In this episode we talk with Buzz Ferver of Perfect Circle Farm. Buzz has been doing a ton of great work preserving fruit and nut genetics at his farm in VT, as well as pushing the boundaries of what tree crops can be grown in zone 4 in the north-east. He shares a ton of practical knowledge about the genus Carya (Hickories, Pecans and their hybrids) as well as some fascinating history of nut cultivation in the last hundred years.

Buzz recommends these organizations and their archives:

Northern Nut Growers Association (FB)

North American Fruit Explorers (FB)

Indiana Nut and Fruit Growers Association (FB)

As well as these books:

Nut Growing, Ontario Style by John H. Gordon

Nut Growing by R. T. Morris

Nut Culture in North America edited by Richard Jaynes

In today's episode we talk about Sochan with Nico Albert Willaims of Burning Cedar Sovereign Wellness. Sochan is a member of the Asteraceae family (Daisy family) and is an important plant in Cherokee cuisine. In addition to being a great perennial vegetable for humans to eat, thisplant offers leaves for the caterpillars of several moths and butterflies, flowers for many pollinators and seeds for migrating and overwintering birds. They are also tough enough to be planted in spots where invasive plants have recently been removed. You can purchase Sochan plants from Aaron’s nursery Here, with a portion of sales going to support Burning Cedar.

You can follow Nico's work at BurningCedar.org or on Facebook / Instagram. You can support her work by donating to Burning Cedar!

In the interview we mention the study Testing the Nutrient Composition of Perennial Vegetables in Denmark, Sweden, and the United States (PDF)

Nico mentions the Eastern Cherokee returning to harvesting Sochan in the Great Smokey Mountains National Park, which you can read about Here

This episode of Propaganda by the Seed we speak with Alan Bergo aka Forager Chef(www.foragerchef.com).  Alan is a chef out of the midwest who is known for using wild ingredients to create unique gourmet dishes.  He has been executive chef and run several kitchens,  is the creator for the Apple TV show “Field, Forest, Feast,” and has published a new book, “Flora” which is discussed in this episode.  We were struck by Alan’s humility and how much fun we had talking to him about his work.

 In this episode we talk about cooking with and storing wild greens, his origin story, cooking with plants that have been labeled “toxic,” and his ethics and thoughts on foraging.  For more information on Alan’s work visit foragerchef.com and check out his new book “Flora” 

In today’s episode we talk with Eve Emshwiller about Oca (Oxalis tuberosa), a fascinating root crop from the Andes. Eve has spent many years studying Oca and was able to share tons of really interesting stuff with us about how and why Oca is grown in the Andes and why this plant doesn’t necessarily grow well in other regions. You can find Eve on instagram at @eveemshwiller, on google scholar or visit her page at The University of Wisconsen at Madison. If you want to try growing Oca, Cultivariable is a good source.

In this episode Aaron and Tim talk a bit about what we learned this year, what are excited about for next year and some of our favorite tools. Rather then rambling on indefinitely we decided to check back with some previous guests about their year and well as checking in some other people who we think are doing interesting stuff.

- Zach Elfers ( @susq_woodlum on IG) was our 2nd ever guest on PBTS, you can buy plants from him at Future Forest Plants or seeds at http://www.nomadseed.com/. He mentions a tool from Rebel Garden Tools.

-Davis Wang ( @humbleabodenursery on IG). Davis is a nurseryman from Ashfield, MA. His IG has some great content on plants, propagation and the occasional goofy video. Check out his video series on making a mist bed. You can buy plants from Davis at humbleabodenursery.com

- Andy from Poor Prole’s Almanac ( @poorprolesalmanac on IG). Aaron was a guest on Poor Prole’s Almanac awhile back. Check out Andy’s other podcast Tomorrow, Today and his new-ish project @PPAsites . For more info on Earthnut Pea breeding check out this facebook group.

- Mallory O'Donnell ( @mallorylodonnell on IG). Mallory was a guest on PBTS in spring of 2022. This section gets into some more political and philosophical topics.

Outro music is part of Dead Flag Blues by Godspeed You! Black Emperor.

In todays episode of Propaganda By The Seed we speak with “Dr Sandy” aka Sandra Anagnostakis.  Dr. Sandy is a past-president of the Northern Nut Growers Alliance.  She has been working on breeding blight resistant chestnuts since 1968 at the Connecticut Agricultural Station and has selected and named many of the cultivars currently in use. Her areas of expertise include Fungal genetics and physiology, Plant genetics and breeding, and Host-parasite interactions.  We have a long ranging conversation speaking about growing, harvesting, and breeding chestnuts.  Sandy talks about her experience working with chestnuts for over 40 years, all the challenges and benefits of this incredible plant and tons of fascinating historic anecdotes from her work over the years.

For more information on Dr Sandy and her work, check out her bio page on the Connecticut Agricultural Station or look her up on Google Scholar.

(Note: this podcast was recorded around March/April 2022)

In this episode we talk with Natalie G. Mueller about the Eastern Agricultural Complex. The EAC was a group of plants independently domesticated by Indigenous people of Eastern Turtle Island (aka North America) starting 7,000-8,000 years ago. Some of these plants, like the Sunflower (Helianthus annuus) we still know and love, but others are no longer commonly cultivated and are generally unfamiliar, like Sumpweed (Iva annua). Natalie mentions some of these resources in the interview: Lost Crops Grower’s Guides , Her paper on the differences between domestication/breeding/GMO work and Gayle’s paper on evidence of Sumpweed cultivation in the 1500s

In this episode we chat with Little John about his favorite plant obsession, Cornelian Cherries (Cornus mas). We cover propagation, maintenance, harvest and a few of the hundreds of uses for the fruit (and other parts of the plant!). After a few heavy topics, it’s nice to take a little break and just shoot the shit about a fascinating plant.

Little John is a prolific maker of memes, which you can find at https://tinyurl.com/cornusmemes

He is also the founder of North American Scion Exchange Facebook Group and a admin of the Cornelian Cherry Growers group.

If you are looking to purchase Cornelian Cherry trees you might try: One Green World, Fedco Trees, Cricket Hill Garden, Whitman Farms or Hidden Spring Nursery

Propagating by cuttings: Jay Grace has had very good rates of success rooting dormant cuttings in the fall with mist and bottom heat. He says rooting hormone is not needed

In part two of our Herbal Abortion and Fertility Control series, we chat with Mischa Schuler.  Mischa is the director of Wild Carrot Herbs.  In this episode Mischa discusses various herbal, homoeopathic and over-the-counter methods for fertility control, some of their uses and limitations.  

If you missed it, check out the first part of this series with August Sender. 

Show Notes:

Excellent free book put out by Sage-Femme Collective covering aspects of what we discussed.

Wild Carrot and Conscious Contraception interview with Mischa Schuler hosted by Kay'aleya Hunnybee on the Herbal Womb Wisdom podcast  Wild Carrot interview with Robin Rose Bennet (Mischa's Wild Carrot teacher) hosted by Robin La Cross of Holistic Sex Ed Radio Music: Our Hero Is Gone "Like Weeds"

This month we will be bringing you a two part episode on herbal abortion and fertility control. It’s a complicated and heavy topic, but our guests bring a lot of knowledge to the table and offer a nuanced but down to earth look at the information. In part one August focuses on the history and political context of herbal abortion and fertility control. Content warning: this discussion touches on a bunch of heavy subjects including racism, patriarchy, rape, slavery and others. August references or recommends these sources for further research:

Gossypium spp. (Cotton Root Bark): A Symbol of Herbal Resistance by Karen L. Culpepper

Caliban and the Witch by Silvia Federici and/or the podcast Book on Fire

The Red Door Collective

Holistic Abortions on Instagram

Molly Dutton-Kenny’s Blog and/or Instagram, especially these resources and this article about Queen Anne’s Lace