Organic Seed Alliance Brassica Trial~Red Cabbages

Red Acre

The Brassica Field Trial which Steve Peters ran for the Organic Seed Alliance this year at Ronald Welten's seed farm outside of Gilroy was very rich in information regarding the varieties trialed. Steve chose a number of red and green summer cabbages, kales, and cauliflowers, including standard hybrids as well as both recently developed and heirloom open-pollinated (OP) varieties,  to grow side by side. His goal was to measure how well the OPs stacked up next to the hybrids, and to seek and promote under-utilized varieties which might be valuable for organic market growers. 

The site chosen was advantageous in that the farmer, Ronald Welten, is an experienced seed grower who appreciates the need for trialing crops. He gains valuable insights from the trial himself, and is willing to commit time and effort into tending the plots. This is the kind of cooperation upon which we depend. 

There were disadvantages to the site and to the timing of the trial, as well. The soil here is not especially rich, the land is sloped,  there were problems with the irrigation, and the season of planting was perhaps too late and hot, leading to a fairly severe aphid infestation. However, these "disadvantages" offer greater insights into the performance of the trialed varieties under stress, and that is how we can really see which varieties may offer valuable adaptations in the face of our changing environment. Most varieties will do well in a perfect situation. We want to learn which do best when the going gets tough!

Aphids on Integro, June 16th.

Steve studies crop progress, June 16th

While Steve is willing to do a lot of the work involved, these trials are run all around the region, and he can't personally take care of every aspect. This farm is about an hour away, which makes frequent visits costly. We continue to seek organic farmers within a 100 mile radius of our San Mateo, California home with whom to work. Anyone interested in either hosting trials or in cooperating in other aspects of growing open pollinated, organic seed in the area can contact Steve: stevegrows@gmail.com.

After the harvest at the field day on July 12th (73 days after transplanting seedlings into the field) heads were cut in half, measured, and photographed. Samples were kept for a tasting, and the remainder were krauted.  

The green cabbage results were covered in an earlier post. In this post I will report on the results of the red cabbage comparisons, including field characteristics, susceptibility to aphids, yields, as well as flavor and texture. The six red cabbages trailed are presented in no particular order.

  Red Summer Cabbage Trial Results 

Super Red 80 F-1 is available as conventionally grown seed from Johnny's Selected Seeds. It is a modern F-1 hybrid which was developed by Sakata Seeds. Super Red 80 was very consistent. It did suffer from moderate aphid pressure, but had a high percentage of marketable heads. Some early heads were 1 1/2 to 2 lbs. Later on many heads were 3 1/2 to 4. This is a clear standard, and sets the bar for open pollinates breeding to match. It had a very mild but pleasant flavor. Super Red 80 is perfectly round and tightly packed, epitomizing what we want to see. Nevertheless, the core is proportionately a bit large.

Super Red 80 F-1

Amarant is a modern OP in the public domain. It's a red cabbage which comes organically grown from the Biodynamic seed company, Turtle Tree Seeds. This is one of our favorites from the trial, with an especially beautiful stainless steel sheen to the leaves. Amarant develops a reliable, dense head; slightly ovoid and rock-hard, with a large percentage of marketable heads of a rich red-violet hue. It was very early and suffered very little from the aphids. There was a fairly wide range of sizes, from 1 1/2 to over 5 lbs, which could be considered either an advantage or a disadvantage, depending on marketing needs. Amarant's luminous beauty is more than skin deep. It has a mild, slightly peppery, pleasant flavor and a crunchy, juicy texture.  Amarant is a truly terrific open-pollinated variety. This is one we intend to improve by selection, propagate, and offer in the near future.

Amarant

Red Acre is an old reliable OP in the public domain. We obtained it as organically grown seed from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange. This is an attractive red cabbage, with the lowest amount of aphid damage of all the red varieties. It has moderately small heads around 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 lbs. Red Acre's inner color was an unusual glowing bright lilac. It is crisp and juicy, with mild sweetness and a slight nasturtium taste. Enjoyable eating! However, this Red Acre head did not fill out well. It was asymmetrical and suffered some cold damage from refrigerated storage on the top. A disappointment, but possibly an anomaly. Worth another look...it is quite unique.

Mammoth Red Rock is a beautiful heirloom from Seed Saver's Exchange, which used to sell conventionally grown seed of this OP variety in their catalog. Now it is only listed in the yearbook, offered by individual growers. It was the latest maturing of all the cabbages in the trial, and had moderate aphid damage. At time of harvest (mid-July) 50% of the heads were still immature from a March 31st transplant date. Mammoth Red Rock offers attractive oval heads of 1 1/2 to 3 1/2 lbs. It has a spicy, cabbagey flavor and average texture. The heads of Mammoth Red Rock are very dense and tight, but it had the longest core length in the trial. Nevertheless it shows promise, and will be planted again in a fall/winter trial.

Integro is an F-1 hybrid owned by Bejo Seeds. It came to us as organically grown seed from High Mowing. In the field, Integro gets a big thumbs down. In one of the two reps there were no harvestable heads by the date of harvest. Those few which did mature were about two weeks later than Early Bird. They had a medium to heavy aphid infestation. Integro has an attractive deep red-violet roundish head weighing 2 to 3 1/2 lbs. Integro's internal profile in this individual we sampled was oddly triangular. The heads are fairly dense, but the core is a bit large. It was notably dry and flavorless. 

Integro F-1

Red Express is another modern OP which has most recently been selected and improved by farmer/breeder Nash Huber. It is available from Nash's Organic Produce. Red Express was very early, just a few days after Early Bird. It had low aphid pressure, and the heads were relatively small at around 1 1/2 to 2 lbs. Red Express heads are bright red-violet, spherical, and rock-hard. The texture was quite hard and dry, with a sweet mild flavor that is slightly peppery. Nash has another clear winner in Red Express!

Red Express

Seed rEvolution Now

Promoting and distributing high quality, open-pollinated, organically grown, public-domain vegetable seeds , and working with organizations and farmers to create a functional cooperative network of seed breeders, producers, and customers.

Proud seed farmer Rich Pecoraro of Abbondanza Seeds in Colorado shows off some of his high desert quality seed.

The Challenge

Today we are facing an unprecedented challenge to our very survival as the climate destabilizes. Farmers everywhere are scrambling to find crops that perform well under stressful conditions. At the same time, we have lost 90% of the crop varieties that were available just 80 years ago, as corporations have moved to commodify and monopolize all aspects of our food system.

To counter this dilemma, Seed rEvolution Now is working with skilled, certified organic seed growers and seed specialists to promote and provide open-pollinated (OP) top quality certified organic seed that farmers can save, select, and regrow if they so desire. This is our heritage and our birthright.

The Challenger

Steve Peters is a seed professional who’s not afraid to get his hands dirty. With over 35 years of experience in organic farming and agricultural research, Steve has specialized for the past two decades in working with organically grown, open-pollinated seed. 

After a start as a market gardener in upstate New York, he returned to graduate school and obtained an MS in veg crops. He worked as a research scientist at the Rodale Institute Research Center in Pennsylvania for nine years. Next, for fifteen years, he built a remarkable inventory for Seeds of Change, creating a cadre of skilled seed growers in the process. 

Most recently he was the farm supervisor at the Native Seeds/SEARCH farm in southern Arizona. Upon moving to the San Francisco Bay Area for family reasons, he’s founded Seed rEvolution Now, in order to further the mission of providing the organic community with high quality public domain seed.

Contact Steve Peters:

T:   505-660-3933  E:   stevegrows@gmail.com

Seed rEvolution Now Services

Bridging the gap between seed customers,  plant breeders and seed producers, Seed Revolution Now provides the following services:

• SRN offers certified organic OP seed in bulk quantities to farmers and retailers at competitive prices.
• Provides detailed information on crop performance under varied conditions.
• Contracts with seed farmers to satisfy specific custom seed requests.
• Consults with market growers to assist in seed selection appropriate to their situation.
• Conducts on-farm variety trials and disseminates findings to the organic farming community.
• Teaches workshops and classes on seed saving.
• Writes articles on seed sovereignty.
• Networks with farmers and organizations to establish a national co-operative of organic OP seed breeders, growers and customers. 

Steve teams up with OSA crop scientist Jared Zystro to set up comparison trials on a leading organic farm in the Capay Valley of California. Field trials on organic farms are a critical stage in the development of improved strains. By growing a broad range of varieties including  growers’ current standard cultivars and several promising new strains,  informed decisions can be made. 

Meeting the needs of organic seed consumers

Organic market farmers face continuous and growing challenges to meet the desires of their customers. Seed Revolution Now offers help, matching seed customers with producers who can develop OP varieties that address market demands.

Traditional OP Breeding

We have been told that GMO technology is the only way we can possibly feed our burgeoning population. This is not true. Traditional breeding is fully capable of meeting our needs. OP breeding allows every generation of plants to respond to a changing environment, with each new selection leading to further adaptations. Key features of this dynamic approach include:

• Developing “workhorse” varieties for a wide range of environments.
• Developing varieties for specific climatic and soil conditions.
• Selecting for durable, multi-gene disease and/or pest resistance.
• Breeding for plant vigor and reliably high yields.
• Selecting for distinctive consumer qualities such as outstanding flavor, unique color, and elevated nutritional content.
• Invites the participation of seed customers in the improvement of varieties for their specific needs.
• Allows farmers to save and select seed, if they so choose, for their own seed sovereignty.

 Seed Bred For Organic Conditions

All of the varieties offered by Seed Revolution Now are open-pollinated, public domain, and organically grown by skilled certified organic seed farmers. They are either tried and true heritage varieties or new improved selections with characteristics that are especially valuable for organic market gardeners. At times we may offer seeds that carry a royalty charge to compensate breeders for their work, but access to genetic material is never restricted. The following offerings are a representative sampling of available seed.  Contact Steve Peters for the most current seed listing.

Stella Blue Winter Squash

Dark orange flesh is exceptionally sweet and nutty on a high-yielding Hokkaido/Kabocha cross.  This Cucurbita maxima has light slate blue smooth skin. 95-105 days 

Discovered by Bill Reynolds at a local market in northern CA and selected for organic cultivation at his dryland farm in Humbolt County, Stella Blue is a reliable yielder, offering the market grower an excellent medium sized winter squash with a chestnut-like texture that appeals to discening clientele.

Scarlet Runner Bean

Originally from Mexico, and a favorite in the British Isles, this beautiful, long-producing climber is great eating as a snap bean, in the green shell stage, or as a dry bean. Brilliant red-orange flowers attract hummingbirds and butterflies. Excellent quick screen. 90-95 days to dry stage.

Lemon Cucumber

Unusual spherical fruit with thin tender skin and sweet/tart succulent flesh, this is a traditional  backyard favorite for fresh eating. A reliable yielder of 2-3" diameter juicy yellow cukes. Great market variety. 70-75 days

Shiraz Tall Top Beet

This delicious improved dual-purpose beet was developed for organic production, and shows significant resistance to rhizoctonia dry rot. As the name implies, the tops are especially tall and sturdy, and make a wonderful steamed green. It's the result of a five-year breeding collaboration between Organic Seed Alliance crop scientist Dr. John Navasio and organic seed farmers Randy Carey (OR) and Bill Reynolds (CA). 55-60 days

Dark Star Zucchini

Proven superior to hybrid varieties on large organic farms, this drought and frost resistant variety has a sturdy, open habit with 30% more leaf area, and a deep root systems, resulting in strong, healthy, easily harvested plants; a boon to the organic grower. Straight, faceted, glossy dark fruits of high lutein content.  Long harvest window from vigorous plants. 50-55 days

A collaboration between John Navazio, Steve Peters, and Bill Reynolds, perfected on Bill’s dryland farm in northern CA. Bill credits the remarkable qualities of this break-away variety to his dry farming technique.

                                                                                                        A dozen years later, Bill examines his                Dark Star grown in a trial at Full Belly Farm in California's Capay Valley, where it exhibits more vigor under disease stress than their standard hybrid variety. Continuing trials and selections in different environments lead to further crop improvements.

Dragon Carrot

With deep red-violet skin and yellow-orange interior, this is the best tasting purple carrot on the market, with a bit of spiciness. This is another excellent variety bred by John Navazio and selected by skilled Colorado seed farmer Rich Pecoraro. Strong tops for good bunching.  70-80 days

Contact Steve Peters for the most current seed listing and prices. Seed available in quantities from one ounce to ten pounds for most varieties.

505-660-3933

 stevegrows@gmail.com