Applied Biodynamics — Issue 017 (Fall 1996)

Issue 017 (Fall 1996) frames seed saving as the operational foundation of biodynamic agriculture rather than an optional craft. The entire issue centers on a single extended interview with Hugh Williams, conducted by Nicholas Franceschelli during a walk through Williams’ CSA garden interplanted with an eight-acre orchard in the Hudson Valley region. The interview is explicitly introduced as a “shift of gears” away from quick technique tips and toward an urgent infrastructure theme: control of seed supply, the survival of open-pollinated varieties, and the need for a farm-based biodynamic seed economy.

A core methodological feature of the interview is its constant anchoring in what is visible and auditable in the field. Williams points to specific beds and crops as evidence of a seed program already functioning at scale: leeks grown from saved seed, parsnips from saved seed, basil with a “fabulous strain” maintained through saved seed, and carrot performance linked to biodynamic seed from Germany. The garden is described as containing multiple “incidental seed crops,” where herb production doubles as seed production, and flowers used for companion planting are themselves propagated from the seed collection. This approach is presented as a labor-efficient design principle: seed production embedded into ordinary cropping rather than separated into a separate enterprise.

The interview treats seed quality as an empirical outcome, assessed through stand uniformity, vigor, disease incidence, and continuity of performance over time. Examples include a carrot bed described as exceptionally even and strong, and a tomato line developed through long-term selection into a dual-purpose “plum-to-slicing” type. Crop failures are also retained as evidence: eggplant is labeled as the wrong variety and identified as a hybrid, implicitly contrasting hybrid dependence with reproducible seed lines. The interview repeatedly returns to the claim that biodynamic seed is not merely “open pollinated,” but must be developed and maintained under biodynamic conditions to preserve vitality, yield reliability, and resistance under field stress.

A second operational thread is farm logistics and constraints. Williams describes a misjudgment with black plastic mulch during a wet summer: beds under plastic are reported to be in drought because rainfall cannot infiltrate, turning an assumed irrigation system into a water-stress problem. This is used as a practical lesson in how inputs can invert intended outcomes. Timing and harvest mechanics appear repeatedly: onion seed harvest is described as a narrow window where seeds are still slightly milky but will shatter if left too long, requiring continual monitoring and staged harvest because maturity varies within a bed. Cleaning is separated from threshing through a machine that cleans but does not thresh, shaping post-harvest workflow and labor needs.

The interview’s central argument is that seed saving must be organized as a cooperative farm network to be economically and agriculturally viable. Williams frames the seed problem as both structural and moral: genetic engineering, hybridization, and consolidation are described as active pressures that remove seed agency from farms, and the interview characterizes this as “everybody’s deal” rather than a specialist niche. The proposed solution is a diversified, farm-based seed supply distributed across many growers, because no single farm can economically produce all seed varieties at high quality. Williams explicitly rejects a fantasy of “easy ride” fertility and nutrition, arguing that plant root effort and farm discipline are part of achieving higher nutritional quality, and that seed supply exists to serve eating and nutrition rather than abstraction.

Concrete institutional mechanisms are documented. The interview describes a seed-network model with subscriptions, catalogs, and cooperation among farms, and links this to named nodes in the U.S. biodynamic seed landscape, including Threshold Seeds (Williams), Turtle Tree Seed Farm (Nathan Corymb), and Aurora Farm. The origin story is presented as a sequence of meetings, questionnaires, and an attempt to formalize training: outreach to European seed work via contacts in Switzerland and Germany, a tour and workshops in the U.S., and an offered one-year seed training for one person, which became complicated by family logistics and institutional limits. The interview closes by separating goals into phases: first, establish a reliable supply of high-quality seed; second, build a properly funded research and development program that is not conflated with small-scale income generation.

Non-interview pages provide additional institutional context. A staff announcement introduces Susan and Malcolm Gardner as new JPI staff and frames their roles in preparation making, office management, and re-energizing research, while also linking Malcolm Gardner to the Agriculture Course translation work. A progress report documents construction delays due to heavy weather and postpones Pfeiffer compost starter production to early 1997. A “BD on the Internet” note describes participation in an email discussion list and points to early web resources, presenting this as part of the period’s emerging communication infrastructure.

Articles 

• Seed Saving and Biodynamics – An Interview with Hugh  Williams (N. Franceschelli) 

Key Topics Covered

• CSA scale seed saving integrated into vegetable beds orchard plantings and herb production
• Incidental seed crops where market herbs and flowers double as seed sources
• Field evaluation of seed quality using stand uniformity vigor and visible disease pressure
• Hybrid versus open pollinated distinctions expressed through practical seed reproducibility
• Black plastic mulch creating drought conditions in a wet summer due to infiltration blockage
• Onion seed harvest timing risk of shattering and staged maturity management
• Seed cleaning workflow separating cleaning from threshing
• Farm based biodynamic seed supply framed as nutrition infrastructure rather than ideology
• Network model for diversified seed production across many farms due to lack of single farm economy
• European seed work contacts and attempts at seed training as a capacity building strategy
• Separation of seed supply goals from research funding requirements
• Regional preparation making gatherings around Michaelmas for multiple farms
• Staff expansion at JPI linked to research office operations and preparation making
• Construction delays affecting Pfeiffer product production timelines
• Early internet discussion list and web presence as biodynamic communications infrastructure

Citation

Source: Applied Biodynamics, Issue 017, Josephine Porter Institute, 1996.