Grower and co-founder Laura Allard-Antelme looks at a recent harvest at the MASA Seed Foundation in Boulder on Oct. 16, 2022. The farm grows 250,000 plants, including fruits, vegetables and seed plants. Masa Seed Foundation is an agricultural cooperative that grows open-pollinated, heirloom, locally grown and regionally adapted seeds on farms. (Photo by Helen H. Richardson/Denver Post)
Sunflowers dry on the hood of an old car at the MASA Seed Foundation on Oct. 1, 2022, in Boulder, Colorado. The foundation grows more than 50 varieties of sunflowers from 50 different countries. They have found seven varieties that grow well in Boulder’s climate. The farm grows 250,000 plants, including fruits, vegetables, and seed plants. The Masa Seed Foundation is an agricultural cooperative that grows open-pollinated, heirloom, native, and regionally adapted farm-grown seeds. They strive to create a bioregional seed bank, form a multi-ethnic seed producer cooperative, distribute organic seed and produce for hunger relief, promote educational volunteer programs in agriculture, gardening, and permaculture, and train and help grow locally those who grow food sustainably and locally in residential and farm landscapes. (Photo by Helen H. Richardson/Denver Post)
Founder and Director of Agriculture Richard Pecoraro holds a pile of freshly harvested Chioggia sugar beets at the MASA Seed Foundation in Boulder on Oct. 7, 2022. (Photo by Helen H. Richardson/Denver Post)
Founders and directors of agriculture Richard Pecoraro (left) and Mike Feltheim (right) harvest Chioggia sugar beets at the MASA Seed Foundation in Boulder on Oct. 7, 2022. (Photo by Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post)
Lemon balm grows in the MASA Seed Foundation garden on Oct. 16, 2022, in Boulder, Colo. (Photo by Helen H. Richardson/Denver Post)
Flowers bloom at the MASA Seed Foundation in Boulder on Oct. 7, 2022. Masa Seed Foundation is an agricultural cooperative that produces open-pollinated, heirloom, native and regionally adapted farm-grown seeds. (Photo by Helen H. Richardson/Denver Post)
Grower and co-founder Laura Allard-Antelme picks tomatoes straight from the vine at the MASA Seed Foundation in Boulder on Oct. 7, 2022. The farm has 3,300 tomato plants. (Photo by Helen H. Richardson/Denver Post)
Buckets of harvested peppers are sold at the MASA Seed Bank in Boulder on Oct. 7, 2022. (Photo by Helen H. Richardson/Denver Post)
Workers dry western bee balm (Monarda fistulosa) at the MASA Seed Facility in Boulder, Oct. 7, 2022. (Photo by Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post)
Grower and co-founder Laura Allard-Antelme crushes a flower to produce seeds at the MASA Seed Foundation in Boulder, Oct. 7, 2022. These are Hopi ceremonial tobacco seeds found on tobacco palms. (Photo by Helen H. Richardson/Denver Post)
Grower and co-founder Laura Allard-Antelme holds a box of tomatoes picked straight from the vine and smells the floral scent of jasmine tobacco at the MASA Seed Fund in Boulder, Oct. 7, 2022. (Photo by Helen H. Richardson/Denver Post)
Grower and co-founder Laura Allard-Antelme looks at a recent harvest at the MASA Seed Foundation in Boulder on Oct. 16, 2022. The farm grows 250,000 plants, including fruits, vegetables and seed plants. Masa Seed Foundation is an agricultural cooperative that grows open-pollinated, heirloom, locally grown and regionally adapted seeds on farms. (Photo by Helen H. Richardson/Denver Post)
It is no longer enough to simply grow your own food; the first step is to plan for foods that can grow in a changing climate, starting with seed collection and years of adaptation.
“Not only are people starting to learn more about who’s growing their food, but they’re also starting to understand which seeds are resilient to the inevitable climate change,” said Laura Allard, operations manager for the MASA Seed Fund in Boulder.
Allard and Rich Pecoraro, who originally founded the MASA seed program and serves as its director of agriculture, co-manage the foundation, which manages 24 acres of farmland east of Boulder year-round. The foundation’s mission is to grow organic seeds as part of a bioregional seed bank.
The MASA Seed Fund is partnering with the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Colorado Boulder. “It’s amazing to see how important these aspects of biology are on a farm like this,” said Nolan Kane, an associate professor at the university. “CU works with MASA to conduct research on the farm, including sustainable agriculture, genetics, and plant biology. Teaching.”
Kane explained that his students have the opportunity to see first-hand the process of plant selection and cultivation, as well as how classroom biology lessons are conducted on a real farm.
Visitors to MASA in east Boulder initially feel like it’s reminiscent of the nearby farms, where they can pick up Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) orders or stop at informal farm stands to buy seasonal produce: squash, melons, green chiles, flowers, and more. What sets it apart is the interior of the white-clad farmhouse on the edge of the farm: inside is a seed shop with jars filled with colorful corn, beans, herbs, flowers, squash, peppers, and grains. A small room features huge barrels filled with seeds, painstakingly collected over the years.
“MASA’s work is so important to supporting local gardens and farms,” Kane said. “Rich and the rest of MASA’s staff are focused on adapting plants to our unique local environment and providing seeds and plants that are suitable for growing here.”
Adaptability, he explains, means that seeds can only be collected from plants that thrive in dry air, high winds, high altitudes, clay soils and other specific conditions, such as resistance to local insects and diseases. “Ultimately, this will increase local food production, food security and food quality, and improve the local agricultural economy,” Kane explained.
Like other farms open to the public, this seed farm welcomes volunteers to help share the workload (including field and administrative work) and learn more about seed breeding.
“During seed planting season, we have volunteers cleaning and packaging seeds from November to February,” Allard said. “In the spring, we need help in the nursery with seeding, thinning and watering. We’ll have an online sign-up at the end of April so we can have a rotating team of people planting, weeding and cultivating throughout the summer.”
Of course, like any farm, fall is harvest time and volunteers are welcome to come and work.
The foundation also has a floral department and needs volunteers to arrange bouquets and hang flowers to dry until the seeds are collected. They also welcome people with administrative skills to help with social media and marketing tasks.
If you don’t have time to volunteer, the property hosts pizza nights and farm dinners in the summer, where guests can learn more about collecting seeds, growing them, and turning them into food. The farm is often visited by local schoolchildren, and some of the farm’s produce is donated to nearby food banks.
MASA calls it a “farm to food bank” program that works with low-income communities in the area to provide them with “nutritious food.”
This is not the only seed farm in Colorado, there are other seed banks that collect and preserve crops based on the climate in their regions.
Wild Mountain Seeds, based at Sunfire Ranch in Carbondale, specializes in seeds that thrive in alpine conditions. Like MASA, their seeds are available online so backyard gardeners can try growing heirloom varieties of tomatoes, beans, melons, and vegetables.
Pueblo Seed & Feed Co. in Cortez grows “certified organic, open-pollinated seeds” that are selected not only for drought tolerance but also for great flavor. The company was based in Pueblo until it moved in 2021. The farm donates seeds annually to the Traditional Indian Farmers Association.
High Desert Seed + Gardens in Paonia grows seeds suited to high desert climates and sells them in bags online, including High Desert Quinoa, Rainbow Blue Corn, Hopi Red Dye Amaranth and Italian Mountain Basil.
The key to successful seed farming is patience, Allard said, because these farmers have to choose the quality of food they want. “For example, instead of using chemicals, we plant companion plants so that insects or pests are attracted to marigolds rather than tomatoes,” she said.
Allard enthusiastically experiments with 65 varieties of lettuce, harvesting those that don’t wilt in the heat – an example of how plants can be selected and grown for optimal future yields.
MASA and other seed farms in Colorado offer courses for those who want to learn more about climate-resilient seeds they can grow at home, or give them the opportunity to visit their farms and help them with this important work.
“Parents have that ‘aha!’ moment when their kids visit a farm and get excited about the future of the local food system,” Allard said. “It’s a primary education for them.”
Sign up for our new Stuffed food newsletter to get Denver food and drink news delivered straight to your inbox.
Post time: Dec-27-2024
