Seed - the ultimate expression

Our seed harvest began in January and with the days shortening and the temperature cooling, a quickening is happening in all crops, even the weeds. With an innate desire to preserve their genetics, seed is ripening. We are in the thick of our seed harvest!

leek seed nearly ready for harvest - march 2023

SEED - For some crops, like the leeks above, it is their ultimate expression. These leeks began as seed in September 2021, yes 19 months ago, grown to pencil thickness in the glass house and then transplanted into 25cm deep holes.

We nurtured them through the whole of the 2021-2022 season, allowed them to overwinter and then sorted through the 350 leeks finding 60 with the longest white shanks.

These were the last to form thick cores which support their round floret covered orbs.

Pollinated by flies, bees and other insects looking for nectar, the flowers transform into green seed enclosures, slowly ripening the hard dark seed, which, when mature, is revealed by the cracking open of the browned casings.

Other seeds are housed in “fruits” like tomatoes and pumpkins. We wait for the fruits to mature and then extract the seeds.

Mr stripey and juane flamme tomatos harvested for seed collection - march 2023

Tomato seed is extracted and fermented - the fermentation process kills some seed borne diseases and also removes a germination inhibitor.

Pumpkins are harvested when mature and stored. We choose seed from the longest storers and evaluate the flesh by tasting roasted samples and also checking the BRIX level.

butternut pumpkin seed crop - march 2023

The past two seasons, the seed harvest has ticked along at a pace we can keep up with.  Starting in January, there is a steady rhythm of harvest, dry, thresh, screen, winnow, dry, germinate test, and hopefully put into packets. This season feels a bit more condensed - the warm season came later and Autumn feels like it has settled in although we are still 10 days from Autumn equinox- the crops are rushing to ripen.

marina di chioggia seed crop - march 2023

The weather has not been consistently dry - so seed is drying in sheds and polytunnnels - as opposed to in the field. We await seed maturity and harvest what we can ahead of rain. Drying with fans and threshing to make room for the next ready crop.

Chez le bart lettuce seed crop drying - march 2023

Below is ‘Shanghai Green’ Bok Choy - transplanted and grown to maturity; plants that bolted early, had thin ribs or did not fight off aphids were removed; the crop moved past maturity, sending up 1 metre high stems covered in many yellow flowers which are very attractive to bees; pollinated flowers set seed which slowly ripened; and when the seed heads began to brown, signaling seed maturity, the stalks were harvested and dried on tarps. The seed was stripped, separated from their pods, winnowed to clean off debris and sort the heavy viable seed from the light “empty” seed and germ tested.

The cycle from seed to seed is different for each crop but the result is a hard bodied living memory, full of genetic information - lineage that traces the seed child to the parent plant to the grandparent plant and further; a blueprint of surviving climate, disease, infestation; connection to place through sunlight, water and soil- just waiting for the chance to again express itself!

zinnia seed crop in mandalas - march 2023

As each crop is dried and the viability of the seed confirmed, we package the seed. While outside crops are maturing, drying, being cleaned and sized, inside new season and old season seed is being germination tested - the results reflected on each packet. Envelopes full of potential - the possibility of fields filled with food, flowers and flavour!

This is the cycle of the season - the circle of life. Spring begins the long exhale of the earth seen in the surge of buds swelling, grains growing, seed germinating. Summer continues that outward surge with crops like corn, amaranth, sunflowers stretching high - fruit ripening. The full expression of a lettuce, bok choy or orach being the seed heads towering above the unrecognizable crop. And Autumn signals the maturing, the earth begins to inhale -setting seeds and pulling energy back into roots.

And although the maturing of their seed also signals the death of the mother plant, nature in its divine plan ensures the continuation of the genetics.

All photos taken on Transition Farm by Peter Carlyon. Please request reproduction.