SONGTOSEED - Blog

Spring PLants Available Soon

4/30/2021

This year we have a small assortment of historic regional heirloom slips and starts (and one from central Mexico that's well adapted). Please reach out through our homepage "contact us" section for the list of what we have available. Seeds we can ship (see "Seeds" page our website), plants we cannot. Plants won't be ready until around Mother's Day, and we don't suggest planting them that early despite these incredible balmy days--the weather is weirder than ever and I'd bank on late spring frosts.

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Gateway to the Smokies pOdcast

3/15/2021

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Tuesday, March 16th, I'll be appearing on the Gateway to the Smokies podcast. Listen live at 6pm Est. on Facebook or https://www.TalkRadio.nyc/listen-live

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Candyroaster Pie

2/20/2021

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It's been a little bit since I've written an "ethnobotanical" (the study of a region's plants and their practical uses through the traditional knowledge of a local culture and people) song. Recently I was working our Sylva Candyroaster page and I even wrote "I still need to write a song about candyroasters." Then I thought, maybe I should just write one right quick--and I did! A few years ago I submitted an article about this fabled Appalachian Squash to the NC Folklife Food Blog. Their Food Blog is really worth a gander!

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Feast and Farmin FUn-Time

2/19/2021

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A little bit of old news here, but I was very pleased to participate in a great little online program with Mars Hill College and the Appalachian Barn Alliance late last year. There's lot's to learn here about old barns and also the Farmers Federation (which historically had a huge role here in WNC). To see the virtual mountain farm tour *click here* Lots of great photos and information there!

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Material CUlture

2/2/2021

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A Kernel of Wisdom

10/11/2020

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A nugget of traditional elder seed-saving wisdom from John Leopard of Jackson County, NC. Typically, it's best to not plant end kernals--unless you have a small amount of seed to start with (Like the last existing ear of Hamburg corn he rescued in 1978. He was careful to note that he even planted the end kernels then!) End kernels often lack the vigor of the straighter, interior seeds. #seedsaving #seedstewards

A post shared by Song to Seed (@songtoseed) on Oct 10, 2020 at 9:04pm PDT

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"Who" is your favorite bean?

10/1/2020

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Starting on top from left to right Lindsey Butterbeans, Bonnie Cope Greasybacks, Maw Laney Beans, Yona Soup Beans, Barte Laney Beans (Maw Laney Sport), and Herb Key's Half-runners. Also grown this year but not pictured: Mary Soup Beans, Lonnie (sp?) Morgan Cornfield Beans, Granny Greene Cornfield Beans, Balsam Soup Beans. Once someone asked me "who" my favorite bean was. It caught me off guard as odd, but at the same time, almost all of the beans I've taken into my care over the years already came with a person's name attached. Honor your source, honor your community, and honor the seeds-of-place. #hierlooms #beans #seedstewards

A post shared by Song to Seed (@songtoseed) on Oct 1, 2020 at 6:54am PDT

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Balsam Soup Beans

10/1/2020

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This year my Balsam Soup beans were "October" Beans in the truest sense. They are only now ready with shellies (plump just-about-to-shrink seeds). As a "fall bean" or "october bean" they are daylight-length sensitive, and will usually only set pods late in the year (no matter how early you set them out). I've certainly learned that beans will fruit when they are good and ready, and planting them early tends to reduce yield or lead to poor germination (so be wary of "average days to maturity"). A typical mountain garden would have had a few different types of beans, which would bear at different times. "Bunch" beans (sort of like bush beans but they run a little) would come in first, to be followed by a mid-season bean like greasy cutshorts, to be followed by a fall bean like these. You'll also note the diversity in seed shape, pattern, and color. Like the Yona Soup Beans, Balsam Soup Beans are a bean community, rather than a single landrace, but they've been saved mixed together like this for untold generations. #beancommunities #heirloombeans #octoberbeans #fallbeans #seedstewards

A post shared by Song to Seed (@songtoseed) on Sep 30, 2020 at 6:17am PDT

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Lonnie Morgan Beans

9/27/2020

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We are pleased to announce that our Launie Morgan Cornfield beans have set fruit. Back around 2014 I borrowed some seed from the Jackson County Seed Library. It was quite old (1992 if I remember, when Sarah was born), and wasn't frozen, so I had my doubts about germination. Out of perhaps 50 seeds, only two sprouted and I babied them heavily, but they weren't setting any beans at all (I think it was the heat). Now that the stalks have died back and it's cooling off, they've been put on a nice clutch of beans! Anybody out there know who Launie Morgan was? #oldseeds #cornfieldbeans #seedlibrary

A post shared by Song to Seed (@songtoseed) on Sep 27, 2020 at 6:32am PDT

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The Bean-String Ballad-Sing

8/26/2020

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Our first Bean-String Ballad-Sing was a great success! We nearly ran out of virtual zoom "seats," and had over 3,000 views on Facebook. Almost all of the zoom registrants stayed through the entire show! Thanks again to the NC Arts Council for hosting, and Lindsey Terrell and Sarah Ogletree, who helped drop links for us on Facebook and Zoom. Bobby and Susan, thank you again for taking the time to join us and share such rarely heard but beautiful songs.

If you would like to re-watch the event via Facebook, you may follow the link below:

Watch on Facebook

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