John Navazio - The Organic Seed Grower: A Farmers Guide to Vegetable Seed Production

Praise for The Organic Seed Grower

John Navazio has written a fantastic guide for organic seed breeders and producers. He has taken organic seed production to a higher level with extensive information on selection, genetic integrity, isolation distances, and seedborne diseases. Although his focus is on plant breeders and commercial growers, much of the information is also applicable to small-scale farms producing seed for on-site use.

Suzanne Ashworth , author of Seed to Seed

John Navazio has made a keystone contribution to the future of the grassroots organic seed movement. The Organic Seed Grower is a fundamental resource for the preservation and improvement of agricultural biodiversity. It is an essential guide to high-quality, organic seed production: well grounded in fundamental principles, brimming with practical techniques, thorough in coverage, and remarkably well organized, accessible, and readable.

Jeff McCormack , PhD, founder of Southern Exposure Seed Exchange

With The Organic Seed Grower, well-respected plant breeder and seed expert Dr. John Navazio has written the definitive book on organic vegetable seed production. Encyclopedic, yet well written and approachable, this seminal work deserves a place in every growers library. From the organic farmer seeking a comprehensive reference, to the family farmer who wants to learn how to guarantee access to a favorite variety, to the progressive seed saver committed to successall will find this book an indispensable guide and Navazio a trusted partner in organic seed improvement.

Jim Gerritsen , president, Organic Seed Growers
and Trade Association (OSGATA)

There is nothing more important right now than growing and saving seedsthat most essential aspect of life. While we may have all done this once upon a time, we have mostly lost these skills to private industry or urbanization. Until now. John Navazio reveals all the techniques and tricks, some simple and some complex, that hes learned only after decades of careful observation and practice. Incredible photos help tell the story of life that seeds represent. The Organic Seed Grower is what we need to take back community control of seeds from those who have taken it from us.

Tom Stearns , president, High Mowing Organic Seeds

The Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program is a USDA competitive grants program, and grant funds have supported the writing, editing, and production of this book. Northeast SARE invests in projects like this one to improve the understanding and adoption of sustainable farming techniques. SARE defines sustainable farming as profitable, environmentally sound, and good for communities.

There are four SARE regions that serve the United States and the Island Protectorates. The Northeast SARE region is made up of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, West Virginia, Vermont, and Washington, D.C.

To learn more about SARE and the grant offerings in each of the four SARE regions, go to www.sare.org .

Copyright 2012 by John Navazio.

All rights reserved.

All photographs Scott Vlaun unless otherwise credited.

No part of this book may be transmitted or reproduced in any form by any means without permission in writing from the publisher.

Project Manager: Patricia Stone

Developmental Editor: Ben Watson

Copy Editor: Laura Jorstad

Proofreader: Eileen M. Clawson

Indexer: Margaret Holloway

Designer: Melissa Jacobson

Printed in the United States of America

First printing November, 2012

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 12 13 14 15 16

Our Commitment to Green Publishing

Chelsea Green sees publishing as a tool for cultural change and ecological stewardship. We strive to align our book manufacturing practices with our editorial mission and to reduce the impact of our business enterprise in the environment. We print our books and catalogs on chlorine-free recycled paper, using vegetable-based inks whenever possible. This book may cost slightly more because it was printed on paper that contains recycled fiber, and we hope youll agree that its worth it. Chelsea Green is a member of the Green Press Initiative ( www.greenpressinitiative.org ), a nonprofit coalition of publishers, manufacturers, and authors working to protect the worlds endangered forests and conserve natural resources. The Organic Seed Grower was printed on paper supplied by QuadGraphics that contains at least 10% post-consumer recycled fiber.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Navazio, John.

The organic seed grower : a farmer's guide to vegetable seed production / John Navazio.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-933392-77-6 (hardcover)ISBN 978-1-60358-452-4 (ebook)

1. VegetablesSeeds. 2. VegetablesPropagation. 3. VegetablesOrganic farming.

4. Organic farming. 5. Seed technology. I. Title.

SB324.75.N38 2013

635dc23

2012034338

Chelsea Green Publishing

85 North Main Street, Suite 120

White River Junction, VT 05001

(802) 295-6300

www.chelseagreen.com

Acknowledgments

The knowledge captured within this text would not have been possible without the good graces of a number of farmers, seed growers, plant breeders, and scientists, who shared their knowledge of the craft and science of growing vegetable seed.

The farmers and seed growers: Frank Morton, Nash Huber, Fred Brossy, Marko Colby, Sebastian Aguilar, Beth Rasgorshek, David Podoll, Rich Pecoraro, Martin and Atina Diffley, and Scott Chichester, as well as a number of other great stewards of the Earth, have been instrumental in my quest to learn how to grow seeds organically. They are the reason that I get up each morning excited to learn just a little more in our quest to put farmers back in control of humanitys inherited wealth, the seed.

I am also very grateful for the advice and support that I received from the plant breeders and scientists who freely gave of their time and energy to carefully read and suggest improvements to this text. They include: Phil Simon, Laura Merrick, Jim Myers, Bill Tracy, Irwin Goldman, Lisa Stephens, Bruce Carle, Jen Kingfisher, and Lindsey du Toit. They have greatly enhanced the accuracy and content of this book. Thanks, too, to the late Stan Peloquin, who awakened in me a true love and appreciation for the reproductive biology of flowering plants.

I owe a huge debt of gratitude for the love and support of my dear friends and colleagues Matthew Dillon and Micaela Colley, who have made my life with seeds possible and the Organic Seed Alliance a reality. My gratitude also extends to Jared Zystro and the rest of the team at OSA for all their tireless work in spreading the word on all aspects of seed sovereignty. I am also grateful for the opportunity to work with the Washington State University Extension in furthering my ability to educate farmers and students in the fundamentals of organic seed production.

This book would not have gotten off the ground without a generous grant from the USDA Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program. David Holm and Helen Husher of Northeast SARE had the patience and belief in this project to see it through to the end. A special word of thanks goes to Ben Watson for all of his varied editorial skills and his saint-like patience. Thanks also to Patricia Stone and the rest of the staff at Chelsea Green for guiding me through this process.