March musings...

Dear Growers,

 

How are you doing out there?  Have you planted any seeds yet?  I hope so…because the first true leaves, or cotyledons, of the many seeds I’ve started are bringing me joy and hope right now.  I have a heavy heart and a distracted mind these days.  I feel helpless and full of rage as I watch our neighbors, and brave activists and truth tellers being arrested, jailed, deported and disappeared.  I do what I can in our community and yet it is not enough to stop the raids, the suffering, and the families being torn apart.  

In my hopeful moments I consider the wisdom of the seed.  How when they germinate, they first grow a root into the darkness, finding stability, strength, and nutrients below before they send up their first true leaves to the sky and become visible.  How they draw on generations of the past to bring them into this moment to grow in this time.

Governments and systems have been broken for a long time.  And generations of folks have been banding together, planting seeds, sending deep roots down into the earth to find strength to rise up.  Let us not forget that our ancestors are at our backs right now as we meet this moment.  That we too can be rooted and ready to rise. 

As Vivien Sansour, founder of the Palestinian Heirloom Seed Library says,  “Seeds have been saving us for millennia. Because through planting seeds, we are literally creating a new world together – one that is more loving and definitely more tender." I feel this truth every day.  The seeds, the robins, the baby bees and moths are saving my heart right now.  I hope you find the saving grace of seeds in your gardens as well. 

 

The photos below are the first true leaves of the Palestinian Fava Bean and the Palestinian Heirloom Tomatoes I am growing out for the Palestinian Heirloom Seed Library (PHSL). Started by Vivien Sansour over 15 years ago, the Palestinian Heirloom Seed Library seeks to preserve and promote Palestinian heritage and threatened seed varieties, and the cultural stories and identities associated with them.

 

I am honored to be growing for them again this season and returning Palestinian Fava Beans, Tomatoes, Cauliflower, and Fenugreek seed for the PHSL this season on the farm. This is one thing I can do to support the future of the Palestinian people and the struggle for liberation around the world.

Summer Workshop Announcement

I have decided not to offer on-farm workshops this Summer. Though I enjoyed the experience oh so much, met wonderful people, and had beautiful, creative connections here on the farm, I need to take a pause. This break will allow me to fully focus my time and energy growing seed.  I am sad to disappoint folks and I will miss the gatherings myself, but I need to make space for new endeavors.

 

New seedy collaborations will take up more of my time as I enter into some exciting partnerships this season. Along with growing seed for the Palestinian Heirloom Seed Library, I will be growing genetically diverse mixes of Fava Beans, Spinach, and northern Watermelons for the organization Going to Seed. I also will be growing a large trial of buckwheat varieties used in baking in collaboration with Thomas Vroom at Fernhorn Bakery and the WSU Breadlab in Skagit Valley. I am excited by the challenge to increasing my seed harvests, expand my relationships and community, and grow my seed network this season.

But all is not lost! You can still come to the farm this Summer, just in a different way.  Starting in late April or early May, I plan to host weekly volunteer hours throughout the Summer and Fall.  This will give us a chance to gather, work, and learn in community. We can talk nerdy plant breeding and share what's on our hearts. We can weed, eat watermelon and read poems together. Please email me if you are interested in learning more about volunteer opportunities. I will send out more information as I finalize the details. Email me if you are interested.

Take Care out there,

Jen

Palestinian Fava Bean