Farming While Black

by Leah Penniman

  We plant our seeds into open 1020 flats at a depth twice the length of the seed. We use organic potting soil that is free of weed seed that we purchase from a nearby farmer. We water the flats one or two times per day so that the moisture is that of a damp sponge throughout the entire soil media. Once the seedlings have two sets of true leaves, in contrast to the cotyledons that first emerge, they are ready to be moved to the outdoor seedling tables for “hardening off.” For several days the seedlings experience the wind, rain, and temperature variability of the outdoors in preparation for transplanting into the soil.

  Brassicas are transplanted directly into the soil beneath the straw mulch. Photo by Neshima Vitale-Penniman.

  To transplant our seedlings, we first supersaturate the flats with water. We use a hose to make the holes in the beds into which the seedlings will be transplanted. This extra water reduces transplant shock. We place the plants, one per hole, into the puddle we made, taking care to leave the soil on the roots. We then firmly close the soil around them at the level at which it touched the stem in the flats. If the seedlings are leggy, you may need to plant them all the way up to the growing point, the location from which the true leaves are emerging. Cucurbits will rot if buried too deeply. Newly transplanted seedlings require frequent watering while they get established.

  Solanaceae Family: Eggplants, Peppers, Tomatoes, Potatoes, Tobacco

  We affectionately call our 80-foot-long (24 m) high tunnel “North Carolina” because its climatic conditions mimic the South and are suitable for members of the cold-tender and nutrient-hungry Solanum family. We grow tomatoes inside of this plastic house, nourished by drip irrigation but spared of rain, so as to reduce fungal disease. With drip, the water goes directly into the soil around the roots without wetting the leaves. We start tomatoes in 1020 flats in the greenhouse and transplant out when they are about four weeks old. The tomatoes are trellised using plastic twine that hangs from the overhead supports in the high tunnel, secured with special clips. As the tomatoes grow, we prune them so that only one central leader remains and remove all the “suckers.” Tomatoes tolerate bare soil, straw mulch, black plastic mulch, and even an understory of leguminous cover crops. We harvest tomatoes at 50 percent blush, and allow them to ripen in crates, as this reduces bruising and spoiling and increases overall yields.

  One way to trellis tomatoes it to attach strong twine to the overhead supports in the high tunnel and use clips to support the laden plants. Photo by Neshima Vitale-Penniman.

  In northern climates solanums thrive on black plastic mulch or in a high tunnel. Photo by Neshima Vitale-Penniman.

  Eggplants and peppers love the “North Carolina” house, but there is not always space for them, so we sometimes plant them outside in black plastic mulch. They appreciate a layer of floating row cover supported by hoops when the nights are cold. The floating row cover also protects them from flea beetles, which can turn eggplant leaves to fragile lace, greatly weakening the plants. It is important to remove the row cover once blossoms appear so they can be pollinated. We start eggplants and peppers in the greenhouse and transplant them outside after about six to seven weeks. Both crops are harvested when they reach peak coloration and desired size.

  Potatoes are one of the plants that we grow from the tuber, not directly from seed. The previous year’s potatoes can be cut into pieces that each have at least two “eyes” and a minimum weight, around the size of a small chicken egg. Allow the cut pieces to sit and cure in a dry, well-ventilated area for a couple of days before planting. Then dig a trench 8 inches (20 cm) deep in which to place the potatoes. Cover with soil and as the plants grow, continually hoe new soil toward the potatoes such that only a few inches of green vegetation remain exposed. This process is called hilling and increases the yield of the potatoes. The potato pests that we deal with most often are the Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata, which we pick off by hand and drown in a small bucket of soapy water, and the leafhopper, Empoasca fabaem, that can cause devastating “hopperburn,” which we attempt to control with floating insect cover material around the time the leafhoppers are taking flight. Rotations are important in growing potatoes; if you plant them in the same ground two years in a row, the Colorado potato beetles will come up with the emerging potato plants. By moving the potatoes to another place in your field, you give them a jump start on the beetles. Potatoes are ready to harvest when the green vegetation starts to die back. You can carefully dig with a potato fork and lift them from the soil or use a center buster plow or mechanical potato digger.

  Solanaceous crops curated by Black people include:

  Gbogname collard eggplant. This gbogname variety, Solanum melongena, was developed in Togo, West Africa, and unlike others in its genus, has edible leaves. Its tender, young leaves are cooked as one would prepare collard greens. The plant is heat tolerant and generates bitter yellow fruits.

  Garden egg. The white garden eggplant, Solanum gilo, is indigenous to sub-Saharan Africa and one of the top three most consumed vegetables in Ghana. It has a small white fruit with a bitter flavor. It can be stored for months without refrigeration and retain its firmness.

  Louisiana long green eggplant. Cultivated in Asia since prehistory, the eggplant, Solanum melongena, spread to Africa well before colonizers arrived. Africans introduced the Louisiana Long Green Eggplant to Southern and Creole cuisine, and enslaved Louisianians grew them in their gardens. It is a high yielding plant that generates green fruits with a rich, nutty flavor.

  Black nightshade. The black nightshade, Solanum nigrum, is a Eurasian crop bred and cultivated across Africa and the Diaspora. Its native ancestor is toxic, but edible varieties produce palatable ripe berries and greens. In Ethiopia, the leaves are boiled in salt water and used in dishes until the maize ripens. In Ghana, the berries are called kwaansusuaa, and used in preparing palm nut soup. In South America, the greens are used in tamales, and in Central America to make chuchitos and pupusas. People in South Africa use the fruits to make purple jam. Black nightshade grows as a weed in most cultivated fields in the Northeast and can likely be found already flourishing on site.

  Plat de Haiti tomato. Indigenous people in Mexico were the first to domesticate tomatoes. Enslaved Africans in Haiti cultivated the apple of Hispaniola, Solanum lycopersicum, since at least the 1550s. Creole refugees fleeing the revolution in Haiti brought the tomato to Philadelphia in 1793, convincing their neighbors that the tomato was not the poisonous ornamental most assumed it to be. This variety is compact, deep red, and balanced between sweet and acid tones.10

  Moyamensing tomato. The Moyamensing tomato, Solanum lycopersicum, is an African-American heirloom that was grown by incarcerated people in the gardens of the Eastern State Penitentiary since the mid 1800s and popularized by the cook in that institution. It yields prolific orange-red fruits and is excellent in soups.

  Paul Robeson tomato. The Paul Robeson tomato, Solanum lycopersicum, was developed in Russia, and named in honor of Black civil rights activist, opera singer, athlete, actor, and law school graduate, Paul Robeson (1898-1976). It produces dark, intensely sweet fruits with high juice over a short season.

  Fish pepper. Cultivated peppers are descended from the wild American bird pepper, native to North and South America. The fish pepper variety, Capsicum annuum, was developed in the Caribbean and traveled to the Black American south where it became the “secret” ingredient at crab and oyster houses. The young, cream-colored peppers blended into white fish sauces adding invisible heat. The black folk painter Horace Pippin revived the variety in the 1940s.

  Buena mulata cayenne pepper. The buena mulata pepper, Capsicum annuum, was passed on by the black folk artist Horace Pippin. It may have originated in Cuba. It is a highly productive hot pepper that changes color during ripening from violet, to orange, to brown, to deep red. Soilful City, a DC farm, makes a beautiful hot sauce from this pepper.

  Scotch bonnet pepper, fatalii. The Caribbean red pepper, Capsicum chinense, is cult
ivated mainly in the Caribbean Islands, Central and South Africa. In Nigeria it is called ata rodo. It is about 100 times hotter than a jalapeño and gives Jerk its unique fruity, citrus flavor.

  Mboga pepper. In Zanzibar where this pepper, Capsicum frutescens, was selected by Indigenous people, they call it Pilipili Mboga, in Swahili which means vegetable pepper.

  Fabaceae Family: Black-Eyed Peas, Peanuts, Beans, and Sweet Peas

  The legumes are one family that leaves the soil more enriched at the end of its tenure than it inherited at the beginning. Legumes provide nodular homes for nitrogen-fixing bacteria in their roots, thus facilitating the capture of atmospheric nitrogen. Consequently they can be intercropped with nitrogen-hungry crops like maize. They can also precede heavy feeders in a multiyear crop rotation.

  Most legumes prefer to be direct seeded after the danger of frost. We dig a shallow furrow with the corner of the hoe and drop the seeds at the appropriate spacing. Beans and peas emerge quickly and outcompete weeds with more ease than other crop families. We apply straw mulch once the beans are about 6 inches tall. Bush beans and edamame do not require upright supports. However, sugar snap peas, shell peas, and pole beans need to climb. We install trellises made of 2-by-4-inch (5-by-10 cm) welded wire fence, 6 feet (1.75 m) high, supported by hardwood stakes every 6 to 8 feet (1.75 to 2.5 m). Beans and peas mature over time, so we pick them every two or three days during their harvest season.

  Many seeds can be planted directly into a furrow in the soil. Photo by Neshima Vitale-Penniman.

  Peanuts originated in Peru, where indigenous people cultivated them at least 3,500 years ago and used them as currency. While we are new to growing this crop at Soul Fire Farm, it is possible to attain a harvest in the North using short-season varieties like Early Spanish. The shelled peanut, still in its husk, can be started in flats in the greenhouse or planted directly outside in warmer climates. The peanut produces yellow, self-pollinating blossoms that, once fertilized, bend toward the earth and plant themselves in the soil to form a peanut pod. Peanuts are harvested when the leaves begin to yellow and the peanuts nearly fill out the pods.

  Legume varieties curated by Black farmers include:

  Brown crowder. The cow pea or black-eyed pea, Vigna unguiculata, originated in West Africa and was carried by Black farmers to the Americas during the slave trade. It is a drought-tolerant, disease- and pest-resistant nitrogen fixer that was promoted by Dr. George Washington Carver as a tool for soil repair. The California Blackeye Pea variety is a prolific cultivar with mystical properties—attracting wealth, fertility, and luck when consumed on New Year’s Day.

  Goober nut. The peanut, Arachis hypogaea, is native to South America and made its way to Africa in the precolonial era, where it became a staple crop. During the era of enslavement, Africans brought peanuts back to the Americas, where they cultivated them for generations before Europeans adopted the crop.11

  Bambara groundnut. The bambara nut or pindar, Vigna subterranea, originated in West Africa. It is one of the most important legumes in the semi-arid areas of Africa because it is tolerant of drought, heat, and marginal soils. It is highly nutritious and climate-adaptive. Its small white fruits form underground and can be eaten fresh, dried, or boiled, or ground into flour.

  Sea Island red peas. The Geechee red pea was planted by African rice farmers in the Carolinas in rotation with rice to restore the soil. It is used in the popular African American dish Hoppin’ John and the Gullah dish “reezy peezy,” made with fresh peas and rice.

  Bush bean, kebarika. The bush bean, Phaseolus vulgaris, is an heirloom from Kenya, used in soups, in baking, and dried.

  Mbombo green. Drought- and heat-tolerant Mbombo green, Lablab purpureus, originated in Kenya where its name honors the Creator God Mbombo. It is a sacred crop, which brings fertility to the soil, prosperity to the people, and health to the nursing mother.

  Malvaceae Family: Okra, Sorrel, Molokhia, Cotton, Cacao, Kola Nut

  Without the mallow family, there would be no gumbo and there would be no sorrel tea—possibly a fatal blow to our Caribbean cuisine. These heat-loving crops can be coaxed out of northern soils with the aid of black plastic mulch or row cover. We grow okra in the hottest part of our southern-sloped soils, following a nitrogen-fixing crop. It’s best to start okra indoors for five to six weeks and then set the plants out three to four weeks after the last frost date. We keep the area weed-free and harvest the okra when it is the length of an index finger.

  Fortunately for us, the naturally acidic soils of the Northeast are perfect for hibiscus, though the cold temperatures mean that it grows as an annual, dying back each year, rather than persisting as a perennial. Hibiscus prefers to be transplanted into rich soil after the danger of frost, and mulched once it reaches 6 inches. The mature flowers can be harvested throughout the summer and made into a tangy, distinctive sorrel drink.

  Where we live, cotton can only be grown indoors, and many Black farmers avoid it because of its association with slavery. The rise of “King Cotton” revitalized US slavery and drove a spectacularly devastating increase in the kidnapping of our people from 1787 to 1808, in addition to the internal slave trade that forced our ancestors from the border states into the Cotton Belt. Part of our collective healing from that trauma is the reconciliation with the cotton plant, and many Black farmers are reviving its growth on sovereign terms. Cotton can be transplanted or direct seeded, but requires 70°F (21°C) soil temperatures to germinate, and a long, hot season to mature. Keep weed-free and harvest when the bolls split open in late summer.

  Here are a few mallow varieties that have been curated by Black farmers:

  Levant cotton. The species of cotton native to semi-arid regions of sub-Saharan Africa is Gossypium herbaceum, a perennial shrub that reaches 2 feet (0.6 m) and produces short-fiber cotton. It is a sister to G. hirsutum, which is native to the Americas and was cultivated by the Incas since CE 1000. Colonizers brought it from the Caribbean to the US South, where enslaved Black farmers grew it.

  Cowhorn okra. Okra or gumbo, Abelmoschus esculentus, likely originated in West Africa and was brought to Brazil by our ancestors in the 1600s and later to the United States. The work okra comes from okuru in the Igbo language of Nigeria. In several Bantu languages okra is called ngombo, which evolved into the Portuguese quingombo and the English gumbo. The cowhorn variety is the oldest grown in the US and is the central ingredient in gumbo (okra soup).

  Okra originated in West Africa and is a staple of dishes across the Diaspora. Photo by Neshima Vitale-Penniman.

  Molokhia. Egyptian spinach, Corchorus olitorius, is a staple food in Ghana and Burkina Faso and commonly eaten in Egypt. During the time of pharaohs, Egyptian royalty would drink molokhia soup to recover from illness. People in Ghana also use molokhia medicinally for fever, stomach issues, and loss of appetite. It has many names that refer to its texture: in Ewe, Ademe (slimy leaf); in Dagbani, Salinvaa (slimy leaf); in Vagla Dofila, mwana (grass okro or “grass okra”); and in Hausa and Twi, Ayoyo (slimy leaf).12 It germinates in soils 77° to 86°F (25–30°C) and matures in only 60 days. It can be continuously harvested.

  Damaris, Soul Fire’s assistant farm manager, holds the beautiful turquoise seeds of molokhia, a vitamin- and mineral-rich green eaten like spinach in soups and stews in the Middle East and Africa. Photo by Lytisha Wyatt.

  White sorrel. The Archer variety of roselle, Hibiscus albus, originated in Senegal and was grown throughout Jamaica starting in the 1700s. The more widely used red variety is Hibiscus sabdariffa. Its calyx is eaten as a vegetable and its flowers brewed as tea. It is one of the over 600 species of hibiscus, known as bissap, zobo, and sobolo in West Africa and sorrel in Jamaica and other parts of the Caribbean. Hibiscus is the national flower of Haiti.

  Poaceae Family: Millet, Sorghum, Corn, Rice, Oats, and Rye

  During initiation, practitioners of Ifa and Vodun receive individualized spiritual instructions through divination, known as ita. In my case I learned
that I need to cultivate maize every year for the duration of my life. My adherence to this important mandate was lax one year and I realized with a panic midsummer that we had left corn out of the crop plan. Fortunately, nature had my back and self-seeded a little patch of maize where some chicken feed had spilled the previous fall. I made sure to tend and harvest that volunteer patch to fulfill my spiritual mandate.

  Maize is an ancient and sacred crop, rich in protein, fiber, and minerals and relatively easy to grow among its cousins. You can try the passive method and hope for a magical crop with no effort, as I did, or intentionally cultivate this noble plant.

  Patience is an important ingredient in northern maize cultivation, as early planting will result in rotten seed. Wait until the danger of frost has passed, the oak leaves on the trees are at least 1 inch long, and the dandelions are blooming to direct seed your maize. We plant our maize together with its sisters, beans and squash, in hills 4 to 5 feet (1.25 to 1.5 m) apart from one another. Each hill receives four or five maize seeds, followed 10 days later by four or five pole bean seeds and two of winter squash. Corn is wind-pollinated and needs at least four rows to attain adequate fertilization. To prevent corn earworm from burrowing into your ripe ears, insert a medicine dropper of mineral oil into the silk four to five days after it appears.13 The maize is ready to harvest when the silk turns wilted and brown. Flour and dent corns can be left to dry on the stalk and stored over the winter for use as cornmeal, tortillas, or hominy. Sweet and flour corns can be harvested right away for roasting and fresh eating.

  Millet and sorghum are staple grains domesticated by our ancestors in Africa. Millet was the primary crop grown by African farmers during slavery on their subsistence plots, or kunuku.14 At Soul Fire Farm we primarily use sorghum as a high-biomass cover crop to remediate tired soils. It tolerates poor, dry soils and can be broadcast at 10 to 15 pounds per acre (1.8 to 2.75 kg/ha) to generate a thick forest of healing green. To grow sorghum as a grain crop, we plant it 8 inches apart when the soil has warmed to 60°F (16°C). It can be harvested once the grains no longer dent when pressed with your fingernail. Grains can be cleaned by vigorously whacking them against the inside of a bucket or rolling them over a screen with a collecting tub below. Millet is even more forgiving than sorghum and matures very quickly. Be prepared to share your millet harvest with the birds, who love this nutritious seed.