I’d love to compile a list here from all of you… my questions for you:
Who (or what group) is doing something important or interesting with food crops?
Why is the project cool? Are seeds available, or do you wish they were available?
Would you want to support the project if you could?
You can also talk about why your own project is cool!
I think this kid has a bright future as a corn taster.
Favorite Plant Breeders:
In Australia, decades ago, there were ag colleges dotted across the country. They did lots of great breeding work which is now all but forgotten. Only a few of the varieties they developed are still extant but most people aren’t aware of their origins!
Carol Deppe
The Dwarf Tomato Project and Craig LeHoullier and Patrina Nuske Small.
Experimental Farm Network
Skill Cut
inspiration that one person can impact and enjoy new apples and daffodils.
Steve Solomon
*reading about his variety trials and following him over the years. Still an example of selective breeding with his latest lessons of lettuce growing in Tasmania. Inspiring the idea that even lettuce could have high protein content. The idea that locality could impact nutritional quality of crops.
Impressive list! I’d suggest adding Ivan Michurin to it. He’s renowned for his groundbreaking work, which involved adapting various plants for the harsh Arctic conditions. Some of his notable achievements include:
Shipova: Michurin’s adaptation of the shipova, a hybrid of the pear and mountain ash, is a testament to his expertise.
Intergeneric Plants: He also made significant contributions to the development of various intergeneric plants, including unique fruit hybrids like the “Citrangarin” (citrus and mandarin hybrid) and the “Citrofortunella” (citrus and kumquat hybrid), showcasing his innovative breeding techniques.
Intergeneric Hybrids: Michurin was particularly known for creating hybrids between different plant genera. For example, he developed the “Apriums,” which are a cross between apricots and plums, and the “Plumcot,” a hybrid of plums and apricots.
Cold-Resistant Varieties: Given his focus on adapting plants to the harsh climate of the Arctic, Michurin created cold-resistant fruit varieties. His work with apple varieties like “Antonovka” and “Pepin Shafranny” significantly improved fruit production in colder regions.
Frost-Resistant Grapes: Michurin also developed frost-resistant grape varieties, making it possible to grow grapes in climates with severe winters.
Interspecific Hybrids: He worked on creating hybrids between different species of plants. For example, he produced the “Mazzard Cherry,” which is a hybrid of sweet and sour cherries, and the “Nectarine Plum,” a cross between nectarines and plums.
Disease-Resistant Varieties: His breeding efforts extended to developing disease-resistant plant varieties, including apples and pears that were less susceptible to common fruit tree diseases.
Despite his extraordinary contributions, it’s important to note that his name was indeed misused by the Communist regime in Russia. However, his remarkable breeding achievements and enduring legacy continue to inspire plant breeders worldwide.
Hi Julia,
Aside from you and Joseph, I really admire the breeding work Carol Deppe does. I also think her focus on (can I call it this?) “survival” foods is important at this point in history. Her book, “The Resilient Gardener,” is one of my very favorites. Adaptive Seeds’ Kale Coalition project is really cool, as is the work with collards done by Utopian Seed project on their “Ultra Cross Collards.” We ate a lot from both this year! I know there are many, many rock star plant breeders nowadays, but these projects, and the work you are doing, are very much a part of my life right now, it has literally been feeding me!
Pat
I love following this rather large organization. I was following I guess a couple different aspects of this group and have enjoyed watching their social media post and finding some of their project seeds through local seed vendors, and Burgerville. I like their concept and tasting sessions.
Main individual goal of growing better tasting produce, tries to be informed by this group, but I haven’t found concrete examples of discrete how-to methods other than grow and taste. But it has shown me that we can breed plants based on culinary traits.
Skillcult’s apple breeding project has me very excited. There are a few of his varieties (especially Black Strawberry!) that I really want to try.
What’s interesting is that he hates banana-flavored apples, and I love them. (I’m pretty sure that’s the flavor component that was in tree-ripened Golden Delicious apples that I considered the most delicious apples ever when I was a kid.)
So, whenever he complains that something tastes like bananas, I’m taking notes. (Laugh!) Since he’s not going to breed banana-flavored apples, and apples grow so well here, that seems like a great apple breeding project for me.
Of course I’m gonna be weird and shock everybody by talking about actual bananas. 
This guy is doing fantastic work on breeding cold hardy bananas:
https://www.bananapups.com/about/
I really want to work with him and help him test out varieties. I’ve e-mailed him to ask. It would be super, super cool if I can be helpful in that project.
Carol Deppe probably counts as one of my favorite plant breeders, just because I love her books and find them so valuable and inspiring. I have yet to try any of her varieties, even though I’ve purchased a few. 
A lot of them sound fantastic.
Joseph Lofthouse, for similar reasons. As a bonus, he lives in the same state as me, so that’s promising for his landraces working for me.
I think David the Good counts, now that he’s started getting into landracing! Especially since he’s been into seed-saving for ages, and even runs a plant nursery. He knows how to breed plants. His gardening books are fantastic; my favorites are Push the Zone and Grocery Row Gardening. I love his “make a big, wild mess and let the plants sort it out” approach. That suits my personality perfectly.
Not a plant breeder, but I truly loved Paul Gautschi’s Back to Eden film, and I think his advice is very applicable to my climate, given that we have similar rainfall patterns. (No rain at all in summer, almost all precipitation in the winter as snow, and low precipitation in general: he gets 15 inches a year, and I get 18.)
This is great. I have a dear friend in Corbett, Oregon who brought back a massive treasure trove of Italian-based chicory seeds to partake in the Culinary Breeding Network’s ongoing chicory work. So many fantastic seeds people and Ag people in the Willamette Valley. I love the folks at Adaptive Seed, Frank Morton is a giant over at Wild Garden Seed, Don Tipping continues to do wonderful things at Siskyou Seeds (tho, admittedly, Williams is arguably just beyond the southern reaches of the Willamette Valley proper as it gets into that massively five zone diverse Siskyo/Klamath complex)…and on and on and on. Carol Deppe also obviously (I believe?) still in and around Corvallis. I believe the Peace Seeds folks may also be out that way. Regardless, the OSSI has a strong strong presence in Oregon - a state with phenomenal growing conditions for the most part.
Thank you for this, Zach. This is extremely relevant to our locales. Most casual growers and even nurseries tend to think of Antonovka as purely a root stock - and, tho it mostly is, I tend to think there is more to explore here. My current understanding is it was traditionally a processing or preserving apple. It makes such a fantastic rootstock in colder areas because of its 'true to type offspring - much like ‘Northern Spy’ who most believe to be an offspring of ‘Wagener’ and ‘Spitzenberg’ parentage. This being said, Michurin himself in the early 1900’s had described 20 varieties of ‘Antonovka’ on his own. In Poland they tend to refer to it as two distinct types - the more yellow ‘true’ Antonovka and then a lighter ‘creamy’ Antonovka. Anywho, I grow out seedling myself nearly every year where I reside to varying germination results. But in my extreme environment I simply see it as a genetic base of Malus I need to have around. Thank you for giving Michurin his due honor.
Raphael Maier’s passionflower and other projects have been very interesting to follow. And he is someone I discovered here (through the GTS podcast)
