Gardening events for 2012 start out with a bang when Slow Food Piedmont and
Old Salem Museums and Gardens combine for a community seed swap on Jan. 14.
"This is designed as a community event, and everyone is invited," said
Margaret Norfleet Neff, the chapter leader of Slow Food Piedmont. The group is
dedicated to sustainable food production and the preservation and dissemination
of heirloom foods and the craft of producing them. The swap also includes a
potluck lunch.
"We want to include everyone, even if they don't have seeds to share. Bring
some cookies; bring whatever. This is a great opportunity to share," Norfleet
Neff said.
Norfleet Neff and her daughter Salem also grow and craft food products, such
as jams, preserves and relishes, from their home-garden business, Beta
Verde.
Slow Food has held its annual seed swap in various venues for the past five
years, from farms to family homes. Uniting with the Old Salem Gardens' mission
of preserving heirloom varieties should expand the offerings exponentially.
Additionally, So True Seeds, an Asheville seed house dedicated to regionally
grown and tested varieties, is sending offerings from its catalog. Seeds from
Seed Savers Exchange, an international organization, also will be available.
Old Salem is one of three retail locations in North Carolina that sell Seed
Savers' products. They are available throughout the year at the T. Bagge
Merchant.
Martha Hartley, Old Salem's horticulture outreach agent, said Old Salem and
Slow Food share a similar mission.
"One of our goals is to educate people about the importance of saving a
diversity of vegetable varieties," she said. "The staff in Old Salem's gardens
is meticulous about the seed-saving program."
"We begin saving seed in April," said Ellen McCullough, Old Salem's herb and
flower specialist, "and we are harvesting, drying and processing seed throughout
the year."
"People are asking where to get seed for these plants all the time," said
Vonnie Hannah, Old Salem's greenhouse manager, "so it made sense to combine with
Slow Food."
"Slow Food and Old Salem are two big proponents of heirlooms," Norfleet Neff
said. "It is about preserving the longevity of what works."
The seed swap will feature farmers and gardeners from throughout the region
in an informal exchange of ideas, information and seeds, with expert advice
available at every table.
Folks such as Jim Knottke, a local native plant and fruit expert; Mary Jac
Brennan, Forsyth County Cooperative Extension Service's community garden
outreach coordinator; and Jeff Tucker of Sugar Creek Farm, a local organic
farmer, will share seeds and stories.
Local growers have been invited to add greens to a massive winter salad that
will be assembled for the lunch.
"Sugar Creek is providing a big chunk of the winter salad, which is
exciting," Norfleet Neff said. "The winter salad is Beta Verde's variation on a
spicy Caesar salad with a citrus dressing and grated cheese ... a little local
garlic, too."
Slow Food recognizes food that is threatened through the Ark of Taste
program. These endangered items might be livestock varieties, such as the
Bourbon Red Turkey, or vegetables, such as the Fish Pepper.
The Fish Pepper was grown by blacks in the Baltimore and Philadelphia areas
before 1870. It was traditionally used to flavor fish and oyster stews in the
Chesapeake Bay region. Seed for the Fish Pepper should be available at the
swap.
Often the stories associated with the seeds are as interesting as the
harvest. Take, for instance, the Carolina Black, a rare heirloom black-skinned
peanut, which is another variety that will be at the swap.
This variety is believed to be what was called the African peanut, a black
peanut the black community grew as a substitute for the African ground nut that
cannot be grown in our climate.
The African ground nut, or black Bambarra, was used as an aphrodisiac and an
important component in African folk medicine. Carolina black peanuts are
slightly larger than Spanish peanuts and have a sweet taste.
The Ark of Taste includes 800 products from 50 countries, 200 in the U.S.
These are foods or traditions that are threatened by the standardization
practices of large-scale, industrial agriculture. Preservation of these
varieties will take the effort of gardeners and farmers who share the bounty
from sprout to harvest year after year.
Slow Food Piedmont also recognizes food-service organizations that support
quality, sustainability and authenticity through its Snail of Approval program.
Nominations are welcome for those who do good, clean and fair work in food
production.
The seed swap is the first of several events in Old Salem Museums and
Gardens' Seed to Table series. It will feature a lecture by Diane Ott Whealy of
the Seed Savers Exchange in March. More on that in a future column.
