Farming While Black
Page 23
Many seeds need nothing more than to be gathered in their mature state from the field and stored in their pods in a dry place, such as a hoop house. For beans, peas, lettuce, peppers, okra, brassicas, spinach, leeks, corn, and most herbs and flowers, this simple dry harvest method can be used. When the seedpods are fully mature, harvest them before the rain, then allow them to dry further indoors before threshing the seeds and winnowing. Here are more details for major crops:
Beans and peas. Harvest the pods when they begin to turn brown and leathery. Bring them to a warm, dry location and spread them out on a single layer to dry for about one week. Once the seeds rattle in the pods, put the pods into a pillowcase or basin and stomp on them to remove the seeds. Winnow to remove the chaff by pouring the contents of the basin into a large container with a fan blowing off the falling chaff. Note that screens can also be used to separate seed from chaff. Once the seeds have been fully winnowed and cleaned, lay them in a single layer out of direct sunlight and allow them to further dry for about a week.
Thorough drying is an essential step in the seed saving process. Photo by Owen Taylor.
Lettuce. Allow the lettuce to send up its flower stalk rather than harvesting it before bolting. When half of the seeds appear feathery, like dandelion fluff, cut the stalks at the base and allow them to continue to mature on tarps for a couple of weeks. Then knock the seeds into a bucket by shaking the plants back and forth and knocking them against the side of the bucket. Winnow by blowing on the seeds gently or using a fan on low speed. Spread the cleaned seeds in a single layer out of direct sunlight and allow them to further dry for about a week.
Okra. Harvest the pods once they are large, brown, and splitting open. Allow them to rest in a warm, dry place for about a week. Open the pods and remove the seeds. Dry the clean seeds in the open air for a few days before transferring into storage.
Brassicas. After the winter cold the plants will bolt and produce seedpods. Harvest when the pods and the seeds inside of them are brown. Lay them out to dry in a single layer for two weeks. Then thresh by whacking the stalks against the interior side of a large bucket, allowing the ripe seeds to fall while not forcing the unripe pods open. Winnow on low speed. Allow the cleaned seed to dry for another few days out of direct sunlight.
Wear gloves when processing hot peppers for their seed. Photo by Owen Taylor.
Alliums. The plants will make flowers in the second year. When the seeds are brown and hard, harvest by shaking the heads into a bucket. Then allow the seeds to dry out of direct sunlight in a single layer for two additional weeks.
Corn. When husks are brown, dry, and brittle and the silks are dark and dry, harvest the ears and allow them to dry further in their husks for 1 to 2 weeks. Then shell the corn using your hands or a blunt object. Take care with the latter method as it can crack the kernels, reducing their storage life.
Peppers. When the fruits are completely ripe, having turned red, orange, yellow, or whatever color is their final stage, cut them open to reveal the seeds. Scrape the seeds onto a paper plate in a single layer and allow them to dry for two weeks out of direct sunlight. With hot peppers, use gloves during processing.
Tools of the Seed Keeper
Seed Cleaning
Large bowls and buckets
Flat tub or large bucket (for dancing and stomping on pods)
Screens mounted on wooden frame, openings of various sizes (for removing seed from chaff)
Wire strainers and colanders (for cleaning wet and dry seed)
Electric fan (for winnowing)
DIY seed cleaner/aspirator (optional; you can get the design free from the Real Seed Catalogue)
Gloves (for processing hot peppers)
Serrated knives, spoons
Glass jars with loose-fitting lids (for fermenting seed)
Blender (for processing husk cherries, tomatillos, and Ashwagandha)
Paper plates or paper towels (for drying seed)
A homemade seed aspirator uses vacuum suction to separate seed from chaff. Photo by Owen Taylor.
Seed Storage
Paper bags
Sharpies
Coin envelopes
Glass or plastic jars with screw-top lids (to keep out bugs and moisture)
Saara from Added Value Farm, Brooklyn, New York, threshes seeds by whacking the stalk against the inside of a large bucket. Photo by Owen Taylor.
Other plants, such as eggplant, tomatoes, cucumber, squash, and watermelons, rely on fermentation in order to complete their natural ripening cycle. In nature certain fruits drop to the ground, where hungry bacteria get to work fermenting the sugars and cleaning the seeds. A similar process happens in the digestive tract of animals. When we harvest fermentation-dependent seeds, we can mimic that natural process indoors with the help of a little water. Fermentation separates seeds from pulp, reduces the risk of disease, and increases germination. When you let the pulp sit in water, the seed generally sinks, making it possible to pour the pulp off the top. It is important to keep a cover on the fermenting slurry to prevent insect infestation. Here are details for each major crop:11
Children scoop seeds from mature tomatoes with Owen Taylor of Truelove Seeds. Photo by Owen Taylor.
Cucumbers. Harvest the fruits when they have turned yellow or brown and the skin is tough. Cure the fruits at room temperature for a couple of weeks, or until they begin to mold. Slice the fruits open, scoop out the seeds into a glass container, and add an inch of water to cover. Let the mixture rest at room temperature for two to three days, stirring twice each day. Add more water and allow the seeds and pulp to separate. Pour off the fermented pulp. Strain and rinse the seeds and spread in a thin layer to dry for three weeks away from direct sunlight.
Eggplant. Harvest the fruits when they turn dull yellow or brown and the skin becomes tough. Cut the fruit into quarters or eighths, exposing the seeds in the middle of the fruit, and squish the seeds and pulp through a screen. Allow the pulp and seeds to ferment for two to three days. Remove the seeds from the pulp and spread them in a thin layer on a paper plate or cloth and allow to dry for three weeks.
Watermelons. Harvest the fruits when they are fully ripe or slightly overripe. Scoop out the flesh and push it through a fine mesh over a bucket. The seeds will remain on top of the screen. Rinse the seeds through a strainer. Spread them in a thin layer to dry for three weeks.
Dry cleaned seeds thoroughly out of direct sunlight before storing. Photo by Owen Taylor.
Squash, zucchini, cantaloupe. Leave the fruits on the vine until they are full-sized and the skin is very hard. Harvest the fruits before the first frost and store for one or two months at 50° to 60°F (10–16°C) to cure. Open the fruit and scoop out the seeds. You can clean them immediately or soak them in water for 24 hours, stirring occasionally, then rinse. Spread the clean seeds on a paper plate to dry for three weeks.
Tomatoes. Harvest the fruits when they are at peak color and fully ripe. Squish the whole fruit through a screen, or halve the tomatoes first along the equator to expose all seed cavities and then scoop the seeds into a jar with a pointed vegetable peeler. Cover the seedy pulp with about 1 inch of water and cover the jar with a paper towel or piece of cloth. Label the jar with the variety and date, let the mixture ferment for four to five days, stirring occasionally. Remove the large pieces of flesh, then rinse the seeds in a strainer. Spread in a thin layer to dry for three weeks.
Seeds are alive! They are embryos encased in a protective shell of nourishment. Seeds have evolved resiliency and maintain their vitality for several years, even in harsh conditions. However, we can keep them alive longer through proper storage until the following season’s planting time. Seeds need to be stored in a location that is dry, dark, and cool. We keep our seeds in carefully labeled paper envelopes that are stacked in plastic Tupperware on a shelf in a cool, dark closet. The best-case scenario to avoid insect damage and the introduction of moisture is to put envelopes in jars with screw-top lids. For seeds that w
ill be stored for five years or more, the freezer is the best location. Just remember to allow frozen seeds to acclimate to room temperature before opening the package. Table 8.2 is a list of crops with the respective longevity of their seeds.
Seed Exchange
Back in the day, while organizing community gardeners and youth urban farmers in Worcester, Massachusetts, we would convene an early-spring seed and plant swap for the soil stewards of our city. We booked the large community room for free at the public library and invited everyone to bring the seeds they saved personally and their purchased surplus seeds to exchange with other growers. These were the days before social media took off, so we spread the word through door-to-door knocking, flyers, and phone calls. The excitement was palpable. The snow melted outside and mild winds hinted at the coming thaw of the earth and return of green. The seed swap was our testament of faith that another season of sowing and reaping would soon arrive.
We learned a few key logistical parameters for seed swapping by trial and error. It is important to let the growers know what they are expected to bring and what they can expect to take away. Make sure they know that seed collected from hybrid plants will not reproduce the same characteristics as their parents and should not be exchanged at the swap. Also, share a seed viability chart so people know that very old seeds may not retain their vitality. Generally, you can ask people to take only as much seed as they bring. However, we like to have extra seed on hand so that if someone does not have seed to exchange they can still take a few packets. The host should supply some items to make the swap go smoothly:
Tables for seeds, plants, and handouts
Pots, trowels, and potting soil for separation of perennials
Blank labels and Sharpies
Instructional signs that indicate how you want seeds organized and labeled
Coin envelopes and scoops for dividing bulk seed into smaller amounts
Seed and plants (have extra so no one leaves empty-handed)
Charts including seed viability, seed saving how-to, and gardening how-to
Sign-in sheet, print or digital
Table 8.2. Seed Longevity Under Proper Storage Conditions
UPLIFT
Black Seed Keepers Today
Ira Wallace is a seed keeper and worker-owner at Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, a cooperative that sells over 700 varieties of heirloom seed grown by 50 farmers. She grew up gardening with her mother in Florida and went on to study native plants domestically and internationally. She was one of the co-founders of the Acorn community (1993), where she helps farm 60 acres of land organically, and co-manages Southern Exposure Seed Exchange. She authored The Timber Press Guide to Vegetable Gardening in the Southeast and serves on the Organic Seed Alliance. Her personal mission is to “create sustainable, regional food systems built on cooperative self-reliance that provide safe, healthy food for everyone—starting with home and community gardens.”
Clifton Slade is another Black farmer who grows seed for Southern Exposure Seed Exchange. He is a third-generation farmer and extension agent at Virginia State University. Formerly a “big tractor” farmer growing GMO corn, he switched to organic seed growing after he observed wildlife avoiding the GMO crops. It took five years for Ira to convince Clifton to become a seed farmer, because he was concerned about being able to make a living. As a seed grower, he can now make the same income on 2 acres that his neighbors make on 300. One of his specialty crops is sweet potato slips. Virginia Baker, the heirloom that he grew up growing with his father, nearly drifted into obscurity. He helped recover this variety to preserve the legacy for his four children and future generations.12
Tierra Negra Farm, North Carolina, convened Seed Keepers, a people-of-color-led seed-keeping collective that works to keep alive knowledge, culture, and ancestry through the preservation of seeds. In addition to saving and exchanging seeds, Seed Keepers pass on the stories of the seeds and those who stewarded them. There are six farms and 16 farmers along the Atlantic Coast engaged in seed-keeping projects inspired by their time organizing together.
Of course, seed exchanging may already be happening in your community. As expert seed keeper Ira Wallace advises, “Meet people who are already doing it in your area.” She recommends looking up the Organic Seed Alliance and Seed Savers Exchange to find others already engaged in your community. Seed Savers Exchange is part of the Community Seed Network, an alliance that provides tools and advice to community groups interested in creating their own seed exchanges and seed libraries. The network compiled an interactive map of seed libraries across the world. To jump-start your heirloom seed collection, you can purchase seed from Seed Savers Exchange, Truelove Seeds, Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, Indigenous Seed Initiative, Hudson Valley Seed Library, Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, Fruition Seeds, or another heirloom, organic provider (see the list of seed companies in chapter 7, page 138, and the resources, page 321). You can also talk with other farmers in your area and ask them to share seed from their cherished varieties. These locally adapted strains are likely to thrive in your microclimate. However you get started, taking the leap to stewarding seed honors the work of your ancestors who braided seeds in their hair before being forced to board transatlantic slave ships, believing against the odds in a future on soil.
We honor our ancestors through keeping their seeds and seed stories alive, as with this okra pod descended from West African varieties. Photo by Owen Taylor.
CHAPTER NINE
Raising Animals
Ngai is the creator of everything. In the beginning, Ngai was one with the earth, and owned all the cattle that lived on it. But one day the earth and sky separated, so that Ngai was no longer among men. The cattle, though, needed the material sustenance of grass from the earth, so to prevent them dying Ngai sent down the cattle to the Maasai by means of the aerial roots of the sacred wild fig tree, and told them to look after them.
—JENS FINKE, Traditional Music and Cultures of Kenya
We have never had a television in our home, partially because “chicken TV” is more entertaining and life affirming. For years we raised chickens in the backyard when we lived on Grand Street in Albany until the city changed the ordinances and outlawed our flock. Our laying hens preceded us as full-time residents at Soul Fire Farm and will likely be a permanent part of the soil fertility management on this land. We have always had at least one rooster in the mix with the hens. While the roosters have often been loud, showy, and even intimidating, we never had one outright mean until the summer of 2017. One tiny rooster with dull gray plumage must have had some early trauma, because he went out of his way to inflict bodily harm on any farmer who entered the pasture. He hid behind the wheels of the chicken coop where we couldn’t see him, waited for us to turn away, and then sneak-attacked our ankles with claws and spurs engaged. He pecked at our hands when we gathered eggs, and hurled his body toward our faces. We love all beings and tried everything to get this rooster, whom we named Rocky Balboa, to come around. One of our farmers even carried him around in a baby sling for a few days, having read that scared animals just needed swaddling. This was not successful, and it got so bad that a few of the Soul Fire Farmers refused to take care of the chickens altogether, while the remaining willing farmer went in with makeshift armor: padded gloves and double pants in the hot weather.
One day after making it through chicken chores alive, this farmer mused, “Universe, can you arrange some type of rooster swap? I pray for a kind rooster to join our flock.” The next day a large, majestic rooster with white plumage appeared at the edge of the forest, then retreated. We called the neighbors, none of whom raise crops or livestock, to see whether anyone had lost a chicken. No one had. Over the next several days, this magical rooster made wide rounds at the perimeter of the field, observing but not coming too close. After a week it went right into the chicken paddock, attacked Rocky Balboa, and left him huddling in the corner nursing his wounds. We named the new chicken Apollo Creed. Creed continued to beat Balboa
from time to time until Balboa retreated into the forest. Creed happily adopted Balboa’s 25 hens and ample home, and showed gentleness and restraint with the farmers. While we do not celebrate Balboa’s demise, we do muse at the intricate lives of chickens and the magic of prayer.
Animals have long been part of holistic, balanced agricultural systems in the Diaspora. In Haiti the Creole black pig was the main source of protein and the ritual offering made at the beginning of the revolution of 1791–1804. In the African Sahel farmers developed a rotational grazing system to maintain the health of the soil and their livestock. This chapter explains how to raise poultry and pigs in a sustainable, humane manner, including slaughter and packaging processes. A discussion on strategies for sustainable meat consumption in the era of human overpopulation is included, rooted in African ancestral wisdom.
Raising Chickens for Eggs
At Soul Fire Farm the chickens make gentle happy noises and produce eggs with sunflower-yellow yolks. The key to these outcomes is the use of the rotational grazing practices perfected by our ancestors. We once raised a flock of 200 chickens for eggs, but now partner with a neighboring farmer to supply eggs to our Ujamaa Farm Share members. We maintain an educational flock of just 25 laying hens in addition to about 200 chickens for meat each year. Except when they are too young to endure the rigors of outdoor living, we raise our birds on pasture.
UPLIFT
Rotational Grazing of Africa
Rotational grazing systems have long been a part of traditional African agriculture. When colonizer James Watt came to Guinea in 1794, he observed the Fulbe of Labé in Futa Jallon, “rotating their upland rice fields with pasture lands.” He noted that the farmers pastured their cattle on the fields before converting those areas into rice cultivation. As a result, they created “exceedingly rich land” with high quality soil and a good rice crop.1 Additionally, these African farmers gathered up manure, heaped, and burned it in the rice nurseries for additional fertility. Likewise, in Senegal farmers alternate rice fields and pasturage, which fortifies the soil and reduces tsetse-fly infestation. Farmers in the Madiama Commune, Mali, are preserving the rotational grazing practices of their forebears in the West African Sahel. They raise cattle by dividing the pasture into four to seven paddocks that are intensively grazed for limited amounts of time such that all of the plant species are consumed. When the animals are rotated to the next paddock, the original pasture recovers. As a result, the density of plants on the grazing land increases and the health of the calves and adults likewise improves.2