Farming While Black

by Leah Penniman

  Oats and Peas

  Field peas (annual) are a source of nitrogen and organic matter, and are the only leguminous cover crop that thrives in early spring. Peas collaborate well with oats (also annual), with the oats providing a trellis and suppressing weeds while the peas contribute nitrogen. Some farmers like to add vetch to the mix to provide a cover over the winter after the oats and peas have died back. Sow peas in March–April or early September in the Northeast at 120 pounds per acre (22 kg/ha) alongside oats at 20 pounds per acre (3.5kg/ha). You can also harvest the top 6 inches (15 cm) of the plant and use the pea tendrils in salad without interfering with the efficacy of the cover crop.

  Sorghum Sudangrass

  Originally cultivated in northeastern Africa 5,000 to 8,000 years ago, sorghum is a high-biomass annual grass that is heat- and drought-tolerant. The grass provides abundant organic matter and suppresses knot root nematodes. It harbors greenbug, which in turn attracts lady beetles, lacewings, and other beneficial predatory insects. Plant at 30 to 50 pounds per acre (5.5 to 9 kg/ha) in July and August in the Northeast for a winterkill. You may also plant sorghum sudangrass earlier in the season and cut it several times using a flail mower. Either way, be sure to mow the sorghum in the late fall for easier spring management. Sorghum sudangrass can have an allelopathic effect on other plants, making it excellent for weed suppression and full-season cover cropping, but not conducive for interplanting or quick crop successions.

  Sunn Hemp

  Originally cultivated in India as a cover crop and livestock feed, sunn hemp, an annual, fixes nitrogen and tolerates low-fertility sandy soils. It is resistant to root knot nematodes and can be used to clean the soil of this pest. It requires 8 to 12 frost-free weeks of growth, achievable even in northern climates. Broadcast at a rate of 40 to 60 pounds per acre (7.25 to 11 kg/ha). Generally, sunn hemp does not have time to produce seed within the span of a growing season, so mowing is not essential. It will winter-kill and you can plant your spring crop right into the mulch.

  Forest edges are useful for protecting soil, sequestering carbon, and providing windbreaks.

  Bird’s-Foot Trefoil

  This perennial legume is tolerant of soils with low pH, low nutrients, poor drainage, and fragipans. It can reseed itself and is resistant to phytophthora root rot. Plant in early spring at a depth of no more than ¼ inch. Inoculate the seeds with Bradyrhizobium lupini bacteria to increase the nitrogen-fixing action of the plant. Seed at 8 to 10 pounds per acre (1.5 to 2 kg/ha) without a nurse crop.

  ________

  Tree species can also be used as permanent cover crops, protecting soil, sequestering carbon, and providing windbreaks. In Northern Ghana farmers have used baobab (Adansonia digitata), neem (Azadirachta indica), shea nut (Vitellaria paradoxa), Acacia spp., dawadawa (Parkia biglobosa), mahogany, senya, mango (Mangifera indica), and gliricidia for generations as cover crops.17 They plant the trees on the edges and borders of fields as a complement to annual crops. At Soul Fire Farm we allow the wild species of black cherry (Prunus serotina), ash (Fraxinus americana), sugar maple (Acer saccharum), beech (Fagus grandifolia), paper birch (Betula papyrifera), and wild berries to grow on all four sides of each crop field. Note that black walnut (Juglans nigra) is not desirable as a field-edge tree because of the root exudate juglone, which is allelopathic. These trees provide habitat for beneficial predatory insects and pollinators, a source of firewood and mulch materials, opportunities for maple sugaring and berry harvest, groundwater recharge, breaking of the wind, and aesthetic value. Being surrounded by the forest also means that we are visited by hawks, coyotes, deer, bears, porcupines, owls, wild turkeys, and other splendid beings regularly, reminding us of our place in the larger ecosystem.

  * * *

  *Organic matter includes the living microorganisms in the soil ecosystem and the decayed remains of those organisms. Organic matter endows the soil with a healthy structure, nutrient richness, and water holding capacity.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Crop Planning

  A SMALL NEEDFUL FACT

  Is that Eric Garner worked

  for some time for the Parks and Rec.

  Horticultural Department, which means,

  perhaps, that with his very large hands,

  perhaps, in all likelihood,

  he put gently into the earth

  some plants which, most likely,

  some of them, in all likelihood,

  continue to grow, continue

  to do what such plants do, like house

  and feed small and necessary creatures,

  like being pleasant to touch and smell,

  like converting sunlight

  into food, like making it easier

  for us to breathe.

  —ROSS GAY

  Three hundred generations ago, during the hungry moon of a long winter, the people of this land were dropping from starvation. The Haudenosaunee people, original and rightful human stewards of much of the ground that we now call “New York,” had no food to eat. Sky Woman, divine grandmother of the Universe, clothed herself as a beggar and came to the people, palms outstretched in supplication, asking to be fed. The people, generous of heart, cleaned the last seed and chaff from their baskets and fed Sky Woman. So touched by their abundant hearts, and true to the sacred law of reciprocity, Sky Woman honored the people with a gift. She offered to the community her three daughters—corn, beans, and squash—so they would never be hungry again. This small bundle of seeds contained a story of harmony, of three crops in synergy: the beans to grab nitrogen, the corn to grow tall and provide stability, the squash to shade the weeds. These three crops would combine to provide complete nutrition: proteins, starches, fats, and vitamins to the people. Over the next 8,700 years of genetic and cultural stewardship, these crops were named Sustainers of Life and maize herself named Mother of Life.1

  The First Peoples of the West shared their gift with indigenous people across the planet. Maize came to Africa before the Portuguese and spread to all corners of the continent in under 500 years, becoming Africa’s most abundant cereal crop and one honored in sacred ceremony.2 The First Peoples of the West also freely gave their gift to the white colonizer, who disregarded its sanctity and turned that maize into a weapon against the givers. Maize was appropriated, exploited, commodified. Torn away from her sisters, beans and squash, maize was forced into a monoculture that would rape the soil of its carbon, driving climate change, driving hurricanes in Puerto Rico, Haiti, and Texas, and wildfires in California. She was distorted into high-fructose corn syrup that was pumped into veins of our people living under food apartheid, driving diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and making it 10 times more likely for Black and Brown people to die from poor diet than from violence.3 The USDA used her to justify policies of farmworker exploitation, pesticide exposure, child labor, legalized neo-slavery under the guestworker program, exile of Black farmers from 12 million acres of our land, and NAFTA-driven forced migration of Mexican farmers from their homes. They interrupted her lineage with GMO strains replacing native varieties, and terminator seeds blocking new life. Sky Woman weeps with us for the appropriation and distortion of her sacred gift.

  Maize was born on this land and has been cultivated by Indigenous people for over 8,000 years. Photo by Neshima Vitale-Penniman.

  We ask ourselves what it would mean to decolonize, to re-indigenize our relationship with seed and with crops. In this chapter we explore the process of deciding what, when, and how to plant crops in the earth. This is informed by an understanding of the cultural relationships between Black people and crops, as well as the relationships among the plants themselves. In doing so, we strive to honor the Indigenous communities who originated many of the crops we now cherish as Black people. Inspired by the intercropping strategies of our African-indigenous ancestors, we uplift crop varieties, combinations, and farm layouts that encourage mutually beneficial relationships between plant allies.

  Annual Crops

  “Pick
it from the bottom, pick it from the bottom!” chanted Terressa Tate, 2015 BLFI graduate, as she waited for the Greyhound bus to take her back home after a week of intensive practice on the farm, collard greens arching out of the pockets of her overalls. She was playfully recalling the song we used to teach participants the proper method for harvesting these familiar leaves. She squatted slow and mimicked the pulling motions of the harvest, laughing all the while, deliberately ignoring the sideways glances of the other bus-station-goers who had not had the fortune of a recent immersion in Mother Earth and its side benefit of ecstasy. Collards are just one of the many crops sacred to the culture of Black people. Historian Michael Twitty and other Black scholars have worked hard to compile lists of our heritage crops and revive collections for us to steward. Below, we elucidate the stories and growing techniques for many of the plants we have come to love. These plants are organized by botanical family, just as we organize our human communities around the centrality of family. See the growing chart (table 6.1) for details on spacing and timing. Note that every variety has specific care requirements; seed catalogs are the best references for these details.

  UPLIFT

  African Rice and Rice Cultivation in the Americas

  African rice, Oryza glaberrima, was domesticated between 2,000 and 3,500 years ago in West Africa, independently of O. sativa in East Asia. Along the “rice coast” of Senegambia and Guinea, the Wolof, Mandinka, Baga, Mende, and Tenne farmers developed sophisticated technologies for production and processing. The Carolina rice industry was built on the skills of enslaved Africans. These Black American farmers created embankments, sluices, canals, floodgates, and dikes almost identical to patterns of West African mangrove rice production. Their labor created a planter aristocracy wealthier than any other group in the British colonies. Consequently, the enslavers ramped up the forced importation of African farmers directly from the rice-growing areas of West Africa who possessed knowledge of the cultivation techniques, yet withheld credit or respect for these farmers.

  Oryza glaberrima, also called Merikin Moruga Hill Rice, was brought to Trinidad by Black soldiers who fought for the British in the War of 1812 in exchange for their freedom. The soldiers were relocated to Trinidad, where they brought their favorite upland cultivars of rice. Gullah chef Benjamin “B. J.” Dennis prepares Moruga Hill Rice with coconut milk, reviving the practice of his forebears. Of the recipe, he says, “It’s up to us to tell our own story correctly. I feel our ancestors actually guide us and ask us to tell the story. And it makes my heart happy, chasing my ancestral roots through food.”

  Yet Black farmers are rarely credited for their contributions to rice production. The “denial of African accomplishment in rice systems,” as Professor Judith Carney writes in her book Black Rice, “provides a stunning example of how power relations mediate the production of history.” African rice farmers also made profound contributions to the musical and linguistic culture of Black people. Ironically, the song “Amazing Grace” was written by 1700s rice slaver Captain John Newton, who later repented of his participation in slavery and appropriated Senegambian musical style to create this song, which retains centrality in Black communities today.4

  Kaolin clay can be used as a pest and disease deterrent for cucurbits and other crops. Photo by Neshima Vitale-Penniman.

  Cucurbitaceae Family: Gourds, Pumpkins, Squash, Cucumbers, and Melons

  The cucurbit family of vining crops loves the heat and highly fertile soils. We start all cucurbits in the greenhouse in 50-cell trays or soil blocks. We transplant them outdoors when they are around three weeks old, taking care not to let the plants get “leggy” (overly long-stemmed) or to bury the necks of the plants too deep. To protect cucurbits from pests and give them extra warmth at the beginning of the season, we provide a protective layer of floating row cover. For additional pest protection, we dip the young seedlings into a kaolin clay mixture, a practice that early Egyptian farmers developed. The clay irritates and deters pests, while also preventing disease and sunburn.

  Table 6.1. Soul Fire Farm’s Planting Chart

  Table 6.1. continued

  Our summer squash, zucchini, and cucumbers are planted into rich soil and left unmulched or planted into black plastic mulch. We found that straw mulch encourages the reproduction of the undesirable cucumber beetle (Acalymma vittatum) and the squash bug (Coreidae family). If you are short on space, cucumber will climb up a simple trellis fence of 2-by-4-inch (5-by-10 cm) welded wire at least 4 feet (1.25 m) tall and supported with wooden stakes every 4 to 6 feet (1.25 to 1.75 m). The harvest of summer squash and cucumbers is based on the size of the fruits. These fruits mature quickly, so in peak season it’s best to check them every 1 to 2 days.

  We plant our winter squash and melons in black plastic mulch, which serves to heat up the cold mountain ground and suppress weeds. Winter squash are harvested all at once just before the frost when the vines start to die back. Winter squash need to be “cured” by resting in a warm, dry place for a few weeks before storing. This hardens the skins, concentrates the sugars, and reduces its tendency to rot in storage.

  The harvest of melons is perhaps the most intricate of these cousins, as determining their maturity is something of an art. Larisa, our farm manager, taught us to look for three signs of ripeness: a brightly colored spot on the skin where the melon touches the ground, a resonant thump when we knock on the fruit, and the curly tendril closest to the fruit being brown and dry.

  Cucurbit crops and varieties curated by Black people include:

  African mini bottle gourd. The calabash or bottle gourd, Lagenaria siceraria, was one of the first domesticated plants, originating in Africa 11,000 years ago. It is used as a drinking vessel, musical instrument, fishing bob, medicine bottle, insect cage, and food source. DNA evidence shows that it drifted across the ocean from Africa to the Americas, where it was widely adopted.5

  West India burr gherkin. The maroon cucumber or gherkin, Cucumis anguria, was originally brought from Angola to the Caribbean. It is used for pickling, cooking, and fresh eating and is an ingredient in cozido stew in Brazil.6

  Citron melon. The preserving melon, Citrullus caffer, is native to Africa and grows abundantly in the Kalahari desert. Its use dates back to 4,000 years ago in ancient Egypt. It is used as a source of water, food, and animal fodder. Its high pectin content makes it ideal for pickling.7

  Georgia Rattlesnake watermelon. Watermelon, Citrullus lanatus, was first domesticated by the Bantu-speaking people of West Africa. It was cultivated widely in ancient Egypt, where it was buried in pharaohs’ tombs to provide hydration for their journeys to the afterlife.8 It was introduced to the US from Africa during colonial times. The Georgia Rattlesnake variety was grown by the Black community beginning in the 1830s. It is exceptionally sweet with a thick skin.

  Haitian pumpkin. The joumou pumpkin, Cucurbita moschata, was introduced to enslaved Haitians by the Taino indigenous people of that island. This pumpkin is used to make Soup Joumou, the national dish that commemorates the Haitian Revolution of 1804, and marks the independence of our people from slavery. White enslavers did not allow African people to taste the joumou, so upon liberation we birthed the tradition of cooking and sharing the joumou on the anniversary of our freedom.

  Green striped cushaw pumpkin. The sweet potato pie pumpkin, Cucurbita mixta, was domesticated by Indigenous people of North America sometime between 7000 and 3000 BCE and shared with enslaved Africans in Jamaica, who in turn brought it to the Chesapeake in the late 1700s. It is heat-tolerant, resistant to the squash vine borer, and stores well. Louisiana Creoles sweeten the squash for use in pies, puddings, and turnovers.

  White bush scalloped squash. Scallop or pattypan squash, Cucurbita pepo, was domesticated by Indigenous people of the Americas. Enslaved Africans, who sold fruit to the Jefferson family in the 1790s, commonly cultivated this squash in their kitchen gardens. It produces pie-shaped white fruits that are mild and sweet.

  In upstate New Yor
k melons appreciate being grown on black plastic mulch. Photo by Neshima Vitale-Penniman.

  Transplanting

  Why should we start certain seedlings in a greenhouse rather than plant them directly in the ground? While some plants cannot survive transplanting, most thrive with the extra care provided during the transplanting process. When the plants are young and vulnerable, they experience controlled temperatures, precise watering, and protection from pests. Once they are bigger and more resilient, they make their way into the native soil, where they find themselves well ahead of the weeds and hungry insects. Our ancestors knew this well. The farmers in the Rio Nunez region of Guinea sowed their rice seeds in nurseries on higher and drier ground, allowing them to germinate. Once the seedlings reached the stage where they could withstand the inundation of water and salinity, the farmers replanted them on mounds and ridges in their rice fields.9

  Wire mesh can be used to space out seeds when planting directly into a 1020 flat.

  Starting seedlings indoors requires a location that receives 14-plus hours of direct sunlight or artificial light per day, temperatures above freezing, and access to water. For years we started our farm’s seedlings in the window of our house on shelves we built with fluorescent lights hung directly over the plants. We now use a high tunnel with two layers of plastic for the skin, a propane heater, and fans and vents to keep the air moving. Additionally, we provide a seedling heat mat for crops that require more bottom heat.

  Participants in Black Latinx Farmers Immersion admire the newly seeded flats that they just worked on in the greenhouse. Photo by Neshima Vitale-Penniman.