wages, and customer education over profit extraction. We get into DIY equipment such as their Zigzag seed cleaner and 3D-Printed Seed Measuring Scoops, designs they have shared with the broader seed community.    In the deep dive, we discuss growing kale for seed. We tackle the challenges of distinguishing between Brassica oleraceae and Brassica napus kale species. We talk about how to handle bird pressure, specifically pigeons, which is something that I haven't really had to deal with before. Then we talk about how to support drying plants to make sure that they don't rot in a humid climate. Enjoy the conversation! 🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱 Episode links Real Seeds website https://realseeds.co.uk/ Real Seeds on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/realseeds/ Open-source Seed Cleaning Machine https://realseeds.co.uk/seedcleaner.html Open-source Seed Measuring Scoops https://realseeds.co.uk/handscoops.html 🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱 Pre-Order The Profitable Farmer Book Pre-Order the Profitable Farmer from New Society Publishers https://newsociety.com/book/the-profitable-farmer/?aff=90 Pre-Order the Profitable Farmer from Tourne-Sol farm https://fermetournesol.qc.ca/en/collections/books-dan-brisebois Get The Bonus Case Studies when you pre-order The Profitable Farmer https://www.theprofitablefarmer.com/ Register for the Step Off the Treadmill webinar https://thefarmersoffice.com/freewebinar-tpf/     🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱 The Seed Farmer Mentorship is back. You can get all the details and register at https://www.farmerspreadsheetacademy.com/mentorship   🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱 Support the Seed Farmer Podcast https://www.farmerspreadsheetacademy.com//supportpodcast   🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱 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!

  2. Sep 30

    Ep. 86 4 Pillars to a Profitable Farm Without Burnout

    Julia Shanks (from the Farmer's Office) joins me on today's minisode to talk about our soon to be published book The Profitable Farmer: Strategic Business Planning for Profit, Purpose, and Quality of Life. We get into the importance of running a farm that sustains you and doesn't burn you out, the four pillars that support your farm, and we peek behind the scenes at all the steps that happen between submitting what you might think is the Final Manuscript to get to the actual Final Final Final version of the book.  We also talk about how to get the 3 bonus case studies we've put together for everyone who pre-orders the book. Each case study is designed around a Cost of Production budget. One for a vegetable crop, one for a cut flower, and one for a seed crop. Enjoy the conversation!   🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱 News links Pre-Order the Profitable Farmer from New Society Publishers https://newsociety.com/book/the-profitable-farmer/?aff=90 Pre-Order the Profitable Farmer from Tourne-Sol farm https://fermetournesol.qc.ca/en/collections/books-dan-brisebois Get The Bonus Case Studies when you pre-order The Profitable Farmer https://www.theprofitablefarmer.com/ Register for the Step Off the Treadmill webinar https://thefarmersoffice.com/freewebinar-tpf/ 🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱 Support the Seed Farmer Podcast https://www.farmerspreadsheetacademy.com//supportpodcast 🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱 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!

  3. Sep 23

    Ep.85 A Radicchio Celebration - Lane Selman, Culinary Breeding Network

    Lane Selman is the founding director of the Culinary Breeding Network based in Portland, Oregon. She is also a professor of practice at Oregon State University and the co-author of the brand new book Radicchio: A Celebration of the Beloved Italian Vegetable. In this episode, Lane and I talk about the origin story behind the Culinary Breeding Network. We get into the importance of connecting plant breeders and farmers with chefs. And we talk about the importance of good open pollinated varieties in a shifting landscape where your favourite hybrids can suddenly disappear. And then it is Radicchio time: we unravel the confusing nomenclature that surrounds this deliciously bitter vegetable, the precision of planting dates to get these plants to head up the right way, and the art and science of forcing Raidicchio.  I also gush quite a lot about Lane's new book. I really loved reading it and it answered so many  chicory questions that I've had for the longest time and so many questions I hadn't even considered formulating. Enjoy the conversation! 🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱 The Seed Farmer Mentorship is back. You can get all the details and register at https://www.farmerspreadsheetacademy.com/mentorship Support the Seed Farmer Podcast https://www.farmerspreadsheetacademy.com//supportpodcast   🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱 Episode links Get the book Radicchio: A Celebration of the Beloved Italian Vegetable https://www.culinarybreedingnetwork.com/radicchio-book Culinary Breeding Network website https://www.culinarybreedingnetwork.com/ Culinary Breeding Network on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/culinarybreedingnetwork Culinary Breeding Network on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@CulinaryBreedingNetwork     🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱 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!

  4. Aug 26

    Ep. 81 Breeding Adaptive Crops - Brett Grohsgal, Even'Star Organic Farm

    Brett Grohsgal runs Even'Star Organic Farm in Lexington, Maryland alongside his wife Dr. Christine Bergmark. They grow vegetables for CSA and farmers markets but they also keep a number of their own seed lines that are a large part of the success of their farm. In this episode, Brett and I talk about how to breed adaptive crops for a region and for extreme weather resilience. Brett has also eliminated most overhead irrigation and significantly reduced the amount of fertilizer that he applies on his fields, which adds even more selection pressure to his crops. We get into his work with brassicas, especially his Icebred and Coyote Arugula. We also talk about when you should keep your own seeds and when you might rely on purchased seeds. In the deep dive, Brett and I discuss cherry tomatoes for seed: how he dehybridized two hybrids by crossing them with op varieties, how he's been selecting them for years for exceptional flavor and disease resistance, and what seed harvest looks like, Enjoy the conversation! Support the Seed Farmer Podcast https://www.farmerspreadsheetacademy.com//supportpodcast   🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱 Episode links Even'Star website https://evenstarfarm.bigcartel.com Even'Star on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/evenstarfarm.org/ You can find some Even'Star brassicas at Fedco https://fedcoseeds.com/search?search=Brett+Grohsgal You can read Brett's seed articles in the Growing For Market Archives https://growingformarket.com/?s=Brett+Grohsgal     🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱 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!

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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