Category: Seeds

717: Hassena Kassim on Seed Saving

Growing and saving seeds. – Hassena Kassim returns to talk about the recent growth she is experiencing since moving from Arizona to North Carolina about 5 years ago. She explains how growing and saving seeds for Sow True Seeds led her to the Organic Seed Alliance seed school and what…

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715: What Is Happening In the World of Seeds

A Seed Chat with Bill McDorman. – This is the December 2022 class discussing what is happening in the world of seeds. Bill recently returned from the 9th Session of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture in New Delhi. He shares what he learned about how the…

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713: Kathy Jentz on National Seed Swap Day

Promoting Biodiversity in Our Gardens and Farms. – In This Podcast: Kathy Jentz started National Seed Swap Day to officially celebrate and encourage something farmers and gardeners have been doing for hundreds of years – trading seeds. She chats with Greg about the origins of the event, what happens…

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710: Grain Culture

A Seed Chat with Bill McDorman. – This is the November 2022 class discussing Grain Culture! Heritage and ancient grains are taking center stage in all kinds of gardening programs and on tables across the country. Find out why these grains are easier on bellies, easy to grow and a lot easier to process than you may think.

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705: How Do You Store Your Seeds

A Seed Chat with Bill McDorman. – “How do you store your seeds?” is the most asked question we get in all our educational programs. Our quick answer: keep your seeds cool, dark, and dry. That is the mantra. But there are a few other tricks of the trade to make sure that your seeds will germinate year…

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701: Seed Starting Challenges (with Kari Spencer)

A Seed Chat with Bill McDorman. – There is nothing more satisfying than getting a jump on the gardening season by starting seeds in flats or in the ground. What do we need to know to be successful? Soil composition, temperature, moisture and light all determine whether we are jumping…

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700: Rebecca Newburn on Creating Local Seed Libraries

Helping people share seeds in their community. – Rebecca Newburn’s vision was to start seed libraries, not just locally, but all over the world. To accomplish this goal, she created an easy roadmap for others to follow and then made it easily available to everyone. Learn how important seed libraries are, how you…

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696: Warm and Cool Season Crops

A Seed Chat with Bill McDorman. – Do we plant cool season crops in the fall and warm season in the spring? How is it that cool season varieties get sweeter as the weather gets colder? Can warm season crops last through blistering heat? Can we strengthen the genetics of any crop through selection and…

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691: Seed Harvesting

A Seed Chat with Bill McDorman. – Before you know it, all your crops will be going to seed. Rather than deadhead and “clean everything up,” learn how to be your own best seed detective. What are the characteristics of the plants from which you should be saving seed? How do you decide when and how to…

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687: Squashes, Summer & Winter

A Seed Chat with Bill McDorman. — This is the June 2022 class discussing squashes. Help! How can we tell the difference between summer and winter squashes and why is it important? What are the challenges with cross-pollination and why don’t the three different species of squash cross? And what are…

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