Redwood Seeds Blog

  • Zucchini Selection and Recipe Ideas

    The Zucchini patch 2013  Seed Saving Facts: Scientific Name: Curcubita pepo     Common Name: Black Beauty Zucchini Isolation Distance: 1/4 mile to 2 miles depending on pollinator pressure   Population Size: 20 will usually preserve good genetic diversity for squash Outbreeder, Insect Pollinated, Monoecious ( Male and female flowers on the same plant)  These will cross pollinate with any other Curcubita pepo nearby. Common pepos include Spaghetti Squash, Acorn Squash, most summer squashes, some pumpkins, Delicata and more. If you are growing more than one pepo or can't achieve isolation due to what your neighbor is growing consider hand pollination. After selection... read more »

  • Seed Saving Class: Brassicas, lettuce, etc

    Attention Chico and Redding area seed savers! We are teaching a class on saving seeds from your cool weather crops this weekend at the Chico Grange. The class will be held from 1-3 pm on Saturday, June 29th. We will be discussing best practices when saving seeds from Brassicas, Lettuces, Carrots, Beets and more. There will also be a hands on portion of the class where participants will have a chance to winnow brassica and pea seed. I have attached our handout for the class below the flier. This is a free workshop but does require pre-registration at www.cultivatingcommunity.org  ... read more »

  • Redwood Lettuce Party

    This week we hosted the first annual Redwood lettuce tasting party. Some of our friends and most trusted greens connoisseurs sampled each of our lettuces, kales and mustards and helped us discover their most defining qualities. It was a tasty and productive experience. We started our green garden tour with forellenschus lettuce, also known as speckles because of the smattering of purple on the green leaves. The hearts were crisp and sweet, though we did find them to be a bit tastier a few weeks ago. The prizehead variety lives up to it's name with massive heads of purple tipped... read more »

  • Spring on the Farm

    Spring planting continues at a frenetic pace and the frequency of our blog posts has diminished! So as our little one naps, I'll take a moment to catch you up to speed. With spring rains, this time of year is always so beautiful here on the farm. We can almost imagine that we live in New Zealand, Cam's home country where summer rains usually keep the fields green year round. We always chuckle when we hear from his parents that the country is experiencing drought; their definition of drought is about 6 weeks with no rain!  Compare that to our... read more »

  • Arcata Seed Swap

    Last weekend we attended the Arcata Seed Swap. It was the biggest seed swap we've been to this year with several workshops, speeches and hands-on educational opportunities. Kalan gave a presentation about our seed production and farm. The swap included live music and lunches sold to benefit the Seed and Plant Exchange. And of course there were plenty of seeds to trade, share and purchase. Thank you to everyone who helped make the swap so great this year, and to all the folks who came by our booth. It was great to meet so many people excited about seeds and... read more »