Garden The Knowledge

By Topher Delaney

Topher Delaney in conversation with gardeners, farmers, activists, writers, and scientists.

"If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden." ~Frances Hodgson Burnett.

"People often ask me what one thing I would recommend to restore the relationship between land and people. My answer is almost always “Plant a garden.” It’s good for the health of the earth and it’s good for the health of people." ~Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer pg 126.

Listen on Spotify Send voice message

Available on

Report content on Spotify

In Conversation with Robin Parer

Garden The KnowledgeApr 10, 2024

00:00

01:12:59

In Conversation with Robin Parer

Topher Delaney in conversation with Robin Parer, owner of Geraniaceae and grower of Erodiums, Geraniums, and Pelargoniums.

Ways to get in contact with Robin Parer: geraniac@pacbell.net

https://www.geraniaceae.com/

Photo by Saxon Holt.

Apr 10, 202401:12:59

In Conversation with Matt Kondolf

Topher Delaney in conversation with Matt Kondolf, Professor of Landscape Architecture & Environmental Planning at the University of California Berkeley.

Feb 15, 202401:28:58

In Conversation with Martin Bournhonesque

Garden The Knowledge. Topher Delaney in conversation with Martin Bournhonesque.

May 12, 202301:20:47

In Conversation with David Duskin

Topher Delaney in conversation with David Duskin, Public Artists, and co-founder of Petaluma River Park

http://www.davidduskin.com/

https://www.petalumariverpark.org/

Publicly accessible collaborative works:

Teaching Stones, Almaden Library and Community Center, San Jose, CA

Norman Lear Monument, Emerson College, Boston, MA

Castro Valley Creek Daylighting Project, Castro Valley Library, Castro Valley, CA

Thousand Ways, Luther Burbank Center for the Arts, Santa Rosa, CA

Books that have inspired David:

The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell

Tao Te Ching, Lao-tzu, translation by Stephen Mitchell

Women Who Run with the Wolves, Clarissa Pinkola Estes

Finnegans Wake, James Joyce

Body Watching, Desmond Morris

Moby Dick, Herman Melville

Paintings that have inspired David:

Annunciation, Cortona, Fra Angelico

Annunciation, San Marco, Fra Angelico

Mar 27, 202301:29:41

In Conversation with Chris Otow Kuratomi and Tosh Kuratomi, owner-operators of Otow Orchard

Otow Orchard
6232 Eureka Rd
Granite Bay, CA 95746
916-791-1656
www.otoworchard.com

In 1911, Kitchitaro Kawanoand his wife, Momi, purchased 20 acres of land in the Rosedale Colony Tract of Loomis and named it Rosedale Farm.

After Kitchitaro's death in 1939, his widow and youngest daughter, Helen, ran the farm. During World War II, Helen and her husband, Seiichi Otow, were interned at Tule Lake Relocation Center.

After the war, they returned to the farm to find that it was not in a condition to provide them an income. Seiichi opened a radio repair shop in Sacramento while reviving the orchard.

The Otow family, including Seiichi, Helen, June, Christine and Wesley cared for and harvested the orchard and packed all the fruit on the farm until the 1970s.

Today, Chris Otow Kuratomi and her husband, Tosh Kuratomi, respond to their customers' preferences with a much more diverse variety of fruits and vegetables. They continue to specialize in the ancient art of dried persimmons known as hoshigaki.

Surrounded by development, they strive to honor their family's commitment to the farm. The orchard takes on different personalities through the seasons and continues to provide local residents with high-quality fresh food.

They grow the following fruits + Vegetables:

Apples:
Gala
Gravenstein
Fuji
Honeycrisp
Pink Lady
Reinette Simirenko
Red Delicious
Yellow Delicious
Gala

Apricots
Blenheim
Fantasme
Orange Red
Patterson
Robada
Royal
Royal Rosa

Asian Pears
Hosui
Kosui
Nijisseiki
Okusankichi
Olympic
Shinko
Shinseiki
Ya Li
Yoi

Blackberries

Cherries
Bing
Rainier
Royal Lee
Royal Lynn

Citrus
Blood Orange
Clementine Mandarin
Eureka Lemon
Satsuma Mandarin
Naval Orange
Satsuma Mandarin
Valencia Orange
Yellow Grapefruit

Figs
Black Mission
Brown Turkey
Panache

Garden Vegetables
Basil
Bitter Mellon
Chard
Chile
Cilantro
Japanese Cucumbers
Japanese Eggplants
Kale
Lavender
Mint
Okra
Peppers
Rosemary
Tomatillo
Tomatoes

Grapes
Kyoho
Red Perlette
Thompson Seedless

Jujube
GA866
Li
Sugar Cane

Kiwi

Mulberries

Nectarines
Ambre
Fantasia
Flavortop
Heavenly White
Jade

Nuts
Almonds
Chestnuts
Pecan
Walnut

Olives
Manzanilla
Mission
Sevillano

Clingstone Peaches
Bowen
Phelps

White Peaches
Babcock
Indian Free
Nectar
Saturn (donut)
Silver Logan
Spring Rose
Sugar Lady

Yellow Freestone Peaches
49er
Delight
Fairtime
Fay Elberta
Flavorcrest
Frost
Gene Elberta
June pride
Junecrest
Late Alamar
Loring
Maycrest
Muir
O'henry
PF 11
PF lucky 13
Q-1-8
Red haven
Regina
Springcrest
Summerset
Suncrest

Pears
Bartlett
Comice
D'anjou

Persimmon
Chocolate
Hachiya
Fuyu
Giombo
Giro
Hachiya
Hyakume
Imoto
Izu
Maru
Nagamaru
Niishimura Wase
Vodka

Plum
Black Amber
Casselman
El Dorado
Empress
Frontier
Kelsey
La Roda
Mariposa
Red Beaut
Red Roy
Santa Rosa
Satsuma
Ume

Pomegranates
Ambrosia
Eversweet
Wonderful

Quince

Squash
Black Futsu
Butternut Squash
Delicata
Kabocha
Red Kuri
Yellow Zucchini

Feb 15, 202301:24:44

In Conversation with Yenyen Chan

Topher Delaney and Park Ranger Yenyen Chan discuss the significance of the Chinese in the early history of Yosemite and our National Park Service.

Resources discussed in the podcast:

George Wright Forum Article: Interpreting the Contributions of Chinese Immigrants in Yosemite National Park’s History by Yenyen F. Chan - http://www.georgewright.org/343chan.pdf
2011 Yosemite Video: A Glimpse Into Yosemite's Chinese History - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kdyrfXGz90
2022 Yosemite Video: Uncovering Yosemite's Chinese History - https://www.nps.gov/media/video/view.htm%3Fid%3DAF63C5CB-AB05-426C-9250-21B726BA4272
Exhibit @ Chinese Laundry next to Wawona hotel - https://yosemite.org/yosemites-chinese-history/
The Today Show interview with Yenyen Chan about Yosemite's Chinese History - https://www.today.com/video/the-pivotal-role-chinese-immigrants-played-in-creating-yosemite-139607109518
Yosemite's Chinese history exhibit - https://www.nps.gov/yose/learn/historyculture/chinesehistory.htm

Chinese Built Roads @ Yosemite:

Wawona Road - 23 miles long - Built in 4 months (December 1874- April 1875)
Tioga Road (Formerly Great Sierra Wagon Road) - 56 miles long - Built in 4 months (1882 - 1883)
Big Oak Flat Road
Coulterville Road
The original Washburn trail to the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias in Yosemite

Pilgrimage to Sing Mountain:

For more information on the Yosemite Sing Peak Pilgrimage, visit the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California website: www.chssc.org
The CHSSC website has a specific bookmark for this Yosemite Pilgrimage that is also available directly at this link: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/9b463916aa294dcda3cea9d3b4e12926

To request a Ranger Program with Yenyen Chan, contact Public Information Officer - https://www.nps.gov/yose/contacts.htm

If you have any stories, letters, or other artifacts from family members who may have worked in Yosemite or the surrounding areas during the 1840's onwards, please email: yosemitesingpeak@gmail.com

Photo Credit: Christine White Loberg

Jan 12, 202301:11:56

In conversation with Joanna Letz

Topher Delaney in conversation with Joanna Letz, founder and owner-of Bluma Flower Farm, a rooftop farm in Berkeley, CA.

Resources discussed in the podcast:

Santa Cruz Farm Program - https://agroecology.ucsc.edu/
Resource for landscape fabric. Nolt's Produce Supplies - https://noltsproducesupplies.net/
Resource for Collinear Hoes - https://www.johnnyseeds.com/tools-supplies/weed-control/hoes-cultivators/collinear/
Resource for Cold Storage Systems: Cool Bot - https://www.storeitcold.com
Organic Certification: CCOF - https://www.ccof.org/
Ecological Farming Conference: EcoFarm Ecological Farming Association - https://eco-farm.org/conference
Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers - https://www.ascfg.org/

Dec 20, 202201:06:44

In Conversation with Jean Wheeler

Topher Delaney in conversation with Jean Wheeler, owner of Main Street Trees in Napa, CA.

Main Street Trees: www.mainstreettrees.com

Jean Wheeler's Favorite Trees:

Figs
Col de Dame noir
Grosse Monstreuse
Eve's Black Cherry
Excel
White Genoa
Kadota

Pomegranates
Wonderful
Ariana
Desertnyi
Early Wonderful
Vkusnyi

Apples
Ashmead's Kernel
Golden Delicious
Goldrush

Citrus
Bearss Lime
Meyer Lemon
Owari Satsuma Mandarin

"Be fruitful and mulch apply" ~Jean Wheeler

Oct 20, 202201:13:08

In Conversation with Darrel Schramm

Topher Delaney in conversation with Darrel Schramm, rosarian and author of Rainbow (https://www.amazon.com/Rainbow-California-Darrell-g-h-Schramm/dp/1547175745)

Rose Resources: