Fall Seed Academy

Join the Seed Academy with teachers Don Tipping (Siskiyou Seeds), & guests TBA

We welcome you to the farm for an in-depth, hands-on training for farmers, gardeners, educators, entrepreneurs, permaculturalists & anyone interested in becoming a part of the Seed Movement. The Seed Academy’s mission is to increase network capacity, collaboration & synergy in the Seed Freedom Movement in the Rogue Bioregion & beyond. Course will include deep dives into whole systems, permaculture, regenerative agriculture, and solutions oriented action steps. We will take a field trip to another small farm that produces organic seeds.

• 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, or implement a seed system to you farm or homestead
• Meet & network with your bioregional neighbors to optimize results.

While this course focuses on Reproductive Biology in plants and the related seed saving science, we also delve into whole systems permaculture and pattern literacy to illuminate how central seeds are to human civilization. Many people leave this course transformed, inspired and energized!

WHEN: 3 day Event begins Friday, October 3 @ 9:00am and runs through Sunday, October 5 at 4pm. The event is 9am through 6pm with dinner to follow and a more open, salon type format after dinner. People traveling from out of town can arrive Thursday eve (10/2) to set up camp.

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 over 30 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, homesteaders, 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. If you are traveling from out of the area and would like to camp on Thursday (10/2) night please email ZG9uIHwgc2lza2l5b3VzZWVkcyAhIGNvbQ== to pre-arrange that.

Course Fees: Full Price - $650 (if able to pay the full price you enable us to welcome more people through scholarships.) Includes instruction, tours, excellent organic meals and camping.

Early Bird Discount (until 9/5/25) - $550

*please note that we can not offer refunds.

SCHOLARSHIPS: We offer a limited amount of scholarship opportunities. We also welcome help with course logistics. The hope is to eliminate any barrier for folks who want to participate. Please send an email sharing a bit about why attending this course will benefit your journey to become a seed steward to ZG9uIHwgc2lza2l5b3VzZWVkcyAhIGNvbQ== 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. Siskiyou Seeds - a certified organic family farm seed company, 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 other seed freedom organizations.

Recomended Reading before or after:

Seed To Seed, by Susan Ashworth

The Organic Seed Grower, by John Navazio

The Seed Garden, Jared Zystro & Miceala Colley

Guns, Germs and Steel, Jared Diamond

Where Our Food Comes From, Gary Nabham

Garden Seed Inventory, Seed Savers Exchange

Return to Resistance, by Roaul Robinson

Bred Your Own Vegetable Varieties, Carol Deppe

Shattering, Cary Fowler

Plants & People, & Seed to Civilization, Charles Heiser

Here is the Syllabus from last year and this years will be similar:

The Seed Academy Syllabus

Friday, October 6

Time Topic

7:30-9:00 Breakfast

9:00-9:15 Check-in, Housekeeping, logistics (outdoor classroom)

9:15-1:00p Farm Tour of Seven Seeds Farm

1:00-2:00 Lunch

2:00-3:00p Participant Intros.

3:00p -3:30 Terminology–Phenotypes, Genotypes, Monecious, Diecious, hybrid, O.P.

3:30-3:45p Break

3:45- 4:30 Hands-on seed harvest (in field)

4:30-5:00p Seed industry history + discussion: From farmer-saved seed to private monopoly; patents and intellectual property (outdoor classroom)

5:00-5:30p Reproductive biology in plants – Botany (outdoor classroom)

5:30- 6:00 Marigold stringing

6:00-7:00 Dinner

7:00-7:15 Clean Up

7:30-9:00 Seeds on Migration Slideshow & Talk (fireside)

Saturday, October 7

Time Topic

7:30-9:00 Breakfast

9:00-9:30 Check-ins

9:30-10:30 Coevolutionary history of plants on Earth

10:30-10:45 Break

10:45-11:30 Basic seed saving & production Producing quality seed on a small scale, maintaining varieties (outdoor classroom)

11:30– 11:45 Introduction to genetics, Genes, traits, inheritance, inbreeding, hybrids

11:45– 1:00p Activity: Squash seed Processing

1:00-2:00 Lunch

2:00-3:00 Hands On Activity with seeds – Wet Processing (at Barn)

3:00-4:20 Heirlooms & the ongoing process of domestication (outdoor classroom)

4:20-4:40 Considerations in growing plants to seed, planning, spacing

4:40-5:00 Isolations & cross pollination(outdoor classroom)

5:00-6:00 Selection, Crop domestication, landraces, hybrids,

natural and artificial selection processes

6:00-7:00 Dinner

7:00-7:15 Clean Up

7:15-9:00 Optional Seed People videos (barn)

Sunday, October 8

Time Activity

7:30-9:00 Breakfast

9:00-9:20 morning Circle – Ah Has & Reflections

9:20-11:00 Hands on Seed Processing, Cleaning & Winnowing

11:00-11:15 Break

11:30-12:00 Zinnia breeding selection & seed harvest

12:00-1:00 Dry Seed Threshing, Winnowing & Cleaning (at Barn)

1:00-2:00 Lunch

2:00-2:15 Clean Up

2:15-3:15 Activity: Glass Gem corn selection & shelling cleaning

3:15-3:45 Activity: Designing & mapping regenerative seed systems – World Café

3:45-4:00 Closing, Feedback & next steps

Also check out other Workshops in Williams, Trips & Adventurous Activities in Williams.