EP. 29: How Did Your Favorite Seed Become Your Favorite Seed? Truelove Seeds Growers Gathering 2023

EP. 29: How Did Your Favorite Seed Become Your Favorite Seed? Truelove Seeds Growers Gathering 2023

Author: Seeds And Their People March 22, 2024 Duration: 43:45
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: Seeds and their People - EP. 17: Mycelial Networks of Seed Growers & the Truelove Seeds Listening 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 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! 

There’s a whole world of history, culture, and personal connection tucked inside every seed packet, and that’s the world Seeds And Their People explores. This isn’t just a gardening show; it’s a series of conversations that dig into the rich soil of human experience. Hosts Owen Taylor of Truelove Seeds and Chris Bolden-Newsome of Sankofa Community Farm at Bartram’s Garden sit down with growers, seed savers, and community elders to hear the stories that these living heirlooms carry with them. Each episode feels like a quiet chat on a back porch or in a garden row, where the talk inevitably turns to the seeds that have been passed down through families and communities. You’ll hear about the journey of a particular bean variety, the memories tied to a specific tomato, and the profound cultural resilience that keeping these seeds alive represents. The podcast moves beyond simple horticulture to touch on food sovereignty, ancestral knowledge, and the simple, powerful act of planting something with a story. It’s for anyone curious about where their food really comes from, not just geographically but historically and emotionally. Listening, you begin to understand that a seed is never just a seed-it’s a keeper of traditions, a spark of identity, and a quiet promise for the future, all held in the palm of your hand.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 40

Seeds And Their People
Podcast Episodes
Ep. 9: Anan Jardali Zahr’s Palestinian Kitchen [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:13
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-D…
Ep. 8: Lettuce Amongst the Stars: Frank Morton of Wild Garden Seed [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:13
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 t…
Ep. 7: Karen Farmers from Burma [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:17:30
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 th…
Ep. 6: Fish Pepper [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:12:53
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 com…
Ep 5: Rau Đay, Lalo, Saluyot, Ewedu, Molokhia [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 27:40
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 altog…
Ep. 3: Ira Wallace and Southern Exposure Seed Exchange [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:09:40
In this third episode, Ira Wallace from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange talks about her faves: collards and roselle. She also describes her life growing up, her work with southern and African Diasporic seeds and stories,…
Ep. 2: Kristyn Leach and Namu Farm [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:49
Welcome back to Seeds And Their People! In this second episode, Owen interviews his seed friend Kristyn about her Korean seed stories, her food, farming, and activist community, and our mutual love for Jewel in the Palac…
Ep. 1: Seeds And Their People - Meet Chris and Owen [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:58
Welcome to Seeds And Their People! In our first episode, we share some seed stories that are important to us, our ancestors, and our story as partners in life and love. You'll hear about the Irish Lumper potato, the fiel…