Propaganda By The Seed

Latest Episodes:

Chestnuts w/ Sandy Anognostakis Nov 16, 2022

Show notes

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)

Eastern Agricultural Complex with Natalie G. Mueller Sep 01, 2022

Show notes

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

Cornelion Cherries with Little John Aug 01, 2022

Show notes

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

Herbal Abortion & Fertility Control Pt 2 W/ Mischa Schuler Jul 22, 2022

Show notes

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"

Herbal Abortion and Fertility Control with August Sender Jun 14, 2022

Show notes

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

Indoor Mushroom Cultivation and DIY Mycology Labs May 30, 2022

Show notes

In this episode of Propaganda by the Spore, Aaron gets into the nitty gritty of indoor mushroom cultivation and DIY mycology labs. The first part of the show describes how to grow mushrooms using spawn purchased from a supplier, which is a quite easy and a great place to start. In the second part we talk about how to produce your own spawn from spores, cultures or even fresh mushrooms. This process is a bit complex, but if it's something you are excited about there are simple and cheap ways to go about doing it. This PDF contains tons of useful links and additional info that wouldn't fit in the show notes.

Solidarity Apothecary: Frontline Herbal Support for Ukraine, Calais, Prisoners & More Apr 22, 2022

Show notes

In todays episode of Propaganda By The Seed we talk with Nicole from Solidarity Apothecary who is currently in Poland supporting refugees from Ukraine with Herbal Medicines. From the website: The main focus of the Solidarity Apothecary is making and distributing plant medicines to people experiencing state violence and repression. This includes people being arrested, on trial, imprisoned, detained or recovering from these experiences, as well as prisoner families, frontline organisers and more. In this conversation we talk about the origins of this project, her experiences as a political prisoner, the experience of supporting refugees(both in Calais and Poland), and some of her favorite plant medicines to make. We also discuss Nicole's good friend and former partner Anna Campbell who died in Rojava fighting with the YPG. In this interview we talk about her books "Overcoming Burnout," "The Medicinal Herb Coloring Book," The Prisoner's Herbal Book and a course she offers on making herbal medicines with glycerin. To support Solidarity Apothecary's current work supporting Ukranian Refugees and all the other ongoing work, donate here. and follow on the gram Cover: A Botannical Drawing of Valerian, an herbal sleep aid that has become nearly impossible to find in Ukraine due to Russia's invasion.

Music "Don't Burn The Witch" by OI POLLOI

Mycorrhizal Fungi with Michael Phillips Mar 15, 2022

Show notes

Propaganda by the Spore is back! In this episode we cover mycorrhizal fungi and their fascinating interactions with plants, along with some details about how to support that connection and manage fruit trees for maximum health. We are sad to report that our guest for this episode Michael Phillips suffered a fatal heart attack just a few days after recording this interview. He was a warm and humble person who really advanced the art and science of orcharding in a substantial way. We are joined in the introduction by Eliza "The Apple Queen" Greenman to reflect on Michael's life and legacy for a few minutes before getting into depths of the mycorrhizal world.

You can purchase Michael's books from his website, which we highly recommend, especially The Holistic Orchard.

To hear Michael talk on a broader range of orcharding topics we recommend this video, there is also a huge amount of info available at his Holistic Orchard Network.

You can support Michael's family in staying on their farm by donating to their Go Fund Me

How To Cook A Weed w/ Mallory O'Donnell Mar 01, 2022

Show notes

In this episode we chat with forager, chef, writer and grower Mallory O'Donnell. Mallory has a working class yet gourmet approach to working with wild & unusual ingredients to create unique dishes , ferments, and spice mixes with an emphasis on Georgian Cuisine. Mallory goes in depth their origins as a forager/cook, provides some perspective on how to interact/engage with wild plants and throws out dozens of inspiring ideas both for cooks and growers.

Some of the plants discussed in this episode: -Spikenard (Aralia racemosa) and other Aralia family members -Turkish Rocket (Bunias orientalis) -Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica) -Juniper berries (Juniperus spp.) -Black Nightshade fruit (Solanum nigrum) -Bee Balm (Monarda spp.) -Spice bush (Lindera benzoin) -Paw paw (Asimina triloba) -Viburnium (Viburnum spp.) -Acorns (Quercus spp.) -Trifoliate Orange (Poncirus trifoliata) -Cow Parsnip aka Pushki (Heracleum maximum )

To learn more about Mallory's work visit howtocookaweed.com or visit their Instagram

Mushroom Cultivation with Kate Roelke Jan 18, 2022

Show notes

In this episode we start our short tangent into the world of Fungi. We start off by talking with Kate Roelke, a lab mycologist at North Spore. She will tell us all about the life cycle of mushrooms along with lots information about various cultivation techniques and some specifics about a few different species. If you want to get in touch with Kate you can find her on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/kateroelke/ In the episode Kate recommends the book Organic Mushroom Farming and Mycoremediation by Trad Cotter. If you want to use hydrated agricultural lime for cold pasteurizing mushroom substrates, try using just over 1/3 cup of lime per 5 gallons water.

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