191: Petra Page-Mann on Certified Organic Seeds.
Selecting bio-regionally adapted seeds and pursuing seed transparency.
Raised in the Finger Lakes of New York, Petra spent over a decade traveling the world studying agriculture before returning to her hometown to start her own farm, Fruition Seeds, in 2012. She has worked for one of the smallest seed companies in the world & also one of the largest. She passionately grows, breeds, saves, shares & eats the seeds of certified organic, regionally adapted vegetables, flowers & herbs. If she’s not farming she is singing, on her bike, hunting mushrooms or sharing a feast with a friend.
In This Podcast:
Organic seed seller Petra Page-Mann chats with Greg about bio-regional adaptations in seeds, genetic purity in seeds, a special heatless habanero, and her seed company which is focused on organic seeds with genetic purity and transparency.
Listen in and learn about:
- Growing up having a garden
- Her story of how she decided she was not going to college and instead wanted a “wild” life
- Going camping and eating crackers and processed food in the middle of nature’s beauty
- Saving seeds because she did not know what else to do
- Going to Don Tipping’s seed school and being inspired by his interests and wisdom
- Meeting Matthew Goldfarb after going out for a night of dancing and creating a seed company
- Focusing on regionally adapted organic seeds
- Saving seeds as if her life depended on it
- What happens to seeds that are not adapted to the region they are planted in, and why seed saving is important
- More about GMO seeds and how that is affecting food production
- Some background into the heatless habanero created by Dr. Michael Mazourek – the habanada
As well as:
- Her failure – The time she came to the realization that her business was not going to succeed with the current plan and was heartbroken, until they figured out how to keep their core values and make it all work
- Her success – having employees that enjoy coming to work and being thrilled to be successful enough to respect and support people
- Her advice – If it’s not fun, it’s not worth it.
Petra’s Book recommendation:
The Organic Seed Grower: A Farmer’s Guide to Vegetable Seed Production
How to reach Petra:
Email: petra@fruitionseeds.com
Website: fruitionseeds.com
UrbanFarm.org/FruitionSeeds
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