Seeds And Their People

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: Figs Broccoli Rabe Poverella Pole Bean from Concetta Liberto Cow's Nipple Tomato from Mariano Floro Lunga di Napoli Squash Cucuzza from Antonino Machi Cucuzza seed saving with Charles Adornetto Fagiolina del Trasimeno Long Bean Vinny's Neapolitan Friariello (Frying Pepper) Ischia Eggplant Nepitella Fennel from Fenice Mercurio Black Fava (Mora de Precoce) from Nicola Ranieri Swiss Chard from Caro Simbula Sabatino’s "Peppe Insalata" LettuceFloriani Red Flint Corn MORE INFO FROM THIS EPISODE: 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 UnificationGrowers Grange Italian Heirloom CSA, Corbett, OREggplant Parmesan recipe by Cooking with NonaThe 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: Truelove Seeds Facebook | Instagram | Twitter FIND CHRIS HERE: Sankofa Community Farm at Bartram’s Garden THANKS TO:

Dr. William Woys Weaver is an internationally known food historian and author of 22 books including: 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: Hannah Freeman Bean Pippin's Fish Pepper Bowling Pin Paste Tomato Green Striped Maycock Weaver Pole Bean Shipova Mt. Ash Hybrid MORE INFO FROM THIS EPISODE: The Roughwood Center for Heritage SeedwaysRoughwood FacebookA Century of Don Yoder: Father of American FolklifeJames 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: Truelove Seeds Facebook | Instagram | Twitter FIND CHRIS HERE: Sankofa Community Farm at Bartram’s Garden THANKS TO:

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: Bindhi, Okra, Abelmoschus esculentus Guar, Cluster Bean, Cyamopsis tetragonoloba Curry Tree, Murraya koenigii Ratalu, Purple Yam, Dioscorea alata Lablab, Hyacinth Bean, Lablab purpureus White Eggplant, Solanum melongena Transkutukú Peanuts from the Shuar people of Ecuador, Arachis hypogaea Chana, Chickpeas, Cicer arietinum Pigeon Pea, Cajanus cajan Fenugreek, Trigonella foenum-graecum Surti Papri, Lablab purpureus Karela, Bitter Melon, Momordica charantia Lauki, Bottle Gourd, Lagenaria siceraria Luffa Jewels of Opar, Talinum paniculatum and Waterleaf, Talinum triangulare Red Amaranth, Amaranthus spp. Tomato, Solanum lycopersicum Mango, Mangifera indica Amla, Indian Gooseberry, Emblica officinalis Falsa, Sherbet Berry, Grewia asiatica Papaya, Carica papaya MORE INFO FROM THIS EPISODE: InstagramSistah SeedsRabbit Hole Farm, Newark, NJKula Nursery 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:

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: Kenikir, Ulam Raja, King's SaladBitter MelonKaleBeetrootPurple Long Bean MORE INFO FROM THIS EPISODE: Haiqal's Garden (Facebook)Haiqal's Garden (Children's Book)Morning Circle MediaHardena RestaurantMural featuring Haiqal's Garden (top right) on Hardena RestaurantSky CafeHung 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: Truelove Seeds Facebook | Instagram | Twitter FIND CHRIS HERE: Sankofa Community Farm at Bartram’s Garden THANKS TO:

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: Broadleaf Mustard GreensSquash Vine Borer in Pennsylvania SEED STORIES: Aswad EggplantChamsurWinter MelonFlax MORE INFO FROM THIS EPISODE: 2023 Iraqi Seed Collective General Interest FormIraqi 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 WilliamsonPA 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: Truelove Seeds Tumblr | Instagram | Twitter FIND CHRIS HERE: Sankofa Community Farm at Bartram’s Garden THANKS TO:

In November 2022, we visited Father Tom Mullaly at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Greenville, Mississippi. Chris's mother Mrs. Demalda Bolden Newsome grew up in this church, as did her family going back three generations. Chris was born and baptized there as well. Father Tom grew up on his Slovak family's farm in the summers, raising food for their winter pantry. For the past 50 years, he has been a pastor in southern Black Catholic churches, keeping gardens in community along the way. In our conversation, Chris and his mom also talk about the importance of the Black Catholic church to their family and community. SEED STORIES TOLD IN THIS EPISODE: Introduction: Speckled Brown ButterbeanCalendulaHoney Bean MORE INFO FROM THIS EPISODE: Sacred Heart Catholic ChurchNo-Till Intensive Vegetable Culture, by Bryan O'HaraItalian Garden ProjectCelebrating Saint Joseph Altars: Italian American PodcastStella Natura Biodynamic Planting CalendarSeventy Septembers, by Mary E. Best 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 Tumblr | Instagram | Twitter FIND CHRIS HERE: Sankofa Community Farm at Bartram’s Garden THANKS TO:

Heidi Ratanavanich invited their mom, Mae Sue, and aunties Na Na, Na Urm, and Na Toy from Thailand and Chicago to cook traditional Thai foods together for their Philadelphia friends and family and to visit their traditional foods growing at our farm. We were also able to talk about the family hotdog stand, Al's Drive-In, which serves hotdogs and Thai-inspired Chinese food. We are grateful to have recorded these beautiful moments with them for this episode! Heidi is a visual artist, carpenter, and educator. Heidi is interested in the intersection of food sovereignty, Thai/Chinese diaspora, ecology and economy. They are involved in the collectives FORTUNE and Television. Heidi apprenticed at Truelove Seeds for a season, tending to Thai and Chinese based plants with a special focus on Kra Praow (Thai Holy Basil) saved from their mom's home, Sappaya, Thailand. They were also part of a team that re-opened a small take-out corner store in West Philly called Golden Dragon. Golden Dragon will be closing its doors this month, though Heidi plans to continue their food sovereignty work and personal journey with ancestral food, including growing a Chicago-Style hotdog garden in 2023 with Zhong Shu Tomatoes, Thai white cucumbers, Chinese Celery, Sport Peppers, and more. SEED STORIES TOLD IN THIS EPISODE: Introduction: MilkweedEfo ShokoCallalooCoral SorghumCouve Heidi's Seed Stories: Krapao (Thai Holy Basil)Celtuce (Chinese Stem Lettuce)Prik Chi Fa (Pepper)EggplantCulantro/Recao/Foreigner Cilantro/Saw-Toothed CilantroRice MORE INFO FROM THIS EPISODE: Goodbye Golden Dragon, on Bunny Hop InstagramFortuneHeidi at TrueloveAl's Drive-InAl's on CBS NewsAl's in New York Times 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 Tumblr | Instagram | Twitter FIND CHRIS HERE: Sankofa Community Farm at Bartram’s Garden THANKS TO:

Chris Keeve is a former Truelove Seeds apprentice and current seed grower in Kentucky who drove out for our annual Truelove growers gathering at our farm on October 22nd, 2022 to deliver seeds and conduct interviews for their dissertation: the Truelove Seeds Listening Project. With Truelove business manager and web wizard Sara Taylor recording the audio and interjecting occasionally, they talked to growers about their involvement in our network, including occasional seed stories, testimonials, suggestions, and which seeds they'd bring to another planet. This episode is a compilation of some of the interviews. SEED STORIES TOLD IN THIS EPISODE: Korean Hong Gochu PepperPaul Robeson TomatoBitter MelonMississippi Purple Hull PeaCherokee Purple TomatoPotawatomi Pole LimaButternut SquashSeminole PumpkinKernza Grain MORE INFO FROM THIS EPISODE: Truelove Seeds Growers Gathering postChris Keeve featured on Seeds and Their PeopleCare of Creation Ministries, KenyaSeedEd FarmArcadia University Veteran Farmer ProgramAppel Farm Arts CampRowen White's Seed Seva Seasonal Mentorship Online CourseFood as Public work by Pantaleon Florez of Maseualkualli FarmPoor Prole's AlmanacStrawflower FarmExperimental Farm Network 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 Tumblr | Instagram | Twitter FIND CHRIS HERE: Sankofa Community Farm at Bartram’s Garden THANKS TO:

Akoth Ambugo spends part of her year back home in her family's rural villages in Kenya and part of her year in the United States as a nurse and gardener. While in the US, she is learning to keep seeds, grow nutritious food, and feed the soil. She hopes to revive traditional indigenous crop varieties and farming practices that are more in tune with the land and the health of the people. She recently wrote: "This thing that we do is a return. A return to a deep and sacred knowing of wild things. That we all begin and return as seeds. This land, these hands, and these hearts all feel like a sacred alignment, weaving to-gather together. Here there is no sense of if, just is. Here I breathe in hope and beauty. This is what the seeds teach me, learning the path of patience and humility. Of fire and water in balance. Of the sweetness of my sweat and the delight of feeling my body toil for sanctuary. I eat with more awareness and gratitude. Because of the seed. The revolution has always been here and it is in the seed." SEED STORIES TOLD IN THIS EPISODE: Apoth/Ewedu/Molokhia/JuteBo/Kunde/Field Pea/CowpeaChinsaga/Dek/Spider PlantSisalBesobela/Ethiopian Holy BasilHuacatay/Peruvian Black MintSpilanthes/Toothache PlantBambara Groundnuts MORE INFO FROM THIS EPISODE: Newark Adopt-a-LotMasanobu Fukuoka Natural Farm, JapanTagetes minuta as a natural dye in KenyaCowpea Extension ManualSeed Savers Network, Kenya 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 Tumblr | Instagram | Twitter FIND CHRIS HERE: Sankofa Community Farm at Bartram’s Garden THANKS TO:

In this fifteenth episode, Amirah Mitchell of Sistah Seeds gives us a tour of the African Diasporic seed crops on her farm in Emmaus, PA. She also describes her work to preserve seeds and stories of African-American, West African, and Afro-Caribbean foodways, how she got to this point, and where she is headed. Amirah worked for four years as an apprentice and coworker at Truelove Seeds, and we are so grateful for our continued collaboration as she embarks on the next phase of her work as a farm owner, seed keeper, educator, and inspiration to so many. AMIRAH MITCHELL, SISTAH SEEDS: sistahseeds.com@sistahseeds Inquirer, 12/21Grid Philly, 1/22Edible Philadelphia, 3/22Amirah Mitchell at Temple UniversityAmirah's Seed Keeping Fellowship at Greensgrow SEED STORIES TOLD IN THIS EPISODE: Moses Smith Yellow Cabbage CollardsSea Island Brown CottonBlue Shackamaxon BeanEzelle Family Fish Eye PeaFish PepperBenne (Sesame)Green Striped Cushaw SquashSea Island Red OkraWhite African SorghumCelosiaSokoyokoto Lagos Spinach (Leaf Celosia from EFN)Efo Shoko (Lagos Spinach/Leaf Celosia from Truelove)Feathery Plume Celosia (Ornamental) Egusi Melon"Odell's" Large White WatermelonAunt Lou's Underground Railroad Tomato MORE INFO FROM THIS EPISODE: Heirloom Collard ProjectHeirloom Collard Project on NPR (featuring Amirah and Mama Ira Wallace!)Truelove Seeds Indigenous Seeds Rematriation (scroll to bottom)Kris HubbardFish Pepper episodeCushaw Squash in Michael Twitty's Afroculinaria blogThe Whole Okra: A Seed to Stem CelebrationHerbal Affirmations, 'San' Kofi Sankofa, GoFundMeLost Crops of Africa, EgusiWatermelon Men of PhiladelphiaBen Burkett 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 Tumblr | Instagram | Twitter FIND CHRIS HERE: Sankofa Community Farm at Bartram’s Garden THANKS TO:

In this episode, we hear from Señora Iris Brown of Loíza, Puerto Rico, who grew up learning to cook and use herbs from her grandmother and the strong women of her hometown. She came to New York in 1967 for economic reasons, and moved to Philadelphia in 1970 when she fell in love with the back yards here. She said “I saw the possibilities of planting flowers, hanging a hammock, and looking at the stars!!” In the 1980s, she and her friend Tomasita Romero co-founded Grupo Motivos, a collective of Puerto Rican women that worked with West Kensington residents to establish the historic and award-winning Norris Square gardens on many blighted, vacant properties that had been used for selling drugs. Now part of Norris Square Neighborhood Project, these spaces are filled with life and beauty and Puerto Rican culture. SEED STORIES TOLD IN THIS EPISODE: Northern Adapted Pigeon Peas (Gandules)Aji Dulce (Seasoning Pepper) MORE INFO FROM THIS EPISODE: Please Support Hurricane Relief in Loíza, PR: Taller Salud Resources and organizations mentioned: Norris Square Neighborhood Project (NSNP)InstagramFacebookWebGrupo Motivos presents: Villa Africana ColobóEl burén de LulaEarth And Spirit: Medicinal Plants And Healing Lore From Puerto Rico 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 SUPPORT OUR PATREON! Become a monthly Patreon supporter! This will better allow us to take the time to record, edit, and share seed stories like these. FIND OWEN HERE: Truelove Seeds Facebook | Tumblr | Instagram | Twitter FIND CHRIS HERE: Sankofa Community Farm at Bartram’s Garden THANKS TO: SEED STORIES TOLD IN THIS EPISODE (CONTINUED):

This episode features Halima Salizar and Dria Price of Justevia Teas in Watervalley, Mississippi with a focus on their beloved food and medicine plants, their work, and the ways the food cultures of West Africa and the Southern US mirror each other. They grow, harvest, dry, and package their tea blends at their farm, and they host pop-ups with local restaurants featuring Nigerian foods. They also grow the seeds of Nigerian vegetables as well as heirlooms from Mississippi and Alabama for the Truelove Seeds catalog. SEED STORIES TOLD IN THIS EPISODE: Honey BeanPurple Hull PeaHibiscusWhite Velvet OkraCallalooEgusiPalestinian Molokhia MORE INFO FROM THIS EPISODE: Help Justevia buy a Farm!Justevia's LinktreeMr. Brown's Farm, Watervally, MSChicory Market, Oxford, MSThe Potlikker Papers, John T. EdgeSouthern Foodways Alliance podcast: GravyEwedu Broom on YouTubeSeeds and Their People, EP 5: RAU ĐAY, LALO, SALUYOT, EWEDU, MOLOKHIAMolokhia Survey, by Antonio Tahhan Antonio Tahhan's LinktreeBraiding Seeds Fellowship 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 SUPPORT OUR PATREON! Become a monthly Patreon supporter! This will better allow us to take the time to record, edit, and share seed stories like these. FIND OWEN HERE: Truelove Seeds Facebook | Tumblr | Instagram | Twitter FIND CHRIS HERE: Sankofa Community Farm at Bartram’s Garden THANKS TO:

This interview overflows with deep wisdom, rough experience and a heapin’ side of humor all in Ms. Pearl’s pecan smooth Mississippi cadence and style. It is uncharacteristically long for our conversations and we know you will be BLESSED by every minute! Ms. Pearl is a daughter of the delta and migrated north. She was born and raised in what would today be considered deep poverty in the then and now poorest state of the union in a time and place where slavery was dead in name only. White supremacy and deep oppression of the working class was and remains a very real and present danger to peace, health, economic and spiritual progress in our beloved Mississippi. There will be some parts of Ms. Pearl’s personal life story that might be hard for some listeners to hear. Also Ms. Pearl will be speaking from her deep life experiences, in her dialect and through her ways of knowing the world in which she matured. Please listen as always with a beginner's mind and an open heart to her intense sharing. Due to strong language and vivid descriptions of racist violence, this may not be suitable listening for young children. SEED STORIES TOLD IN THIS EPISODE: Speckled Brown Butter BeanMississippi Purple Hull PeaMississippi Silver Hull Crowder PeaSeven Top Turnips MORE INFO FROM THIS EPISODE: The Community Garden at Sankofa Community Farm at Bartram's GardenEmmett Till Legacy Foundation 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 SUPPORT OUR PATREON! Become a monthly Patreon supporter! This will better allow us to take the time to record, edit, and share seed stories like these. FIND OWEN HERE: Truelove Seeds Facebook | Tumblr | Instagram | Twitter FIND CHRIS HERE: Sankofa Community Farm at Bartram’s Garden THANKS TO:

In this episode, we hear from former Truelove Seeds apprentice Kai Delgado Pfeifer in an interview from last fall 2021 when they visited our office and seed room in Philadelphia. There is also a short update from this week so we can hear the awesome things Kai is up to now and in the near future. This is the second of two back-to-back episodes featuring former apprentices, but we will certainly do more in the future. Kai Delgado Pfeifer (they/them) is a Filipinx/Mixed European descent earth tender activating ancestral food, plant medicine, and spirituality as mediums for healing and liberation. Kai is also an educator who moves with the belief that our children are the light beings who will re-awaken our lineages of wisdom for the liberation and regeneration of our Mama Earth. SEED STORIES TOLD IN THIS EPISODE: Smooth Bitter MelonSaluyot (Molokhia)Burdock RootRice Beans (Tahores/Tapilan)Rice PeasNorthern Adapted Pigeon PeasHill Rice (South Trinidad) MORE INFO FROM THIS EPISODE: Interviewee: Kai Delgado Pfeifer @lolas.apoKinabuhi ang Pag-Kaon / Food is Life Class Resources and organizations mentioned: Bahay215Neal SantosLaloBeatrice Misa Crisostomo, Global Seed SaversMASIPAG: Rice and freedom in the PhilippinesKai Farms: A permaculture farm in the PhilippinesFarm School NYCAmirah Mitchell's 2021 seed keeping fellowshipGMOs and their Implications on the Filipino Peoples' Food Securitythe Philippines has become the first country to approve the commercial production of genetically modified, nutrient-enriched Golden Rice 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 SUPPORT OUR PATREON! Become a monthly Patreon supporter! This will better allow us to take the time to record, edit, and share seed stories like these. FIND OWEN HERE: Truelove Seeds Facebook | Tumblr | Instagram | Twitter FIND CHRIS HERE: Sankofa Community Farm at Bartram’s Garden THANKS TO:

In this episode, we hear from former Truelove Seeds apprentice and current Truelove Seeds seed producer and collaborator Chris Keeve in an interview from last fall 2021 when they visited during our annual growers gathering at our farm outside of Philadelphia, PA. There is also a short clip from the summer of 2019 while a group of us harvested peas and Chris narrates, and a short update from this month so we can hear the awesome things Chris is up to this summer. Chris Keeve is a seedkeeper, chaotic gardener, and PhD student in Geography at the University of Kentucky. Their work focuses on the political ecologies and cooperative geographies of participatory seed work, especially through lenses of Black, queer, and liberatory ecologies. They've been known to write things here and there about seeds, politics, ecology, histories, futures, and materiality. Their apprenticeship with Truelove has led into their work with projects like the TradeRoots Culinary Collective in Wisconsin, as well as their current work in central Kentucky as a seed grower for Truelove, as well as for Ujamaa Seeds and Experimental Farm Network. This season they are most excited about the Paul Robeson tomato, with an upcoming growout of blue collards a close second. You can find them at c.keeve on Instagram, christiankeeve on Twitter, email keeve@uky.edu, or through their department page. SEED STORIES TOLD IN THIS EPISODE: Spilanthes (Bullseye)Spilanthes (Lemon Drop)Hill Country Red OkraWhite Velvet OkraGreen Glaze CollardsTulsi (Kapoor)Tulsi (Vana) MORE INFO FROM THIS EPISODE: Interviewee: Chris Keeve @c.keevechristiankeevekeeve@uky.eduChris's department page Resources and organizations mentioned: Zora Neale Hurston on Florida FoodHeirloom Collards ProjectTradeRoots Culinary CollectiveLobelia CommonsSouthern Exposure Seed ExchangeExperimental Farm NetworkUjamaa Seeds 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 SUPPORT OUR PATREON! Become a monthly Patreon supporter! This will better allow us to take the time to record, edit, and share seed stories like these. FIND OWEN HERE: Truelove Seeds Facebook | Tumblr | Instagram | Twitter FIND CHRIS HERE: Sankofa Community Farm at Bartram’s Garden THANKS TO: Sara Taylor

In this episode, Palestinian chef Anan Jardali Zahr describes her beloved foodways and ingredients, including Molokhia, Kusa, and Zaatar. Anan was born in Akka, Palestine and came to California at age 11, after the Six-Day War of 1967. She graduated from University of California at Berkeley’s Department of Near Eastern Studies and attended Graduate School at West Chester University in the Department of Education. She and her family have lived in the Philadelphia area since 1980 where she previously taught in the school system. From 1995-2001, Anan had a Mediterranean restaurant in Wilmington, Delaware and she continues to share her love for Palestinian food through cooking demonstrations (which is how we first met, at the Culinary Literacy Center of the Free Library of Philadelphia) and through Instagram: @ananzahr SEED STORIES TOLD IN THIS EPISODE: Palestinian MolokhiaPalestinian Kusa SquashLebanese Za'atar MORE INFO FROM THIS EPISODE: Interviewee: Anan Zahr @ananzahrEP 5: RAU ĐAY, LALO, SALUYOT, EWEDU, MOLOKHIA, Mar 16, 2020Ingredients Across Borders: Sumac 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 SUPPORT OUR PATREON! Become a monthly Patreon supporter! This will better allow us to take the time to record, edit, and share seed stories like these. FIND OWEN HERE: Truelove Seeds Facebook | Tumblr | Instagram | Twitter FIND CHRIS HERE: Sankofa Community Farm at Bartram’s Garden THANKS TO: Sara Taylor

Frank Morton of Wild Garden Seed in Philomath, Oregon visited our Truelove Seeds farm during a cross-country road trip in July, 2019. Frank began in the early 1980s as a salad grower providing greens for grocery stores throughout the country. As you will hear in this episode, an accidental hybrid between two of his lettuces sparked a deep passion for breeding new varieties, and he has been doing so ever since, now with varieties in many seed catalogs, and even in space. Frank has been a invaluable mentor for so many people in the organic and small regional seed company world. We are so grateful for the wisdom he shares. SEED STORIES TOLD IN THIS EPISODE: Outredgeous LettuceLava Dome LettuceWild Garden Kale MixChickweedWrinkled Crinkled Crumpled CressWhite Russian Kale MORE INFO FROM THIS EPISODE: Interviewee: Frank Morton Wild Garden Seed: website@wild_garden_seed Peace SeedsRenee's GardenThe Organic Seed GrowerJohnny's Select SeedsWikipedia 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 SUPPORT OUR PATREON! Become a monthly Patreon supporter! This will better allow us to take the time to record, edit, and share seed stories like these. FIND OWEN HERE: Truelove Seeds Facebook | Tumblr | Instagram | Twitter FIND CHRIS HERE: Sankofa Community Farm at Bartram’s Garden THANKS TO: Sara Taylor

This episode features four interviews with Karen farmers from the mountains of the Karen state of Burma (Myanmar) who spent roughly a decade in Thai refugee camps before resettling in South Philadelphia. They now grow their traditional crops at Novick Urban Farm. The Karen way with food plants was key to their survival and joy while living in the center of a civil war; then again while hiding in the jungle and escaping to Thailand, biding time in the tight quarters of refugee camps; and today, farming and foraging here in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Their heirloom vegetables and traditional foods have become a lifeline, a heartstring, a refuge, and a delicious portal home. SEED STORIES TOLD IN THIS EPISODE: White Flowering Mustard (Rat-Tail Radish)Lemon-Drop SpilanthesGreen Pumpkin Eggplant (Ka)White Garden Egg (Eggplant)Chin Baung (Burmese Roselle Leaf)Dark Pea Eggplant (Ta Kaw Ka Tha) MORE INFO FROM THIS EPISODE: Interviewees: Naw Doh, Hte Da Win, Hser Ku, and Tay Aye, Karen farmers from Burma, at Novick Community Farm Memories of Myanmarnovickurbanfarm.org/community/Novick Urban Farm at Truelove Seeds@novickurbanfarm Novick Urban Farm on FacebookSoutheast by Southeast, Mural Arts 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 SUPPORT OUR PATREON! Become a monthly Patreon supporter! This will better allow us to take the time to record, edit, and share seed stories like these. FIND OWEN HERE: Truelove Seeds Facebook | Tumblr | Instagram | Twitter FIND CHRIS HERE: Sankofa Community Farm at Bartram’s Garden THANKS TO: Sara Taylor

This episode is all about the Fish Pepper, an extremely flavorful, productive, and decorative variety that makes an excellent hot sauce. The white unripe fruit were used to flavor seafood dishes in the Black catering community of Baltimore in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Horace Pippin, the now-famed painter, shared this variety (and many others) with H. Ralph Weaver in the early 1940s in exchange for bee-sting therapy. Weaver's grandson (William Woys Weaver, who you will hear from in the second half of this episode) found the seeds in a baby food jar in his grandmother's deep freezer a couple decades later, many years after his grandfather's death, and was able to reintroduce them via Seed Savers Exchange. In this episode, you will hear from Xavier Brown from Soilful City in Washington DC who makes Pippin Sauce from fish peppers grown by black farmers and urban gardeners in the DC and Maryland areas (including Denzel Mitchell, who you will also hear from). Soilful City offers their seeds through Truelove Seeds. You will also hear from Michael Twitty, author of the Cooking Gene. See links to the work of each of the speakers below. SEED STORIES TOLD IN THIS EPISODE: Fish PepperBuena Mulata Pepper MORE INFO FROM THIS EPISODE: Xavier Brown, January 2020 @soilfulsoilfulcitydc.wordpress.comSoilful City at Truelove Seeds Denzel Mitchell, January 2020 @fatherof5fivefifthsDenzell Mitchell at Farm Alliance Baltimorefutureharvestcasa.org/denzel-mitchellIntroducing Denzel Mitchell of Five Seeds Farm in Baltimore Dr. William Woys Weaver, August 2019 @roughwoodseeds@williamwoysweaverwww.roughwoodtable.orgSigned copies of Heirloom Vegetable Gardening Michael Twitty, April 2019 @thecookinggeneAmazon.comBarnes & NobleMichael W. Twitty Facebook PageThe Cooking Gene Facebook Page@koshersoulwww.Afroculinaria.comArticle Owen wrote from this original interview [PDF] 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 Tumblr | Instagram | Twitter FIND CHRIS HERE: Sankofa Community Farm at Bartram’s Garden THANKS TO: Sara Taylor

This episode is all about one plant with countless names: Molokhia (Corchorus olitorius). You may know it as Jute, Jew's Mallow, Egyptian Spinach, any of the names in the title of this episode, or as something else altogether! This plant is beloved throughout the world and so we talked to people whose roots are in Vietnam, Haiti, Philippines, Nigeria, Palestine, and Syria about how they grow, harvest, prepare, eat, and save seeds from this delicious, nutritious, healing, and slimy plant. You will hear many similarities and differences. One thing is clear: everyone holds it dear for the way the flavors, textures, and even the tedious plucking of leaves transports them back home. SEED STORIES TOLD IN THIS EPISODE: Palestinian MolokhiaPalestinian Kusa SquashFrancois Syrian Molokhia MORE INFO FROM THIS EPISODE: Lan Dinh and Soi Trinh, "Rau Ðay," March, 2020 vietlead.org@resilientrootsfarmOrder Lan and VietLead's seeds Chef Chris Paul, "Lalo," March 2020 @chrispaulcheftasteatlas.com/legimOne Book, Many Voices Community Dinner, March 11, 2020 Nick, "Saluyot," January 2020 Philadelphia Seed ExchangeSaluyot and Cleopatra Ruby Olisemeka, "Ewedu," March 2020 farmschoolnyc.orgEgusiAmala Flouradded-value.orgwww.agloglob.com Anan Zahr "Mlukhiyie," February, 2020 Anan's Musakhan and Sumac class at the Free Library of Philadelphia@ananzahrclick here to see a photo and descriptionPalestinian MolokhiaPalestinian Kusa SquashLebanese Za'atar (Thyme) Hoda Mansour and her daughter Noor "Mloukhia," August, 2019 @ootybabosee photos here Mason Harkrader, Bear Bottom Farm, "Molokhia," August, 2019 @bearbottomfarm[PDF]or read online hereFrançois Selim Moussalli, 1923 - 2018, ObituaryFrancois Syrian MolokhiaAll Bear Bottom Farm's Syrian and Appalachian seeds at Truelove Seeds 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 Tumblr | Instagram | Twitter FIND CHRIS HERE: Sankofa Community Farm at Bartram’s Garden THANKS TO: Sara Taylor