BFICSS Ecological Vegetable Seed Internship (Ontario)

The Bauta Family Initiative on Canadian Securityis designed to help support and build aCanadian seed system that provides a solid foundation for food security, climate resilience, and community well-being, by pursuing thefollowing objectives:

  • Expanding the production and conservation of high quality, regionally adapted, ecologically grown, Canadian seed;
  • Building ongoing collaboration among individuals and organizations committed to advancing an ecological and diverse seed system in Canada.

This program was made possible thanks to the generous support ofMrs. Gretchen Bauta, member of the Weston family. It is delivered byUSC Canada, in partnership withSeeds of Diversity Canadaand through the generous support ofThe W. Garfield Weston Foundation.

Everdaleis proud to be the regional hub in Ontario of the BFICSS, to deliver strong regional programming in support of ecological seed producers across Ontario.

For the 2014 growing season, through the BFICSS, Everdale will offer funding opportunities for ecological vegetable farmers and seed producers to hire an intern to assist with, and learn about, ecological vegetable seed production.

This funding can cover an intern’s salary of up to $2000 per farm (or set of farms). Seed producers and farmers can apply individually or collaboratively if they would like to share an intern among farms within a close proximity.

Organizing structured seed internships on ecological vegetable farms is a new endeavour in Ontario. These internships are being designed to provide mutually beneficial experiences for both the farmer and the intern. Throughout the application process, we encourage prospective applicants to provide feedback on how the internship can be crafted to optimize both learning opportunities for the intern and support systems for the participating farms.

Please review the attached application form and e-mail the completed form to y December 9th, 2013. If you should have any questions or comments regarding the application or the internship, please contact AabirDey:

AabirDey

Regional Program Coordinator (Ontario)

The Bauta Family Initiative on Canadian Seed Security

Everdale

Tel: 519-855-4859 Ext. 103

Cel: 416-562-7416

Fax: 519-855-6531

E-mail:

BFICSS Ecological Vegetable Seed Internship (Ontario)

Applicant Eligibility:

  • Be currently engaged in vegetable seed production activities, either as your organization’smain activity, or as another component of your organization’s work
  • Have organic certification, or be prepared to demonstrate that your business or organization conforms to the principles of organic agriculture
  • Be willing to provide educational opportunities for the intern with respect to the basics of vegetable seed production (e.g. plant taxonomy, botany, flower anatomy, plant reproduction, pollination, etc.)and best practices related to vegetable seed production (e.g. isolation distances, roguing and selection, cleaning and storage, etc.)
  • Have an insurance policy that protects the employees of your business/organization
  • Your business/organization is located in the province of Ontario
  • Submit, at the end of the internship, a financial report detailing the total resources invested in the internship, including the contribution from the BFICSS
  • Submit, at the end of the internship, a brief narrative report detailing the contribution that the intern made to your seed production, as well as the skills acquired by the intern

Intern Requirements:

  • The intern will be hired at the discretion of the eligible applicant – there are no prerequisites mandated for the internby the BFICSS program
  • The intern will submit two reports(a mid-season report and an end-of-season report) to the Regional Program Coordinator (Ontario) to update the coordinator on the key learning outcomes and activities of the internship
  • The intern will complete a minimum of 3 vegetable seed production trials, in which the intern will grow out a number of vegetable varieties for seed (of their choice and/or the farmer’s choice)and send a requisite sample of that seed and documented trial information to Seeds of Diversity Canada (sample documentation form for seed trials are attached)
  • The intern is expected to attend 4 workshops over the course of the seasoncovering various topics of vegetableseed production (e.g. crop planning, roguing and selection, seed cleaning and storage, on-farm plant breeding, etc.) on either neighbouring farms or at other venues delivering seed production education in the province

BFICSS Ecological Vegetable Seed Internship (Ontario) Application
Please complete all sections below
Organization Information
Applicant Name:
Organization Name:
Address:
Telephone: / Fax:
E-mail: / Website:
Certified Organic: Yes or No (please bold)
Organic Certification Body (if applicable):
Are employees covered under your organization’s insurance policy? Yes or No (please bold)
Application Form
  1. What would be your ideal time frame for the internship (Start date and end date)?

  1. What is the role of seed production in your organization? Do you produce seeds for your own use, or for sale?

  1. If seed production is not the core part of your operation, what percentage of the intern’s training and work schedule would be devoted to seed production?

  1. What skills in seed production will the intern acquire?

  1. What resources will you contribute towards the internship (e.g. percentage of salary, lodging, etc.)? What will be the intern’s salary over your ideal time frame?

  1. How will you recruit the intern? Do you already have a candidate in mind?

  1. Have you previously hosted interns? Yes or No (please bold). If you answered “Yes”, for how many years have you hosted interns, and approximately how many interns do you host per year?

  1. How did you hear about this funding opportunity?

  1. Would you be willing to hold 1 field day over the season for seed interns at your organization to host/deliver a workshop on a particular topic of vegetable seed production?

  1. Other than funding, what other types of support do you need from the BFICSS in order to provide a better educational experience for your prospective seed production intern?

  1. Please provide any other feedback or suggestions on how to optimize the internship experience for both yourself and your prospective intern.

Thank you for completing this application. Applicants will receive notification regarding the funding for the seed internship by December 20th, 2013.

Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) Sample Observation Form

Please observe several bean plants in the same row. Use a separate form for each variety.

If you cannot answer any of these questions, just leave them blank

Variety name______[ ] Variety name is unknown

Observer______

Location______

Soil type where this variety was growing?

Sandy Loamy Loamy sand Loamy clay Clay Other ______

Sample sizeApproximately how many plants are you observing for the purposes of this form? ______

Dates

Date when you sowed the seeds?______

Date when the first flowers opened?______

Date when the first pod was ready to eat?______

(If an edible-pod variety)

Date when the first dry seeds were ready to harvest?______

Seedling

What colour is the seedling stem below the seed leaves (cotyledons)?green purple-green

Mid-summer

Is this a bush bean or climbing bean?bush climbing

What type of growth habit does the plant have?

short upright branches, no support neededvines spread a lot, support is helpful

plant produces vines, spreading is limited, no support neededclimbing vines spread extensively

(Climbing beans only) When do the vines start to climb ?

early average late

What colour are the leaves?

very light green light green medium green dark green very dark green

How big are the leaves compared to other varieties?

small medium large

How wrinkled or bumpy are the leaves?

mostly smooth, slightly wrinkled moderately wrinkled strongly wrinkled

Flowers

When do the flowers appear?very early early medium late very late

(Bush beans only) Where do the flower clusters grow on the plant?

within the foliage partly in the foliage over the foliage

The leaf attached to a flower just below the petals is called a bract.

Bean flowers have two kinds of petals: standards curled at the bottom and wings spreading at the top.

How big are the bracts?small medium large

What colour are the standards?white pink violet

What colour are the wings?white pink violet

Pods at fresh eating stage (2-3 weeks after flowering)

(Bush beans only) How tall are the plants, on average (cm)?______

(Bush beans only) What shape is the leaflet at the tip of each branch?

triangular diamond-shaped rounded

(Bush beans only) How large is the leaflet at the tip of each branch, compared with typical varieties?

small medium large

(Bush beans only) Does the tip leaflet taper to a long or short point?

short medium long

What colour are the unripe seeds inside the pods?white light green

Snap beans, harvest

Please answer the following questions for ripe pods of varieties that are suitable for fresh (snap) use.

How long are the pods, on average, at their best stage for fresh eating (cm)? ______

What shape does the pod have when you cut it in cross-section?

narrow oval

/ oval

/ broad oval

/ heart shaped

/ circular

/ figure eight

Most bean pods are one uniform colour; some have a main background colour with markings such as stripes or spots.

What is the main or background colour of the pods?yellow green violet

How intense is the main or background colour?light medium dark

Do the pods have additional markings, such as stripes or spots?yes no

If so, what colour are the markings?red violet

(it may be easier to decide after the pods have dried)

Does the pod have a string (a fiber that peels along the seam when you break the pod in half)? yes no

Is the pod straight or curved?

straight or nearly straight slightly curved medium curve strong curve very strong curve

If the pod is curved, what shape is the curve?

not curved

/ forwards

/ S-shaped

/ backwards

What shape is the tip of the pod?pointed blunt

If pointed, how long is the tip of the pod?short medium long

If pointed, is the tip of the pod straight or curved?

straight or nearly straight

/ slight curve

/ medium curve

/ strong curve

/ very strong curve

At the fresh eating stage, do the seeds create noticeable bulges in the pod?

not noticeable or very slight medium pronounced bulges

What is the texture of the pod surface? smooth medium rough

Dry pods

Please answer these questions after the pods have dried naturally on the plants.

Do the dry pods have a thin papery layer inside, separating each seed to one side or the other?

no small layer medium strong thick layer

Do the dry pods seem to have tightened around the seeds?

no slightly medium tightly

Seeds

How big are the seeds, compared with typical varieties?

very small small medium large very large

What shape are the seeds?

narrow oval

/ oval

/ broad oval

narrow egg-shaped

/ egg-shaped

/ broad egg-shaped

narrow kidney shaped

/ kidney shaped

/ broad kidney shaped

/ circular

What shape are the seeds in cross-section?

flat oval circular

Most bean seeds are one uniform colour, but some are multicoloured. How many distinct colours are on these seeds?

singlecolour two colours more than two colours

What is the main or background colour of the dry seeds?

white or greenishgreyyellowbuff coloured

brownredvioletblack

If the seeds have two or more colours, what is the second most dominant seed colour?

white or greenishgreyyellowbuff coloured

brownredvioletblack

If the seeds have two or more colours, where do you see the secondary colour most?

streaked half of the seed variegated around hilum (the oval scar where the seed was attached)

Do the seeds have tiny veins visible in the seed coats?

weakly visible medium strongly visible

What colour is the seed's hilum (the oval scar where the seed was attached to the pod)?

same as seed colour different from seed colour

Please write any notes or special observations that you would like to mention. Thankyou for your help!

Illustrations: Seeds of Diversity Canada