Hello fellow stewards of the land! My name is Zachary North, I am a 28 year old seed breeder/farmer and passionate soil builder! I have experience growing everything from apples to zucchini. My seed company, Mantra Seeds, based out of Santa Cruz, California, does not discriminate what we grow. We cultivate everything we can get to survive in our gardening zone. We do this in order to add to the diversity of the soil biology, retain moisture, and provide lots of habitat for beneficial and native insects and microbiology. I like to have a few blocks/ rows dedicated to bees and pollinators and am very passionate about the health of our planet. I focus on selection and open pollination of vigorous heirlooms or landrace varieties in order to retain the highest amount of genetic diversity and disease resistance without sacrificing from flavor or yield. I am interested in creating the heirlooms of the future, seeds for soil farmers, by soil farmers. I am a huge seed collector as well and enjoy tinkering with some modern organically produced hybrids. I am against the use of GMOs on principle. I am against the use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers. I aim to sequester carbon, breed some amazing varieties, build soil fertility, and achieve a seed yield that is viable enough to provide for the years costs and pay for the breeding projects down the road. My goal is for Mantra Seeds to become certified CCOF or Oregon Tilth organic and hopefully Demeter Biodynamic certified one day. I have a cover crop and soil fertility regiment that I have dialed in for several production crops such as peppers or leafy greens. I am familiar with soil biology and am happy to share knowledge regarding all forms of regenerative agriculture. Essentially I’m looking for a piece of land with healthy soil, seed storage, and processing/packaging capability. I am ready to get started at any time and have a small team of dedicated friends and family who help us all make it happen. I come to the table with 9 years of agricultural experience all over California. I have grown in 7 different counties and am familiar with many of the challenges involved with farming. From irrigation to integrated pest management, I am ready to address any problem the season presents. I have access to large water storage tanks as well as scalable agricultural amendments. I have relationships with other farms in the United States as well as around the world who I exchange seeds with to provide us with the widest range of phenotypes in a population in order to broaden our selection. I own two large greenhouses for propagation that can be put up immediately. I have experience with orchards, dry farming, soil building, permaculture design, Korean natural farming, closed loop systems, compost teas, scalable compost piles, worm farming for worm castings, and most recently mycoremediation and the cultivation of gourmet and medicinal mushrooms. Hopefully someone out there sees this who can relate, I look forward to hearing back from you! One love!
Organic certified is a huge plus! We are looking for fresh air, clean soil, clean water, water rights, high gpm well, irrigation full sun, south facing would be best. Electricity hookups and outbuildings or barns or shipping containers will be essential for seed storage and packaging.
From apples to zucchini, I come to the table with 9 years of agricultural experience throughout California. I have grown in 7 different counties and am familiar with many of the challenges involved with farming in different microclimates. From irrigation to integrated pest management, I am ready to address any problem the season presents. I have experience with orchards, dry farming, soil building, irrigation, permaculture design, Korean natural farming, greenhouse management, closed loop systems, compost teas, scalable compost piles, worm farming for worm castings, and most recently mycoremediation and the cultivation of gourmet and medicinal mushrooms. The past 5 years I have focused predominantly on seed production and smaller scale substance farming. I founded my seed company, Mantra Seeds, out of a desire to focus on the selection and open pollination of vigorous heirlooms or landrace varieties in order to retain the highest amount of genetic diversity and disease resistance without sacrificing from flavor or yield. I am interested in creating the heirlooms of the future, seeds for soil farmers, by soil farmers.
Our goals are to continue to establish the reputation of the quality and vigor of our seeds. Develop our distinctive cultivars for the greater good and global market. Ideally we will have the Mantra Seeds website inventory fully stocked year round, with enough for both wholesalers and backyard enthusiasts. Full scale vegetable and herb breeding operations in full swing, storage and packaging. Organic Certification and Biodynamic Certification is desired as soon as possible. Seed packets in as many stores and garden centers as possible.
Ideally we will buy the farm where we do seed production and have several breeding projects underway and in circulation throughout the global farming community. The website and our friends tinctures will have all the herbs they need for biomass/products. Hosting dinners or soil building workshops a few times a year on site would be wonderful. Seed production remaining the focus in order to maintain clients and wholesale customers without ever sacrificing quality. Continuing to streamline on the practices established with organic and biodynamic certification. Development of our own signature cultivars, cover crop blends, and soil amendments such as worm castings for the home gardener. From a business perspective we will maintain success to the point of healthy growth and begin outreach for the people. Education and giving away free seeds to impoverished countries and communities is something we are definitely interested in doing. Our long term goals are to continue farming, have children, raise more animals, and stay loyal to the soil.
I have a home on 10 acres I rent in the Santa Cruz Mountains. When I am in Oregon part time, I will need to have housing on site ideally to manage the health of the land. Pet friendly as well because I have farm dogs. I’m pretty minimalist it can be a yurt or something of that nature. In a perfect world there will be electricity, but if not I own a generator and am comfortable roughing it to keep the water flowing.
I am from Santa Cruz, California, I’m not going to judge how people are. One love, one heart, and one human family is how I was lucky enough to be raised. My family is mixed race, my mother’s family came here from Mexico and I have family in Trinidad and Tobago. I have friends from all over the world and I am happy to meet anyone who is interested in helping heal our Earth’s soil regardless of almost anything. You won’t get any judgement or negativity from me regarding any diverse background at all. Whatever pronouns are preferred, whatever gender or lack there of, is fine by me. Anyone who wants to work a full day is welcome on my farm is the old saying. I speak English and some Spanish, but I wouldn’t say I’m bilingual. Daily check ins before the work day to touch base will make sure everyone feels respected and heard as part of the land and our community. Any type of discrimination will not be tolerated. Additionally, I will make sure to meet with everyone as a whole at the beginning and end of every week, to address anything that may have come up during the week. I will foster a sense of belonging and community with a focus on teaching life long skills, learning to work together, and having fun with what we do. Anyone who has experience with something that worked well in the past or is potentially more effective than something I do currently is worth trying out at least once. I also have the benefit of the feminine perspective that my partner Tessa provides in her own experiences in organic agriculture and sustainable business. She will also provide an essential balancing role and alternative perspective. Farming is not only a science, it is an art. You can always learn something new and it is worth it to try new things in order to develop one’s perspective. Farming is for everyone.
To contact a land seeker, you must first create a land listing and have it approved by our staff. Thank you.
