Informational Resources

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In this shorts episode I offer some of my favorite informational resources, from vague concepts to specific books to the exceptionally obvious. Many are linked in the show notes. At the end I try out a new style of Q&A, will it work? Only time will tell.

State level organic associations:  MOFGA in Maine or NOFA in other northeast states

Clubs: NAFEX, NNGA, and their facebook groups.

Podcasts: Perennial AF from the Savanna Institute, Poor Prole’s Almanac, In Defence of Plants, Live Like the World is Dying, Cultivariable

Books: Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation by Dirr and Heuser, The Holistic Orchard by Michael Phillips, Cornucopia II : a source book of edible plants by Stephen Facciola

, Edible Forest Gardens by Dave Jacke and Eric Toesmeier, Radical Mycology by Peter McCoy, Tree Fruit Field Guide to Insect, Mite, and Disease Pests and Natural Enemies of Eastern North America by Plant and Life Science Publishing. The Encyclopedia of Country Living by Carla Emery , Breed Your Own Vegetable Varieties by Carrol Deppe, Secrets of Plant Propagation by Lewis Hill. Seed to Seed by Suzanne Ashworth.

Online resources: BONAP, Plants For A Future, The Woody Plant Seed Manual | US Forest Service Research

If you want to support this podcast, you can tell a friend to check it out, subscribe/rate/review on your favorite podcast platforms and/or join the Patreon. You can also submit questions or listener audio!

Tree Crops Cross Pollination with Live Like the World is Dying

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This week we have another awesome cross pollination with Live Like the World is Dying, our comrades in the Channel Zero podcast network. This time we’re talking tree crops. Many of the trees we talk about in this episode have had their own episode on Propaganda By the Seed, so if you want more info look back in this feed or check out these links. Be sure to follow Live Like the World is Dying on your favorite podcast app or whatever social media you use for more informative content for what feels like the end times.

Cornelian Cherry (PBTS episode), Figs (PBTS episode), Paw Paws (PBTS episode), Hazelnuts (PBTS episode), Eating Acorns (PBTS episode), The way I collect and process Acorns (blog page), Mulberries (PBTS episode), Siberian Peashrub (PBTS episode), Pigeon Peas on Seeds and Their People, Northern Nuts and the genus Carya (PBTS episode), Chestnuts (PBTS episode), Mt. Joy Orchard - A free to pick public orchard in Portland, Maine - IG  // website, Rethinking Black Walnut Allelopathy on In Defence of Plants,

Trees with Edible Leaves - free book , Trees with Edible Leaves PBTS episode,

Grafting (PBTS episode)

Everyday Carry Garden Tools

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In this episode of Propaganda By the Seed Shorts I’ll tell you about my favorite garden tools and answer a question about apple and pear rootstocks. 

If you want to support this podcast, you can tell a friend to check it out, subscribe/rate/review on your favorite podcast platforms and/or join the Patreon. You can also submit questions or listener audio!

Trees with Edible Leaves with Eric Toensmeier

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In this episode I talk with perennial crops researcher and author Eric Toensmeier about trees with edible leaves. You might not think of tree leaves being suitable as human food, but many of them are quite tasty and their seasonality and nutritional content complement both annual and perennial vegetables. We cover several species, the maintenance techniques that support high productivity and some ideas on how best to cook them. For more information on Eric’s work you can checkout his website, perennialsolutions.org, or follow him on Instagram and/or Patreon. Want more info on trees with edible leaves? Eric wrote a whole book about it, which you can read or download for free at www.perennialagriculture.institute

If you want to support this podcast, you can tell your friends to check it out, subscribe/rate/review on your favorite podcast platforms and/or join the Patreon. You can also submit questions or listener audio!

A call for listener audio and questions!

As part of season 4 of Propaganda By the Seed I am trying out some changes to the format of the show. First, I’m aiming for 2 episodes a month, one will be the typical hour long interview based episode, usually about a specific plant, but not always. The other episode will be shorter, no guest, and cover a plant related topic like propagation techniques, recommended tools etc.

I’m also hoping to have some more interactive segments, so I’m trying out listener audio and listener questions. Listener questions will be answered on “shorts” episodes, ideally you should record your question as a voice memo on your phone and email it to me. Listener audio will go at the end of interview episodes and could be almost anything, PSAs, ads for cool projects, music, experimental audio. These can also be sent by email. If either kind of audio file is too big, or not working for some reason, you could upload it to this google drive folder.

I hope you enjoy these format changes, definitely let me know what you think in the comments or by email.

Grafting

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In this first episode of Propaganda By the Seed shorts I'll be telling you about grafting, a method of plant propagation that joins 2 individual plants (the scion and the rootstock) and lets them grow as one. These shorter episodes without a guest are an experiment, so please let me know if you like them or have topics you would like to hear covered. “Short” episodes also have a Q&A segment, so send in those audio notes with questions if you got ‘em.

I talk about some tools and materials you may want, like a grafting knife, tape, sealer or the grafting starter kit.

You can’t reasonably learn to graft from a podcast, so I recommend some local places where you could at least get a short lesson like the MOFGA Seed and Scion Exchange (Sunday, March 30, 12 - 4 p.m.) or the Mt. Joy Orchard Spring Planting festival (Saturday May 10th at Noon). If you can’t find a local class or teacher, I recommend the Skillcult grafting series on youtube as a next step. Intro music is clipped out of Like Weeds by His Hero is Gone . Outro music is Capitalism(Is Tearing Us Apart) by Sole & DJ Pain 1

Growing Calorie Crops at Home with Peter Kellman and Rebekah Yonan

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In this episode I talk with Peter Kellman and Rebekah Yonan about growing your own calorie crops and the systems they use to grow and process their food using a minimum of external inputs. We cover the ins and outs of planting, harvesting, threshing and winnowing serval types of grains and beans as well as managing soil fertility using mostly leaves and urine. Peter talks about the book Farmers of Forty Centuries by F.H. King

Announcement + Midcoast Vegan with Tim Holland

This week on Propaganda By the Seed we have a big announcement and Tim share's a bit about how he came to love cooking and cuisine, his food business Midcoast Vegan and how fermented vegan cheeses are made. You can learn more about Midcoast Vegan by going to their site or following on Instagram or Facebook 

Edible Perennials for Preparedness Cross Pollination with Live Like the World is Dying

This week on Propaganda by the Seed we have a cross pollination with our friends at Live Like the World is Dying, Casandra talks with Aaron, about edible perennial plants that you can grow. This episode got compiled into a Live Like the World is Dying Skill Series zine that is also the Strangers in a Tangled Wilderness January monthly feature. You can get a free PDF of it at www.Tangledwilderness.org. 

Guest Info

Aaron Parker can be found hosting Propaganda by the Seed or at Edgewood Nursery.
IG: @Edgewoodnursery or @Propagandabytheseed or at www.Edgewood-Nursery.com

Publisher Info

This show is published by Strangers in A Tangled Wilderness. We can be found at www.tangledwilderness.org, or on Twitter @TangledWild and Instagram @Tangled_Wilderness. You can support the show on Patreon at www.patreon.com/strangersinatangledwilderness.

Find out more at https://live-like-the-world-is-dying.pinecast.co

Propaganda By the Seed is seeking listener submitted audio to include at the end of the show, this could be a PSA, an ad for your favorite plant, and short audio experiment... email submissions to propagandabytheseed@riseup.net!

Maine's Untold Vegetarian History w/ Avery Yale Kamilla

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In this episode we sit down with Avery Yale Kamilla, Tilly Laskey and John Babbit to discuss Maine's Untold Vegetarian History.  This is an exhibit at the Maine Historical Society / Longfellow House that was spearheaded by Avery's deep research into historical documents pertaining to veganism spanning hundreds of years back.  In this episode we talk about Christianity's influence on early vegetarians in Maine, the contraversial work of John Graham, the Neerings/ Good Life movement, Wabanaki use of nuts and seeds, the back to the land movement and so much more.  Avery is a writer for the Portland Press Herald who covers vegan food and she has unearthed so many fascinating and illuminating nuggets of Maine vegetarian history.  For more information on Avery you can follow her on Instagram or check out her bi-weekly column in the Portland Press Herald.  For more info on this exhibit you can grab tickets or view elements of it here. 

Photo Credit:  Carol Bousquet / Maine Public

Psilocybe Mushrooms with Inti Garcia Flores and Alan Rockefeller

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In this episode of Propaganda By The Spore, we’re talking Psilocybe Mushrooms! This episode has been in the works since early 2021, we hit lots hiccups and logistical snags along the way, but we’re happy to finally get this episode out into the world. We start off with a short interview with Mazatec historian and archivist Inti Garcia Flores about the role of Psilocybe mushrooms in Mazatec culture. Follow him on Instagram and check out his project The History and Memory of the Mazatecas (also on IG)

Next we’re onto a longer interview with freelance scientist Alan Rockefeller that covers Psilocybe taxonomy, biology, genetic fingerprinting and many other topics. You can follow Allan’s work a many different platforms including Instagram, Facebook, Inaturalist and others.

Polyploid Breeding with The Savanna Institute

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In this episode we chat with 3 time PBTS guest Eliza Greenman and her co-worker Kathleen Rhodes at The Savannah Institute about polyploid plant breeding. Polyploidy is a genetic condition where an organism has extra copies of it's genome in it's cells. Inducing polyploidy or breeding with existing polyploids can be a useful tool to gain traits such as larger fruit, larger leaves, seed sterility along with many other possibilities.

The Savannah Institute is a non-profit focusing on researching and implementing improvements in agroforestry in the midwest.

You can follow Eliza on Instagram or read her blog at elizapples.com

Experimental Farm Network with Dusty and Nate

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In this episode we talk with Dusty and Nate about their project, The Experimental Farm Network. The project is both a platform to support open-source, collective plant breeding and other on farm experiments as well as a seed store, which focuses on unusual varieties and genepools suitable for further selection. We cover how they started the project, how it's going and some the many plants they are excited about. Follow them on Instagram, Facebook or check out their web page or seed store.

Seaside Foraging with Rachel Alexandrou

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In this episode of propaganda by the seed we sit down with Rachel Alexandrou.  Rachel is a forager, educator and artist based out of the Midcoast Maine region.  The focus oof this conversation is seaside foraging, plants such as saltwort, sea brassicas, sea plantain, common seaweeds and more.   Rachel also talks about some of her favorite wild plants to work with, how she uses them and the thinking that informs her practices.  This is highly informative & inspiring and lots of laughs.    Check out Rachel’s work at rachelalexandrou.com or@giantdaughter on instagram

We also name drop SoyMilkMaid a few times in this episode you can check her work out here.  

Siberian Peashrub with Melissa Hoffman

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In this episode we talk with Melissa Hoffman of Sho Farm and Living Future about Siberian Peashrub (Caragana arborescens). Siberian Peashrub is a large, multi-stemmed shrub from northern Asia. They are somewhat familiar in landscaping and as a nitrogen fixer, but the seeds remain underutilized by most people growing them around here. Melissa shares her experiences growing, harvesting and above all cooking with this plant. We also chat about several fermentation techniques including water kefir. Be sure to check out Melissa’s blog post on this topic for some beautiful photos and additional info. Some other resources that are mentioned are the book The Ecological Farm by Helen Atthowe and the website Full of Plants

Update: after publishing this episode I got a email from Jack Kertesz with some extra info to share. Rather than tarps, he now uses a wide piece of row cover material, slit to the middle and gathered around the trunk. This helps avoid excess moisture from collecting on the sheet. Before laying out the collecting sheet he mows the area. The sheet should be weighted down around the edges, or it may blow away. He also noted occasional chance seedlings from Pea shrubs if adjacent areas have freshly tilled, open soil, although it hasn’t presented a problem.

Koji w/ Nicholas Repenning of Goen Foods

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In this episode of propaganda by the seed we sit down with Nick from Goen Foods. Goen Foods is primarily 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

Gardening for Habitat

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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.

Repodcast: Around the World in 80 Plants with Stephen Barstow

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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

Northern Nuts and the genus Carya with Buzz Ferver

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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

Sochan with Nico Albert Williams

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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, this

plant 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