Stewarding Afro-Indigenous Plants into the Soil @ ENYF
Participant preparing to get a marigold in the soil (Photo by Allison for Deep Routes)
The April showers were real, as we were gifted our annual end of the month rain. But that made us just as grateful for the turn-out of eager growers to ring in the 6th year of The Soul of Food with our plant-out session Seeding a Vibrant Afro-Indigenous Garden!
We began with grounding in some historical context of the plants we’d be transplanting(seedlings/sprouts planted in the ground) and direct sowing(seeds directing planted in the ground) that afternoon with folks taking turns reading some of Deep Routes’ plant profilesfeaturing Collards and Sorghum. We also went into a bit of the technologies and expertise people of African and Indigenous diasporas have brought to the agricultural field.
After some transplanting and direct sowing demonstrations, participants got onto transplanting seedlings of collards (Green Glaze and Champion), marigolds (orange and white), and New York Early onions. We also direct sowed sorghum seed saved from previous years’ harvests (including Coral and red sugar drip) as well as a new variety from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange called Korjaj, alongside red bush beans.
For our more heat loving crops we decided to hold off on getting them into the ground. Last year around this time for the session, we planted our cotton and they suffered a little bit for about a month due to the warm temperatures not being as stable as we were anticipating. While they survived and did really well last year, we’re trying to be in better relationship with our plant siblings and practice what we preach when it comes to adjusting our planting plans as we listen to them and the climate. So we decided they’ll go into the ground mid-May instead when it’s a little more consistently warm.
In the interim, since they are getting anxious in their small tray cells, we fed them some fish emulsion for nutrition and will be potting them up just to give their roots a little breathing room as they harden off in the greenhouse. The varieties we have this year are from seeds saved from past years including Sea Island and Mississippi brown cotton yields as well as Red Foliated variety. This year we also seeded our Arkansas green cotton again after a break last year.
For the dahlias, most of those were successful following last year’s planting session. With the exception of one variety (Bride to Be) that got some root rot, possibly due to the chilly soil temperatures. So this year, similar to the cotton, they’re going into the ground closer to the middle or end of the month.
Even more so than last year, the rain assisted with watering all the plant babies in once we got them into the ground we saved us some time to enjoy some refreshments together. Folks gathered at the picnic tables under tents to enjoy some light bites of fresh bread, spreads, and fruits as they connected with old and new friends.
As always deep appreciation to Farmer Alexx for hosting us at East New York Farms’ Youth Farm site. And gratitude to the Greenthumb staff for bringing tents, checking folks in, and taking photos.
We talked a bit about Afro-Indigenous technologies of stewarding plants, including starting seedlings and transplanting as well as companion planting for crop interdependence.
Demonstrating and going over the plan and techniques for transplanting and direct sowing into the ground.
Going over the stories of the plants we’d be working with that day.
Greenthumb staff member Rain getting a lil collard into its new home.
Setting up our seedlings for transplanting.
Folks intercropping onions, two varieties of marigolds, and two varieties of collards into a bed.
A participant sowing sorghum seeds into the ground.
