Episodes
Thursday Mar 21, 2024
Thursday Mar 21, 2024
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:
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:
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!
Thursday Feb 29, 2024
Thursday Feb 29, 2024
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:
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Cuban Oregano, Indian Mint, Patta Ajwain, Coleus amboinicus
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Curry Tree, Murraya koenigii
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Night Blooming Jasmine, Raat Ki Rani, Queen of the Night, Cestrum nocturnum
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Mogra, Arabian Jasmine, Belle of India, Grand Duke of Tuscany, Jasminum sambac
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Henna, Lawsonia inermis
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Amla, Indian Gooseberry, Emblica officinalis
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Sugarcane, Saccharum spp.
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Taro, Colocasia esculenta
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Bindhi, Okra, Abelmoschus esculentus
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Doodhi/Lauki, Bottle Gourd, Lagenaria siceraria
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Kalonji, Black Seed, Nigella, "Onion Seed", Nigella sativa
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Krishna Tulsi, Ocicimum tenuiflorum
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Desi Girl Tomato, Solanum lycopersicum
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Lal Mirch Indian Pepper, Capsicum annuum
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Baingan Indian Eggplant, Solanum melongena
- Surti Papdi and Valor Papdi, Lablab purpureus
MORE INFO FROM THIS EPISODE:
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Second Generation Seeds (direct links to Kula Nursery varieties above)
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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:
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
Thursday Jan 25, 2024
Thursday Jan 25, 2024
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:
MORE INFO FROM THIS EPISODE:
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:
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
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Thursday Jan 11, 2024
Thursday Jan 11, 2024
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:
MORE INFO FROM THIS EPISODE:
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:
Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
FIND CHRIS HERE:
Thursday Dec 14, 2023
EP. 25: Black Farming Vibes in the Delta: Three Wise Men
Thursday Dec 14, 2023
Thursday Dec 14, 2023
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:
MORE INFO FROM THIS EPISODE:
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- 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:
Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
FIND CHRIS HERE:
Sankofa Community Farm at Bartram’s Garden
THANKS TO:
-
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- 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
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Thursday Nov 09, 2023
EP. 24: Mary Menniti and the Italian Garden Project
Thursday Nov 09, 2023
Thursday Nov 09, 2023
Mary Menniti grew up with her Italian immigrant grandfather growing vegetables, figs, and tending sheep in her family's backyard. She created The Italian Garden Project to celebrate the joy and wisdom inherent in the traditional Italian American vegetable garden, preserving this heritage and demonstrating its relevance for reconnecting to our food, our families and the earth. Over the past few years, we have been connecting over our shared love of growing Italian American seeds and their stories, and are now collaborating on preserving on various farms and sharing her seed collection through our seed catalog.
In this episode, we also hear the voices of Concetta Liberto, Antonino Machi, Fenice Mercurio, Charles Adornetto, Domenic Carpico, and Michele Vaccaro from interviews conducted by Mary.
SEED AND PLANT STORIES TOLD IN THIS EPISODE:
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Cow's Nipple Tomato from Mariano Floro
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Cucuzza from Antonino Machi
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Fennel from Fenice Mercurio
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Black Fava (Mora de Precoce) from Nicola Ranieri
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Swiss Chard from Caro Simbula
- Sabatino’s "Peppe Insalata" Lettuce from Sabatino DiNardo
MORE INFO FROM THIS EPISODE:
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- Italian Garden Project (web)
- Italian Garden Project (IG)
- Italian Garden Project (YouTube)
- Italian Garden Project (Facebook)
- Bruno Garofalo's Bidente (Two-Toothed tool)
- Italian American Podcast on Unification
- Growers Grange Italian Heirloom CSA, Corbett, OR
- Eggplant Parmesan recipe by Cooking with Nona
- The Feast of the Madonna del Sacro Monte, Clifton, NJ
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:
Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
FIND CHRIS HERE:
Sankofa Community Farm at Bartram’s Garden
THANKS TO:
-
-
- Mary Menniti
- Concetta Liberto
- Antonino Machi
- Fenice Mercurio
- Charles Adornetto
- Domenic Carpico
- Michele Vaccaro
- Ruth Kaaserer
-
Thursday Sep 28, 2023
EP. 23: Dr. William Woys Weaver and the Roughwood Seed Collection
Thursday Sep 28, 2023
Thursday Sep 28, 2023
Dr. William Woys Weaver is an internationally known food historian and author of 22 books including:
- Heirloom Vegetable Gardening: A Master Gardener’s Guide to Planting Seed Saving, and Cultural History;
- 100 Vegetables and Where They Came From, and
- As American As Shoofly Pie: The Foodlore and Fakelore of Pennsylvania Dutch Cuisine
Dr. Weaver lives in the 1805 Lamb Tavern in Devon, Pennsylvania where he maintains a jardin potager in the style of the 1830s featuring over 5,000 varieties of heirloom vegetables, flowers, and herbs. He is an organic gardener, a life member of Seed Savers Exchange, and for many years served as a Contributing Editor to Gourmet, Mother Earth News, and The Heirloom Gardener.
From 2002 to 2010, he lectured on Food Studies at Drexel University and is presently lecturing on regional American cuisine in connection with a non-profit academic research institute organized under the name The Roughwood Center for Heritage Seedways. Dr. Weaver received his doctorate in food ethnography at University College Dublin, Ireland, the first doctorate awarded by the University in that field of study.
In the winter of 2013, Owen had just moved to Philadelphia. A friend introduced him to Dr. Weaver and he hired him to care for his gardens and the Roughwood Seed Collection. During his four years working with him, Owen was fascinated by slow walks through the garden where he could reveal 10,000 years of human history in each plant story. It was here that Owen first learned how to carefully select and midwife the seeds of these countless storied species. We started a seed catalog and grew for a couple other companies. Dr. Weaver’s work with seeds often connects and reconnects gardeners and farmers with seeds that help tell their own stories. One of the best examples is making the Horace Pippin peppers available to African American growers in the Mid-Atlantic, as well as Pennsylvania Dutch and Lenni Lenape heirlooms from Southeastern Pennsylvania.
SEED STORIES TOLD IN THIS EPISODE:
MORE INFO FROM THIS EPISODE:
- The Roughwood Center for Heritage Seedways
- Roughwood Facebook
- A Century of Don Yoder: Father of American Folklife
- James Weaver and Meadowview Farms, Bowers, PA
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:
Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
FIND CHRIS HERE:
Sankofa Community Farm at Bartram’s Garden
THANKS TO:
- Dr. William Woys Weaver
- Ruth Kaaserer
- Cecilia Sweet-Coll
Thursday Jul 13, 2023
EP. 22: Gujarati Seeds and Flavors with Nital Vadalia-Kakadia
Thursday Jul 13, 2023
Thursday Jul 13, 2023
This episode features Nital Vadalia-Kakadia. Originally from the state of Gujarat in Western India, Nital has been fascinated by farming and food since she was a child on her family’s farm in India. These days, she tends to beautiful gardens filled with her ancestral Indian vegetables and herbs, as well as lush native pollinator plants, fruit trees, and cut flowers at her family’s home in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, not too far from our home in Philadelphia. She has introduced us and our community to many Indian seeds and so it was great to have this chance to visit her home and speak with her about her life, her beloved food plants, and even get a chance to share a delicious meal featuring bindhi, guar, curry leaves, amba, and so much more.
You will also hear a couple voice recordings from Truelove Seeds apprentice Tika Jagad and her father Mr. Krutarth Jagad. And at the end, our son Bryan asks Nital and Dinesh’s son Soham a couple questions about his favorite traditional foods.
SEED STORIES TOLD IN THIS EPISODE:
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Bindhi, Okra, Abelmoschus esculentus
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Guar, Cluster Bean, Cyamopsis tetragonoloba
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Curry Tree, Murraya koenigii
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Ratalu, Purple Yam, Dioscorea alata
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Lablab, Hyacinth Bean, Lablab purpureus
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White Eggplant, Solanum melongena
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Transkutukú Peanuts from the Shuar people of Ecuador, Arachis hypogaea
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Chana, Chickpeas, Cicer arietinum
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Pigeon Pea, Cajanus cajan
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Fenugreek, Trigonella foenum-graecum
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Surti Papri, Lablab purpureus
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Karela, Bitter Melon, Momordica charantia
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Lauki, Bottle Gourd, Lagenaria siceraria
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Jewels of Opar, Talinum paniculatum and Waterleaf, Talinum triangulare
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Red Amaranth, Amaranthus spp.
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Tomato, Solanum lycopersicum
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Mango, Mangifera indica
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Amla, Indian Gooseberry, Emblica officinalis
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Falsa, Sherbet Berry, Grewia asiatica
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Papaya, Carica papaya
MORE INFO FROM THIS EPISODE:
- Nital's Instagram
- Amirah Mitchell's Sistah Seeds
- Tika's garden, Rabbit Hole Farm, Newark, NJ
- Kula Nursery, Oakland
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:
Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
FIND CHRIS HERE:
Sankofa Community Farm at Bartram’s Garden
THANKS TO:
- Nital, Dinesh, and their son Soham
- Tika and her father, Mr. Krutarth Jagad
- Zee Husain
- Amirah Mitchell
- Our son Bryan
- Ruth Kaaserer
- Cecilia Sweet-Coll
Friday Jun 09, 2023
EP. 21: Haiqal’s Garden - Indonesian vegetables in South Philly
Friday Jun 09, 2023
Friday Jun 09, 2023
In the first week of June 2023, I finally visited Haiqal's Garden in South Philadelphia to speak with Hani White and Syarif Syaifulloh about their beloved Indonesian food plants, food culture, and life stories. We met five years ago at Sky Cafe, an Indonesian restaurant where Hani curated a storied vegetarian meal for our group, and then took us a few doors down to Hung Vuong, an Asian grocery store where she gave us a tour of her favorite vegetables from Indonesia. Since then, her family has visited our Truelove Seeds farm, traded seeds and plants with us, and helped us identify one of the plants we purchased at the Cambodian market in FDR Park: Kenikir or Ulam Raja! Finally, our son Bryan wanted to ask their son Haiqal some questions after reading the children's book featuring him and his dad - so he did! Listen to the end to hear their back and forth.
SEED STORIES TOLD IN THIS EPISODE:
- Kangkung, Water Spinach
- Cayenne Pepper, Sambal
- Red Spinach, Red Amaranth, Pink Soup
- Lime Leaves
- Kenikir, Ulam Raja, King's Salad
- Lemongrass
- Moringa
- Banana
- Bitter Melon
- Lily
- Persimmon
- Kale
- Beetroot
- Grape leaves
- Honey Fig
- Purple Long Bean (coming soon!)
MORE INFO FROM THIS EPISODE:
- Haiqal's Garden (Facebook)
- Haiqal's Garden (Children's Book)
- Morning Circle Media
- Hardena Restaurant
- Mural featuring Haiqal's Garden (top right) on Hardena Restaurant
- Sky Cafe
- Hung Vuong Food Market
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:
Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
FIND CHRIS HERE:
Sankofa Community Farm at Bartram’s Garden
THANKS TO:
- Syarif Syaifulloh, Hani White, and Haiqal Syaifulloh
- Ruth Kaaserer
- Lacey Walker :)
Monday Apr 17, 2023
EP. 20: The Iraqi Seed Collective and Awafi Kitchen
Monday Apr 17, 2023
Monday Apr 17, 2023
In late February 2023, Annabel Rabiyah and Amanda Chin of the Iraqi Seed Collective visited the Truelove Seeds office to help fill the first packets of Iraqi Seed Collective seeds (Iraqi Reehan Basil, grown by Experimental Farm Network), and prepare some of their other collectively-grown seeds for germination testing. We took the opportunity to record conversations with them about Annabel's work with Awafi Kitchen, which focuses on preserving traditional Iraqi Jewish food, and about their seed collective, which works with a wide array of gardeners and farmers from Iraq and the Iraqi diaspora in the US. At the end of this episode, you will hear from several other collective members who sent short phone recordings about their transformative moments being part of the collective, as well as a recording Annabel sent after returning from their family's first trip back to Iraq in 50 years. The episode begins with answering some listener questions about growing and cooking Mustard Greens, dealing with the Squash Vine Borer, and shelling peas with kids.
SEED STORIES TOLD IN THIS EPISODE:
Introduction:
SEED STORIES:
- Sesame
- Rice
- Aswad Eggplant
- Amba (Mango, Cayenne, Fenugreek, Turmeric)
- Ali Baba Watermelon
- Rashad (Chamsur)
- Al Kuffa Tomato
- Fava Bean
- Winter Melon
- Flax
MORE INFO FROM THIS EPISODE:
- 2023 Iraqi Seed Collective General Interest Form
- Iraqi Seed Collective (Instagram)
- The Awafi Kitchen (Webpage)
- The Awafi Kitchen (Instagram)
- Beidth al Tbeet: Deconstructing the political history of an Iraqi Jewish meal (Youtube)
- Garrett Williamson
- PA Flax 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:
FIND CHRIS HERE:
Sankofa Community Farm at Bartram’s Garden
THANKS TO:
- Annabel "Nibal" Rabiyah - Massachusettes
- Amanda Chin - Pennsylvania
- Rivka-Suad Ben Daniel - Southern California
- Ali Hamad - Tennessee
- Monique Mansour - Southern California
- Sarmed Yasser Jabra - Michigan
- Ali Ruxin - New York
- Rabab Al-Amin - Maryland
- Cecilia Sweet-Coll (for consistent helpful feedback)