Saturday, June 17, 2023

GardenDC Podcast Episode 152: Heritage Seeds


In this episode of GardenDC: The Podcast about Mid-Atlantic Gardening, we speak with Bonnetta Adeeb of the Ujamaa Cooperative Farming Alliance, a program under the non-profit STEAM ONWARD, all about heritage seeds. The plant profile is on Yarrow and we share what's going on in the garden as well as some upcoming local gardening events in the What's New segment. We close out Ellen Wells of Food & Flower Ink, who shares the Last Word on Growing Cucamelons.

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Show Notes: 01:09 Meet Bonnetta Adeeb of the Ujamaa Cooperative Farming Alliance. 02:42 Adeeb’s goals on reclaiming control of the food supply. 03:39 Respecting those who bring food to the table is essential. 06:23 The connections between farmers and the art of seed saving is being lost 07:57 Seeds are becoming commodified with the loss of agricultural knowledge 10:10 Adeeb’s upbringing and connection to farming 11:40 “The success of farmers is the success of civilization.” 12:46 The story of Adeeb’s uncle, Kelly Miller, who helped to assist the needs of migrating communities. 16:35 How does Ujamaa Seeds work to affect its community? 18:35 Adeeb’s work to reinstitute growing spaces at the Howard University campus. 19:53 The precursor to Ujamaa Seeds prior to the pandemic. 22:10 Working to develop a seed hub without government assistance. 23:38 Communities wanted things that were more culturally viable, prompting Adeeb’s organization to start seed-farming themselves. 25:00 Through experimenting and farming themselves, they realized a large variety of produce could open to them 26:15 Developing a list of culturally meaningful plants for different countries 27:06 Making cultural seeds available to everyone. 28:31 Teaching people about honoring original seed keepers. 30:21 The viability of bringing different seeds back after years. 31:13 Ujamaa’s work and projects to simplify education about different plants and varieties. 33:43 The history of enslaved people and their importance in farming. 35:31 The story and whitewashing of African rice. 37:42 Adeeb’s bilingual confusion - the Wolof word for “okra.” 39:09 - 43:35 The “Angola Prison Okra” 44:06 The rematriation of seeds to Adeeb’s family, providing them a connection to their past. 48:51 Growing watermelon in your garden. 49:19 “I would like every American family to experience … some pride.” 50:58 “It’s a way to salvage something good that came out of the enslaved experience, the stories of triumph and victory and success are what will fuel us.” 51:54 The work to return culturally important crops and seeds to the Indigenous populations. 56:23 Starting and cultivating “Food Forests”; what is the point and the goal? 59:34 Find Adeeb at https://ujamaafarms.com/ and learn more about and support their work at https://ujamaaseeds.com/ 1:01:53 Yarrow: This week’s Plant Profile! 1:03:37 Garden updates: Lilies are blooming, garlic has been harvested and is curing, blackberries and lettuce are still being picked, cut flower seeds have been planted, and one zucchini mound has seedlings popping up. 1:04:23 GardenDC received a silver GardenComm 2023 Laurel Media Award, and is now in the running for gold! 1:05:05 Upcoming Events: Maryland Native Plant Society’s monthly meeting; Introduction to Fern ID. 1:07:14 “Groundcover Revolution” by Kathy Jentz. 1:08:35 “The Urban Garden” by Kathy Jentz and Teri Speight. 1:09:35 The Last Word on growing cucamelons by Ellen Wells. 1:10:20 What is cucamelon? 1:11:32 How to grow a cucamelon.

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Episode Credits:
Host and Producer: Kathy Jentz
Interview Editor and Show Notes: Marissa Yelenik

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