Dec 9

Dec 9 E123: Seed Diversity and Lessons for Humanity with Petra Page-Mann, Co-Founder of Fruition Seeds

Episode 123: Listen here!

Welcome back to another episode of The Grow Guide podcast! This week, Maggie and Dave are eager to jump right into things and share the guest interview. So without further ado, scroll down the page to learn more about our guest.

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This Week’s Guest: Petra Page-Mann, Co-Founder of Fruition Seeds

This week’s guest is a passionate and curious gardener who believes each seed, like each of us, is in the world to change the world. In 2012 they co-founded Fruition Seeds, a seed company based in New York that is focused on breeding organic and regionally adapted seeds for short season and cold hardiness. They are here today to talk to us about some of the amazing work Fruition Seeds is doing and to let us in on some seed breeding secrets. Friends, please help us welcome Petra Page-Mann.

This episode covers:

Fruition Seeds’ Mermaids Tale Cabbage and the story of reimagining cabbage
Crafting seeds for the “unideal” climates and what exactly that means
Fruition Seeds collaboration project on August Amrbosia Watermelon Seeds with Cornell University
Falling in love with salad turnips
Fruition Seeds’ Northern-Bred Black and Tan Organic Sesame Seeds
How Fruition Seeds pivoted during the pandemic with seed demand spiking in 2020 by featuring local artists on their seed packets
Fruition Seeds’ Northern Hardy Valencia Peanut bred for northern climates and tips for getting a meaningful peanut harvest
Peanut recipe for boiled peanuts with onion and curry - a twist on baked beans!
Petra’s advice on breeding your own seeds at home
Petra’s tips on germinating carrots