Carol Deppe
Organization: Fertile Valley Seeds
Location: Corvallis, Oregon USA
Biography
Oregon plant breeder Carol Deppe holds a PhD in Genetics from Harvard University and specializes in developing open source crops for organic systems, superior flavor, agricultural resilience, and human survival for the next thousand years. She is author of Breed Your Own Vegetable Varieties: The Gardener’s and Farmer’s Guide to Plant Breeding and Seed Saving, The Resilient Gardener: Food Production and Self-Reliance in Uncertain Times, and The Tao of Vegetable Gardening: Cultivating Tomatoes, Greens, Peas, Beans, Squash, Joy, and Serenity. Carol has contributed more than 20 OSSI-Pledged varieties, primarily of flint corns (for polenta, johnnycakes, and cornbread), flour corns (for cakes, gravy, pancakes, bread, and parching), beans, chickpeas, cowpeas, and squash (summer, winter, and drying). For seeds, books, and articles see www.caroldeppe.com. Carol joined the OSSI Board of Directors in Spring 2015, and became its chair in January 2021.
Photo credit: Keane McGee/Nichols Garden Nursery
