DECEMBER 2019 • COUNTRY LIFE IN BC
Seed app helps producers grow research data
Digital connections driving future directions for seed growers by RONDA PAYNE
RICHMOND – The fourth biennial BC Seed Gathering organized by FarmFolk CityFolk saw about 80 seed enthusiasts come together on November 8-9 to share success stories, information and seeds.
BC Seed Security program
coordinator and event organizer Keeley Nixon spoke about connecting Seedy Saturday and Sunday event organizers. “There are multiple Seedy
Saturdays happening across the province,” she says. “We identified 75.”
She was able to reach 62 of them and found that many of the event coordinators didn’t know about the dozens of similar events happening around BC. Her goal was to create tools for event organizers and facilitate their connections with others. “We developed organizer’s
tool kits with press releases, contacts [and other information],” she says, materials she feels will provide organizers with emotional support. In the future, Nielsen will also identify actions that can benefit Seedy event organizers based on conversations with event coordinators. Nicolas Enjalbert, co-
founder of Wisconsin-based SeedLinked, introduced an app for sharing data related to seed. The app aims to harness data which he described as currently “very decentralized … very messy.” SeedLinked aims to compile and share seed data among seed growers, seed companies, farmers and
others. Enjalbert says these individuals share 15,000 datapoints related to seed every day using the app, which is in its first year of existence. It allows individuals to
input environmental details and find the best seed options based on available data. Once the seed is planted, growers can add further data regarding its progress to the data stream. Enjalbert sees the app’s benefits being adapted to many levels. For example, a seed company might put a seed variety in its catalogue along with data about growing conditions that make it successful. Matthew Kemshaw discussed the Victoria Seed Library, a project on Vancouver Island which just completed its sixth season. It’s a partnership of the Greater Victoria Public Library and the LifeCycles Project Society. “The partnership was
formed so we could provide free seed to everybody along with education and resources,” he says. Participants must attend a
one-hour seed-saving workshop in order to obtain seed. There are about 230 varieties in the collection. Kemshaw says they’re almost 100% local.
Another seed-saving
program is the Salt Spring Seed Sanctuary, founded in 2002 by Salt Spring Seeds. The sanctuary became a registered charity in 2004 to ensure seeds that aren’t in its catalogue continue to be saved. Sanctuary co-coordinator Milo Stuart spoke about the
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Salt Spring Seed Sanctuary co-coordinator Milo Stuart explained to guests at the BC Seed Gathering in Richmond that his focus is on nuts, rice and other carbohydrate-heavy crops. RONDA PAYNE PHOTO
current focus on nuts, rice and other carbohydrate- heavy crops. “We’re focused on supplying our island with regionally adapted seed,” he says. “We partnered with the Salt Spring Centre of Yoga. There’s also a school on the site.”
The centre’s 65-acre site
allows visitors to enjoy a five- acre farm and two-acre food forest filled with fruit and nut trees as well as berries. One of the event’s formal
presentations was on ways to keep seeds pathogen-free. Plant pathologist Lindsey du
Toit of Washington State University in Mount Vernon explained each crop requires a different kind of care to achieve high-quality seed production.
She notes that orienting
rows into the primary wind flow of a property can help reduce pathogen pressures. However, some crops, like cabbage, require plants to be staked and tied to keep seed heads upright. This requires canopy management to ensure there is both airflow and support for the plants. Onion scapes can easily
form grey mould in the shell
around the scape and in dead leaves on the plant stalk. This requires awareness of rainfall and watering practices. “Be conscious of those [issues] if you’re overhead irrigating,” she says. “A lot of growers have shifted to drip [irrigation].” While growers can use hot
water, aeration, steam, hot and dry air and disinfectants to mitigate the risk of pathogens, different seeds have varying tolerances for the treatments. “There’s a lot of complexity that goes into getting seed treatments to work,” she says.
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