Front Range Seed Analysts
1996 Seed Forum Volume 10 Number 4
Turtle Tree Seeds
by Annette Miller
Nestled between the hogbacks West of Loveland, Colorado is the Sunrise Ranch and Conference center, home of Turtle Tree Seeds. Nathan and Beth Corymb work the land to provide food for the ranch and conference center. Mixed in with the food production is the seed production enterprise they call Turtle Tree Seeds. The 1996 catalog lists 69 varieties of vegetable and flower seeds. Nathan's entry is the largest listing for anyone in Colorado in the 1996 Seed Savers Exchange catalog.
Among familiar standards like scarlet nantes carrots and Penn State ballhead cabbage are some unusual varieties like Feuer Kugel beets and Schweizer Riesen snow peas. Nathan became familiar with some of these outstanding european varieties when he lived in Switzerland and learned about small scale seed production and breeding from other biodynamic farmers. Biodynamics is a philosophy and method of agriculture articulated by Dr. Rudolph Steiner in his 1924 lectures given in Germany. These lectures started the Biodynamic movement and several associations of biodynamic farmers around the world. The lectures are still in print in a volume titled simply "Agriculture" by Rudolph Steiner.
In September, the Corymbs hosted a Biodynamic Seed Conference at the Sunrise Conference center. Lectures were given by Jim Bruce (NSSL), Walter Goldstein (Michael Fields Agriculture Institute), John Rahart (seed grower in Loveland), and Vinnie McKinney (Elixir Farm Botanicals, a seed company in Brixy, MO).
During the workshops, Nathan demonstrated his cleaning and conditioning methods for small lots. Nathan's talent and experience were evident in the way he used his simple and effective homemade winnowing trays, screens and other materials for cleaning seeds. The three-sided trays are about three inches deep and are made from quarter inch thick white (non-corrugated) cardboard. He also showed a germinator he recently made. Instructions for the germinator follow this article. The Corymbs' careful attention to isolation, selection and appropriate conditioning are ingredients for Turtle Tree Seeds future success.
The germinator at Turtle Tree Seeds looks like... well ... a giant turtle.
Nathan used an ice chest, pipe heating tape, weatherstripping, thermostat, rheostat, some greenhouse trays, and a plexiglass top to fashion a germinator that can handle alternating or constant temperatures to germinate anything from Phacelia to Phaseolus. Materials are listed below:
1. 102 quart ice chest from Rubbermaid (36"long
x 18"wide x 141, deep)
2. nine feet of standard foil-backed pipe heating tape
(thermostat removed)
3. remote bulb thermostat (Johnson Controls brand available
from Grainger in Fort Collins)
4. rheostat - an ordinary light dimmer switch
5. plug for the rheostat
6. greenhouse trays with and without holes (The bottom
tray without holes is a shallow pan with water to keep the humidity high.)
7. weatherstripping, (the thin, white rubber kind)
8. 1/4 inch plexiglass (custom cut at the glass shop
froma cardboard template of the inside top of the ice chest)
9. cabinet handles (attached to the top of the plexiglass
10. thermometer for inside the germinator
The heating tape is attached to the bottom and ends of the ice chest. Holes are drilled to feed the heat tape wires out of the ice box and to feed the temperature sensor into the ice box. The rheostat and thermostat boxes are attached to the outside of the ice box. Tape wires are attached to the remote bulb thermostat and the thermostat is hooked up to the rheostat. Wires to the plug come out of the rheostat box. Weather stripping is attached to the inside top ledge of the ice box. The cardboard template for the plexiglass is drawn from this ledge. The ice box top can be open or closed with the plexiglass in place. Daylight is Nathan's principal light source. The top is closed at night to conserve humidity.
Alternating temperatures are adjusted by hand and the rheostat helps prevent overheating.