Episode 293: why seeds matter, with Jennifer Jewell, author of book what we sow
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TRANSCRIPT
Host Jane Perrone talks to garden writer and podcaster Jennifer Jewell about her latest book What We Sow, and answers a question about biochar.
This week’s guest
Jennifer Jewell is the host of weekly public radio program and podcast Cultivating Place: Conversations on Natural History & the Human Impulse to Garden. (You can hear my interview on houseplants in this episode).
Her book What We Sow: On The Personal, Ecological, And Cultural SIgnificance Of Seeds published by Timber Press.
Her other books include The Earth in Her Hands: 75 Extraordinary Women Working in the World of Plants
You’ll find Jennifer on Twitter as @cultivatingplace.
Check these notes while you listen…
I mention sowing seeds of the wild vegetable sea beet (Beta vulgaris maritima). Never heard of sea beet? More information here.
Find out more about the Xerces Society and its worth with the monarch butterfly.
The story of rats nearly wiping out the Kentia palm (Howea forsteriana) on Lord Howe Island is told in my book Legends of the Leaf.
The people Jennifer mentions who are working in the field of seeds are:
Rowen White indigenous seed steward
Jeff Quattrone, Founder of Library Seed Bank in New Jersey
K Greene and Doug Muller of the Hudson Valley Seed Company
The seed banks mentioned in the interview are:
International Rice Research Institute (Philippines)
Kew Millennium Seedbank (listen to an episode of On The Ledge on this seedbank)
National Gene Bank of Plants of Ukraine (moved to a safer location in 2023 - read more here)
On The Ledge sowalong update
This episode is part of the On The Ledge sowalong series. You can listen to the other episodes here.
What is the OTL sowalong?
Since 2018 I’ve been running the sowalong, and the premise is simple - encouraging listeners to grow houseplants from seed, offering advice and tips on how to do it, and sharing your successes, failures and questions with the whole OTL community.
Want more from the sowalong?
You’ll find all the sowalong episodes from previous years here, including cacti and succulents from seed, ferns from spores and more.
If you are looking for seeds in the US or the UK, check out my UK buying guide and my US buying guide. And let me know if you have suggestions for other seed companies worth adding to the list.
question of the week
Jim wanted to know whether biochar is worthwhile for using on houseplants.
What is biochar? It’s a charcoal-like product you can use as a soil improver make from pyrolised wood. The RHS’s page on biochar has lots of great information on this topic. It doesn’t contains any nutrients itself but it is very porous so it can hold a lot in the way of water, air, nutrients and microorganisms. Added to houseplant substrate, it is reputed to improve root health.
There are various brands on the market in the UK - the only one I have come across that’s specifically for houseplants is by Carbon Gold and is called Houseplant Booster.
I’ve only done a few experiments with biochar but I would love to hear from any listeners who’ve got experience of using it with houseplants.
Want to ask me a question? Email ontheledgepodcast@gmail.com. The more information you can include, the better - pictures of your plant, details of your location and how long you have had the plant are always useful to help solve your issue!
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CREDITS
This week's show featured the tracks Roll Jordan Roll by the Joy Drops, The Road We Use To Travel When We Were Kids by Komiku and Overthrown by Josh Woodward.