by Eric Soderholm, Organic Production Coordinator
As I begin thumbing through the colorful pages of a growing stack of seed catalogs, the end-of-the-growing-season weariness that many of us experience in late fall is giving way to a new excitement and anticipation for the approaching season. Each season brings so many new varieties to experiment with -in addition to the old favorites. It is time to start some brassica transplants in the greenhouse and soon enough, growers across the Carolinas will be coaxing slow-growing pepper seedlings to germinate and begin their long journey to the field. When making choices about where to purchase seeds in the coming weeks, here are a few considerations and seed sourcing tips for growers considering organic certification.
The National Organic Program (NOP) Regulations require that a producer MUST use organically grown seed for all certified organic crops. This is cause for much grumbling when we compare the cost of organic and conventional seed. Why does such a rule exist when organic growers already face high input costs? Isn’t it enough that growers are raising the seed with organic methods? This provision of the NOP Regulations is responsible for establishing the organic seed industry in this country and was included so that, as much as possible, growers support and fuel the development of organic seed production. This is not to say that all organic seed companies/producers are equal. Talk with other growers and do your homework to decide where to buy. It is important to identify companies whose seed have poor germination rate, to let them know about it, and to carefully document these instances to inform future purchases.
However, non-organic seed may be used if organic seed is not available in the appropriate form, quality or quantity that you need for your operation. If you do use conventional seed, you must be able to prove that you attempted to find appropriate organic seed. A written record of what seed varieties you were looking for; what companies you searched or called; and the date of your inquiry is often sufficient evidence for certifying agents. The cost of organic seed cannot be used as justification to use conventional seed!
If conventional seed must be used, it cannot be a genetically modified organism (GMO) or treated with prohibited substances. If you have used pelleted seed in the past, be sure you check the ingredients of the seed coating. The vast majority of seed coatings contain one or more substances prohibited by the NOP. Planting seeds that do not meet the above criteria can result in losing certification status for the area planted for 3 years!
The newest tool is to help organic farmers find seed is the Organic Seed Finder, developed by the Association of Official Seed Certifying Agencies (AOSCA) and the Organic Seed Alliance. This online database was launched in October 2012 and hopes to provide more reliable information on organic seed availability. The accuracy of this database relies on voluntary input from seed companies and its completeness will depend on constant updating.
For an extensive listing of seed companies that carry organic seed, check out theAllowed and Prohibited Substances section of CFSAs new Organic Transition Handbook for Carolina Produce Farmers. This free resource includes over 60 selected publications to help farmers in our region.
Contact Eric if you have suggestions of other seed companies to add to this growing resource.