NAPLES, New York (AP) — An organic seed company with national reach has surprised its supporters by announcing it will end sales and give hundreds of varieties away, declaring “we can no longer commodify our beloved kin, these seeds, or ourselves.” The Cocozelle zucchini, now $14.25 per 100 seeds? No charge.
Catnip, kale, the rampant mint? All free. Petra Page-Mann and Matthew Goldfarb, the couple who run Fruition Seeds in upstate New York, said they’re letting go workers, stopping sales on Aug. 27 and relying on public goodwill — donations of money, talent and effort — to grow and distribute seeds on a $76,000 budget.
That’s a dramatic shift for a company with a budget of over $1 million in 2022 and a profile high enough that it’s among a handful of seed companies featured in the New York Botanical Garden’s shop. “The call is simple enough: Seeds are gifts. Gifts are shared,” the couple said in a long and searching announcement weeks ago.
They’ve thought about barriers to access and what they call the indignity of the dollar. Burnout, too, played a role. “We’re weaving a new fabric together, Friends.
” As ripe apples plunked into the grass at their farm in the hilly Finger Lakes region, and workers pounded together a bunkhouse for the volunteers who’ll now be crucial, Page-Mann and Goldfarb were open about not having all the answers. Their parents are “terrified,” said Goldfarb, 48. “I’m concerned you’re freeloading, I’m concerned y.