Propaganda By The Seed Propaganda By The Seed

In this episode of propaganda by the seed we sit down with Nick from Goen Foods.  Goen Foods is primarly known as a Miso producer in Maine, but also produces a wide range of koji based products.  Nick also is an all around promoter of fermented foods/practices and helps to organize Maine’s Fermentation Fair.  This conversation is an incredible glimpse into the world of Koji, some pointers and ideas for how to use it, how to grow it, some  information about its history, traditional uses and a wide ranging conversation about fermentation, wild foods and (where applicable) where they cross over with Koji.  For many people Koji can seem like a daunting medium to work with and hopefully this conversation helps demystify it.    
Learn more about Goen Fermented Foods by visiting their website
https://www.goenfermentedfoods.com
or the gram
https://www.instagram.com/goenfermentedfoods 

This month we talk about gardening for habitat, especially in the North-East. This episode is adapted from a workshop that Aaron presents sometimes, so it comes with a PDF handout and a slideshow, the podcast stands up well without them, but those extras are there if you want them. We cover what habitat gardening is, why it’s important, ecological context, some steps for creating a habitat garden and/or improving the quality of habitat in your garden. Like most topics, we cover a good amount of material… but only scratch the surface of the possibilities.

We didn't get around to making a new episode this month, but here is a good one you might not have heard! This is a episode of Tim's old podcast the Solecast where he invited Aaron on a guest co-host, it's basically Propaganda by the Seed before it was called that.
In this episode of the Solecast we sit down with Stephen Barstow, aka The Extreme Salad Man to talk about his work documenting and popularizing rare edible plants. We are also joined by Aaron Parker from Edgewood Nursery who introduced me to Stephen's work and also grows and sells a lot of these plants.
In this conversation we talk about his book "Around the World In 80 Plants," his website Edimentals.com and his lifelong quest to research, catalogue, grow and experiment with thousands of rare edible plants from around the world. We get into his origin story as a vegetarian in meat-centric Norway uncovering the growing potentials in his region through foraging. He talks about his travels around the world learning about how these plants are grown, used and then bringing those plants home to cultivate. For anyone who is bored with growing the same old shit, or interested in permaculture/forest farming his work is inspiring, informative and coverers a much wider range of vegetables then are commonly discussed in permaculture and market farming.
Pick up his book "Around The World In 80 Plants" direct from Stephen and check out his website Edimentals.com

In this episode we talk with Buzz Ferver of Perfect Circle Farm. Buzz has been doing a ton of great work preserving fruit and nut genetics at his farm in VT, as well as pushing the boundaries of what tree crops can be grown in zone 4 in the north-east. He shares a ton of practical knowledge about the genus Carya (Hickories, Pecans and their hybrids) as well as some fascinating history of nut cultivation in the last hundred years.
 
Buzz recommends these organizations and their archives:
Northern Nut Growers Association (FB)
North American Fruit Explorers (FB)
Indiana Nut and Fruit Growers Association (FB)
As well as these books:
Nut Growing, Ontario Style by John H. Gordon
Nut Growing by R. T. Morris
Nut Culture in North America edited by Richard Jaynes

In today's episode we talk about Sochan with Nico Albert Willaims of Burning Cedar Sovereign Wellness. Sochan is a member of the Asteraceae family (Daisy family) and is an important plant in Cherokee cuisine. In addition to being a great perennial vegetable for humans to eat, thisplant offers leaves for the caterpillars of several moths and butterflies, flowers for many pollinators and seeds for migrating and overwintering birds. They are also tough enough to be planted in spots where invasive plants have recently been removed. You can purchase Sochan plants from Aaron’s nursery Here, with a portion of sales going to support Burning Cedar.
You can follow Nico's work at BurningCedar.org or on Facebook / Instagram. You can support her work by donating to Burning Cedar!
In the interview we mention the study Testing the Nutrient Composition of Perennial
Vegetables in Denmark, Sweden, and the United States (PDF)
Nico mentions the Eastern Cherokee returning to harvesting Sochan in the Great Smokey Mountains National Park, which you can read about Here

 
 
This episode of Propaganda by the Seed we speak with Alan Bergo aka Forager Chef(www.foragerchef.com).  Alan is a chef out of the midwest who is known for using wild ingredients to create unique gourmet dishes.  He has been executive chef and run several kitchens,  is the creator for the Apple TV show “Field, Forest, Feast,” and has published a new book, “Flora” which is discussed in this episode.  We were struck by Alan’s humility and how much fun we had talking to him about his work.
 In this episode we talk about cooking with and storing wild greens, his origin story, cooking with plants that have been labeled “toxic,” and his ethics and thoughts on foraging.  For more information on Alan’s work visit foragerchef.com and check out his new book “Flora”