Episode 314 · December 12, 2017
314: Shannon McCabe on Gaining a Gardening Passion
Finding amazing seeds and becoming a seed storyteller.
In this episode
Shannon is a writer, seed explorer and horticulturist for Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company. After earning a degree in Environmental Horticulture from the University of Rhode Island, she worked on mixed-vegetable farms and a fruit orchard before starting her own small-scale farm on historic farmland. She combined her life-long love of writing with her passion for farming when she began working as the farm manager and catalog writer for Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.
Our Guest
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Through co-writing the award winning Whole Seed Catalog, hosting instructional videos and dreaming up the Baker Creek children’s gardening book, she has enjoyed bringing the arcane heirloom vegetables of our past back to the foreground of the gardening discussion.
Her young life was spent on a small island near a 300-year-old farm, with a family that loved to share history through storytelling. Eventually, Shannon McCabe got a chance to work for Baker Creek seeds and now she documents the stories of seeds from around the world. Today, she explains what an heirloom seed is, and why they are special. She also shares a couple seed stories, including one for garden berries in Peru, and another about an ancient, crooknecked watermelon from a cave in Arizona. We cannot spoil this, you must listen for yourself!
- Growing up on a small island “Block Island” off coast of Rhode Island, and learning about farming from a 300 yr old farm
- Having a small plot on this farm for two years
- Getting a job at Bake Creek Seeds
- Starting her storytelling as a young kid
- Always wanting to be a writer
- The definition of an heirloom seed
- Her job at Baker creek allows her to research, grow, taste, and write the description of the seeds
- The story of the Ajvarksi, Sweet Pepper - https://www.rareseeds.com/ajvarski-sweet-pepper/
- Getting to travel around the world to find seeds and collect their stories
- Visiting to the Peruvian Amazon, looking for new garden berries
- Finding the cocona https://www.rareseeds.com/cocona/
- The most interesting seed story she has found in the entire time she has worked at Baker Seeds
- Ancient crookneck watermelon seeds found in basket in a cave in Arizona that they had to hunt down to find – this is an EPIC story you need to hear for yourself!!!
As well as
- Her failure – A task to design a green house, but it was not a skill that she had
- Her success – Overcoming a fear of leaving her home town and traveling around the world
- Her drive – The stories! Sharing stories, cross culturally and within our families to encourage resiliency and diversity
- Her advice – Always ask questions, be inquisitive, then share; and always keep a journey
Shannon’s Book recommendations
100 Vegetables and Where They Come from by Dr. William Wise Weaver
The Good Food Revolution: Growing Healthy Food, People, and Communities by Will Allen
How to reach Shannon
Instagram: @seedscavenger
Email: seeds@rareseeds.com (attn: horticulture in subject line)
Facebook: @rareseeds
UrbanFarm.org/Shannon
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