Events
Fall Seed Academy 2019
Fri, Oct 11, 2019, 2:00 PM –
Sun, Oct 13, 2019, 5:00 PM PDT
$350 – $500
Tickets
Event Information
The Seed Academy is an on-farm, hands-on training in its 6th year at Seven Seeds Farm / Siskiyou Seeds in Williams, Oregon October 11-13
About this Event
Join the Seed Academy with teachers Don Tipping, (Siskiyou Seeds), Stacey Denton (Flora Farm) & Special Guests TBA
An in-depth, hands-on training for farmers, gardeners, educators, entrepreneurs, permaculturalists & anyone interested in becoming a part of the Seed Movement. Learn with the experts. Gain the essential skills you need to harvest & process seed. Learn the fundamentals of plant breeding & propagation. Receive the step-by step tools, strategies & inspired vision required to start or upgrade a seed business. Meet & network with your bioregional neighbors to optimize results. Seed Academy’s mission is to increase network capacity, collaboration & synergy in the Seed Freedom Movement in the Rogue Bioregion & beyond.
WHEN: Shorter 3 day Event begins Friday, October 11 @ 2 pm and runs through Sunday, 10/13 at 5pm. The event is 8:00am through 6pm with dinner to follow and a more open, salon type format after dinner.
WHAT: We invite you to join us for a 3 day intensive training in seed saving, basic botany, reproductive biology in plants, understanding selection, planting seeds, soil mixes, seed germination, isolation, crossing, seed libraries, seed storage, germination tests and much more. Don Tipping is the lead instructor who brings 25 years experience in organic farming, seeds, permaculture and enthusiastic on-farm education. The Seed Academy is much more than a simple "seed saving" course, but rather a deep dive into whole systems theory and management and an immersive experience in a mature Permaculture Farm site.
WHO: Gardeners, farmers, permaculturalists , those interested in starting a neighborhood seed library or seed bank, those interested in stewarding and preserving heirloom varieties, and all who see growing and saving seed as a wonderful way to grow a positive future. No prior experience is necessary, however, some gardening familiarity will be helpful.
HOW: includes delicious organic meals from the farm, camping, showers, instruction, handouts, field trips and a deeply nourishing dive into co-creating regenerative culture. In order to support local growers who envision themselves becoming part of a local seed production network we are offering a Locals (Cascadia Bioregion) discount (seed below)
Course Fees: Full Price - $500
Cascadia Locals - $400 (meaning you live within the watershed of a river that flows to the Pacific ocean)
Early Bird (purchased before 9/9/19) - $450 Full / $350 Cascadia Local
SCHOLARSHIPS: We offer limited work exchange opportunities for folks who want to pay half the fee and lend a hand with course logistics. We have hope to be able to offer some full scholarships available and are awaiting confirmation from some non-profit sponsors. Please send an email sharing a bit about why attending this course will benefit your journey to become a seed steward to don@siskiyouseeds.com to apply.
VISION: The journey with connecting more deeply with seeds as a source point of life begins with seed saving, then progresses to seed growing on a farm or garden preservation scale. The master level is seed stewardship, cultivating a deep relationship with the species and all of its potential for bioregional adaptation to climate, pests, disease and agronomic & culinary preferences.
We visualize interconnected Community Seed Hubs that are capable of doing breeding, selection, stewardship and improvement that work with bioregional centers that can do finish cleaning, climate controlled storage, marketing and distribution of high quality, open-pollinated organic seeds. In this way we can co-create a sustainable seed system that will support organic food production for local markets and resilient local food systems. Seven Seeds Farm is home to Siskiyou Seeds - a certified organic family farm seed company and has been striving towards providing a Community Seed Hub for the Rogue Valley. We are partnering with the following non-profits Our Family Farms, Southern Oregon Seed Growers Association and the Rocky Mountain Seed Alliance.
Date And Time
Fri, Oct 11, 2019, 2:00 PM –
Sun, Oct 13, 2019, 5:00 PM PDT
Location
Seven Seeds Farm
3220 East Fork Rd.
Williams, OR 97544
Organizer Don Tipping
Organizer of Fall Seed Academy 2019
Don Tipping has been offering hands on, practical workshops at Seven Seeds Farm since 1997. We are a small, organic family farm in the Siskiyou Mountains of SW Oregon, on a tall forested mountain with rushing spring fed creeks nestled among old growth forests.
Here we produce fruits, vegetables, seeds, herbs, wool, eggs, and lamb. The farm has been designed to function as a self-contained, life regenerating organism with waste products being recycled and feeding other elements of the system. Lauded as one of the best examples of a small productive Biodynamic and Permaculture farms in the northwest by many, Seven Seeds helps to mentor new farmers through internships and workshops. We have produced certified organic vegetable, flower and herb seeds for over a dozen national scale seed companies. Seven Seeds has also been active in USDA Western SARE, Organic Seed Alliance and other seed initiatives to advance the development of open pollinated organic seeds. In 2009 we began Siskiyou Seeds, a bioregional organic seed company operated from the home farm. Don helped to found the Siskiyou Sustainable Cooperative which manages a 300 share CSA, commercial seed growing, an equipment co-op and internship curriculum among 12 cooperating farms. He also co-founded the Family Farmers Seed Cooperative, a seed grower, marketing and distribution cooperative comprised of 10 western organic farms.
Don helps people focus upon helping people build their skill sets in sustainable life skills such as permaculture, biodynamics, organic gardening, eco-forestry, seed saving and other traditional arts that help to build regenerative culture. He has co taught with a wide group of widely respected people in the both the seed & Permacukture movement including: Tom Ward, Larry Korn, Michael “Skeeter” Pilarski, Bill McDorman, Dennis Martinez, John Navazio, Frank Morton, Harald Hoven, Jude Hobbs, Becky Bee, Rowen White and more.
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