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 [email protected]!

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is an exhibit at the Maine Historical Society / Longfellow House that was spearheaded by Avery's deep research into historical documents pertaining to veganism spanning hundreds of years back.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

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.

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

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.

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.  

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.

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