Sickle & Hoe is a small seed farm located in Burdett, New York, in the heart of New York’s Finger Lakes. We grow a variety of vegetable, herb, flower, and grain seeds with care for the health of the land, the plants, and the seeds that come from them.
Resilient seeds for resilient communities
We select varieties and seeds from plants that have shown strength in natural and unpredictable conditions. Grown using low input and dry farming practices, our seeds are bred for vigor in an unpredictable climate. Always open pollinated and/or heirloom, never hybrid or GMO.
We hope that sharing seeds can be a point of connection, not only to connect with your garden and land, but also with folks around you; to share seeds, plants, food, flowers and knowledge, creating communities with resilience and food sovereignty, autonomy and connectedness.
In our Seed List you’ll find
a little bit of everything
Some classic varieties, some unique. Some are the most productive, or most flavorful. Some are the just fun and different. Some were bred recently, some have a long heirloom history. Seeds with origins around the world, each one with a unique story that allowed it to be saved and shared for generations. Crop diversity is foundational for a sustainable and resilient food system, and this work would not be possible without the work of generations of seedkeepers that preceded us.
We gratefully tend our land here in Burdett, NY with acknowledgment that we live and work on the unceded lands of the Haudenosaunee and Onöndowa’ga:’ (Seneca) nations, and with credit to the fundamental work of indigenous seedkeepers,
building soil health
Land is precious. The success of our work (and in turn your gardens!) begins in the health and fertility of the soil we grow in. We use cover crops and crop rotation to build soil health. Never synthetic pesticides or fertilizers.
We’re Molly & Jesse
We’re the founders and farmers of Sickle & Hoe!
Born and raised in beautiful Leelanau County, Michigan, Molly got a degree in Environmental Studies & Media Studies at Macalester College before transplanting to the Ithaca area in 2019. She’s been steadily wearing a handful of hats ever since; she’s the CSA coordinator for the Full Plate Farm Collective, is a freelance artist and a handful of other things too.
After growing up in Binghamton, NY and getting his degree in Plant Science at SUNY Cobleskill, Jesse moved to the Finger Lakes in 2018. He has been crew member at Stick and Stone Farm ever since, and was co-founder of High Ground Gardens in Ovid. When he gets a rare spare moment, he’s a musician too.
After living and working in the Finger Lakes food community for years, we are excited to share our next adventure in farming: growing seeds to share here in our community, in our home communities, and beyond.
We’re Sickle & Hoe
Two tools independently invented for farming all over the world thousands of years ago. A nod to the distinct yet shared history of seed saving, sharing and growing that has been in practice around the world for thousands of years, without which none of us would be here today. We hope that when you sow our seeds you feel the rich history held in each and every one. Thanks for being a part of carrying it forward!