Ep. 87 Behind the Zigzag Cleaner - Kate McEvoy and Ben Gabel, Real Seeds

Kate McEvoy and Ben Gabel run Real Seeds in Pembrokeshire in  west Wales.

In this episode, Ben and Kate talk about how seed for home growers is not the same thing as seed for large scale farms, and how they go about selecting varieties for cool, humid conditions that do well for their customers. We discuss their company structure that operates without shareholders to prioritize high quality seed, fair staff wages, and customer education over profit extraction. We get into DIY equipment such as their Zigzag seed cleaner and 3D-Printed Seed Measuring Scoops, designs they have shared with the broader seed community.

In the deep dive, we discuss growing kale for seed. We tackle the challenges of distinguishing between Brassica oleraceae and Brassica napus kale species. We talk about how to handle bird pressure, specifically pigeons, which is something that I haven't really had to deal with before. Then we talk about how to support drying plants to make sure that they don't rot in a humid climate.

Enjoy the conversation!

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Episode links

Real Seeds website

https://realseeds.co.uk/

Real Seeds on Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/realseeds/

Open-source Seed Cleaning Machine

https://realseeds.co.uk/seedcleaner.html