The Seed Farm at Princeton

About

The Seed Farm sits on 3.5 acres of land where students, scholars, and community partners come together to learn from each other to grow rare, culturally-meaningful seed crops and pursue relevant research questions about the art and science of heirloom plants.

Three Sisters seeds (corn, squash, and beans)

Growing Plants for Seeds

The Seed Farm grows plants for their seeds, tending them through lush green and peak fruit until pods have dried, fruits have browned, and seeds have matured.

Each summer, Princeton students plant seeds from community partners and tend many relationships among plants and people that grow from the farm. During the academic year, students host workdays, harvest and process the seeds, and continue to work with community partners on a variety of research projects. The work and research of the farm is shared at conferences, in print, and through social and multimedia platforms.

A Vibrant Ecosystem of Relationships

The Seed Farm is one of the land-based community-engagement research projects of Land, Language, and Art (LLA), a Humanities Council Global Initiative.

Many generous people and organizations make The Seed Farm's work possible, including community partners the Experimental Farm Network, Munsee Three Sisters Medicinal Farm, and the Ujamaa Cooperative Farming Alliance.  The main farm is located at Stony Ford Research Station, a center for local, ecological research that is managed by the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Princeton University.

Repair and Mutualism

Seed Farm participants from a wide range of disciplines and life experiences come together with a common focus. Their work deals with questions of repair and mutualism, including repairing relationships with land, soil, plants, the environment, and each other, and thinking about the essential role that mutualisms play in processes of repair.

Learn More and Join

Visit The Seed Farm website to learn more about the people and organizations involved and the work they do.

Sign up for the The Seed Farm listserv to receive news, and details of upcoming events.

Students planting seeds