From: london@SunSite.unc.edu (Larry London)
Subject: Swiss seed producer.
Organization: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Date: Sat, 3 Oct 1992 17:45:22 GMT

Reprinted without permission from the Fall, 1992 Bio-Dynamic News & Events
newsletters Published by the Bio-Dynamic Farming and Gardening Associaton,
Kimberton, PA (2185) 935-7797

A Report on the Seed Growing Work at Ekkharthof Farm in Switzerland:

Seed work at Ekkharthof began around the initiative of one man, Limar Randuja.
Now it is in its 19th year, but Limar began seed work in 1952, long before
coming to Ekkharthof. The seed catalog is actually in its 28th year. Only very
gradually has the seed work expanded to a wider circle of involvement. There
are now about 20 growers ranging from gardeners growing a few varieties to
farmers who plant and combine a field of a variety needed in large quantities.
The bulk of the varieties are still grown only at Ekkharthof. Originally the
hope was to provide biodynamic seed to market growers. At the time they proved
not a large or dedicated enough body of support, but there was a great interest
among home gardeners, so the seed company focused on serving the latter. Most
varieties are available in limited quantities and customers are restricted to
home garden size portions. This is gradually changing as the company expands
and a number of main crop varieties are available in commercial size lots.

The enterprise at Ekkharthof is quite small by commercial standards but well
beyond cottage industry scale. Gross sales are about 250,000 Swiss Franks (160,
000 U.S. dollars). 267 varieties of vegetable, herb, flower and cover crop
seeds are offered. Growers receive 213 bulk retail price for their seed. One
kg. is bulk size for most seed. For the last two years they have collectively
decided to put 10% of this in a fund to be redistributed yearly to help cover
unforeseen losses to growers or to the seed company. Prices of seed are high by
American standards. The seed enterprise is combined with a market garden and
with herb growing, processing and marketing. The herb business dovetails nicely
with the seed company, sharing equipment, facilities and marketing. The garden
covers about 12 acres and there are eight gardeners.

Seed cleaning at Ekkharthof involves a combination of handwork and small scale
mechanization. All of the seed cleaning can be done by hand and it is often
more practical for small batches than setting up the machinery and doing the
absolutely thorough cleaning of the machines that is necessary between batches.
Careful hand threshing and cleaning is gentler on the seed than mechanical
means and usually results in better germination and longer seed life. Timely
and careful harvesting also make a big difference with seed quality and ease of
cleaning. The primary equipment for hand cleaning is a set of round sieves
similar in size and construction to old fashioned wood and mesh garden sieves.
To handle the full range of seeds from 20 to 40 sieves of various mesh sizes
are needed. One can get by with 20 sieves and one would be very well set up
with 40 sieves. Sieves from a Swiss maker of sturdy high quality construction
cost about $35 U.S. a piece. Sieves are used for several techniques besides
screening and grading, and diameter and height of wooden hoop frame are
important as well as mesh size. There are also other very effective hand seed
cleaning devices that are easily constructed of wood, fabric, and cardboard. A
common hand cranked fanning mill with a good set of screens is also very
helpful.

Power seed cleaning machinery at Ekkharthof consists of a small but versatile
thresher, the Pelz Saatmeister, and an air, screen and indented drum cleaner,
the Mini.Petkus made by Rober of Germany. Most batches of seed larger than 2 or
3 kg. go through these two machines. All seed to be sold is brought to at least
98% purity. Most batches require additional handwork to be brought to top
market grade. Some require a great deal of handwork. There are machines that
can replace the additional handwork. Ekkharthof has not felt it necessary to
mechanize further with their scale of cleaning, but any substantial increase in
volume or batch size would require it. The next stage of mechanization would be
to add a specific gravity separator which effectively separates objects of the
same size but different  densities, and an endless belt cleaner that separates
objects according to their ability to roll or slide down an inclined surface.
This would replace the bulk of further hand cleaning for most seeds. Exceptions
are damaged or moldy seeds that must be sorted out on the basis of visual
appearance. And occasionally a particular weed seed will require more
sophisticated or different cleaning methods or devices.

Further facilities include: a 16X20' room for seed cleaning; a 14X20' room with
double doors and a smooth floor for threshing; a large loft for curing and
drying; a dry cellar room with dehumidifier for drying and short-term storage
of threshed seed; another such room for longterm storage of seed stocks and
accessions; a small room for germination tests; a large room for filling seed
packets, filling orders, packaging and shipping, catalog production, record
keeping, etc.; a small office; a cool greenhouse for overwintering half-hardy
biennials and perennials, and cold frames for the same purpose.

Small equipment includes: accurate scales; dehumidifiers, hygrometers,
thermometers; drying screens and a large dryer shared with herb and food
processing; a large collection of tubs and trays, cloth bags, canisters and
crates; a computer for address labels, records, catalog production, etc.; and
there is also all the equipment that goes with an intensive diversified 10 acre
market garden, all of which contributes to the seed growing as well.
Considerable shed and cellar space is devoted to storage of packaging and
shipping supplies, crates, nets, fabric, plastic tunnel and greenhouse
supplies, stakes, trellises, irrigation equipment, etc.

All breeding work done at Ekkharthof is pretty much standard line selection.
Some growers do a little breeding work and some maintain their own stock seed,
while others use stock seed Ekkharthof provides. Some intensive breeding work
is done, for example 26 lines from one original Brussels sprout variety, two of
which are now quite distinct selected varieties. Some things are simply grown
and harvested with no selection work at all. Garden cress and some of the
herbs, flowers and cover crops fall into this category. Some varieties have
been intensely rogued for a number of years until they reached a desirable
stable condition, and will probably not be selected again unless and until they
show characteristics that would warrant it. Examples are some of the beans. For
some of the varieties there is ongoing breeding work and selection, but some or
all of the final multiplication is done without selection. Most vegetable
varieties have ongoing breeding work. Most intensive positive selection is for
breeding work and stock seed, but there is some surplus that goes into the mix
to be sold. Most seed sold has had at least negative selection (roguing) in its
final multiplication. Seeds selected out of produce plantings are positively
selected but the intensity of selection varies widely according to size of
planting and number of seeds produced per plant.

As a seed company with a cooperative of growers, Ekkharthof is not without its
problems: Things like crop failures; seeds that come back from growers full of
dirt or weed seeds; seeds damaged by combining, moisture or insects; seeds a
grower has taken on but never managed to plant or forgot to harvest in time;
and so on. There are safety measures like keeping reserve seed and spreading a
variety among more than one grower. The cooperative of growers also becomes
more experienced, dependable and professional every year. Despite these
problems Ekkharthof is known as an excellent source of high quality, dependable
open-pollinated organic/biodynamic seeds. Ekkharthof is large and diversified
enough, and well enough organized and managed to weather these problems and
still maintain its reputation.