美国适应种子公司 Adaptive Seeds – 俄勒冈州认证有机种子农场

创立与农场概况

Adaptive Seeds 由 Andrew Still 和 Sarah Kleeger 于 2009 年创办，同年 2 月 19 日在俄勒冈州登记为本地有限责任公司。农场位于该州林恩县（Linn County）乡下的 Sweet Home 附近，距尤金（Eugene）和科瓦利斯（Corvallis）各约 45 分钟车程，办公与包装区就紧挨着生产田。公司在开种子店之前，先做的是种子大使计划（Seed Ambassadors Project）：几位发起人用几个冬天在欧洲和亚洲之间交换种子、收集品种、教人留种，前后带回八百多个食用植物品种，其中多数在当时的美国还买不到。Adaptive Seeds 是从这个计划里自然长出来的。目前团队规模不大，除两位创始人外，还有一名种子库存与质量保证经理、一名订单履行经理和两名全职常年员工，旺季再请一到两名临时帮手。

选品方向与开放授粉理念

目录里的种子覆盖蔬菜、花卉、香草和谷物几大类，其中超过七成五在自家农场的田里生产，余下的部分交给俄勒冈与华盛顿两州的小型认证有机家庭农场，具体由谁种在每一页品种说明的末尾都会写清楚。公司只卖公有领域的开放授粉（OP）品种以及混合基因池，不做 F1 杂交种，也不卖已申请专利或受植物品种保护（PVP）的种子。选品大致沿着几条线走：稀有与传家宝品种、俄勒冈及西北部本地育成的品种、适合冬季菜园的品种、早熟而耐寒的北方品种，以及可以当主食的高营养作物。番茄一类尤其齐全，可供挑选的番茄超过一百个品种，网站上还按樱桃与醋栗、早熟与主季红、橙黄粉及其他颜色、制酱与李形四组做了对照表，方便先比再挑。

有机认证与发芽率保证

农场自 2013 年起通过 Oregon Tilth 获得有机认证，目前目录中的品种都是有机种子，全部未经药剂处理，也没有转基因品种。每批种子在出售当年都做过发芽率检测，结果达到或超过《联邦种子法》与行业标准的要求；如果买回去的种子没有正常发芽，公司按购买价退款、换货或给出等额门店余额，赔付以购买价和每年一包为限。所有十字花科种子都按俄勒冈州农业部的规定做了黑胫病（Phoma lingam）检测，结果为阴性。发往加拿大的品种依据美加有机等效协议（US-COEA）同样按有机种子对待，符合条件的加拿大种植者可以索取等效性证明。公司还签署了「安全种子承诺」，公开声明不故意买卖转基因种子与植株，并把这句承诺写进了保证条款里。

留种资料与开源种子倡议

公司是开源种子倡议（Open Source Seed Initiative，OSSI）的合作种子公司与参与育种者。目录里带 OSSI 标识的品种都附带同一份承诺：种子可以任意使用，但不得用专利或其他方式限制他人使用这些种子及其衍生材料，转让时也必须把这份承诺一并交出去。参与登记的育种者包括 Carol Deppe、Frank Morton、Dave Podoll，以及创始人 Andrew Still，他选育的 Gypsy Queens 甜椒就是其中一个已登记品种。农场同时免费公开两份留种资料：一份是种子大使计划编写的《种子保存、种子管理与种子主权指南》第四版，2010 年 1 月出，共 38 页，可以直接下载打印；另一份是 Nick Routledge 与 Andrew Still 整理的《大威拉米特冬季种植表》第四版，把秋播、越冬与冬收作物的播期、耐寒性和大致收获时间汇成表格，也免费提供。

订购方式与零售网点

种子目前只寄往美国和加拿大，全部走 USPS。网站下单可以用借记卡、信用卡或 PayPal，美国境内订单满 150 美元免运费，大蒜和分葱订单不在此列；大蒜与分葱约在 9 月中下旬开始发货，与种子同单时会等到可发时一并寄出。美国本土订单通常在发货后 1 至 5 个工作日送达，加拿大订单视海关检查情况需要 2 至 6 周。除了网站直销，公司的种子还通过零售货架计划进入俄勒冈与华盛顿两州共 13 处零售点，包括尤金、科瓦利斯、波特兰、奥林匹亚和西雅图等地的独立园艺店与食品合作社。农场另外提供本地自取，纸质目录已经停印，2021 年版的电子目录可以在网站上免费下载。

官网：https://www.adaptiveseeds.com/

Founding and Farm Location

Adaptive Seeds was established in 2009 by Andrew Still and Sarah Kleeger, and was registered as a domestic limited liability company in Oregon on 19 February 2009. The farm sits in rural Linn County near Sweet Home, about 45 minutes from both Eugene and Corvallis, with the office and packing area next to the production fields. Before there was a seed company there was the Seed Ambassadors Project: over several winters the founders travelled through Europe and Asia exchanging seed, collecting varieties and teaching seed saving, and came home with more than 800 varieties of food plants, most of which were not then available in the United States. Adaptive Seeds grew out of that work. The team is deliberately small — the two founders plus a seed inventory and quality assurance manager, an order fulfilment manager and two full-time, year-round crew members, with one or two part-time seasonal helpers in the busy months.

Seed Selection and Open-Pollinated Approach

The catalog covers vegetables, flowers, herbs and grains. More than 75 per cent of the varieties sold are grown on the home farm; the rest come from small certified organic family farms in Oregon and Washington, and the grower is always named at the end of the variety description. Only public domain, open pollinated (OP) seed and diverse gene pool mixes are sold. There are no proprietary F1 hybrids, no patented varieties and nothing covered by plant variety protection. Selection follows a handful of lines: rare and heritage varieties, Oregon and Northwest-bred varieties, winter garden varieties, early maturing and northern adapted varieties, and highly nutritious staple foods. Tomatoes are a particular strength, with more than a hundred varieties to choose from and comparison charts on the site grouping them into cherry and currant, early and main season red, orange, yellow, pink and other colours, and paste and plum.

Organic Certification and Germination Guarantee

The farm has been Certified Organic by Oregon Tilth since 2013. Every variety currently offered is certified organic, none of it is treated with fungicides or insecticides, and none of it is genetically modified. Each seed lot is germination tested in the year it is sold and meets or exceeds the requirements of the Federal Seed Act and industry standards. If seed fails to germinate, the company will replace, refund or issue store credit for the purchase price, with liability limited to that price and to one packet per year. All Brassica family seed lots have been tested and found negative for blackleg (Phoma lingam) as required by the Oregon Department of Agriculture. Varieties shipped to Canada are treated as certified organic under the US-Canada Organic Equivalence Agreement, and growers who need the equivalency documentation for their own certification can ask for it. The company has also signed the Safe Seed Pledge, publicly stating that it does not knowingly buy or sell genetically engineered seed or plants.

Seed Saving Resources and the Open Source Seed Initiative

Adaptive Seeds is a partner seed company and participating breeder with the Open Source Seed Initiative (OSSI). Varieties carrying the OSSI mark in the catalog come with a single pledge: the seed may be used in any way, but the user undertakes not to restrict anyone else’s use of the seed or its derivatives by patents or other means, and to pass the pledge on with any transfer of the seed. Breeders taking part include Carol Deppe, Frank Morton and Dave Podoll as well as founder Andrew Still, whose Gypsy Queens sweet pepper is one of the registered varieties. Two seed saving resources are published free of charge. The first is the Seed Ambassadors Project guide to seed saving, seed stewardship and seed sovereignty — fourth edition, January 2010, 38 pages, available to download and print. The second is the Big Willamette Winter Gardening Chart, compiled by Nick Routledge and Andrew Still, which sets out sowing dates, hardiness and approximate harvest times for fall, mid-winter and overwintering crops.

Ordering and Retail Network

Seed is shipped within the United States and Canada only, always by USPS. Website orders can be paid by debit card, credit card or PayPal, and US orders over $150 ship free, with garlic and shallot orders excluded from that offer. Garlic and shallots begin shipping in mid to late September, and orders mixing them with seed packets may be held until everything is ready. Domestic orders usually arrive one to five business days after dispatch; Canadian orders take two to six weeks depending on customs. Beyond direct online sales, the seed reaches Oregon and Washington shoppers through a wholesale seed rack programme at 13 retail locations, among them independent garden shops and food cooperatives in Eugene, Corvallis, Portland, Olympia and Seattle. Free local pickup is available at the farm. The printed catalog is no longer published, but the 2021 edition can still be downloaded from the site.

Official Site: https://www.adaptiveseeds.com/