Seedy Sudbury was held on Sunday February 26th, 2023. This event is part of a long-term project to help Sudburians grow and access more local foods. Folks gathered at Vale Cavern for a day of seed sharing and education. Seeds ideal for the microclimate of Timmins, North Bay and Sudbury regions were available. The day explored the concept of seed saving, where they keep seeds from year-to-year to help develop seeds that are regionally adapted to the climate.
Peggy Baillie was one of the featured speakers during the event. She is the co-owner of 3 Forks Farms with her partner Eric Blondin on Manitoulin Island. Along with their market garden operation, they grow and develop certified seeds. Peggy discussed the importance of growing crops from regionally adapted seeds, and explained how anyone interested can start to save vegetable seeds on their own operation.
Kicking off her talk, when asking the audience who had difficulty growing spinach, many raised their hands. Peggy proceeded to explain that most of the seeds for spinach originate in Holland. It can be a struggle to grow spinach in Northern Ontario because the seeds have not been adapted to the region. This can be the case for many seeds. For example, most onions are coming from the southern USA (Arizona- Utah area). The southern USA climate is vastly different from Northern Ontario, which can create challenges in growing onion crops. Another example is broccoli seed, which often comes from Oregon. Oregon has much milder winters and less humidity compared to Northern Ontario. Cucumber seeds are another example, as they tend to come from California.
Growth results can be greatly improved when growing with seeds adapted to our climate. Peggy shared her success with Jericho romaine lettuce. She has been growing this for at least 10 years. Seed keepers in Ontario have been keeping this variety for over 20 years, allowing this variety to be very successful. Regionally adapted seed will always perform better in the climate it has been adapted in.
Only 3% of vegetable seeds planted in Canada have been adapted in Canada. There is a very limited number of seed producers in Northern Ontario. Often larger companies don’t service regional markets, so there is value in learning how to save seeds and adapt them to grow in this region.
One example of successful, collaborative vegetable seed breeding is the Renegade Red Pepper. This was grown in Ontario, for Ontario. It took 10 years of roguing and development to have this pepper variety available. Ice bread arugula is another great example. It is a well-adapted arugula variety for the region, as it doesn’t bolt and can handle cold temperatures.
The seeds being produced may be from annual plants, (e.g. tomatoes, beans) or biennial, which will only produce seeds every two years, after vernalization following fruiting (e.g. brassicas, kale, broccoli). It can be easier to start seed saving from annuals since they only have one yearly cycle. One can reliably plant annuals in the spring and gather seeds in the fall. Biennial plants need to be grown out in the first year to achieve seed production in the second year.
Furthering the conversation, Baillie broke down the importance of knowing the difference between a plant with a perfect, self-pollinating flower, and an imperfect cross-pollinating flower. An imperfect flower can be male or female. Pollen must travel from one flower to the next. A perfect flower contains both male and female parts (sepals, petals, pistils, and stamens) and can pollinate itself. An imperfect flower is missing one of those parts, which can lead to cross-pollination, increasing genetic diversity in the crop.
Successful pollination is required for seed production. Some plants are able to self-pollinate, while others are pollinated by wind or insect pollinators. When planning to save seeds, it is important to know how the plant is pollinated to understand what isolation distance or segregation may be required to maintain variety purity. If the correct separation distance is not used, there is a risk of cross-pollination. For example, with plants such as pumpkins and zucchinis, when planted in close proximity, there could result a “Pumpzini” cross plant.
Some plants are considered dry-seeded crops, such as lettuce, corn, and arugula. They require longer to produce the seed and dry down. For example, a crop of lettuce can be eaten in 28 days, but seed production will take several months. The seeds must be crushed out of the pod, then be separated from the chaff by using wind or blowing.
Wet-seeded crops can have seed harvested at the same time as the crop itself. Some crops, such as cucumbers, should be left on the vine past the ideal harvest point to allow the seed to reach maturity and promote its viability. To harvest these seeds, one can squish or pull seeds out of the pulpy plant before rinsing and drying. These crops also can benefit from fermentation in their own juices (e.g., tomatoes, cucumbers, melons, winter squash).
Viable seeds that have a higher likelihood of germinating will sink in a bucket of water, and those that float can be skimmed away. After removing the seeds from the water, they can be rinsed and dried on a screen or coffee filter for multiple days.
The Seedy Sudbury event highlighted the activities of Seeds of Diversity Canada, a seedbank of 3500+ seeds in Georgetown, Ontario. Seeds of Diversity hosts and promotes Seedy Saturday events across Canada, as well as maintaining the seedbank and a network of ecological growers interested in the use and growth of open-pollinated and heritage seeds.
For more information on the Seedy Sudbury group, contact seedysudbury@gmail.com