From the Field: July 2003
by Micaela Colley

I am in awe of the intimate connection that every organic grower has with their environment, crops, and land. This essence of place, and the farmer's influence is referred to in the French wine industry as "terroir". It is what Rick and Christy Knoll of Tairwa Produce (they've adopted a pheonetic spelling) have named their farm because they know that the figs, artichokes, greens and heirloom melons and tomatoes that they produce would not be the same anywhere else. They also know that the varieties they choose play a large part in the uniqueness of their produce.

Working with many unique farms trialing Seeds of Change varieties in varied environments gives us a chance to evaluate characteristics like the uniformity, or trueness of the variety, and the seedling vigor across diverse climatic regions, in different cultivation systems and grown for various markets. At Horton Road in Western Oregon, Heirloom Organics in the Pinoche Valley of California, and at the UC Davis Student Farm, our golden, black eel, and cocozelle summer squash are being evaluated for vigor, uniformity of color and shape, and good flavor. Each site brings unique opportunities for evaluation. At Horton Road the plants withstood a wet, cool spring without mildewing. At Davis, they face hot dry temperatures and are evaluated for length of productivity. At Heirloom Organics they are evaluated under windy conditions with unique insect pressures.

As each farm we work with is growing for a different market, each brings a different perspective in evaluating varieties. Greengulch farm in Sausalito, CA sells big full heads of our Forellenschluss, Pirat, and Jericho lettuces at farmers markets and stores in San Francisco. County Line Produce up the road in Petaluma, CA is trialing the same varieties and many others for baby head production. They are evaluating color, shape and texture at the one-month old stage. Further south in Aromas, CA, Heirloom Organics is trialing our lettuces and greens for baby mixed salad production and specialty mixes. Each grower evaluates and selects varieties based on a unique set of criteria.

Cultivation practices can profoundly effect variety performance. We just evaluated the seedling stages of our specialty melons on two farms with hot, dry summers in California. At Heirloom Organics, Stuart Dixon is growing our melons on drip irrigation while Rick and Christy Knoll of Tairwa Produce are growing many of the same varieties dryfarmed. We are interested to see how the quality of melons and productivity compares between the sites.

With nearly a month past since the solstice, day length is already beginning to wane. At the peak of summer growers are now planning their fall cycle of crops. Many of our on-farm variety trial growers are gearing up for fall trials. In areas with longer seasons they will be rotating in carrots, beets, and brassicas through September. Nearly everywhere growers are still sowing greens, lettuce, basil, peas, and even bush beans for full fall harvests. I am reminded to consider my own climate and what can still be planted to keep my garden productive as fall approaches.

Keep planting,
Micaela Colley, Bulk Seed Field Representative