Seeds And Their People Seeds And Their People

Join us and 15 of Karen Washington's dear friends, family, mentees, and collaborators in wishing her a very happy 70th birthday with this episode featuring food and plant stories about our Farmy Godmother. Karen has been instrumental in the creation and guidance of neighborhood organizations such as Garden of Happiness, La Familia Verde Coalition and Farmers Market, and Bronx Green Up, as well as Farm School NYC, Black Urban Growers, and the Black Farmers and Urban Gardeners Conference. She serves on the board of Soul Fire Farm, the Black Farmer Fund, and the Mary Mitchell Center and has been a part of so many others such as Just Food (where we first met) and New York Botanic Garden, and was once the president of the New York City Community Garden Coalition, organizing to protect the gardens from development. She is one of the four co-founders and owners of Rise & Root Farm in Chester, NY. More importantly, Karen is a fierce fighter for gardens and justice and loves her friends and families with gusto and grits. We hope these stories reveal her love and knack for investing in community and her life-long commitment to rising and rooting for justice. 
PEOPLE WITH KAREN STORIES IN THIS EPISODE:
Karen Washington
Lorrie Clevenger - Rise and Root Farm, Black Urban Growers, and Farm School NYC; formerly of Just Food and WhyHunger.
Leah Penniman - Soul Fire Farm
Cheryl Holt - Karen's neighbor, Garden of Happiness
Kendra Washington Bass - Karen's daughter
Kady Williams - Taqwa Community Farm, Iridescent Earth Collective; formerly of Bronx Green Up
Ashanti Williams -Taqwa Community Farm, Black Yard Farm
Julian Bass - Karen's grandson
Nicole Ndiaye - NAHE, Bathgate Community Garden
Gabriela Pereyra - Northeast Farmers of Color Land Trust 
Aleyna Rodriguez - Mary Mitchell Center
Ursula Chanse - Bronx Green Up, New York Botanic Garden
Michael Hurwitz - Landing Light Strategies; formerly of Added Value and Greenmarket
Kathleen McTigue - AmeriCorps; formerly of Just Food and New Roots Community Farm
Frances Perez Rodriguez - Farm School NYC
Jane Hayes Hodge - Rise and Root Farm; formerly of Just Food and Farm School NYC
THIS EPISODE SUPPORTED BY:
YOU! Please become a Patron for $1 or more a month at Patreon.com/trueloveseeds
A Bookkeeping Cooperative: https://bookkeeping.coop/home/
ABOUT:
Seeds And Their People is a radio show where we feature seed stories told by the people who truly love them. Hosted by Owen Taylor of Truelove Seeds and Chris Bolden-Newsome of Sankofa Community Farm at Bartram’s Garden.
trueloveseeds.com/blogs/satpradio
 
FIND OWEN HERE:
Truelove Seeds
Facebook  |  Instagram  |  Twitter
 
FIND CHRIS HERE:
Sankofa Community Farm at Bartram’s Garden
 
THANKS TO:
Queen Karen
Jane Hayes Hodge for helping make this happen
Emilio Sweet-Coll for help with audio editing  
Our Patreon members and A Bookkeeping Cooperative

This episode is a compilation of recordings by seed geographer Chris Keeve and Truelove Seeds' business manager (and Owen's sister) Sara Taylor at our annual growers gathering at our Truelove Seeds farm in November 2023. They recruited party goers to their table where they mapped seed stories with strings and notes on a world map, and where they asked people to share about how their favorite seed became their favorite seed. There are a few recordings at the end that we added after the fact as well.
SEED STORIES TOLD IN THIS EPISODE:
Lex Wiley, Sankofa Community Farm - African Rice
Hannah Thompson, Truelove Seeds - Black-Eyed Peas
Tamanda Chabuuta, Texas A&M researcher  - Corn
Chiamaka Alozie, Truelove Seeds apprentice - Cotton and Malabar Spinach
Nate Kleinman, Experimental Farm Network - Nigella sativa, Nanticoke Squash
Olivia Gamber - Hilige Bean (Dutch Holy Bean) and O'Driscoll Pole Bean
Linda Clark, Strawflower Farm - Strawflowers
Gabe Lewis, SeedEd Farm - Cherokee Purple Tomato
Cassandra Brown, Haverford College Farm - none yet :)
Wren Rene, filmmaker + Dr. Ashley Gripper, Land Based Jawns - Sunflowers
Bahay215 (Nicky Uy, Omar Buenaventura, and Ira Angel Aurelio Buena) - Siling Labuyo (Nicky) Ampalaya/Bittermelon (Omar)
Sam Stern, SeedEd Farm - Cabbage
Owen Taylor, Truelove Seeds - sauce tomatoes, San Marzano + Cow's Nipple
Ruth Kaaserer, filmmaker - Dandelion, Dahlia, Fava Bean
Miki Palchick, Truelove Seeds - Watermelon
PREVIOUS GROWERS GATHERING EPISODE:
Seeds and their People - EP. 17: Mycelial Networks of Seed Growers & the Truelove Seeds Listening Project
ABOUT:
Seeds And Their People is a radio show where we feature seed stories told by the people who truly love them. Hosted by Owen Taylor of Truelove Seeds and Chris Bolden-Newsome of Sankofa Community Farm at Bartram’s Garden.
trueloveseeds.com/blogs/satpradio
 
FIND OWEN HERE:
Truelove Seeds
Facebook  |  Instagram  |  Twitter
 
FIND CHRIS HERE:
Sankofa Community Farm at Bartram’s Garden
 
THANKS TO:
Chris Keeve and Sara Taylor for recording most of these stories 
Emilio Sweet-Coll for help with audio editing and compiling show notes! 

This episode features an interview with Zee Lilani at Kula Nursery in West Oakland, California in January 2024. Zee grows Doodhi (Lauki/Bottle Gourd) and Kalonji (Black Seed/Nigella) seeds for our Truelove Seeds catalog as well as many varieties for Second Generation Seeds at her farm in Petaluma, California.
In this episode, we hear how Zee left her work as a hydrologist, became a farmer, worked in food sovereignty and food security supporting other farmers, and then started her own nursery business focused on South Asian plants during the pandemic. During the partition of India, her family was displaced from the city of Surat, in the state of Gujarat, in India to Pakistan. Her work with plants familiar to her mother and grandmother bring Surat back to life many decades later, far from home.   
In her words: 
'Kula Nursery is a grassroots urban nursery working within and for BIPOC communities to increase food sovereignty through gardening education and culturally relevant plant starts. The mission at Kula Nursery is to reconnect the diaspora with heritage food, strengthen food sovereignty among these communities, and promote cultural and biological diversity. As a heritage nursery, we believe the act of growing, tending to, and eating heritage foods encourages folks to reclaim their power within the local food system while simultaneously honoring and reconnecting to their ancestors, immediate family and community at large.'
Basically, this interview is right up our alley at Seeds and their People, focused on how plants connect us to our people, power, place, ancestors, and community. 
 
SEED STORIES TOLD IN THIS EPISODE:

Cuban Oregano, Indian Mint, Patta Ajwain, Coleus amboinicus


Curry Tree, Murraya koenigii


Night Blooming Jasmine, Raat Ki Rani, Queen of the Night, Cestrum nocturnum



Mogra, Arabian Jasmine, Belle of India, Grand Duke of Tuscany, Jasminum sambac


Henna, Lawsonia inermis


Amla, Indian Gooseberry, Emblica officinalis


Sugarcane, Saccharum spp.


Taro, Colocasia esculenta


Bindhi, Okra, Abelmoschus esculentus


Doodhi/Lauki, Bottle Gourd, Lagenaria siceraria


Kalonji, Black Seed, Nigella, "Onion Seed", Nigella sativa


Krishna Tulsi, Ocicimum tenuiflorum


Desi Girl Tomato, Solanum lycopersicum


Lal Mirch Indian Pepper, Capsicum annuum


Baingan Indian Eggplant, Solanum melongena

Surti Papdi and Valor Papdi, Lablab purpureus
MORE INFO FROM THIS EPISODE:

Kula Nursery webpage


Kula Nursery Instagram


Kula Nursery at Truelove Seeds


Second Generation Seeds (direct links to Kula Nursery varieties above)


Diaspora Co.


Seeds and their People - EP. 22: Gujarati Seeds and Flavors with Nital Vadalia-Kakadia

Seeds and their People - EP. 2: Kristyn Leach and Namu Farm
ABOUT:
Seeds And Their People is a radio show where we feature seed stories told by the people who truly love them. Hosted by Owen Taylor of Truelove Seeds and Chris Bolden-Newsome of Sankofa Community Farm at Bartram’s Garden.
trueloveseeds.com/blogs/satpradio
 
FIND OWEN HERE:
Truelove Seeds
Facebook  |  Instagram  |  Twitter
 
FIND CHRIS HERE:
Sankofa Community Farm at Bartram’s Garden
 
THANKS TO:
Zee Lilani
Nital Vadalia-Kakadia
Ruth Kaaserer
Emilio Sweet-Coll

Bryan O'Hara speaks about wholistic reasons for seed production on his vegetable farm, including working with natural processes such as growing winter annual crops for seed from summer to summer for better pest control and better flavor. He also discusses hybrid vigor and how to achieve this with genetically diverse populations of open pollinated plants, and explains how he selects for winter hardiness, more or less uniformity, earliness, flavor, and so on. In line with our theme of ancestral seeds, he talks about being both Polish and Irish and some connections to his farming practices through plants and ways of being and seeing. We end the episode with a traditional Irish song, Moorlough Shore, featuring Bryan on guitar, his daughter Clara O'Hara on vocals and flute, her boyfriend Sparrow Belliveau on Piano, and his brother Raven Belliveau on lead and backing violin. 
Bryan O’Hara and Anita Johnson have been growing vegetables at their three acre farm for over 30 years. Tobacco Road Farm produces high quality, nutrient-dense food using no pesticides and working with nature as much as possible in a close relationship. With an intensive focus on building the health of the soil, they use no-till natural farming methods. They also introduce indigenous microorganisms (IMOs) from the surrounding forest into their compost systems and foliar sprays to feed, protect, and invigorate their field soil and vegetable crops. Bryan is also the author of No-Till Intensive Vegetable Culture: Pesticide-Free Methods for Restoring Soil and Growing Nutrient-Rich, High-Yielding Crops. Tobacco Road Farm provides ten carefully selected open-pollinated seed varieties for the Truelove Seeds catalog, which are listed below:
 
SEEDS GROWN BY TOBACCO ROAD FARM FOR TRUELOVE SEEDS:


Ice-Bred Arugula


Tokyo Bekana


Wonnegold Turnip


Polish Watermelon


Mizuna Landrace


Big Pink Tomato (not in episode)


Vit Mache


Presto Cress


Vertissimo Chervil (not in episode)


Claytonia


 
MORE INFO FROM THIS EPISODE:

Tobacco Road Farm at Truelove Seeds
No-Till Vegetable Intensive Culture from Chelsea Green Publishing
Several No-Till Growers Network podcast episodes featuring Bryan O'Hara

ABOUT:
Seeds And Their People is a radio show where we feature seed stories told by the people who truly love them. Hosted by Owen Taylor of Truelove Seeds and Chris Bolden-Newsome of Sankofa Community Farm at Bartram’s Garden.
trueloveseeds.com/blogs/satpradio
 
FIND OWEN HERE:
Truelove Seeds
Facebook  |  Instagram  |  Twitter
 
FIND CHRIS HERE:
Sankofa Community Farm at Bartram’s Garden
 
THANKS TO:


Bryan O'Hara and Anita Johnson
Clara O'Hara, Sparrow Belliveau, and Raven Belliveau
Ruth Kaaserer

Dr. Bryan Connolly is a botanist, horticulturalist, and professor of Biology at Eastern Connecticut University in Willimantic, CT, my (Owen's) hometown. His research interests include rare plants of New England, the nightshade family, the rose family, and cannabis. Before Eastern, Professor Connolly was a faculty member at Framingham State University in Massachusetts and also worked for the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, University of Mississippi’s Medicinal Plant Garden, New England Wild Flower Society, and the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection. He is also involved in his family farm: Cobblestone Farm CSA in Mansfield Center, CT. Bryan appreciates his family's tolerance of his growing unusual plants, especially his wife Diane Dorfer, and he is sorry about the Erubia spines all over the yard a few years back. He thanks his son William for helping to take care of the spiny Erubia as well! 
In this interview we hear about Bryan's 33 year journey with seed saving, seed production, and plant breeding; his work with giving a boost and sometimes reintroducing native plants from New England to Puerto Rico; his work with students around growing cannabis for medicinal uses; and his trials and initial breeding work with some crops we shared with him, including pigeon peas, field peas, and roselle. 
 
SEED AND PLANT STORIES TOLD IN THIS EPISODE:


Chenopodium formosanum (Taiwan)


Grass Jelly (Taiwan, Indonesia)


Erubia (Puerto Rico)


Corpse Flower (Indonesia)


Easter in August Cherry Tomato


Minnesota 13 Field Pea


Bo (Black-Eyed Pea Leaves)


Mississippi Purple Hull Pea


Northern Adapted Pigeon Peas


Solanum chacoense (South America)


Cannabis (specifically the beverage, Bhang from India)

Chin Baung (Burmese Roselle Leaf)

 
MORE INFO FROM THIS EPISODE:


Bryan's ECSU professor bio


Bryan's instagram: Northeastern Connecticut Botany


Breeding Organic Vegatables, NOFA publication, by Rowen White and Bryan Connolly


Organic Seed Production and Saving, NOFA publication, by Bryan Connolly


Stewarding Indigenous Seeds and Planting by the Moon with Stephen Silverbear McComber, Seed Savers Exchange


Ploidy (number of chromosomes in a cell)


Ploidy, genetic diversity and speciation of the genus Aronia


ABOUT:
Seeds And Their People is a radio show where we feature seed stories told by the people who truly love them. Hosted by Owen Taylor of Truelove Seeds and Chris Bolden-Newsome of Sankofa Community Farm at Bartram’s Garden.
trueloveseeds.com/blogs/satpradio
 
FIND OWEN HERE:
Truelove Seeds
Facebook  |  Instagram  |  Twitter
 
FIND CHRIS HERE:
Sankofa Community Farm at Bartram’s Garden

While visiting Greenville, Mississippi, we asked farmer and food justice elder Mama D (our mother, Ms. Demalda Newsome) to co-produce an episode about the farmers of the Delta. This is the first of multiple episodes about Black Farming Vibes in the Delta, we hope! 
 
FEATURING:
7:26 - Ms. Demalda Newsome interviews Kevion Devanté Young, CTE Diversified Agriculture instructor (Leland, MS)
23:21 - Owen Taylor interviews Mr. Rufus Newsome, Newsome Community Farms, Greenville, MS
49:20 - Owen and our son Bryan record animal sounds and talk about the surrounding farm fields, Greenville, MS
54:05 - Rufus and Demalda Newsome interview Mr. Elgin Johnson, farmer and wood seller in Greenville, MS
 
SEED AND PLANT STORIES TOLD IN THIS EPISODE:


Carolina Broadleaf Mustard


Turnip Greens


Collard Greens


Mississippi Purple Hull Peas


Mississippi Silver Hull Crowder Peas


Cow Horn Okra


Speckled Brown Butter Bean


 
MORE INFO FROM THIS EPISODE:

Kevion Devanté (Linktree)
Rufus and Demalda Newsome on Seeds and their People, episode 4, February 2020
Newsome Community Farm on YouTube, 2008
Newsome Community Farm (in Tulsa, OK), Guardian article, 2016
Visit Mr. Elgin Johnson for greens and firewood on Highway 1 at Short Irene in Greenville, MS.

ABOUT:
Seeds And Their People is a radio show where we feature seed stories told by the people who truly love them. Hosted by Owen Taylor of Truelove Seeds and Chris Bolden-Newsome of Sankofa Community Farm at Bartram’s Garden.
trueloveseeds.com/blogs/satpradio
 
FIND OWEN HERE:
Truelove Seeds
Facebook  |  Instagram  |  Twitter
 
FIND CHRIS HERE:
Sankofa Community Farm at Bartram’s Garden
 
THANKS TO:


Demalda Newsome for coproducing, cohosting, and interviewing
Rufus Newsome for interviewing and being interviewed
Kevion Devanté and Elgin Johnson for being interviewed
Bryan for helping Owen with editing ideas during animal noise section