Edmund Frost is a seed grower and plant breeder based at Twin Oaks Community in Virginia. He is the manager of Commonwealth Seed Growers, a cooperative seed company focused on regionally adapted varieties for the Southeast.

In this episode, Edmund shares the hidden realities of contract growing and his efforts to build a Seed Workers Union through the Seed Worker Organizing project to advocate for fair wages and better working conditions. We discuss the transition of Commonwealth Seed Growers into a co-operative model, the importance of self-advocacy when negotiating seed contracts, and how seed stewardship provides farmers with a resilient insurance policy against the disappearance of commercial hybrid varieties.

In the deep dive, Edmund and I get into Cucurbit Breeding. We cover the devastating impact of Downy Mildew since the 2004 pathogen shift and how Edmund uses vine tracing to select for truly resistant plants. Edmund also shares his exciting work crossing Korean and Brazilian genetics to create a summer squash that is naturally immune to Squash Vine Borers.

Enjoy the conversation!

Support the Seed Farmer Podcast

http://spreadsheet.farm/supportpodcast

Episode links

Common Wealth Seed Growers website

Common Wealth Seed Growers on instagram

Seed Worker Organizing website

Twin Oaks Community website

News Links

Visit LocalSeeds.org to support A Campaign to Raise Awareness of the Importance of Seeds.

Stay in Touch

Follow the Seed Farmer on instagram

Get my weekly seed newsletter

Order Tourne-Sol seeds (Canadian orders only)

Get my new book The Seed Farmer

https://danbrisebois.com/seedfarmerbook/

❤️ Thanks for listening!

This minisode is a conversation with Lucy Sharratt of the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network (CBAN).

I invited Lucy to talk about the new genetically engineered Purple Tomato. This the first biotech vegetable seed being directly marketed to home gardeners. It's important for folks in the seed world to be aware of this change and to start thinking about the potential long-term impacts on our shared seed commons.

Lucy and I dig into what this shift could mean for growing seed crops, sharing seeds, and the broader culture around open-pollinated seeds, and why this moment feels different from past biotech crops that were mostly limited to large-scale agriculture.

Lucy also shares what gardeners, eaters, and seed people can actually do if they want to have an impact.

Enjoy the conversation!

Support the Seed Farmer Podcast

http://spreadsheet.farm/supportpodcast

Episode links

CBAN's website

CBAN on instagram

News Links

Register for the OSA Virtual Open House Quarterly Call

Stay in Touch

Follow the Seed Farmer on instagram

Get my weekly seed newsletter

Order Tourne-Sol seeds (Canadian orders only)

Get my new book The Seed Farmer

https://danbrisebois.com/seedfarmerbook/

❤️ Thanks for listening!

Bonnetta Adeeb is a founding member of the Ujamaa Cooperative Farming Alliance, a program of the non-profit STEAM Onward based in Maryland. Bonnetta is dedicated to increasing the number of BIPOC seed farmers stewarding culturally meaningful crops and liberating seeds from "seed jail".

In this episode, Bonnetta shares her journey to find the Stone Mountain Watermelon, a variety mentioned in family lore that allowed her ancestors to purchase land after slavery. We discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic transformed a local gardening project into the Ujamaa Cooperative Farming Alliance, a regional network for seed production and training through the Ira Wallace Seed School.

In the deep dive, Bonnetta and I get into Collard Greens. We cover using Ultra Crosses as a community breeding method, the necessity of cold snaps for seed production, and why Bonnetta describes collards as the Jazz of American Cuisine. We also explore how the rhythmic movements of harvest are like dancing.

At the end, Bonnetta also talks about the upcoming Seeds & Culture 2026 Conference on March 6-7 in Washington DC.

Enjoy the conversation!

Support the Seed Farmer Podcast

http://spreadsheet.farm/supportpodcast

Episode links

Ujamaa Seeds website

Ujamaa Coop Farming Alliance on instagram

Seeds & Culture 2026 Conference March 6–7, 2026 Washington DC. Columbia

Ira Wallace Seed School

Heirloom Collard Project

Steam Onward website

News Link

Northern Latitudes: Sourcing and Saving Seeds from Similar Climates

Stay in Touch

Follow the Seed Farmer on instagram

Get my weekly seed newsletter

Order Tourne-Sol seeds (Canadian orders only)

Get my new book The Seed Farmer

https://danbrisebois.com/seedfarmerbook/

❤️ Thanks for listening!

This minisode is a conversation with Rebecca Newburn of the Seed Library Network.

We talk about seed libraries: what they are, how they work, and how anyone (yes, anyone) can start one.

And we talk about the Seed Library Conference on February 14th, focused on helping people get started with seed libraries in their own communities.

Enjoy the conversation!

Support the Seed Farmer Podcast

http://spreadsheet.farm/supportpodcast

Episode links

The Seed Library Network's website

The Seed Library Network on substack

The Seed Library Network on instagram

Stay in Touch

Follow the Seed Farmer on instagram

Get my weekly seed newsletter

Order Tourne-Sol seeds (Canadian orders only)

Get my new book The Seed Farmer

https://danbrisebois.com/seedfarmerbook/

❤️ Thanks for listening!

Shannon Jones runs Broadfork Farm with Bryan Dyck in River Hebert, Nova Scotia. They grow vegetables and cut flowers for market.

I've been trying to get Shannon on the podcast since the beginning of the pod because Broadfork is a great example of how a market farm can integrate seed production into their vegetable and flower fields. And we finally found a time that worked for us to have a conversation.

In this episode, Shannon shares how she and Bryan choose the seed crops they grow and how they manage seed harvest through the season, and clean seeds in the off season. She also explains about how they sell some of their own seeds during their spring seedling sales.

In the deep dive, we explore growing Salad Turnips for seed. We start with why Shannon was looking for a Hakurei turnip alternative, then get into trialing different OP salad turnips to figure out which variety to work with, and finally cover planting, harvest, and cleaning.

We also talk about Bupleurum and Onions for seed.

Enjoy the conversation!

Support the Seed Farmer Podcast

http://spreadsheet.farm/supportpodcast

Episode links

Broadfork's website

Broadfork Farm on instagram

Freed Seed workshop: Botany of Seed Formation

Stay in Touch

Follow the Seed Farmer on instagram

Get my weekly seed newsletter

Order Tourne-Sol seeds (Canadian orders only)

Get my new book The Seed Farmer

https://danbrisebois.com/seedfarmerbook/

❤️ Thanks for listening!

Episode 50 of the Seed Farmer Podcast!!!! Wow!

Let's do something a bit different to pause and mark the occasion.

In this episode, I'm joined by my podcast producer, Molly Brisebois, for a behind-the-scenes conversation about how the podcast gets made, how it's changed over time, and what we've learned along the way.

We talk about how sharing seed stories and talking about seed work brings hope when it is so easy to feel hopelessness these days.

And we talk about the intimacy and the feeling of being "in the room" when listening to podcasts.

We wrap up the conversation with how Molly would approach being a seed farmer.

For those with a keen eye (or ear) for detail, you may have noticed Molly and I share the same last name. Molly happens to be my sister.

Enjoy the conversation!

Support the Seed Farmer Podcast

http://spreadsheet.farm/supportpodcast

News links

My crop planning course Farm Spreadsheets For All Seasons is open for registrations. It comes with a full set of crop planning and harvest management spreadsheet templates.

Stay in Touch

Follow the Seed Farmer on instagram

Get my weekly seed newsletter

Order Tourne-Sol seeds (Canadian orders only)

Get my new book The Seed Farmer

https://danbrisebois.com/seedfarmerbook/

❤️ Thanks for listening!

Chris Belnap is the owner of Cambridge Pacific, based in Cambridge, NY. Their tagline is The Folks Who Make The Packets, and that's exactly what they do: printing seed packs for a wide range of seed companies.

In this episode, Chris shares the history of Cambridge Pacific and walks us through how seed packs actually get printed. We dig into what you should think about when designing your own seed packs. And we explore the Packet Maker magazine, their annual publication that documents Chris's travels to meet the companies that use their packs.

In the deep dive, we talk about dragons and how they have become a signature of Cambridge Pacific.

Enjoy the conversation!

Support the Seed Farmer Podcast

http://spreadsheet.farm/supportpodcast

Episode links

Cambridge Pacific website

News Links

My crop planning course Farm Spreadsheets For All Seasons is open for registrations. It comes with a full set of crop planning and harvest management spreadsheet templates.

Stay in Touch

Follow the Seed Farmer on instagram

Get my weekly seed newsletter

Order Tourne-Sol seeds (Canadian orders only)

Get my new book The Seed Farmer

https://danbrisebois.com/seedfarmerbook/

❤️ Thanks for listening!

It's crop planning time!

I'm sharing the spreadsheet system I've been evolving on farms for over 20 years. These sheets start with your financial goals and work backwards through your sales plan to your field plan. You end up with field schedules, nursery schedules, and a seed order.

Crop planning can feel overwhelming, but when it's done right, it brings clarity, confidence, and less stress to your growing season. And ultimately, when you grow the right amount of crop for your sales channels without extra work, you're on the road to a more profitable farm.

In this episode, you'll hear about two sets of spreadsheets:

🌱 The Basic Farmer Spreadsheet Academy Crop Plan templates.

📊 The Full Crop Plan & Harvest Management Framework that are part of my Farm Spreadsheets for All Seasons course.

You can use these spreadsheets to plan your market garden, your cut flower production, or even your seed crops.

I'll share how these systems work, why pivot tables are a game-changer, and how you can use spreadsheets to plan, track, and grow smarter this season.

It's time to figure out what to grow next season. Enjoy the minisode!

Episode links

Pivot table tutorial

Basic Farmer Spreadsheet Academy Crop Plan Templates

My crop planning course Farm Spreadsheets For All Seasons is open for registrations. It comes with a full set of crop planning and harvest management spreadsheet templates.

News Links

Find our more about Permastead:https://github.com/curvedspace/Permastead

Support the Seed Farmer Podcast

http://spreadsheet.farm/supportpodcast

Stay in Touch

Follow the Seed Farmer on instagram

Get my weekly seed newsletter

Order Tourne-Sol seeds (Canadian orders only)

Get my new book The Seed Farmer

https://danbrisebois.com/seedfarmerbook/

❤️ Thanks for listening!

I invited Janisse Ray for this New Year's Eve episode because I wanted to start the year grounded in the idea of place, rooted in connection, and inspired in your seed work.

Janisse is a writer, naturalist, and farmer based in south Georgia.She is the author of The Seed Underground and Journey in Place, and writes the Substack Trackless Wild.

In this episode, Janisse and I talk about how you learn to be in place and the concept of place-keeping. We explore how this works its way into seed work and foodways. We also dive into the tension between trying to save every seed and focusing on growing a few crops.

In the deep dive, we talk about growing okra for seed.

I invited Janisse for this New Year's Eve episode because I wanted us to start the year grounded in the idea of place, rooted in connection, and inspire you in your seed work.

Enjoy the conversation and happy new year!

Support the Seed Farmer Podcast

http://spreadsheet.farm/supportpodcast

Episode links

Janisse Ray website

Janisse Ray on substack

Janisse Ray on instagram

The latest issue of Crop Stories from Utopian Seed Project features an article from Janisse Ray.

News Links

My crop planning course Farm Spreadsheets For All Seasons is open for registrations. It comes with a full set of crop planning and harvest management spreadsheet templates.

Stay in Touch

Follow the Seed Farmer on instagram

Get my weekly seed newsletter

Order Tourne-Sol seeds (Canadian orders only)

Get my new book The Seed Farmer

https://danbrisebois.com/seedfarmerbook/

❤️ Thanks for listening!

As we wrap up this year, I want to do something a little bit different. At the end of every Seed Farmer conversations I ask my guests two questions

1- What would you tell your younger seed-growing self?

2- What would you say to market growers & gardeners to inspire them to start growing seed?

The answers I get are really wonderful and I often think about them afterwards.

I've decided to take the answers from episodes 1-10 and put them together to share with you.

In this episode we hear words of advice from …

• Frank Morton of WIld Garden Seeds

• Adrianna and Joelene of Empowered Flowers

• Marie-Claude Comeau of Semences St-Laurent

• Kristyn Leach of Second Generation Seeds

• Annie and Nathaniel of Deep Harvest Farm

• Helen Skiba of Artemis Flower Farm

• Liz and Matthew of Muddy Fingers Farm

• Robin Tunnicliffe of Sea Bluff Farm

• Chris & Owen of Truelove Seeds

• Rowen White of Sierra Seeds

Enjoy the episode!

Support the Seed Farmer Podcast

http://spreadsheet.farm/supportpodcast

Episode links

Holiday Special - My Harvest System Design is 50% off!

My crop planning course Farm Spreadsheets For All Seasons is open for registrations. It comes with a full set of crop planning and harvest management spreadsheet templates.

Stay in Touch

Follow the Seed Farmer on instagram

Get my weekly seed newsletter

Order Tourne-Sol seeds (Canadian orders only)

Get my new book The Seed Farmer

https://danbrisebois.com/seedfarmerbook/

❤️ Thanks for listening!