Propaganda By The Seed

This week on Live Like the World is Dying, Brooke follows up with Aaron from Propaganda by the Seed about planting a garden and what you can do now that it's summer. We talk watering, weeding and fertilizing. If you want to learn a whole lot more about using urine as fertilizer, we've got a whole episode on that in the PBTS feed. Live Like the World is Dying is published by Strangers in A Tangled...

  In this episode I'm talking to Ken Asmus of Oikos Tree Crops about perennial beans. Ken has been growing andbreeding perennial food plants since the 1970s and has developed many interesting populations of several species. We talk Thicket Beans ( Phaseolus polystachios ), how they can hybridize with Lima Beans (Phaseolus lunatus) as well as Peashubs ( Caragana spp) and Hog Peanut (Amphicarpaea br...

This week I am back collaborating with my friends at Live Like the World is Dying , this time Brooke is asking me questions about planting a spring garden. Live Like the World is Dying is your podcast for what feels like the end times. They ask the question, how do we live in a world that might be ending? By preparing to survive that end and by working to prevent it. Live Like the World is Dying f...

In this episode I'm talking to Laura Sieger about Apples. We cover history, care, varieties and re-framing expectations. Laura is a freelance orchardist and nursery worker who has worked on several great projects around Maine. They mention the Maine Heritage Orchard , Maine Apple Camp and the Gnarly Pippins Wild and Seedling Pomological Exhibition . You can follow Laura on Instagram or email them...

This week I'm talking with Michalina Hunter of Cicada Seeds about Skirret (Sium sisarum) . Skirret is a perennial root vegetable in a Apiaceae family that produces clumps of Parsnip like roots. Michalina is a full time grower of perennial vegetable seeds and describes some of her breeding work with Skirret as well as a few other perennials that she grows. You can follow Cicada Seeds on Instagram a...

In this episode Tim rejoins as co-host and we talk to Pascal Baudar about foraging wild seeds and grains. We cover some basic techniques for harvesting and processing these materials, along with how to forage in a ecologically beneficial way and a boatload of interesting ways to cook them. Pascal has been on the list of people to invite on the show for multiple year and he did not disappoint. Chec...

In this Shorts episode I'm talking about teaching kids about plants. It basically boils down to inviting them to the topic, following what they are interested in, encouraging autonomy while offering enough support that they are likely to succeed. I guess that could apply pretty widely. I also suggest several levels of starter projects. In the Q&A I answer Ryan's question about beginner raised beds...

In this episode of Propaganda By the Seed, I'm talking with Dr. Bob Bors about Haskaps. Bob spent many years working with this species and selected and named some of the best varieties around. This species of edible Honeysuckle grows widely across the extreme north and is gaining popularity as a crop in many northern climates. We cover their origins, cultivation needs, culinary uses and several ot...

Today I'm reposting the very first podcast I was ever on, an episode of The Solecast from 2018. This podcast sparked my friendship with Tim which led, eventually, to collaborating on Propaganda By the Seed. I hope to get back to my regular production schedule in November, but for now, check out this blast from the past. If you enoyed this one, there are many other episodes available at soleone.org...

In this shorts episode I talk about string and traps, mundane, but perhaps important topics. After that I answer Gather's question about sourcing unusual plant species. I'm starting to run a bit low on shorts topics, so if you've got a request, please get in touch! If you want to support this podcast, you can tell a friend to check it out, subscribe/rate/review on your favorite podcast platforms a...

This week I am talking with Lauren Cormier about pears! Lauren works for the Maine Heritage Orchard and is exploring, documenting and preserving the old pears of Maine. She tells me about the history of pears, their cultural needs and the issues they might run into, we also discuss the late Blaine Fortin, a hyrid pear breeder. After Lauren's interview I've cut together a bunch of clips from phone...

This week on Propaganda By the Seed Shorts I'm talking about composting. It's a big topic so even though this is a bit longer than average for a short episode, it's really just an introduction to the topic. I'll cover how different types of composting work and then focus in on my favorite, the static pile. In the Q&A we're talking berry rakes. If you want to support this podcast, you can tell a fr...

In this episode I chat with Linda Black Elk about a few of her favorite plants. Linda is a ethobotanist and plant educator who is currently the Educational Programming and Community Outreach Director at North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems . You can follow her on Instagram , Bluesky , Facebook and Youtube In the Q & A I try to answer Oliver's question about how much biodiversity is e...

This week on Propaganda By the Seed Shorts I'm talking about the problems with permaculture and attempting to answer Emma's questions about the implications of hybridization on native plant populations. For more on the A topic you might try The Poor Prole's Almanac episode What's Wrong with Permaculture, Anyway?   If you want to support this podcast, you can tell a friend to check it out, subscrib...

In this episode I'm talking with Tatiana and Arthur of the Rich Earth Institute about peecycling (the use of human urine as a fertilizer). We cover all the ins and outs of collecting, storing and utilizing urine in a home garden as well as how this could work on community and larger scales. The Rich Earth website has lots of great info including a home use guide , a farm use guide , a community gu...

In this week's episode of Propaganda By the Seed Shorts, I'm talking about garden hoses and how to keep them from being a pain in the butt. Basically you need to keep them in good repair with hose menders / rubber washers , and keep them where they should be with hose guides. I really like the combo of a brass ball valve and a Dramm 400PL Water Breaker for nearly all watering jobs. In the Q&A sect...

This week on Propaganda By the Seed I'm talking to Neftalí Duran about Corn / Maize. Our conversation covers Corn culture past and present as well as some of the excellent projects Neftalí has been working on. You can follow his instagram at @neftaliduran_ , as well as Proyecto Rosenda at @ proyectorosenda and I-Collective at @i_collective_   If you want to support this podcast, you can tell a fri...

In this shorts episode I offer some of my favorite informational resources, from vague concepts to specific books to the exceptionally obvious. Many are linked in the show notes. At the end I try out a new style of Q&A, will it work? Only time will tell.   State level organic associations:  MOFGA in Maine or NOFA in other northeast states Clubs: NAFEX , NNGA , and their facebook groups . Podcasts:...

T his week we have another awesome cross pollination with Live L i ke the W orld is D ying , our comrades in the C hannel Z ero podcast network . This time we're talking tree crops. Many of the trees we talk about in this episode have had their own episode on P ropaganda B y the S eed, so if you want more info look back in this feed or check out the se links . Be sure to follow Live Like the World...

In this episode of Propaganda By the Seed Shorts I'll tell you about my favorite garden tools and answer a question about apple and pear rootstocks.  If you want to support this podcast, you can tell a friend to check it out, subscribe/rate/review on your favorite podcast platforms and/or join the Patreon . You can also submit questions or listener audio!

In this episode I talk with perennial crops researcher and author Eric Toensmeier about trees with edible leaves. You might not think of tree leaves being suitable as human food, but many of them are quite tasty and their seasonality and nutritional content complement both annual and perennial vegetables. We cover several species, the maintenance techniques that support high productivity and some...

In this first episode of Propaganda By the Seed shorts I'll be telling you about grafting, a method of plant propagation that joins 2 individual plants (the scion and the rootstock) and lets them grow as one. These shorter episodes without a guest are an experiment, so please let me know if you like them or have topics you would like to hear covered. "Short" episodes also have a Q&A segment, so se...

In this episode I talk with Peter Kellman and Rebekah Yonan about growing your own calorie crops and the systems they use to grow and process their food using a minimum of external inputs. We cover the ins and outs of planting, harvesting, threshing and winnowing serval types of grains and beans as well as managing soil fertility using mostly leaves and urine. Peter talks about the book Farmers of...

This week on Propaganda By the Seed we have a big announcement and Tim share's a bit about how he came to love cooking and cuisine, his food business Midcoast Vegan and how fermented vegan cheeses are made. You can learn more about Midcoast Vegan by going to their site or following on Instagram or Facebook  If you want to support this podcast, you can tell a friend to check it out, subscribe/rate/...

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...