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Climate Change got you down? Worried about the fact that *everything* seems to be getting worse? Wondering how we got to this point in the first place, and what can we do to build a more resilient future? We take a look at historical pastoral & agricultural societies to see what worked and what didn’t, as well as what resources we have today to make better decisions to build equitable systems. We don’t just discuss ecology and history but also take a leftist perspective on prepping, foraging, homesteading, weapons, community-building, and basically anything that needs discussing during late-stage capitalism.
Episodes
Sunday Feb 11, 2024
J. Russell Smith-- Tree Crops and Geography
Sunday Feb 11, 2024
Sunday Feb 11, 2024
J. Russell Smith might be the most well-known figure in history in regards to tree crops in North America— largely because of his book “Tree Crops: A Permanent Agriculture”, which has been a foundational text for many people in permaculture and agroecological spaces. While this book is worthwhile for any novice and experienced horticulturalist to read, his work expands much further than this one book. In fact, his successes and imprint on industries for generations were so expansive, often working on international or groundbreaking projects in different fields concurrently, instead of organizing this piece on a linear timeline, it will be much easier to understand by clustering in the fields of academic, geography & industry, youth public education, food systems, conservation, and food production.
In this episode, we dive into the second half of the life of a botanist that should be known by everyone listening to this podcast-- Liberty Hyde Bailey.
Liberty Hyde Bailey is likely a name many folks are familiar with, but the depth of knowledge of his significance remains fairly thin. A cursory search online highlights various facets of his career— his work in pomology, his defense of rural living and communities, and his importance in the re-discovery of Mendel’s work on recessive traits. While all of these are important, they simply scratch the surface of what Bailey has contributed to numerous fields of science and philosophy and miss the larger vision that motivated Bailey.
Check out the corresponding substack article for resources, citations, and more information! https://poorprolesalmanac.substack.com/p/j-russell-smith
To support this podcast, join our patreon for early episode access at https://www.patreon.com/poorprolesalmanac
For PPA Writing Content, visit: www.agroecologies.org
For PPA Restoration Content, visit: www.restorationagroecology.com
For PPA Merch, visit: www.poorproles.com
For PPA Native Plants, visit: www.nativenurseries.org
To hear Tomorrow, Today, our sister podcast, visit: www.tomorrowtodaypodcast.org/
Sunday Feb 04, 2024
Liberty Hyde Bailey-The World in the Palm of his Hand
Sunday Feb 04, 2024
Sunday Feb 04, 2024
In this episode, we dive into the second half of the life of a botanist that should be known by everyone listening to this podcast-- Liberty Hyde Bailey.
Liberty Hyde Bailey is likely a name many folks are familiar with, but the depth of knowledge of his significance remains fairly thin. A cursory search online highlights various facets of his career— his work in pomology, his defense of rural living and communities, and his importance in the re-discovery of Mendel’s work on recessive traits. While all of these are important, they simply scratch the surface of what Bailey has contributed to numerous fields of science and philosophy and miss the larger vision that motivated Bailey.
Check out the corresponding substack article for resources, citations, and more information! https://poorprolesalmanac.substack.com/p/liberty-hyde-bailey
To support this podcast, join our patreon for early episode access at https://www.patreon.com/poorprolesalmanac
For PPA Writing Content, visit: www.agroecologies.org
For PPA Restoration Content, visit: www.restorationagroecology.com
For PPA Merch, visit: www.poorproles.com
For PPA Native Plants, visit: www.nativenurseries.org
To hear Tomorrow, Today, our sister podcast, visit: www.tomorrowtodaypodcast.org/
Sunday Jan 28, 2024
Liberty Hyde Bailey- A Portrait of a Young Botanist
Sunday Jan 28, 2024
Sunday Jan 28, 2024
In this episode, we dive into the history of a botanist that should be known by everyone listening to this podcast-- Liberty Hyde Bailey.
Liberty Hyde Bailey is likely a name many folks are familiar with, but the depth of knowledge of his significance remains fairly thin. A cursory search online highlights various facets of his career— his work in pomology, his defense of rural living and communities, and his importance in the re-discovery of Mendel’s work on recessive traits. While all of these are important, they simply scratch the surface of what Bailey has contributed to numerous fields of science and philosophy and miss the larger vision that motivated Bailey.
Check out the corresponding substack article for resources, citations, and more information! https://poorprolesalmanac.substack.com/p/liberty-hyde-bailey
To support this podcast, join our patreon for early episode access at https://www.patreon.com/poorprolesalmanac
For PPA Writing Content, visit: www.agroecologies.org
For PPA Restoration Content, visit: www.restorationagroecology.com
For PPA Merch, visit: www.poorproles.com
For PPA Native Plants, visit: www.nativenurseries.org
To hear Tomorrow, Today, our sister podcast, visit: www.tomorrowtodaypodcast.org/
Sunday Jan 21, 2024
The Birth of Soil Science; Franklin Hiram King
Sunday Jan 21, 2024
Sunday Jan 21, 2024
When we talk about the major figures in agricultural development, our focus tends to be on researchers in the 20th and 21st centuries. Before that, soil science to that point had existed as it needed to; fundamentals of crop rotation manure, compost, and the basic tools known in agriculture for thousands of years stood as a framework for how farmers related to the soil beneath them. One of the earliest contributors to the development of soil science as a science beyond these basics outlined prior was Franklin Hiram King. His book, “Farmers of Forty Centuries, or Permanent Agriculture in China, Korea, and Japan”, published in 1913 was the antidote to the development of extractive farming practices which had become more common towards the late 19th and early 20th century and was a foundational text for folks like Russell Lord and many of the major players in the permanent agriculture movement of the early 20th century. King’s work flew in the face of science at the time, costing him a career he had spent a lifetime building, but which was imperative in order for him to continue to follow the thread of his research.
In this episode, we dive into the beginning of our new series exploring the origins and evolution of permanent agriculture and where the popular movements of today sprang from (permaculture, agrecology, organics, biodynamics). To understand these narratives, we go back to the beginning of American soil science and the father of the movement, Franklin Hiram King. King's life has largely been lost to history, but we take some time to unpack what we do know in order to contextualize how our understanding of ecology and soil health was born.
Check out the corresponding substack article for resources, citations, and more information! https://poorprolesalmanac.substack.com/p/franklin-hiram-king
To support this podcast, join our patreon for early episode access at https://www.patreon.com/poorprolesalmanac
For PPA Writing Content, visit: www.agroecologies.org
For PPA Restoration Content, visit: www.restorationagroecology.com
For PPA Merch, visit: www.poorproles.com
For PPA Native Plants, visit: www.nativenurseries.org
To hear Tomorrow, Today, our sister podcast, visit: www.tomorrowtodaypodcast.org/
Sunday Jan 14, 2024
New Food Histories with Hank Shaw
Sunday Jan 14, 2024
Sunday Jan 14, 2024
Renowned forager and chef Hank Shaw joins us to discuss foodways, invasives, the impacts of culture on our cuisine, and how we can change the narrative around local foods. We spend some time talking about how pollution and abundance can influence how we perceive different food choices and what we can do to build better, locally-driven food systems.
Hank Shaw is an American chef, author, and outdoorsman who runs the wild foods website Hunter Angler Gardener Cook. He is the author of five books Hunt Gather Cook, Duck Duck Goose, Buck Buck Moose, Pheasant Quail Cottontail and Hook Line and Supper, all wild game cookbooks. Hank has appeared on numerous television shows, including Andrew Zimmern’s Bizarre Foods.., Mike Rowe’s Somebody’s Gotta Do It, Steven Rinella’s Meateater, and Randy Newberg’s Fresh Tracks.
Check out Hank's work at huntgathercook.com & find him on Instagram @Huntgathercook
To support this podcast, join our patreon for early episode access at https://www.patreon.com/poorprolesalmanac
For PPA Writing Content, visit: www.agroecologies.org
For PPA Restoration Content, visit: www.restorationagroecology.com
For PPA Merch, visit: www.poorproles.com
For PPA Native Plants, visit: www.nativenurseries.org
To hear Tomorrow, Today, our sister podcast, visit: www.tomorrowtodaypodcast.org/
Sunday Jan 07, 2024
A Bigger, Better Butternut
Sunday Jan 07, 2024
Sunday Jan 07, 2024
The butternut walnut is arguably the least known nut tree across eastern North America. Often called the white walnut or the oil nut, it grows throughout the northeastern United States. Once a prized tree for furniture-making, carving, and boats, as well as the delicious nuts, it’s mostly been lost to history today. Unfortunately, its story is similar to the American Chestnut. Butternut Canker Disease (caused by the fungus Ophiognomonia clavigignenti-juglandacearum), was first discovered in the 1960’s (although it may have been in American forests earlier) and has slowly decimated butternut populations across the country, with few regions to the north still showing little signs of butternut canker.
In this episode, we review this history of the butternut, the problems with hybridizing it, and the future of the butternut in North America!
Check out the corresponding substack article for resources, citations, and more information!
https://poorprolesalmanac.substack.com/p/the-forgotten-butternut
To support this podcast, join our patreon for early episode access at https://www.patreon.com/poorprolesalmanac
For PPA Writing Content, visit: www.agroecologies.org
For PPA Restoration Content, visit: www.restorationagroecology.com
For PPA Merch, visit: www.poorproles.com
For PPA Native Plants, visit: www.nativenurseries.org
To hear Tomorrow, Today, our sister podcast, visit: www.tomorrowtodaypodcast.org/
Sunday Dec 31, 2023
Katy Morlas Shannon & The Enslaved Man behind the Pecan Industry
Sunday Dec 31, 2023
Sunday Dec 31, 2023
In this episode, we're joined by author and historian Katy Morlas Shannon to discuss her book "Antoine of Oak Alley". The story of Antoine is emblematic of countless enslaved people whose lives and contributions have been overlooked. Antoine, the enslaved gardener of Oak Alley Plantation, was one of the first people to successfully propagate the pecan tree, yet he exists only as a footnote in the bigger story of Oak Alley Plantation. His pioneering work enabled large groves of trees to be planted creating a lucrative commercial crops and though his horticultural achievement has long been legend, virtually nothing is known about his life.
In this episode, we chat about how we reconstruct these types of histories and how we engage with these complicated stories from a vastly different time.
Check out Katy's work and other books at: https://www.katymshannon.com/
Check out the corresponding substack article for resources, citations, and more information! https://poorprolesalmanac.substack.com/p/pecans
To support this podcast, join our patreon for early episode access at https://www.patreon.com/poorprolesalmanac
For PPA Writing Content, visit: www.agroecologies.org
For PPA Restoration Content, visit: www.restorationagroecology.com
For PPA Merch, visit: www.poorproles.com
For PPA Native Plants, visit: www.nativenurseries.org
To hear Tomorrow, Today, our sister podcast, visit: www.tomorrowtodaypodcast.org/
Sunday Dec 24, 2023
The Story of the Pecan: Making Native Crops Popular
Sunday Dec 24, 2023
Sunday Dec 24, 2023
Nearly every person reading this has tasted the pecan, a marked difference from every other tree crop subject we have covered so far in this series. Pecans are without a doubt the most successful native commercial nut crop in North America, but what most folks don’t know is that this status is a relatively new phenomenon. In fact, unlike the other tree crops we’ve covered so far, the pecan has debatably had the least amount of human interference of any nut crop in North America. In many ways, the pecan was for generations the definition of what a sustainable, passive native agroforestry system could look like to feed communities healthy food with minimal inputs.
In this episode, we jump into the complex history of the pecan, from its indigenous use to its first grafting by an enslaved man named Antoine to the role the government played in making it a staple across grocery shelves throughout the world.
Check out the corresponding substack article for resources, citations, and more information! https://poorprolesalmanac.substack.com/p/pecans
To support this podcast, join our patreon for early episode access at https://www.patreon.com/poorprolesalmanac
For PPA Writing Content, visit: www.agroecologies.org
For PPA Restoration Content, visit: www.restorationagroecology.com
For PPA Merch, visit: www.poorproles.com
For PPA Native Plants, visit: www.nativenurseries.org
To hear Tomorrow, Today, our sister podcast, visit: www.tomorrowtodaypodcast.org/
Sunday Dec 17, 2023
Talking Tree Nurseries with Buzz Ferver
Sunday Dec 17, 2023
Sunday Dec 17, 2023
In this episode, we're joined by Buzz Ferver from A Perfect Circle Farms to talk about tree crops, grafting, tree nurseries, acorns, hecans, and much more. What does it look like to build a tree nursery, what should you be considering in that process, and why is it so important to find a niche around which types of trees you're looking to work with?
Buzz has worked for 30 years as a consultant to farming operations on every scale, designing and developing on-farm composting as appropriate technology. Buzz has been managing a nursery for tree crops for a decade, and has developed a unique collection of improved native crops as well as some non-native species.
In our interview, he mentions a hard-to-find book around tree selections, check out the link below for a free copy:
https://www.songonline.ca/songnews/nutgrowing.html
Check out Buzz's nursery at perfectcircle.farm
To support this podcast, join our patreon for early episode access at https://www.patreon.com/poorprolesalmanac
For PPA Writing Content, visit: www.agroecologies.org
For PPA Restoration Content, visit: www.restorationagroecology.com
For PPA Merch, visit: www.poorproles.com
For PPA Native Plants, visit: www.nativenurseries.org
To hear Tomorrow, Today, our sister podcast, visit: www.tomorrowtodaypodcast.org/
Sunday Dec 10, 2023
The Hickory
Sunday Dec 10, 2023
Sunday Dec 10, 2023
If the oak tree is the tree that fed the world, Hickories are the tree that helped humans thrive in North America. Across eastern North America until only 300 or so years ago, hickories were the staple crop consumed most commonly. Like the oaks, their mast years drove the successes of communities, and even until recently, there were records of thin-shelled hickories that were likely planted and protected by indigenous people. To eat a hickory nut is to taste thousands of years of history on the continent.
For the uninitiated, hickory nuts are a treat; they can mostly similarly be compared to pecans, which is unsurprising given that they are so closely related they can interbreed (and hicans are an area of breeding worth exploring for several reasons). Hickories, specifically from shagbark hickories, have a subtle, maple flavor which underscores the pecan-esque flavor. The hard part is getting to the nut itself. While we call hickories and pecans nuts, they are referred to as drupes or drupaceous nuts rather than true botanical nuts because they grow within an outer husk. The scientific term, tryma, is how these unique types of fruits are classified. This can seem confusing at first, but if we consider the husk as an inedible fruit and the nuts the pit, they’re much easier to understand and categorize.
In this episode, we dive into the history of hickories, their misunderstood use on the landscape, why folks should care a whole lot more about them, and what the future of the hickory is on the American landscape!
Check out the corresponding substack article for resources, citations, and more information! https://poorprolesalmanac.substack.com/p/hickories?utm_source=profile&utm_medium=reader2
To support this podcast, join our patreon for early episode access at https://www.patreon.com/poorprolesalmanac
For PPA Writing Content, visit: www.agroecologies.org
For PPA Restoration Content, visit: www.restorationagroecology.com
For PPA Merch, visit: www.poorproles.com
For PPA Native Plants, visit: www.nativenurseries.org
To hear Tomorrow, Today, our sister podcast, visit: www.tomorrowtodaypodcast.org/