EP. 35: Growing Sabzi from Iran in the San Francisco Bay Area with Reyhan Herb Farm

EP. 35: Growing Sabzi from Iran in the San Francisco Bay Area with Reyhan Herb Farm

Author: Seeds And Their People August 28, 2025 Duration: 1:04:15
Sama Mansouri of Reyhan Herb Farm grows foods from Iran in the San Francisco Bay Area, California for her community members in the Iranian Diaspora. She also shares seeds through our Truelove Seeds catalog, and we met up in January of 2025 to talk about some of her favorite food plants. In June 2025, Israel and the US attacked Iran, accusing Iran of violating their nuclear nonproliferation obligations. There were thousands of casualties, mostly civilians. Sama and I spoke again a week after the ceasefire to introduce this episode and I'm finally getting around to sharing it with you! Listen in to learn about the various Iranian herbs of Sabzi and many other vegetable friends, as well as some thoughts and tips on growing and saving seeds from them.  Find seeds from Sama's farm, including the following, at: https://trueloveseeds.com/collections/reyhan-herb-farm   REYHAN HERB FARM SEEDS IN OUR CATALOG (8/25): Bademjan (Iranian Eggplant) Laboo (Iranian Beet) Marzeh (Iranian Summer Savory) Pache Baghala (Gilani Bush Bean) Shambalileh Iranian Fenugreek "Medzmama" Arevatsaghik (Armenian Sunflower) LINKS: Reyhan Herb Farm THIS EPISODE SUPPORTED BY: YOU! Please become a Patron for $1 or more a month at Patreon.com/trueloveseeds Scribe Video Center and WPEB, West Philly Community Radio 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: Sama Mansouri!

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. 25: Black Farming Vibes in the Delta: Three Wise Men [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:13:27
While visiting Greenville, Mississippi, we asked farmer and food justice elder Mama D (our mother, Ms. Demalda Newsome) to co-produce an episode about the farmers of the Delta. This is the first of multiple episodes abou…
EP. 24: Mary Menniti and the Italian Garden Project [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:33:40
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 tra…
EP. 23: Dr. William Woys Weaver and the Roughwood Seed Collection [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:13:56
Dr. William Woys Weaver is an internationally known food historian and author of 22 books including: Heirloom Vegetable Gardening: A Master Gardener’s Guide to Planting Seed Saving, and Cultural History; 100 Vegetables a…
EP. 22: Gujarati Seeds and Flavors with Nital Vadalia-Kakadia [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:22:18
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…
EP. 21: Haiqal’s Garden - Indonesian vegetables in South Philly [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:15:31
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 fi…
EP. 20: The Iraqi Seed Collective and Awafi Kitchen [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:27:54
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 Experiment…