Ep. 80 Fermentation Ruminations

The fruiting seed crops are starting to pile up in buckets and it’s time to decide whether to ferment or not! In this minisode we get into why you might want to ferment a wet seeded crop, what crops are generally fermented, and why you should be cautious with squash.

Enjoy the show!

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Support the Seed Farmer Podcast https://www.farmerspreadsheetacademy.com//supportpodcast

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News links

Thursday Aug 20 at 7pm Eastern Seed Growers Open House Call https://seedalliance.org/osa-quarterly-calls/

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Stay in Touch Follow the Seed Farmer on instagram https://www.instagram.com/danbrisebois.farm/

Get my weekly seed newsletter https://www.farmerspreadsheetacademy.com/seeds

Order Tourne-Sol seeds (Canadian orders only) https://fermetournesol.qc.ca/

Get my new book The Seed Farmer https://danbrisebois.com/seedfarmerbook

❤️ Thanks for listening!

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Ep. 79 Evolutionary Breeding in Australia – Gregg Muller, Useful Seeds

Gregg Muller operates Useful Seeds out of Bendigo, Australia. His seed journey began when Carol Deppe’s writing inspired him to start breeding colorful snowpeas right in his own yard. This home-scale plant breeding effort quickly expanded into many different breeding projects and running a small seed company.

In this episode, Gregg shares how his breeding work has shifted from selecting for specific traits to developing resilient landraces tuned for local adaptation. We discuss the logistics, challenges, and opportunities behind grassroots seed distribution and community-based breeding. Gregg also highlights some of his breeding projects, including red-podded peas and compact, drought-tolerant butternut pumpkins.

In the deep dive, Gregg and I explore growing fava beans (broadbeans) for seed. Gregg tackles the challenge of selecting for culinary traits within a diverse genetic mix sourced from global gene banks. He explains his practical approach to breeding for multi-use value from tender green shoots and edible baby pods to rehydratable dry beans, not to mention beautiful flowers. And we get into threshing and winnowing favas too.

Enjoy the conversation!

Support the Seed Farmer Podcast https://www.farmerspreadsheetacademy.com//supportpodcast

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Episode links

Useful Seeds website https://www.usefulseeds.com/

Useful Seeds on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/useful_seeds/

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News links

Thursday Aug 20 at 7pm Eastern Seed Growers Open House Call https://seedalliance.org/osa-quarterly-calls/

🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱

Stay in Touch Follow the Seed Farmer on instagram https://www.instagram.com/danbrisebois.farm/

Get my weekly seed newsletter https://www.farmerspreadsheetacademy.com/seeds

Order Tourne-Sol seeds (Canadian orders only) https://fermetournesol.qc.ca/

Get my new book The Seed Farmer https://danbrisebois.com/seedfarmerbook

❤️ Thanks for listening!

Read More