Fruition Seeds is a brand-new seed company in Naples, NY whose mission is to grow regionally-adapted, certified organic seed for Finger Lakes farmers and gardeners. The enthusiastic and knowledgeable owners of this exciting new venture, Petra Page-Mann and Matthew Goldfarb, are also coordinating with other local organic farmers to grow out some of their seed crops.
On the right side of the photo are Red Russian kale plants going to seed - the plants are loaded with seed pods and very close to ripening. The kale was direct-seeded last fall and stood through the winter, uncovered, in a wind-swept location, thus the survivors have been selected for winter hardiness in our region. Most seed production now takes place in the Pacific northwest which has much milder winters so seed from there isn't as winter-hardy.
In spring Petra removed any remaining weak or crowded plants, leaving a healthy stand of seed-bearing plants. Brassica plants are incredibly generous with their seeds so there should be many pounds harvested from these rows.
We saw long rows of mixed salad greens going to seed - mustard, tatsoi, arugula and lettuce. All of these plantings are ones that Nathaniel and Emily were cutting for salad greens, then they stopped cutting and allowed them to go to seed rather than taking them out and replanting with something else. With 25 acres under cultivation, they can afford to use this space for seed production and they know it will save them money on their seed bill next year.
A group of seedy people contemplating lettuce plants going to seed.
A mixed planting of red and green lettuce. They are going to allow these different varieties to cross with each other. Nathanial isn't concerned with maintaining varietal purity since he wants to end up with a mix of lettuce types anyway for replanting. He likes a lot of red lettuce in his salad bags so it will be interesting to see if one color is dominant over the other.
If you want to learn more about commercial seed production in the Finger Lakes, there will be a Field Day at Fruition Seeds on Saturday July 27 from 3 to 5 pm. There will be a farm tour and demonstrations of seed cleaning techniques, and the event is free and open to the public.
Fruition Seeds is located at 7970 Hickory Bottom Road, Naples NY. From Naples, take County Road 36 up the hill a mile or so and take a right on Gulick Road. In another half mile, take a left on Hickory Bottom Road and the farm will be on the right after a quarter mile, adjacent the large white barns, at 7970.
If you're interested in learning more about seed-saving in a typical home vegetable garden, come to a class on seed saving techniques at CCE-Tompkins, Ithaca NY on Wednesday July 3 from 6:30 - 8:30 pm. Topics covered will include hand-pollination, isolation techniques, flower types and rogueing out off-types. Part of the class will be held outside in the seed-saving garden so dress for the weather. The cost is $5 to $10 (sliding scale fee) and you can register by calling the CCE-Tompkins reception at 272-2292 or send an email to cab69@cornell.edu.
Come learn
about seed production and saving for vegetables, herbs and flowers on
two organic acres of seed, from arugula to zucchini, tucked in the heart
of the Bristol Hills! We'll have a farm tour and discuss of strategies
and challenges in the Finger Lakes. We will also demonstrate simple
cleaning techniques with hands-on demonstrations. Come with lots of
questions and come away with inspiration, know-how and fresh seed for
your summer/fall plantings. - See more at:
http://ccetompkins.org/calendar/13/06/07/fruition-seeds-field-day#sthash.T78RJH3G.dpuf
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