Growing methods we use greatly affect seed yields. Seed crops overwhelmed by weeds, poor soil fertility, overhead watering, excessive watering and pests are some of the factors that reduce yields. I recommend you to start your seedlings as early as possible in the greenhouse and transplant them after the last frost in your growing zone to get better seed yields than direct-seeded crops. Direct-seeded plants will also oftentimes bolt earlier than transplanted plants. Also, I observed many times that varieties planted in smaller populations and tended closely produced better seed yields than those planted in large quantities.
I will provide a list of estimated seed yields for major vegetable crops we and other seed growers grow for our seed company's catalog. Many thanks to Brian Campbell of Uprising Seeds (WA), Hank Keogh of Avoca Seed (OR), Chris Smith of The Utopian Seed Project (NC), and a WV grower who wanted to stay anonymous for providing the data for the crops they grew for us. The list is only intended to help you with your growing plans and to give you a rough idea about seed yields as they will not only vary depending on the season and the growing conditions mentioned above but they will also vary from one variety of a given crop to another (i.e. seed yield of a paste tomato will be different than that of a fresh-eating tomato). Certain values in the list were averaged and extrapolated from large-scale observations to give insight about potential small-scale yields.
IMPORTANT: Certified growers are already obliged to record certain data with regards to their harvest. Regardless you are a certified grower or not, it would be very beneficial to take detailed notes of how much of a crop you grow for each variety each year (i.e. how many plants or how long of a row) and how much seeds you harvest at the end of the season. Such information will greatly help you to improve your practice and plan for seed production assignments more accurately and for the seed company to be accurate when they prepare seed contracts for growers. As a result, we can come up with a cumulative list of seed yields for commonly known commercial varieties and culturally significant seed varieties.
I will update the lists as we collect more data from growers and our seed crops on our farm in West Virginia.
| Crop | Variety | Year | Location-Hardiness Zone | Row ft/No of Plants | Seed Yield (lb or oz) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bean, Common | Ayaş Barbunyası (Pole) | 2020 | WV-6 | 100 ft | 10 lb |
| Bean, Common | Boşnak Arşın (Bush) | 2022 | WV-6 | 70 ft | 4 lb 2 oz |
| Bean, Common | Dermason (Bush Kidney) | 2020 | WV-6 | 100 ft | 14 lb |
| Bean, Common | Elmalı Sarı (Bush Wax) | 2020 | WV-6 | 100 ft | 13 lb |
| Bean, Common | Endeze (Pole) | 2020 | WV-6 | 100 ft | 20 lb |
| Bean, Common | Hanımeli (Bush) | 2022 | WA-8 | 150 ft | 10.8 lb |
| Bean, Common | Sarıkız | 2022 | WA-8 | 150 ft | 8.6 lb |
| Bean, Common | Sazova (Bush) | 2022 | WA-8 | 150 ft | 12.5 lb |
| Bean, Yard-long | Çanakkale Black-seeded | 2022 | NC-7 | 150 plants | 10 lb |
| Corn, Dent | Bloody Butcher | 2022 | WV-6 | 300 plants | 58.4 lb |
| Corn, Dent | Bloody Butcher | 2022 | WV-6 | 300 plants | 58.4 lb |
| Dill | Gönen 10 | 2022 | WV-6 | 100 ft | 0.75 lb |
| Okra | Bornova Kınalı | 2021 | WV-6 | 206 ft | 13 lb 3.5 oz |
| Pea, Black-eye | Lolaz | 2021 | WV-6 | 174 ft | 9 lb 15.5 oz lb |
| Pepper, Hot | Acı Kıl | 2021 | WV-6 | 62 plants | 16.1 oz |
| Pepper, Hot | Balık | 2021 | OR-8 | 69 plants | 2.9 lb |
| Pepper, Hot | Pul Biberlik Maraş | 2020 | IA-4 | 100 plants | 5 lb |
| Pepper, Sweet | Kandil | 2021 | WV-6 | 64 plants | 13.7 oz |
| Pepper, Sweet | Bağcı Çarliston | 2022 | WV-6 | 49 ft | 8.4 oz |
| Pepper, Sweet | Mehmet's Sweet Turkish | - | FL-9 | 100 ft | 2.1 lb |
| Pepper, Sweet | Tatlı Kıl | 2020 | IA-4 | 100 plants | 2.9 lb |
| Squash, Summer | Kars Egg (small seeds) | 2020 | IA-4 | 100 plants | 13.5 lb |
| Squash, Summer | Kolsuz Sakız | 2020 | IA-4 | 100 plants | 37 lb |
| Squash, Summer | Ürgüp Sivrisi | 2022 | WV-6 | 143 ft | 3 lb 15 oz |
| Squash, Winter | Armut | 2022 | NC-7 | 80 ft | 4.3 lb |
| Squash, Winter | Waltham Butternut | 2022 | WV-6 | 141 ft | 10 lb |
| Tomato | Cindy's West Virginia | 2021 | WV-6 | 48 plants | 12.1 oz |
| Tomato | Mortgage Lifter (Radiator Charlie's) | 2021 | WV-6 | 48 plants | 14.9 oz |
| Tomato | Mountain Princess | 2021 | WV-6 | 30 plants | 9 oz |
| Tomato | Turkey | 2021 | WV-6 | 100 ft | 8 oz |
| Tomato | West Virginia Pepper | 2022 | WV-6 | 86 ft | 5.1 oz |
| Tomato | Yalova Heart | 2022 | WV-6 | 83 ft | 4.9 oz |
| Watermelon | Çekirdeği Oyalı (Orange Flesh) | 2020 | IA-4 | 100 plants | 20 lb |
| Watermelon | Çekirdeği Oyalı (White Flesh) | 2021 | IA-4 | 100 plants | 13 lb |
| Herb | Savory, Summer | 2021 | WV-6 | 100 ft | 2.3 lb |
| Crop | Variety | Year | Location-Hardiness Zone | Row ft/No of Plants | Seed Yield (lb or oz) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bean, Fava | Broad Windsor | - | - | 100 ft | 13.5 |
| Bean, Soy | Common commercial variety average | - | - | 100 ft | 12 lb |
| Beet | Detroit Dark Red | - | - | 100 ft | 13.3 lb |
| Cucumber | Boothby's Blonde | - | - | 100 ft | 3.2 lb |
| Brussels Sprouts | Common commercial variety average | - | - | 100 ft | 10 lb |
| Burdock | Common commercial variety average | - | - | 100 ft | 9 lb |
| Cantaloupe | Small, seedy varieties | - | - | 100 ft | 0.7 lb |
| Carrot | Long Orange Improved | - | - | 100 ft | 1.5 lb |
| Carrot | Conventional | - | - | 100 ft | 7.5 lb |
| Cucumber | Boothby's Blonde | - | - | 100 ft | 3.2 lb |
| Cucumber | Pickling Cucumber Average | - | - | 100 ft | 11.1 lb |
| Eggplant | Rosa Bianca | - | - | 100 ft | 1.3 lb |
| Greens | Cress | - | - | 100 ft | 2.5 lb |
| Greens | Kale | - | - | 100 ft | 4.2 lb |
| Greens | Mizuna | - | - | 100 ft | 5.3 lb |
| Greens | Giant Red | - | - | 100 ft | 3.2 lb |
| Greens | Southern Curled | - | - | 100 ft | 1.7 lb |
| Greens | Tatsoi | - | - | 100 ft | 1.7 lb |
| Kohlrabi | Average | - | - | 100 ft | 5.0 lb |
| Leek | Average | - | - | 100 ft | 4.0 lb |
| Leek | Durabel | - | - | 100 ft | 1.9 lb |
| Lettuce | Average | - | - | 100 ft | 1.3 lb |
| Onion | Early Yellow Globe | - | - | 100 ft | 3.7 lb |
| Onion | Southport White Globe | - | - | 100 ft | 4.9 lb |
| Pea | Average | - | - | 100 ft | 6.7 lb |
| Pepper, Hot | Ancho | - | - | 100 ft | 1.8 lb |
| Radish | Misato Rose (large roots) | - | - | 100 ft | 5.4 lb |
| Radish | Pink Beauty (mid-size roots) | - | - | 100 ft | 0.9 lb |
| Radish | Rat Tail | - | - | 100 ft | 19.7 lb |
| Spinach | Bloomsdale Savoy | - | - | 100 ft | 16.2 lb |
| Squash, Winter | Blue Hubbard | - | - | 100 plants | 13.5 lb |
| Squash, Winter | Long Pie | - | - | 100 ft | 5.1 lb |
| Squash, Winter | Table Queen | - | - | 100 ft | 8.1 lb |
| Turnip | Shogone | - | - | 100 ft | 15 lb |
| Flower | Calendula | - | - | 100 ft | 6.2 lb |
| Flower | Marigold, French | - | - | 100 ft | 0.7 lb |
| Flower | Morning Glory | - | - | 100 ft | 1.7 lb |
| Herb | Basil, Lemon | - | - | 100 ft | 6.8 lb |
| Herb | Cilantro, Santo | - | - | 100 ft | 5.6 lb |