{"title":"African Heritage","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eExplore African heritage seeds with deep cultural and agricultural roots that grow exceptionally well in Florida and southern growing conditions. \u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"roselle","title":"Roselle","description":"\u003cp\u003eBeautiful large hibiscus shrub with showy flowers and edible red calyxes and leaves, have a delicious sour taste and deep red color. Roselle goes by many names: Florida cranberry, sorrel, Jamaican sorrel, Agua de Jamaica, red zinger, and our kids call it the sour skittles plant!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHarvest the red calyxes anytime they are plump and red. They can be use fresh, dried or frozen make faux cranberry sauce, tea (red zinger), jelly, sauce, vinegars, candies, shrubs, fire ciders and so much more! Calyxes also make an excellent natural pigment.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA must have Florida garden plant. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Working Food Seed \u0026 Merch Shop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46300285829309,"sku":null,"price":4.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0724\/1734\/5725\/files\/Roselle_4.jpg?v=1776462493"},{"product_id":"bettersnap-cowpea-bush","title":"Bettersnap Cowpea (bush)","description":"\u003cp\u003eAn excellent cowpea for soil building, summer cover crops and eating! Very productive and tasty!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLike snap peas or snap beans, the young pods can be eaten! Very long pods with 1-3 pods\/cluster, are held up high above the plant making them easy to pick. Filled with small white seeds. Resistant to root knot nematodes and many other Southern afflictions like bean mosaic virus.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis variety was released in 1995 by Richard L. Fery and Philip D. Dukes of the U.S. Vegetable Laboratory, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Working Food Seed \u0026 Merch Shop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46304241746109,"sku":null,"price":4.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}]},{"product_id":"cockscomb-celosia","title":"Cockscomb Celosia","description":"\u003cp\u003eA stunning and long-lasting garden flower in the amaranth family. Wonderful in bouquets and irresistible to pollinators. The leaves are also edible and nutritious, prepared like any cooked green. Plants reach about 5\" tall or more depending on soil fertility. Very drought tolerant and generally carefree, but like most things, thrives in good garden conditions. We originally acquired this seed from Michael Adler's Edible Plant Project many years ago, and have been growing and saving it for over 7 years. Many years we don't intentionally grow it, as it comes up readily on its own! It's always a welcome friend bearing loads of long lasting gorgeous blooms that are great for long lasting bouquets and for pollinators, thrives in our warm summer months and provides nutritious greens! This plant always gets plenty of attention when visitors tour the gardens. Grow a bunch one year and you may never have to get seed again from us!\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Working Food Seed \u0026 Merch Shop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46304243024061,"sku":null,"price":4.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0724\/1734\/5725\/files\/Cockscomb_Celosia_wasp.jpg?v=1776457985"},{"product_id":"conch-cowpea-bush","title":"Conch Cowpea (bush)","description":"\u003cp data-pm-slice=\"1 1 []\"\u003eVery rare! Make us happy and save some seeds from your crop and keep this amazing heirloom going!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe beloved heirloom most prized in Florida, of the bush form so the plants are more compact and upright, not requiring trellising. The peas are small round and white, encased in a short pod. Plants were very abundant, and like all cowpeas- so easy to grow during our warmer months as a cover crop and food crop.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBorrowed from The Utopian Seed Project's page:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEvery part of the South has its favorite field peas. Virginia has its whippoorwill, Louisiana its Rouge et Noir, Mississippi its Silver Hull, Georgia its Brown Crowder, Tennessee its Pink Eye Purple Hull, Texas its Cream Pea, South Carolina its Sea Island Red and Rice Peas. A message from Italy has informed us that Slow Food has boarded Florida’s signature pea, the Conch Pea, on the global Ark of Taste, the register of the most historically resonant, flavorful and endangered foods in the world.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLovers of traditional Floridian food know the conch pea well. It appears at a very few road side produce stands in July and August, sometimes into September. Fresh shelled they are sold in plastic freezer bags to devotees who sometimes travel thirty miles to a source.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRead more about this great pea at \u003ca rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/theutopianseedproject.org\/conch-pea-added-to-slow-foods-global-ark-of-taste\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eThe Utopian Seed Project!\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Working Food Seed \u0026 Merch Shop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46304243089597,"sku":null,"price":4.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0724\/1734\/5725\/files\/conch1.jpg?v=1777210219"},{"product_id":"conch-cowpea-pole","title":"Conch Cowpea (pole)","description":"\u003cp\u003eBorrowed from The Utopian Seed Project's page:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEvery part of the South has its favorite field peas. Virginia has its whippoorwill, Louisiana its Rouge et Noir, Mississippi its Silver Hull, Georgia its Brown Crowder, Tennessee its Pink Eye Purple Hull, Texas its Cream Pea, South Carolina its Sea Island Red and Rice Peas. A message from Italy has informed us that Slow Food has boarded Florida‚Äôs signature pea, the Conch Pea, on the global Ark of Taste, the register of the most historically resonant, flavorful and endangered foods in the world.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLovers of traditional Floridian food know the conch pea well. It appears at a very few road side produce stands in July and August, sometimes into September. Fresh shelled they are sold in plastic freezer bags to devotees who sometimes travel thirty miles to a source.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe got a little sample (see the photo of the vial, that much!) a few years ago from Dr. David Sheilds and grew it out in order to have enough to share. Don't be a fool and eat all the pods and not save seeds. This special variety needs your stewardship. Grow, eat, save seeds, share seeds!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRead more about this great pea at \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/theutopianseedproject.org\/conch-pea-added-to-slow-foods-global-ark-of-taste\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eThe Utopian Seed Project! \u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA Slow Food Ark of Taste variety! Read more here: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ehttps:\/\/www.fondazioneslowfood.com\/en\/ark-of-taste-slow-food\/conch-pea\/\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Working Food Seed \u0026 Merch Shop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46304243286205,"sku":null,"price":4.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}]},{"product_id":"mississippi-purple-hull-cowpea-bush","title":"Mississippi Purple Hull Cowpea (bush)","description":"\u003cp\u003eA classic southern heirloom developed by the Mississippi Ag Experimental Station in 1973. This crowder type bush variety will send out runners but typically maintains a nice bush form which doesn't require trellising. Very productive and bears lovely reddish-purple colored pods that are on top of the plant, which is great for easy picking!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe pods are at first a bright green, and then turn color as they mature. Easy to shell green or dried. Great variety for fresh eating and preserving for later frozen fresh, or dried seeds (which should also be frozen due to the prevalence of bean weevils!)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCowpeas are great for our climate as they grow in the hottest months, build soil, add nitrogen to the soil when used as a cover, and they have great tasting edible and very nutritious protein rich beans!\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Working Food Seed \u0026 Merch Shop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46304249151677,"sku":null,"price":4.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0724\/1734\/5725\/files\/misspurp3.jpg?v=1776973768"},{"product_id":"motherland-okra","title":"Motherland Okra","description":"\u003cp\u003eA unique okra variety that is an entirely different species than our usual garden varieties of okra. The plant can get enormous depending on climate and soil fertility. Huge leaves and huge flowers grow on trunks that can reach 15' tall in the right conditions. We have had them be about half that size in our Florida sandy soils and lower fertility soils, but it is really variable. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis heirloom is from West Africa where its giant edible leaves are the main crop, not the pods. It's been introduced to the USA by Jon Jackson, a retired U.S. Army Airborne Ranger and founder of Comfort Farms, a non-profit agriculture program focused on helping veterans to heal and learn sustainable farming practices. Jon's mother hails from Liberia, West Africa, so on a quest to learn about his ancestral farming roots, he came across this remarkable variety of okra that is considered a productive and reliable staple in his mother's homeland, as well as in other parts of West Africa.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMelissa had the honor of visiting Jon and walking the okra forest, a truly magical experience. Jon's plants had created an impressive canopy towering over our heads, but this will vary in different climate and soils. We've had them get to about 6-10' tall in north Florida in our sandier soils. Like all okra, Motherland likes warm weather, and thrives in the hot and humid climate of the south. The pods are an unusual round shape and not entirely spineless. The leaves are really the main crop, traditionally made into a soup in their native range.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Working Food Seed \u0026 Merch Shop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46304249708733,"sku":null,"price":4.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0724\/1734\/5725\/files\/Motherland_Okra_1.png?v=1777564508"},{"product_id":"piggot-cowpea-pole","title":"Piggot Cowpea (pole)","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis Louisiana variety dates back to the 1850's when the Piggott Family grew these peas in Washington Parish, touted as the best tasting field pea around. Early and productive, great fresh or dried. Pods are 6-7 \"with medium-size brown speckled seeds. Long vines up to 8 ft. are vigorous and drought-resistant. Will climb on a trellis if provided, or scramble along the ground.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOf course cowpeas didn't come from Louisiana, but they found their way here through the slave trade from West Africa, where they are native. Cowpeas (aka field peas and sometimes also just called Black-eyed, even though they are not all Black-eyed) are now widely grown throughout the world. They make an excellent source of protein and other nutrients, and are an under-appreciated crop by many gardeners who only grow it as a cover crop or for animals. They are particularly great here in our Southeastern climate because they are adapted to heat, humidity and are drought tolerant too. Grow cowpeas!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePhoto borrowed from Sow True Seeds...we can't find ours!\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Working Food Seed \u0026 Merch Shop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46304250298557,"sku":null,"price":4.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}]},{"product_id":"promiscuous-mixed-cowpea-bush-short-runners","title":"Promiscuous Mixed Cowpea (bush, short runners)","description":"\u003cp\u003eWe were given seeds from our friends in North Carolina with \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/theutopianseedproject.org\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eThe Utopian Seed Project\u003c\/a\u003e. Here is the story from Chris:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"This is the beginnings of an African Pea Ultracross, created as part of a search for promiscuous peas! In most things related to seeds, I always first turn to Yanna Fishman, board member of The Utopian Seed Project and an incredible seed keeper. I told Yanna I was looking for African peas [A.K.A. southern peas, black-eyed peas, or cowpeas ‚[though they are not just food for cows!] and when I arrived for a visit she had pulled out jars and jars of different African pea varieties. They were diverse and beautiful, but there was one jar pushed to the corner labelled only 'Sports'. Yanna explained that she plants all of her peas pretty close to each other and hand shells everything. When she gets peas that don't look like their parents, she puts them off to one side and they all end up in the 'Sports' jar. It's quite likely the sports were actually crosses and this jar represented just the promiscuous peas I was looking for! In 2023 we planted two 50ft rows of Yanna's peas alonside one row of Joseph Lofthouse's landrace African peas. We also had plantings of 'Texas Green Emerald' (the green pea in the mix) and 'Rouge de Burkina Faso' (the red pea) planted in adjacent rows. This mix is a combination of all the seeds with high hopes of ongoing intercrossing.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThese were grown one season in our Florida gardens in the summer of 2024 and they took only a month and a half from seeding to seed harvest. The colorful mix is pleasing to look at, and makes a colorful cooking pot! They were mostly bushy type plants that made a great ground cover, with the occasional short runner reaching out across the beds. \u003cstrong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Working Food Seed \u0026 Merch Shop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46304250495165,"sku":null,"price":4.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0724\/1734\/5725\/files\/promcowpea3.jpg?v=1776973615"},{"product_id":"sea-island-red-pea","title":"Sea Island Red Pea","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe Sea Island Red Pea is a treasured heirloom cowpea from the Gullah Geechee communities of the coastal Southeastern US, traditionally grown in the Sea Islands and Lowcountry. Deeply rooted in Gullah cuisine, these peas are key ingredients in dishes like Hoppin' John and Reezy Peezy, often paired with Carolina Gold Rice.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA nitrogen-fixing plant, it's also a valuable companion crop between crop rotations, and when you need to rest your hot summer garden with a cover crop. \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eThey grow exceptionally easy as most cowpeas do in our subtropical climate. This flavorful, prolific southern pea \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003ehas some short runners and enjoys climbing a trellis, but they also work well as a bushy ground cover with no trellising. The pods are short to medium sized and typically held above the foliage for easy picking. Pods are slender and filled with small red peas. They are also very tasty as a fresh young green pod, if you're looking for a green bean in the middle of summer.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOur offering is a special mix of two strains shared with us by Social Roots and Comfort Farms, both in Georgia and then saved together here in our gardens in North Florida.  From seed to seed the time was very short- about a month and a half! \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=qDajqEQ78vY\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eHere is a great short documentary \u003c\/a\u003eabout the pea and it's Geechee heritage.\u003cstrong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Working Food Seed \u0026 Merch Shop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46304250953917,"sku":null,"price":4.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0724\/1734\/5725\/files\/Sea_Island_Red_Cowpea.png?v=1787080777"},{"product_id":"tyler-cowpea-pole","title":"Tyler Cowpea (pole)","description":"\u003cp\u003eA new-ish cowpea variety released in 2010 by the Agricultural Research Service branch of USDA. This variety has a very vigorous and indeterminate growth habit and like most cowpeas, is recommended for use as a cover crop. The new strains are from improved selections of older landrace varieties for rapid growth, high biomass production, long vegetative growth period, and southern root knot nematode resistance.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe grew these up the stalks of Dudley Family Heirloom Corn in the summer of 2019 at The Family Organic Garden and they were indeed vigorous and productive. It was almost a mistake on our timing as the peas wanted to take over the corn rather than co-exist! But we harvested the corn just in time to let the peas take over.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis \"Tyler\" selection has long pods filled with beautiful tan-colored brown seed, similar to Iron \u0026amp; Clay. Young green and tender pods can be eaten similar to a green bean, or let them grow longer for edible seed, saving some to grow next year. \u003cstrong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Working Food Seed \u0026 Merch Shop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46304251740349,"sku":null,"price":4.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0724\/1734\/5725\/files\/Tyler_Cowpea.jpg?v=1776457857"},{"product_id":"whipporwill-cowpea-bush","title":"Whipporwill Cowpea (bush)","description":"\u003cp\u003eWhippoorwill peas were once the standard for southern peas, but are now a rare variety. It grows as a bush, only a few feet high, but will send out runners about 5 feet long given enough nutrients and moisture. Like all cowpeas, it is highly tolerant of heat, drought, and poor soil.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt is quite productive, with vines producing many 7-9\" green pods filled with small light brown and speckled seeds, over an extended period of time. Very young green pods can be enjoyed like a green bean. Or the dried pods can be saved to eat the dry bean inside.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis unique pea is boarded to the \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.fondazioneslowfood.com\/en\/ark-of-taste-slow-food\/whippoorwill-cowpea\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eSlow Food Ark of Taste\u003c\/a\u003e. Be sure to save your own seeds of this treasure, and share them widely!\u003cstrong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Working Food Seed \u0026 Merch Shop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46304252166333,"sku":null,"price":4.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0724\/1734\/5725\/files\/whipporwill3.jpg?v=1777556541"},{"product_id":"yellow-cabbage-collards","title":"Yellow Cabbage Collards","description":"\u003cp\u003eOne of our favorite varieties of collard for the extremely large, tender and sweet leaves. They have a mild yellowish tint to the leaves, and will sometimes form a very loose head. This is a fairly rare heirloom kept for many years in North Carolina. We got our seeds from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange who got them from Benny and Vicky Cox, owners of Collard Shack in Ayden, NC. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e*photo borrowed from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange*\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Working Food Seed \u0026 Merch Shop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46304252395709,"sku":null,"price":4.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0724\/1734\/5725\/files\/yellowcabbagecollards1.jpg?v=1777421295"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0724\/1734\/5725\/collections\/Tyler_Cowpea_2.jpg?v=1787067781","url":"https:\/\/workingfoodseeds.org\/collections\/african-heritage.oembed","provider":"Working Food ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}