Breeding / Research Program

  1. We Take Quality Into Our Own Hands

    There's a select group of seed crops that grow well here in Vermont. We have grown tomatoes, peppers, brassicas and squash here since our beginning, 21 years ago. The benefits go beyond simply having a healthy seed crop. Growing our own seed allows us to continue to increase our knowledge of all aspects of seed production, and to work more...
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  2. Why Choose Organic Seed?

    When the USDA's National Organic Program (NOP) began requiring organic farmers to use organic seed back in 2002, the organic seed industry was virtually nonexistent. There just weren't that many seed companies focusing on organics. The past fourteen years have witnessed a rapid expansion of the organic seed industry. The availability of organic seed has never been as strong, and...
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  3. High Mowing Bred: Our Picnic Pepper Collection

    Dr. Jodi Lew-Smith first encountered miniature sweet peppers while grocery shopping in the South. It was several years ago, and the Breeding Coordinator was taken with the tiny snack veggie right away. When asked why she wanted to grow them for seed, her reply was immediate: “They taste amazing,” says Lew-Smith. As the leader of High Mowing’s breeding program, Lew-Smith...
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  4. Heat Tolerant Greens: Varieties for the Hottest Summer Months

    As our season slowly evolves from spring into summer, those of us who grow greens all season long are thinking about how to change up successions to those that will put up with heat. This is a challenge every year, as consumer demand for fresh leafy greens remains strong while it becomes increasingly difficult to produce quality greens without the...
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  5. The Humble Beet: New Ways to Look at an Old Friend

    Jodi Lew-Smith is the Breeding Coordinator at High Mowing Organic Seeds. Many of us who grew up eating only canned beets have had the similar experience of trying a fresh beet and saying, “Wow, I never realized these could actually taste good.” Or, “Hey, these are sweet!” The humble beet is used to being overlooked. But why scorn a vegetable...
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  6. Free the Seed! Introducing the Open Source Seed Collection

    Inspired by the free and open source software movement that has provided alternatives to proprietary software, the Open Source Seed Initiative (OSSI) was created to "free the seed"--to make sure that the genes in at least some seeds can never be locked away from use by intellectual property rights. In other words, Open Source varieties and any varieties bred from...
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  7. Growing Partners: Midori Farm

    Growing Partners interviews are conversations with customers, seed growers & community non-profits we work with that are leading the way in environmental and social stewardship. We’re proud to share their trail-blazing work with the world, and we hope to inspire the real food leaders of tomorrow to follow in their footsteps. Hanako Myers & Marko Colby Marko Colby and Hanako...
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  8. The Future of Organic Seeds

    The world is changing, and our seeds and breeding need to change with it. What does the healthy agriculture of tomorrow look like? How will our climate and habits change? These things need to be weighed so that we know how to direct our organic breeding work. Here are some of the ways we are meeting the needs of current...
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  9. Chef's Table: A Taste of the Culinary Breeding Network

    Black Futsu Squash The Culinary Breeding Network (CBN) is a group of plant breeders, chefs, seed growers, farmers and produce buyers dedicated to discovering and developing vegetable varieties with superior culinary qualities that thrive in the unique climate of the Pacific Northwest. In particular they work to identify varieties of interest, connect plant breeders with chefs to produce desirable varieties...
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  10. Why Seed Matters: An Interview with Matt Dillon

    Matt Dillon (left) examines a wheat trial with Seed Matters' first Graduate Fellow, Brook Brouwer at the High Mowing Trials field. Brook is researching low-input grain crops for organic systems at Washington State University Seed Matters is an initiative created by the Clif Bar Family Foundation to improve the viability and availability of organic seeds. Their goal is to ensure...
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