A spontaneous day off led us to MASA Seed Foundation in Boulder, CO. Rich Pecoraro, mastermind behind MASA, stewards a farm containing a startling amount of diversity. Spanning nearly 20 acres the land is laden with the season’s abundance. Cherry tomatoes trellised in the field tower growing overhead in long rows. Sunflowers accompany them with laden seed heads. Beds are interplanted with herbs and flowers. So many flowers. Dahlias, zinnias, marigolds, sage, statice, and ageratum put out their final blooms of the year, ripening seeds for seasons to come.
A true master of both market farming and seed saving, Rich has spent a lifetime growing. MASA is the most recent iteration of a regional seed company adapting crops at scale. One of their goals is to not only maintain, but improve and broaden, regional varieties through the rigorous eye of selection.
When we arrived the crew was pulling row cover over fall greens and roots, bracing for the inevitable temperature drops of fall. Seed savers are especially busy during harvest season. Fruits like tomatoes, eggplant, and peppers are generally the first to ripen and need processing through fermentation followed by drying. Once frost comes, the grain and flower harvests take effect. Seed gathering coincides with the daily rigor involved in fresh vegetable farming as well.
Amaranths and corn graced the distant fields. The lines of bright Burgundy Amaranth contrast beautifully with the changing fall colors. Corn growing atop winter squash and probably a dry bean or two complete the fall harvest and offer calories towards winter.
MASA has grown tremendously since I last visited. Rich and his team are passionately tackling projects and doing incredible work in the realm of local seed regeneration. The implementation of a small plot combine has helped scale their production to include larger lots of grains and cover crop seeds. These staples provide resilience for our local food ecosystem. I was helping MASA back in 2019 when the heritage grains planted were tiny baggies. To know those packets of seed have grown to the scale of a combine is extremely impressive, taking years of effort.
Rich and I met in 2013 when I was volunteering on McCauley Family Farm. We worked together closely till 2015. Since those seasons I would often help process seeds in the evenings when I was in Boulder and even spent a couple weeks sleeping on his couch. While it doesn’t sound like a long time, farming is a different kind of occupation. One where you can easily spend lots of time together. Over the years we spent many hours with one another as I soaked up all I could learn, knowing I wanted to start a farm in the future.
Seeing these gardens reminds me of my agricultural roots. I am grateful for the opportunity I had to train with a master. That knowledge continues to be instrumental as I grow in farming. Seeing certain varieties in the field felt like a rekindled friendship. Knowing they are being stewarded provides comfort and assurance for our region’s food access.
Regional adaptation thrives through the cooperation of growers. Maintaining genetic purity demands varieties be isolated, sometimes by distances of several miles. I know personally that having fields all over the county can be exhausting. When there is a community of growers in a decentralized model, seed security grows. Ideally, come wintertime, the growers get together and redistribute seeds across the region.
It is easy to stay in our own bubbles, isolated from other people in our community. Focusing only on our immediate surroundings. This isolation can be powerful in focusing our energies. But, like seeds, we can get stuck in our tunnel vision instead of cross-pollinating ideas. I often forget about the other growers in the world. If I don’t see you at market, you might as well not exist. At least it can feel that way. Visits, especially with old friends, remind us we are not alone. There are farmers spread across the world doing their damnedest to make our Earth a brighter place.
Thank you for everything MASA, see you soon.