SeedBroadcasting from Barrio Logan, San Diego, California!

On March 27, 2015, SeedBroadcast partnered with Barrio Seed Bank, Chicano Art Gallery, Radio Pulso del Barrio, and SEEDS at City Urban Farm to conduct Seed Story shout-outs from Barrio Logan, San Diego, California. During the evening, these local organizations worked together to organize a spontaneous sidewalk pop-up and free film screening of Food Inc. to bring greater attention to the health risks of the industrial food system and rethink the neighborhood capacity to creatively organize a grassroots food hub through seeds. SeedBroadcast stopped by to celebrate and support their efforts through Seed Story recordings and open-resource seed sharing.

We pay homage to Chicano Park and to all those who have struggled to make it so.
Here is a section of the pylon mural titled Death of a Farmworker, by Michael Schnorr.

Barrio Logan has historically been referred to as el ombligo or the center of the world. It is a renowned Chicano community that has continually fought for equal rights, equal access, and more than the status quo. Chicano Park, just north of where the Barrio Seed Library event took place is both a visual canvas for Chicano culture and a public green space. During the evening’s event several eyes turned towards the park as the perfect future site for a Barrio Logan Community Garden of edible native plantings to feed people and empower indigenous roots.

Barrio Seed Bank launched their seed project in early 2015 through the united efforts of local community members and creative organizations like, The Roots Factory, Chicano Art Gallery, Radio Pulso del Barrio, and Seeds at City Urban Farm. Their mission is first and primarily to give out free seeds and inspire folks to grow food in their backyards, front yards, everywhere, and anywhere; to make space for an expansive sense of what a community garden might look like. With no land available in this urban area, they are beginning with what is here, private gardens and the knowledge of each anonymous gardener. They hope the seeds will inspire this network to develop through an informal process of sharing seeds, healthy food, and resources.

Another initiative of the group is to continue being active in the community through pop-up events like the free, side-walk screening of Food Inc. Pop-up events engage diverse populations in Barrio Logan through organizing interactive, fun, and family oriented activities. The creative process also plays a significant role in this work, where participatory arts events encourage kids, families, and adults to work together to make art and make a positive mark in their community. During the evening chairs, a big tv, and a sound system played the film as passer-by’s walked up and down the sidewalk catching snippets of the film with Spanish subtitles.

Here are Seed Stories shared from Barrio Logan and also some thoughts about the words “FOOD JUSTICE”

Bob Green talks about the Barrio Seed Bank in Barrio Logan, San Diego, CA: https://soundcloud.com/seedbroadcast/bob-green-talks-about-the-barrio-seed-bank-in-barrio-logan-san-diego-ca


Sergio Garcia JR shares his story about the Barrio Seed Bank: https://soundcloud.com/seedbroadcast/sergio-garcia-jr-shares-his-story-about-the-barrio-seed-bank


Damian Valdez shares his story about the importance of connecting to our food system: https://soundcloud.com/seedbroadcast/damian-valdez-shares-his-story-about-the-importance-of-connecting-to-our-food-system


Stephanie Bernal talks about what Food Justice means and how growing can be challenging: https://soundcloud.com/seedbroadcast/stephanie-bernal-talks-about-what-food-justice-means-and-how-growing-can-be-challenging


Bob Green talks about what Food Justice means to him: https://soundcloud.com/seedbroadcast/bob-green-talks-about-what-food-justice-means-to-him


Many thanks to Cesar Casteñeda and Dulce Martinez who run the Chicano Art Gallery and hosted this event at their location. Please check out their Facebook page for upcoming events and information: https://www.facebook.com/ChicanoArtGallery ¡AND! Their Chicano Art Gallery Proclamation is worth a read! It really sums up the energy we were blessed to be part of for the evening. Mucho Gracias!

CHICANO ART GALLERY PROCLAMATION

Galería de arte Chicano es un hábitat para pensadores creativos a venir junto con otras personas afines para formar un ambiente de libertad de expresión y el ejercicio de nuestra imaginación de formas innovadoras. También queremos mantener y seguir promoviendo el amor propio, sanación y orgullo de nuestra Raza y comunidad mientras que educar a las próximas generaciones de artistas. Menos de una cuadra de Parque Chicano histórico en el Barrio Logan de San Diego, California, es una nueva galería que abrió sus puertas en fines de 2013 con la esperanza de traer más vida, belleza, arte y cultura a la comunidad. Sensibilización, empoderamiento y reconocimiento de muchos grandes chicanos que vinieron antes que nosotros y lucharon por un futuro mejor. Y para toda la gente que luchó contra las injusticias. Aquellos que desafiaron el systemand todos sus defectos. Por nuestros camaradas que iniciaron las revoluciones. Para aquellos que estaban parados contra la discriminación y maltrato de trabajo duro muchos los seres humanos. Galería de arte Chicano es una plataforma para los individuos y grupos que tienen algo que decir. Le invitamos a muchos hábitats variaties diferentes formas de arte como poesía y palabra hablada, fotografía y muchas otras artes visuales y musicales. Este dominio está aquí para demostrar que muchas cosas buenas vienen de Barrio, no sólo las etiquetas estéreo-típico negativas que han sido presionadas a muchos. Este centro es una prueba que es posible el cambio positivo y la gente ya no está dispuesta a ajustarse a la corrupción, trato injusto, la opresión y la desigualdad. Compartimos una visión común de un futuro donde podemos introducir nuevos niveles de pensamiento apasionado donde cualquier acto de creación potencialmente puede ser una poderosa herramienta para hacer de este mundo un lugar mejor para todos.

Chicano Art Gallery is a habitat for creative thinkers to come together with other likeminded people to form an environment of freedom of expression and exercise our imagination in innovative ways. We also want to maintain and continue to promote self love, healing, and pride in our Raza and community while educating the next generations of artists. Less than a block away from Historical Chicano Park in the Barrio Logan are of San Diego, California, is a new gallery that opened its doors in late 2013 with hopes to bring more life, beauty, Art and Culture to the community. Awareness, empowerment and acknowledgement of many great Chicanos that came before us and fought for a better tomorrow. And for all of the people who battled the injustices. Those who challenged the system and all of its flaws. For our comrades who started Revolutions. For those who stood up against the discrimination and maltreatment of many hard working human beings. Chicano Art Gallery is a platform for individuals and groups who have something to say. We welcome many different varieties of art forms such as poetry and spoken word, photography and many other visual arts, and musical performances. This domain is here to prove that many good things come from the Barrio, not just the negative stereo-typical labels that have been pressed upon many. This center is proof that positive change is possible and people are no longer willing to conform to corruption, unfair treatment, oppression and inequality. We share a common vision of a future where we can introduce new levels of passionate thinking where any Act of cReaTion can potentially be a powerful tool to make this world a better place for everyone.

SDSU Food and Art Panel Discussion and closing of A Thousand Plates

On March 26, 2015, we partnered up with San Diego State University and local artists, faculty, students and the public to begin a conversation about the state of art today and how it provokes a deeper investigation of important cultural subjects like food and seeds. This panel discussion was held in conjunction with A Thousand Plates/An art exhibition about food and culture organized by Arzu Ozkal and Eva Strubal. The exhibition press states:

“A Thousand Plates explores the topic of food as a means to question society by examining traditions across cultures and throughout the centuries. The exhibition will examine food as a fundamental need, modern food production and its relationship to the environment, the culture of eating and its relationship to memory.

Our exhibition title refers to Deleuze and Guattari’s “A Thousand Plateaus: Capitalism and Schizophrenia"—a philosophical text written with a rhizomatic structure—where connections between ideas and references defy linear, structural, or casual relations. Every point can conceptually link to somewhere else. In our view, our relationship to food is similar. The production, consumption, distribution and marketing of food is connected to tradition, culture, individual and social taste as well as health care, environmental issues, and global politics that shape the contemporary society.”

The exhibition was filled with representations of not only food but also the materials and ideas that we ingest daily as forms of sustenance, folly, and disgust.

A Thousand Plates

Eating Disorder, Still from digital video, 00:01:57, 2006

Arzu Ozkal’s work titled, Eating Disorder, digital video, 01.57 minutes, 2006 was the first work encountered on a large flat screen, where from beginning to end a mouth, hands, and a freshly opened tube of lipstick are shown consuming the red of lips of the body. Only half the face can be seen cringing as the lipstick is literally eaten.

Local artist shares his collection of design artifacts from food labels, napkins, and other markations of the food industry

A Guide for Responsible Seasonal Consumption, detail

A Guide for Responsible Seasonal Consumption, detail

That evening we also met Cristal Chen who is a Graduate Alumni from SDSU in Graphic Design. She participated in the panel and discussed her conceptual and creative process for producing the project, Farmers and Me. Cristal explained that before taking this project on she worked for a major fast-food chain as a graphic designer and it sparked her interest and concern with food, eating, local farms, and healthy communities. During her thesis she realized that what she really wanted to do was use her skills as a designer to not only create visual information about relationships between farmers, food, and consumers, but also expand her process to include creative engagement through public interaction. She produced and gifted 4 different “visual recipes” called "A Guide for Responsible Seasonal Consumption" that showed how to cook with frill, cauliflower, kohlrabi, and beets. These also included pictures and quotes from local farmers and directions to the farm. Here is a link to the project Farmers and Me: http://farmersand.me/about/

Listen, as Cristal shares her Seed Story: https://soundcloud.com/seedbroadcast/cristal-chen-talks-about-the-inspiration-behind-her-project-farmers-and-me

Food and Art panelists (SeedBroadcasters, Jeanette Hart-Mann and Chrissie Orr far right)

Into the evening visitors checked out the Mobile Seed Story Broadcasting Station and gathered to talk about the creative capacity of art to grow, feed, and nourish the mind and body. Like a seed.

We would like to thank Arzu Ozkal and SDSU for funding our travel to San Diego in order to participate in this panel discussion, which also enabled us to visit with many seed savers, farmers, gardeners, and mechanics en route. Mucho Gracias!

This event was also sponsored by San Diego State University School of Art + Design, SDSU Art Council, Common Experience SDSU, and Arts Alive SDSU

SeedBroadcasting from Patagonia Public Library/Semillotecas

When SeedBroadcast rolled into Patagonia late Sunday night, March 22, we had no idea that Spring was in full bloom. It was not until the early morning with bird songs and spring smells alight that we realized how far south into the Sonoran Desert we had come. We had landed in the heart of a place filled with life, a small community of ranches, public and private gardens, and two internationally renowned environmental conservation projects: Native Seed/SEARCH Conservation Farm, Borderlands Restoration Project, and now count that three with the newly formed Patagonia Public Library/Semillotecas!

On Monday at noon we gathered with local seed keepers at the Patagonia Public Library in partnership with Native Seed/SEARCH, Friends of Patagonia Library, Patagonia Public Library, and the newly formed Semillotecas, seed library. Folks from around town and as far away as Nogales/Mariposa, Mexico came out to share seeds and seed stories. We were especially blessed to see several NS/S Seed Schooler’s we had met in 2013, in Tucson, and who have gone on to organize deeply rooted community seed and garden projects, work with the Borderlands Restoration Project, and develop experimental dryland farming practices.

Many seeds were brought out from the Libraries collection and many more seeds arrived from surrounding growers to be added. Among these were lettuce, radishes, beans, corn, sunflowers, tomatoes, chard, epazote, chia, Sonoran Wheat, and havas. The library has a space dedicated to the seeds and all the seeds in the collection are cataloged in a series of file folders. Patrons have to sign up to participate and they are encouraged to save seeds and return them to the library. There are also a selection of reference books available near the Seed Library to help patrons discover the ease and complexity of saving seeds.

Abbie Zeltzer, the Director of the library and instigator of the Semillotecas organized the event and also spent time talking about another amazing project she developed called the Patagonia Library’s Legacy Garden. This project is a historical look at Patagonia through the stories of the people and plants who created this vibrant town. These special plants have not only been tended in place at the Library, they have also been propagated around town while spreading their stories across generations. Some of these plants include, Spirea, Rue, Rose, Iris, and Mulberry. Here is a link to more information about the Legacy Garden, along with a downloadable pdf of these stories.http://www.patagoniapubliclibrary.org/?page_id=160

Here is a link to Abbie Zeltzer as she shares some of the stories from the Patagonia Library’s Legacy Garden: https://soundcloud.com/seedbroadcast/abbie-zelter-shares-a-story-of-stories-from-the-patagonia-librarys-legacy-garden

The old mulberry tree with stories to tell at the Patagonia Library's Legacy Garden

Here are Seed Stories from folks we met at the Patagonia Public Library/Semilloteca gathering. Thank you all for sharing your Seed Stories!

Inés Ramos, el grupo Mariposas Cosechando el Bienestar y enseñando jardinería orgánica (trans. Inés Ramos, the group Harvesting Wellbeing and educating for organic gardening): https://soundcloud.com/seedbroadcast/ines-ramos-el-grupo-mariposas-cosechando-el-bienestar-y-ensenando-jardineria-organica


Lilia Ruiz quiere que cada quien pudiera tener sus propios verduras para comer mas saludable (trans. Lilia Ruiz’s hope is that each and every person could grow their own food in order to heat more healthily): https://soundcloud.com/seedbroadcast/lilia-ruiz-quiere-que-cada-quien-pudiera-tener-sus-propios-verduras-para-comer-mas-saludable


José Ruiz habla de sembrar el chiltepín elusivo (trans. José Ruiz talks about growing the elusive chiltepín chile): https://soundcloud.com/seedbroadcast/jose-ruiz-habla-de-sembrar-el-chiltepin-elusivo


Andrea Stanley talks about the importance of seeds in her life: https://soundcloud.com/seedbroadcast/andrea-stanley-talks-about-the-importance-of-seeds-in-her-life


Lynda Prim shares her story of the cultural significance of seeds: https://soundcloud.com/seedbroadcast/lynda-prim-shares-her-story-of-the-cultural-significance-of-seeds


Ron Pulliam shares a Seed Story about granivory, the relationship between seeds and animals: https://soundcloud.com/seedbroadcast/ron-pulliam-shares-a-seed


Pete Rundlett talks about his love of seeds: https://soundcloud.com/seedbroadcast/pete-rundlett-talks-about-his-love-of-seeds

SeedBroadcasting from Mancos, Colorado

SEED SWAP!

Mancos Public Library
Sunday, April 12th
Noon-3pm

Bring your seeds, your friends, and your stories.
Leave with new seeds, new friends, and new stories!

For more info about the Swap contact Shaine at the Library at sgans@mancoslibrary.org or call 970-533-7600 ext. 202

Mancos Public Library and Seed Library
211 E 1st St
Mancos, CO 81328 

Hosted by the Mancos Seed Library and SeedBroadcast!

Wild Willow Farm and Education Center.

Wild Willow Farm and Education Center http://sandiegoroots.org/farm/index.php is nestled between the willows at the US/Mexican border about twenty minutes from downtown San Diego. The Tijuana River edges this 6-acre plot of fertile land and the notorious border fence can be seen curving its way up the adjacent hills. The sound of cockerels crowing and bird song is mixed with the whirling sound of border patrol helicopters flying back and forth.

This gem of a farm is a sanctuary filled with potential.

As we arrived Kaylie was working at the entrance of the quonset hut/come cafe, she graciously welcomed us and offered to take us on a tour.
Kaylie is one of the education staff and is passionate about the potential that working with the land and food production provides as a base of deep learning.
 “We have to slow down”, she explained, “This farm and the plants create a space for learning that has been so important to me.”
 Kaylie’s father is a landscaper so she grew up with plants but it was not until she took the Sustainable Farming course at Wild Willow that she began to see farming in a different way.
“It created a connection for me; I made a relationship with this land through Farm School and so wanted to give back. I also have a love of education and so it was a dream for me to work here. Lots of different hands have created this farm and I can get teary eyed when I talk about my experiences here."



Her favorite areas are the Children Garden, which is created between two hoop houses and provides a creative work and play space for children’s groups when they arrive at the farm. She also has a special connection to the goats, as we enter the pen she gently talks to them all as they nudge her and try to escape.

All slows down here, the heat of the day raises and we take our time wandering around the farm and disappearing into the hoop houses to look at well-organized tools, green spouting starts, drying herbs, gourds and seeds. Joe was carefully tending the plants. Slowly meandering up and down the rows of vegetables, calendula and sunflowers watering where needed. When he took a break for lunch he explained that they had to hand water now and then just to help the seedlings along. The cool season did not really happen this year, and there was very little rain so they have to be extra diligent.



Wild Willow has a commitment to mentoring and encouraging the next generation of farmers.
One of the main educators is Paul Maschka, who has been farming and homesteading in this area for many years, he comes from this land and knows it like the back of his hand? As we talk he points out specific birds, like the tiny mauve colored ground dove hopping in the kale patch and the flycatcher Black Phoebe.

 “We have land and we have seeds but we always need to be relearning and re-skilling ourselves. We need to be passing on this knowledge. Sometimes we are looked at as hippie radicals but really what we are doing is just growing as our families have done for years. We have inspectors that come out here, California has strict rules that we have to follow and one was here the other day. I know he learned allot from us, and we learn from him. He was curious about how we do certain things and we had a long conversation. Then he showed me the leaves on the trees in the orchard, they were long and pointed and he told us that shows there is not enough zinc in the soil." As Paul turned to go back to moving his bees to new hive he left us with this thought "We cannot always go down the road of doom and gloom, let’s go from doom and gloom to bloom.”

This is what Wild Willow does it brings people together in a shared hopeful experience to learn together, to listen, to notice, to eat together and to take action in the vital resurgence of a local food movement. Everyone learns in this space of action and nourishment. In this small haven intentional reciprocity fills the air and informs all the interactions.
There is a generosity and abundance. There is a deep communication with the plants and animals, with the land, with the escaping goats, the groups of school kids and to each other.


There are many opportunities to be become involved, the folks at Wild Willow are always looking for volunteers, you can become part of their CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), take one of their courses or turn up to one of their monthly potlucks where the wood fired pizza oven is fired up. It’s a chance not to be missed and we encourage you to join with them in any way you can, your hands too can be part of this on going process of growing for a better future.

SeedBroadcasting from the Montezuma Hoedown!

Whooping it up with seeds!
SeedBroadcast will be parked out in front of the Montezuma School to Farm 3rd Annual Hoedown broadcasting and recording Seed Stories. Come by and give your shout out for local seeds.

3rd Annual Spring Hoedown
Saturday April 11, 2015
5:00 pm - 11:00 pm
Mancos Opera House
136 W Grand Ave.
Mancos, Colorado

 

Aztec Seed Gathering and Open Sesame!

Join us for a morning of SeedBroadcasting with the Aztec Seed Savers and the film Open Sesame!

Bring seeds to swap and seed stories to share!

10am - Screening of Open Sesame
Followed by a discussion, seed swap, and tour of the SeedBroadcast Mobile Seed Story Broadcasting Station.

Saturday, April 11, 2015
10:00 am - 1:00 pm
City of Aztec Senior - Community Center
101 S. Park Ave
Aztec, NM 87410

Clarinda Loewen's saved seed, Montezuma, NM

The 10th Annual Pueblos Y Semillas Seed Exchange

Come and join us Saturday April 11th at this seed gathering in Peñasco.

Silver City Continued

More inspirational Seed Stories from our visit to Silver City.

Seed Keepers of the Gila.

Heirloom Corn

On a warm Sunday afternoon we found ourselves in a beautiful off the grid homestead at the edge of the Gila Wilderness. Our hosts were out gardening, preparing the soil and trying to control the cane that is used as barrier to the spring winds. It’s a labor of love and commitment to grow in this area but there is a resilient community that continues with the belief in growing and eating local food.

 It also is a necessity; “If you want to live in this incredible wilderness then you need to make a commitment,” we were told.

There is no local store so food has to be grown and it is exchanged and bartered. The community tries to help each other out, they are looking for different economies and new ways of being and living in this world.
They are learning all the time.

Their river, the Gila has been the source of diverse agriculture for over 2,000 years. http://www.gilaconservation.org/wp/?page_id=20

This river is a treasure, it is the last free flowing river in New Mexico and it is under treat of being diverted which would weaken its critical connection to the flood plain and surrounding habitats. This action is adding a new stress to the community.

 However on this Sunday afternoon we found ourselves in a small cool room with a circle of seed keepers who had made the conscious choice to live on the edge. We sat together through the peaceful slowed down afternoon sharing our stories and our seeds.
 It was a coming together, the seeds guided us.

Gila Cosmos

 There was an animated discussion until it was time to go back into the gardens to continue building and working the deep relationship to the plants, animals and the earth.

 There was talk about the shift of seed saving that only really kicked in 100 years ago when seed companies started, the different ways to keep a garden alive, with the problems of grasshoppers, squash bugs, and pervasive nematodes. One person in the room suggested planting cover crops of marigolds to keep the nematodes at bay. The marigolds in his garden grew up to four feet tall!

We were told that recently the weather had broken and flocks of wild cranes were rising on the changing wind patterns and that the hummingbirds follow the buzzards. The most important learning’s were though observation, by doing, by knowing the land and knowing your seeds.

 “When I watch the bees I wonder why we need to many ways to say something”

 “Common ground is what we are all looking for but we need to practice keeping our hearts open so it is not so brutal.”

 It was agreed that to hold the belief in our seeds, that to continue to grow our own food was one of the most radical actions one could take and it took committed dedication. At times this work is dirty, tough, extremely disappointing and could bring despair.
There was honesty in the stories.

Treasure

 One gentle human in the room has a carefully stored collection of seeds. Seed saving has been his passion since the seventies. He has four daughters but they, along with many others, have left the family farm and might not come back “Who do I pass these seeds on to?” he asked.

Such a big and important question to consider, where are the young farmers who are willing to take the risk, shift their ways of being in the world, head out and learn from these wise keepers of land based knowledge and seeds?

 If this does not happen soon the edge might crumble and a rare opportunity could be lost.

SeedBroadcast Spring Tour: Silver City.

Mobile Seed Story Broadcasting Station in Silver City

 We set off late in the afternoon, the SeedBroadcast collective coming together from all our different directions. We met in the south valley of Albuquerque, packed our minimal clothing for the week, loaded food in the cooler, bedding in the overhead cupboard, checked that we had water and set off for our seed expedition. Following behind us was Cleo, a passionate young woman from Greenhorns http://www.thegreenhorns.net/who offered to help us for part of this trip.

Cleo sorting seeds

 The Mobile Seed Broadcasting truck is old, the engine a little newer, it is carefully looked after but it is always an adventure when we set off on our yearly spring tour. We have an itinerary, communities are expecting us and we are curious and excited to meet the people we have only encountered through telephone calls and the internet. Our first stop was Silver City, a small town in southern New Mexico of ten thousand people. Historically Silver City is known as a mining town but as the gateway to the Gila wilderness many people, seeking an alternative way of living, have congregated in this area and have diligently established a vibrant local food growing community.

Food Policy Council

  In the seventies and eighties wanderers found land along the Gila River and started to live their dreams far away from main steam America. It was during this time that Seeds of Change started their business of growing out and researching local heirloom seeds. The company has changed since then, as it is now owned by Mars, but many people who were drawn to work on that first Seeds of Change farm are still in the area, tending the seeds and growing their own food.

As Carolyn Smith a local activist and board member of the farmers market said, “We are sixty miles from the nearest interstate, ninety miles from the nearest city so if the trucks stop coming we would only have a weeks worth of food to survive on”.




The Farmers Market runs from May to the end of October and as a way to raise money the board organize a Home and Garden Expo once a year at the Silver City Convention Center. The expo brings the community out of their homes and gardens to talk, share, listen to music, learn about local high desert growing practices and to reconnect with each other.

High Desert Organic Gardens Seed Swap

 Community organizations and individuals set up tables and booths to share their goods and knowledge. The new Seed Library had a booth with information, New Mexico’s Fig Man sat on the floor surrounded by his beloved figs and told stories to those that wandered into his space, the Food Policy Council, mapping the historical ranches and oral histories, High Desert Organic Gardeners set up a very popular seed swap, Yo Kalisher displayed his Liquid Compost, the Farmers Market created an active educational area, and there were solar vendors, antique dealers, and real estate agents.






This assortment of purveyors attracted a steady stream of inquiring visitors from families new to the area to the old timers.

The SeedBroadcast Journals were dispersed, seeds exchanged hands, and new connections were made. We learned allot, not only about the food growing practices of the area but also the names of the surrounding mountains, the myths and legends of the “Sleeping Nun”, and we were directed to the best mechanic in town.


More stories from SeedBroadcast visit to Silver City will be posted in our next blog.

Juan Tabo Library Spring Seed Fair

 Seed Libraries are springing up all over the place and the first one in Albuquerque, New Mexico opened last year at the Juan Tabo branch library in the North East Heights. The ABC Seed Library was instigated through the passion and tireless efforts of Brita Sauer who is a librarian at the Juan Tabo branch. This year Brita wanted to hold an event to bring people together to share their seeds, their knowledge and to inspire others to plant gardens, save seeds and to make use of the invaluable resource of the seed library.

Collaborative Seed Mural by Jade Leyva

 Seed libraries are places that ‘lend’ or share seeds. They are different from seed banks as their main purpose is to disseminate the seeds to local growers to keep the seeds propagating and adapting. Borrowers are asked to grow the seed and if all goes well at the end of the growing season save the seeds to bring back and replenish the stock. What a simple act of reciprocity! These seed libraries often repurpose there the old card catalogues and offer a wonderful shared public resource. However in 2014 some libraries started to come under attack by their state Departments of Agriculture. One such library is in the small Pennsylvania town of Mechanicsburg. http://www.commondreams.org/news/2014/08/04/agri-terrorism-towns-seed-library-shut-down. This small unassuming library received a letter from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture stating that the seed library was in violation of the states Seed Act of 2004. This act focuses on seeds that are sold but they were told that this could be a problem for seeds that were free but mislabeled. This caused a stir through out the national seed library network and has made it even more important to educate the public about the necessary to keep growing out and sharing our local heirloom seeds and the importance of our community seed libraries.

Seed Activist Beata Tsosie-Peña

Seeds: The Yearbook of Agriculture 1961

Education was the core of the intent for the Spring Seed Fair. The daylong event started with a seed swap and then moved into a variety of talks about seed diversity, the importance of saving and recognizing our wild seeds and a seed saving workshop. Seeds and their inherent potential bring a great assortment of people together and this event was no exception. Many took part in the creation of a seed mural with Jade Leyva, https://www.facebook.com/SeedsACollectiveVoice listened to the passion talk by long time seed saver Brett Baker, heard the powerful poetry of seed activist Beata Tsosie-Peña from Tewa Women United, http://tewawomenunited.org/ stayed for a seed saving workshop by Sean Ludden of Bosque Seed Collective http://bosqueseedcollective.weebly.com/ and shared their seed stories with us. Stories and knowledge were shared and the many varieties of heirloom seeds exchanged hands. The talks, experiences and workshops hopefully motivated participants to get their fingers in the warming soil and plant, to remember to save their new found seeds at the end of the growing season and to bring them back and replenish their own community seed library.


Listen to some of the seed stories:

A Thousand Plates at SDSU Downtown Gallery

SeedBroadcast will be Broadcasting from the closing reception and panel event of:

A Thousand Plates // An art exhibition about food and culture

SDSU Downtown Gallery
725 West Broadway
San Diego, CA

March 26, 2015
5pm - 8pm

Come by and share you Seed Story and check out open/free source materials from the Mobile Seed Story Broadcasting Station.

Also!! Stay tuned. We will be posting Seed Stories from here soon!

A Thousand Plates // An art exhibition about food and culture
A Thousand Plates explores the topic of food as a means to question society by examining traditions across cultures and throughout the centuries. The exhibition will examine food as a fundamental need, modern food production and its relationship to the environment, the culture of eating and its relationship to memory.

Our exhibition title refers to Deleuze and Guattari’s “A Thousand Plateaus: Capitalism and Schizophrenia"—a philosophical text written with a rhizomatic structure—where connections between ideas and references defy linear, structural, or casual relations. Every point can conceptually link to somewhere else. In our view, our relationship to food is similar. The production, consumption, distribution and marketing of food is connected to tradition, culture, individual and social taste as well as health care, environmental issues, and global politics that shape the contemporary society.

This event is being sponsored by San Diego State University School of Art + Design, SDSU Art Council, Common Experience SDSU, and Arts Alive SDSU

Santa Fe Seed Exchange.

Two farming friends exchanging stories at the SeedBroadcast hub

 The Santa Fe Seed Exchange is always a delight. There is some thing about this time of year, the change of the light, the return of the birds, the warmth in the air and the excitement to get our hands in the soil that brings people together to share their seeds and stories.

This annual event, held in the rustic barn at Frenchy's Field, is co-ordinated by Home Grown New Mexico http://homegrownnewmexico.org/ and the City of Santa Fe Parks Division. The mission of Home Grown is to create urban farm and food events that bring together businesses and New Mexicans committed to growing, making and preserving their own food with the intent to develop a healthier and more self-reliant lifestyle. This committed organization was the vision of Amy Hetager who SeedBroadcast had the pleasure to meet over three years ago.   This blog is dedicated to her memory and to her vision.

 Lots of participants arrived right as the event started with their seeds carefully bagged and labeled.     There was a great expectancy in the air. Its magical to see all of the many varieties of seeds in their different packages and to experience how they evoke conversation and exchange. Many people had been to the exchange before, know the process and are drawn back very year by the excitement of what new seeds they might discover. Many were joggers, just out walking or playing with their children in the park and discovered this event by chance.  There were farmers from Nambe, Medanales, La Medera, urban gardeners from Santa Fe and families just wanted to know more about growing their own food.

A wealth of beans.

The Master Gardeners http://sfmga.org/ were on hand to answer questions any of those burning questions. Susie Sonflieth who is part of this knowledgeable group shared her seed story.

If you have never been to a seed exchange before then you should.  Try to find one near you, there are many at this time of the year. If you do not have seeds to share just go to be part of the magic. Perhaps some seeds will attract you with their potential and lead you to new discoveries.

 "To have a seed is to have everything"

Emily Renfro with her seeds.