Siberian Peashrub with Melissa Hoffman

Propaganda By The Seed

In this episode we talk with Melissa Hoffman of Sho Farm and Living Future about Siberian Peashrub (Caragana arborescens). Siberian Peashrub is a large, multi-stemmed shrub from northern Asia. They are somewhat familiar in landscaping and as a nitrogen fixer, but the seeds remain underutilized by most people growing them around here. Melissa shares her experiences growing, harvesting and above all cooking with this plant. We also chat about several fermentation techniques including water kefir. Be sure to check out Melissa’s blog post on this topic for some beautiful photos and additional info. Some other resources that are mentioned are the book The Ecological Farm by Helen Atthowe and the website Full of Plants

Update: after publishing this episode I got a email from Jack Kertesz with some extra info to share. Rather than tarps, he now uses a wide piece of row cover material, slit to the middle and gathered around the trunk. This helps avoid excess moisture from collecting on the sheet. Before laying out the collecting sheet he mows the area. The sheet should be weighted down around the edges, or it may blow away. He also noted occasional chance seedlings from Pea shrubs if adjacent areas have freshly tilled, open soil, although it hasn’t presented a problem.