POPULARITY
In this episode of the Book Fair Podcast, host Anthony interviews Tanisha "Tee" Moore about her new children's book, 'Wash Day Love.' The conversation explores the cultural significance of wash day in the Black community, the importance of multi-generational connections in preserving cultural heritage, and the role of representation in literature. Tanisha shares her personal experiences with hair care and how they influenced her writing, emphasizing the need for acceptance and understanding of diverse identities. The episode includes new releases, including diverse stories and news relating to libraries.New Releases:Every Peach Is a Story by David Mas Masumoto and Nikiko Masumoto, illus. by Lauren TamakiA Bird in the Air Means We Can Still Breathe by Mahogany L. BrowneGlitch Girl! by Rainie OetA Study in Secrets (Last Chance Academy #1) by Debbi Michiko FlorenceHeadlines:Education Department prepares to lay off roughly half its workforceMissouri Secretary of State withdraws state funding of digital library catalogMoms For Liberty Is Shutting Down BookLooks–But WhyChapters00:00 Introduction to Wash Day Love02:50 The Significance of Wash Day in Black Culture06:12 Multi-Generational Connections and Cultural Heritage09:06 The Importance of Representation in Literature11:55 Navigating Identity and Acceptance15:12 The Role of the Author and Responsibility in Storytelling18:19 Recent Releases25:17 Headlines
In this episode of the Book Fair Podcast, host Anthony interviews Tanisha "Tee" Moore about her new children's book, 'Wash Day Love.' The conversation explores the cultural significance of wash day in the Black community, the importance of multi-generational connections in preserving cultural heritage, and the role of representation in literature. Tanisha shares her personal experiences with hair care and how they influenced her writing, emphasizing the need for acceptance and understanding of diverse identities. The episode includes new releases, including diverse stories and news relating to libraries.New Releases:Every Peach Is a Story by David Mas Masumoto and Nikiko Masumoto, illus. by Lauren TamakiA Bird in the Air Means We Can Still Breathe by Mahogany L. BrowneGlitch Girl! by Rainie OetA Study in Secrets (Last Chance Academy #1) by Debbi Michiko FlorenceHeadlines:Education Department prepares to lay off roughly half its workforceMissouri Secretary of State withdraws state funding of digital library catalogMoms For Liberty Is Shutting Down BookLooks–But WhyChapters00:00 Introduction to Wash Day Love02:50 The Significance of Wash Day in Black Culture06:12 Multi-Generational Connections and Cultural Heritage09:06 The Importance of Representation in Literature11:55 Navigating Identity and Acceptance15:12 The Role of the Author and Responsibility in Storytelling18:19 Recent Releases25:17 Headlines
Alice Waters thinks David Mas Masumoto's peaches could change the world. Today, Masumoto shares his search for the perfect peach and the shocking family secret that changed the history of his farm. Plus, we chat with Nichole Accettola about Scandinavian baking, from cinnamon knots to rye bread, and we learn the language of strawberries. (Originally aired February 1, 2024.)Listen to Milk Street Radio on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify
David Mas Masumoto's new book tells the story of his aunt, who was taken as a "ward of the state" in 1942. Seventy years later, Masumoto finds out his aunt is alive.
David Mas Masumoto's new book tells the story of his aunt, who was taken as a "ward of the state" in 1942. Seventy years later, Masumoto finds out his aunt is alive.
David Mas Masumoto's new book tells the story of his aunt, who was taken as a "ward of the state" in 1942. Seventy years later, Masumoto finds out his aunt is alive.
David “Mas” Masumoto says he farms with ghosts. This episode of REAP/SOW is a FERN/KQED California Report partnership, telling the story of a Japanese-American farming family that's survived generations of discrimination. Masumoto's small organic farm just south of Fresno, California is on land that's been in his family for decades. In 2012, he uncovered a secret about his family that showed him how truly resilient and strong they were. Reported by longtime FERN contributor Lisa Morehouse as part of her California Foodways project, this episode was originally produced in 2023.
Today's book is: Secret Harvests: A Hidden Story of Separation and the Resilience of a Family Farm (Red Hen Press, 2023), by David Mas Masumoto. In his new memoir, Mas discovers his “lost” aunt. She had been taken away in 1942 when all Japanese Americans were considered the enemy and imprisoned. Due to a disability, she became a “ward” of the state; and his family believed she had died. Then came a surprising phone call—she was alive and living a few miles from their family farm. As Mas discovers, every family has secrets, silences, and lives among their unanswered questions. As Mas learns about his aunt, he asks, How did she survive? Why was she kept hidden? The book interrogates how both shame and resilience empowered his family to forge forward in a land that did not want them. Mas shares how he is driven to explore his identity and the meaning of family—especially as farmers tied to the land. In doing so, he uncovers family secrets that bind his family to a sense of history buried in the earth they work and a sense of place that defines them. Secret Harvests is a story of a family separated by racism against Japanese Americans and the discrimination of people with developmental disabilities—reunited seventy years later, returning to their roots on a farm, and bound by family secrets. Our guest is: David Mas Masumoto is an organic farmer, author, and activist. His book Epitaph for a Peach won the Julia Child Cookbook award and was a finalist for a James Beard award. His writing has been awarded a Commonwealth Club of California silver medal and the Independent Publisher Books bronze medal. He has been honored by Rodale Institute as an "Organic Pioneer." He has served on the boards of the James Irvine Foundation, Public Policy Institute of California, Cal Humanities, and the National Council on the Arts with nomination by President Obama. He farms with his wife Marcy and two adult children, Nikiko and Koro. They reside in a hundred-year-old farmhouse surrounded by their eighty-acre organic peach, nectarine, apricot, and raisin farm outside of Fresno, California. Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, who is the creator of the Academic Life podcast. She holds a PhD in history, which she uses to explore what stories we tell and what happens to those we never tell. Listeners may also be interested in: The Ungrateful Refugee Who Gets Believed? Welcome to Academic Life, the podcast for your academic journey—and beyond! Join us to learn from experts inside and outside the academy, and around the world. Missed any of the 200+ Academic Life episodes? You'll find them all archived here. You can support the show by downloading episodes and by telling a friend about them, because knowledge should be shared. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
Today's book is: Secret Harvests: A Hidden Story of Separation and the Resilience of a Family Farm (Red Hen Press, 2023), by David Mas Masumoto. In his new memoir, Mas discovers his “lost” aunt. She had been taken away in 1942 when all Japanese Americans were considered the enemy and imprisoned. Due to a disability, she became a “ward” of the state; and his family believed she had died. Then came a surprising phone call—she was alive and living a few miles from their family farm. As Mas discovers, every family has secrets, silences, and lives among their unanswered questions. As Mas learns about his aunt, he asks, How did she survive? Why was she kept hidden? The book interrogates how both shame and resilience empowered his family to forge forward in a land that did not want them. Mas shares how he is driven to explore his identity and the meaning of family—especially as farmers tied to the land. In doing so, he uncovers family secrets that bind his family to a sense of history buried in the earth they work and a sense of place that defines them. Secret Harvests is a story of a family separated by racism against Japanese Americans and the discrimination of people with developmental disabilities—reunited seventy years later, returning to their roots on a farm, and bound by family secrets. Our guest is: David Mas Masumoto is an organic farmer, author, and activist. His book Epitaph for a Peach won the Julia Child Cookbook award and was a finalist for a James Beard award. His writing has been awarded a Commonwealth Club of California silver medal and the Independent Publisher Books bronze medal. He has been honored by Rodale Institute as an "Organic Pioneer." He has served on the boards of the James Irvine Foundation, Public Policy Institute of California, Cal Humanities, and the National Council on the Arts with nomination by President Obama. He farms with his wife Marcy and two adult children, Nikiko and Koro. They reside in a hundred-year-old farmhouse surrounded by their eighty-acre organic peach, nectarine, apricot, and raisin farm outside of Fresno, California. Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, who is the creator of the Academic Life podcast. She holds a PhD in history, which she uses to explore what stories we tell and what happens to those we never tell. Listeners may also be interested in: The Ungrateful Refugee Who Gets Believed? Welcome to Academic Life, the podcast for your academic journey—and beyond! Join us to learn from experts inside and outside the academy, and around the world. Missed any of the 200+ Academic Life episodes? You'll find them all archived here. You can support the show by downloading episodes and by telling a friend about them, because knowledge should be shared. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/asian-american-studies
Today's book is: Secret Harvests: A Hidden Story of Separation and the Resilience of a Family Farm (Red Hen Press, 2023), by David Mas Masumoto. In his new memoir, Mas discovers his “lost” aunt. She had been taken away in 1942 when all Japanese Americans were considered the enemy and imprisoned. Due to a disability, she became a “ward” of the state; and his family believed she had died. Then came a surprising phone call—she was alive and living a few miles from their family farm. As Mas discovers, every family has secrets, silences, and lives among their unanswered questions. As Mas learns about his aunt, he asks, How did she survive? Why was she kept hidden? The book interrogates how both shame and resilience empowered his family to forge forward in a land that did not want them. Mas shares how he is driven to explore his identity and the meaning of family—especially as farmers tied to the land. In doing so, he uncovers family secrets that bind his family to a sense of history buried in the earth they work and a sense of place that defines them. Secret Harvests is a story of a family separated by racism against Japanese Americans and the discrimination of people with developmental disabilities—reunited seventy years later, returning to their roots on a farm, and bound by family secrets. Our guest is: David Mas Masumoto is an organic farmer, author, and activist. His book Epitaph for a Peach won the Julia Child Cookbook award and was a finalist for a James Beard award. His writing has been awarded a Commonwealth Club of California silver medal and the Independent Publisher Books bronze medal. He has been honored by Rodale Institute as an "Organic Pioneer." He has served on the boards of the James Irvine Foundation, Public Policy Institute of California, Cal Humanities, and the National Council on the Arts with nomination by President Obama. He farms with his wife Marcy and two adult children, Nikiko and Koro. They reside in a hundred-year-old farmhouse surrounded by their eighty-acre organic peach, nectarine, apricot, and raisin farm outside of Fresno, California. Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, who is the creator of the Academic Life podcast. She holds a PhD in history, which she uses to explore what stories we tell and what happens to those we never tell. Listeners may also be interested in: The Ungrateful Refugee Who Gets Believed? Welcome to Academic Life, the podcast for your academic journey—and beyond! Join us to learn from experts inside and outside the academy, and around the world. Missed any of the 200+ Academic Life episodes? You'll find them all archived here. You can support the show by downloading episodes and by telling a friend about them, because knowledge should be shared. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/food
Today's book is: Secret Harvests: A Hidden Story of Separation and the Resilience of a Family Farm (Red Hen Press, 2023), by David Mas Masumoto. In his new memoir, Mas discovers his “lost” aunt. She had been taken away in 1942 when all Japanese Americans were considered the enemy and imprisoned. Due to a disability, she became a “ward” of the state; and his family believed she had died. Then came a surprising phone call—she was alive and living a few miles from their family farm. As Mas discovers, every family has secrets, silences, and lives among their unanswered questions. As Mas learns about his aunt, he asks, How did she survive? Why was she kept hidden? The book interrogates how both shame and resilience empowered his family to forge forward in a land that did not want them. Mas shares how he is driven to explore his identity and the meaning of family—especially as farmers tied to the land. In doing so, he uncovers family secrets that bind his family to a sense of history buried in the earth they work and a sense of place that defines them. Secret Harvests is a story of a family separated by racism against Japanese Americans and the discrimination of people with developmental disabilities—reunited seventy years later, returning to their roots on a farm, and bound by family secrets. Our guest is: David Mas Masumoto is an organic farmer, author, and activist. His book Epitaph for a Peach won the Julia Child Cookbook award and was a finalist for a James Beard award. His writing has been awarded a Commonwealth Club of California silver medal and the Independent Publisher Books bronze medal. He has been honored by Rodale Institute as an "Organic Pioneer." He has served on the boards of the James Irvine Foundation, Public Policy Institute of California, Cal Humanities, and the National Council on the Arts with nomination by President Obama. He farms with his wife Marcy and two adult children, Nikiko and Koro. They reside in a hundred-year-old farmhouse surrounded by their eighty-acre organic peach, nectarine, apricot, and raisin farm outside of Fresno, California. Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, who is the creator of the Academic Life podcast. She holds a PhD in history, which she uses to explore what stories we tell and what happens to those we never tell. Listeners may also be interested in: The Ungrateful Refugee Who Gets Believed? Welcome to Academic Life, the podcast for your academic journey—and beyond! Join us to learn from experts inside and outside the academy, and around the world. Missed any of the 200+ Academic Life episodes? You'll find them all archived here. You can support the show by downloading episodes and by telling a friend about them, because knowledge should be shared. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-studies
Today's book is: Secret Harvests: A Hidden Story of Separation and the Resilience of a Family Farm (Red Hen Press, 2023), by David Mas Masumoto. In his new memoir, Mas discovers his “lost” aunt. She had been taken away in 1942 when all Japanese Americans were considered the enemy and imprisoned. Due to a disability, she became a “ward” of the state; and his family believed she had died. Then came a surprising phone call—she was alive and living a few miles from their family farm. As Mas discovers, every family has secrets, silences, and lives among their unanswered questions. As Mas learns about his aunt, he asks, How did she survive? Why was she kept hidden? The book interrogates how both shame and resilience empowered his family to forge forward in a land that did not want them. Mas shares how he is driven to explore his identity and the meaning of family—especially as farmers tied to the land. In doing so, he uncovers family secrets that bind his family to a sense of history buried in the earth they work and a sense of place that defines them. Secret Harvests is a story of a family separated by racism against Japanese Americans and the discrimination of people with developmental disabilities—reunited seventy years later, returning to their roots on a farm, and bound by family secrets. Our guest is: David Mas Masumoto is an organic farmer, author, and activist. His book Epitaph for a Peach won the Julia Child Cookbook award and was a finalist for a James Beard award. His writing has been awarded a Commonwealth Club of California silver medal and the Independent Publisher Books bronze medal. He has been honored by Rodale Institute as an "Organic Pioneer." He has served on the boards of the James Irvine Foundation, Public Policy Institute of California, Cal Humanities, and the National Council on the Arts with nomination by President Obama. He farms with his wife Marcy and two adult children, Nikiko and Koro. They reside in a hundred-year-old farmhouse surrounded by their eighty-acre organic peach, nectarine, apricot, and raisin farm outside of Fresno, California. Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, who is the creator of the Academic Life podcast. She holds a PhD in history, which she uses to explore what stories we tell and what happens to those we never tell. Listeners may also be interested in: The Ungrateful Refugee Who Gets Believed? Welcome to Academic Life, the podcast for your academic journey—and beyond! Join us to learn from experts inside and outside the academy, and around the world. Missed any of the 200+ Academic Life episodes? You'll find them all archived here. You can support the show by downloading episodes and by telling a friend about them, because knowledge should be shared. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/academic-life
Today's book is: Secret Harvests: A Hidden Story of Separation and the Resilience of a Family Farm (Red Hen Press, 2023), by David Mas Masumoto. In his new memoir, Mas discovers his “lost” aunt. She had been taken away in 1942 when all Japanese Americans were considered the enemy and imprisoned. Due to a disability, she became a “ward” of the state; and his family believed she had died. Then came a surprising phone call—she was alive and living a few miles from their family farm. As Mas discovers, every family has secrets, silences, and lives among their unanswered questions. As Mas learns about his aunt, he asks, How did she survive? Why was she kept hidden? The book interrogates how both shame and resilience empowered his family to forge forward in a land that did not want them. Mas shares how he is driven to explore his identity and the meaning of family—especially as farmers tied to the land. In doing so, he uncovers family secrets that bind his family to a sense of history buried in the earth they work and a sense of place that defines them. Secret Harvests is a story of a family separated by racism against Japanese Americans and the discrimination of people with developmental disabilities—reunited seventy years later, returning to their roots on a farm, and bound by family secrets. Our guest is: David Mas Masumoto is an organic farmer, author, and activist. His book Epitaph for a Peach won the Julia Child Cookbook award and was a finalist for a James Beard award. His writing has been awarded a Commonwealth Club of California silver medal and the Independent Publisher Books bronze medal. He has been honored by Rodale Institute as an "Organic Pioneer." He has served on the boards of the James Irvine Foundation, Public Policy Institute of California, Cal Humanities, and the National Council on the Arts with nomination by President Obama. He farms with his wife Marcy and two adult children, Nikiko and Koro. They reside in a hundred-year-old farmhouse surrounded by their eighty-acre organic peach, nectarine, apricot, and raisin farm outside of Fresno, California. Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, who is the creator of the Academic Life podcast. She holds a PhD in history, which she uses to explore what stories we tell and what happens to those we never tell. Listeners may also be interested in: The Ungrateful Refugee Who Gets Believed? Welcome to Academic Life, the podcast for your academic journey—and beyond! Join us to learn from experts inside and outside the academy, and around the world. Missed any of the 200+ Academic Life episodes? You'll find them all archived here. You can support the show by downloading episodes and by telling a friend about them, because knowledge should be shared. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-west
David Mas Masumoto's new book tells the story of his aunt, who was taken as a "ward of the state" in 1942. Seventy years later, Masumoto finds out his aunt is alive.
Alice Waters thinks David Mas Masumoto's peaches could change the world. Today, Masumoto shares his search for the perfect peach and the shocking family secret that changed the history of his farm. Plus, we chat with Nichole Accettola about Scandinavian baking, from cinnamon knots to rye bread, and we learn the language of strawberries.We want to hear your culinary tips! Share your cooking hacks, secret ingredients or unexpected techniques with us for a chance to hear yourself on Milk Street Radio! Here's how: https://www.177milkstreet.com/radiotipsListen to Milk Street Radio on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
On this week's show we're revisiting two stories about family, food and farming. We start in the Central Valley where David “Mas” Masumoto says he farms with ghosts. On his family's organic peach, nectarine and grape farm south of Fresno, California, Mas says the labor and lessons of his ancestors are in the soil and he's passing these on to the next generations. Reporter Lisa Morehouse has visited Masumoto Farm for years, picking luscious peaches and nectarines in summer. For her series California Foodways, she returned to hear about a family secret at the center of Mas' recent book, Secret Harvests. Next we meet chef Crystal Wahpepah. She says she wanted to be a chef since she was 7 years old. Like her grandfather and mother, Wahpepah is a registered member of the Kickapoo tribe of Oklahoma. She remembers learning to make fry bread with her aunty and grandmother — and picking berries with her grandfather on the Hoopa Reservation where she spent time as a child. But while growing up on Ohlone land in Oakland, Wahpepah was struck by the Bay Area's lack of Native restaurants, despite the region's large Indigenous population and palette for diverse cuisine. So she decided to change that. It wasn't just a matter of culinary representation, it was a matter of reclaiming Native food sovereignty. KQED's Bianca Taylor brrought us her story as part of our series Flavor Profile, which features folks who started successful food businesses during the pandemic.
LIVE! From City Lights celebrates author David Mas Masumoto and his new publication, “SECRET HARVESTS: A Hidden Story of Separation and the Resilience of a Family Farm.” This event was hosted in conjunction with Red Hen Press and Wasabi Press. With linoleum block and letterpress artist Patirica Miye Wakida, Masumoto unravels the mysteries surrounding the reappearance of his “lost” aunt Shizuko. In his new memoir, Masumoto is haunted by family lore and driven to explore his own identity and the meaning of family, uncovering stories that bind him to a sense of history buried in the earth that he works and a sense of place that defines his community. David Mas Masumoto is an organic farmer, author, and activist. His book EPITAPH FOR A PEACH won the Julia Child Cookbook award and was a finalist for a James Beard award. His writing has been awarded a Commonwealth Club of California silver medal and the Independent Publisher Books bronze medal. He has been honored by Rodale Institute as an “Organic Pioneer.” He has served on the boards of the James Irvine Foundation, Public Policy Institute of California, Cal Humanities, and the National Council on the Arts with nomination by President Obama. He farms with his wife Marcy and two adult children, Nikiko and Koro. They reside in a hundred-year-old farmhouse surrounded by their eighty-acre organic peach, nectarine, apricot, and raisin farm outside of Fresno, California. You can purchase copies of “SECRET HARVESTS: A Hidden Story of Separation and the Resilience of a Family Farm” directly from City Lights here: https://citylights.com/new-nonfiction-in-hardcover/secret-harvests/ This was a virtual event hosted by Peter Maravelis and made possible by support from the City Lights Foundation: citylights.com/foundation.
Today, we are taking you to a stone fruit farm in the Central Valley. Masumoto's Family Farm is well known —their produce stocks the shelves of popular Bay Area grocers, like San Francisco's Bi Rite Market and Berkeley Bowl. Less known is the family history of the third generation farmer David Mas Masumoto. And, we hear a reading from Woodland author Reyna Grande.
On his family's organic peach, nectarine and grape farm south of Fresno, California, David "Mas" Masumoto points out pruning scars from long-time workers, and walks down rows of trees he planted with his father. He says the labor and lessons of his ancestors are in the soil and the grapevines and orchards, and he's passing these on to the next generations.Mas is an author, too, who has delved into the stories of his farm and family in more than 10 books. In his latest, Secret Harvests, Mas writes about the shock of a newly uncovered family secret. I've visited the Masumoto farm for years, picking luscious peaches and nectarines in summer. This time, I returned to hear what Mas learned about this hidden story, and how he rediscovered just how resilient his farming family is.
Did you know that Japanese Americans were denied land ownership because of their nationality? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with David Mas Masumoto, organic farmer, activist, and award-winning writer based in the Central Valley of California. He is best known for his book, Epitaph for a Peach, which won the Julia Child Cookbook award and was a finalist for a James Beard award. In this interview, Masumoto will discuss his latest book, a memoir titled: Secret Harvests: A Hidden Story of Separation and the Resilience of a Family Farm, published by Red Hen Press. Masumoto describes the story of his long lost aunt, the immigrant and farmworker struggles, and the history of Japanese-American internment during World War II.Related website: https://www.masumoto.com/
David Mas Masumoto is an author and farmer at Masumoto Family Farm in Del Rey, CA.Industrial agriculture didn't care about story. The work that I did—the work that Sun Crest [peaches] sort of launched—was, “No, there's story behind every food that we eat, every bite. And that story is part of the meaning of food. Let's find out more about that story.”Notes and references from this episode: You Won't Believe it's Vegan Pumpkin Pie, by Gena Hamshaw, Food52Masumoto.com - Masumoto Family FarmCountry Voices: The Oral History of a Japanese American Family Farm Community, by David Mas MasumotoEpitaph For a Peach: Four Seasons on my Family Farm, by David Mas MasumotoOp-Ed: Feeling the drought on my family farm, by David Mas Masumoto, LA TimesWilliam Saroyan biography, The William Saroyan Foundation=====Theme music by Sounds SupremeTwitter: @WhatCaliforniaSubstack newsletter: whatiscalifornia.substack.comSupport What is California? on Patreon: patreon.com/whatiscalifornia Email: hello@whatiscalifornia.comPlease subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. And if you liked What is California?, please rate and review What is California? on Apple Podcasts! It helps new listeners find the show.
Today we celebrate the botanist and doctor who established the nation's first public botanical garden. We'll also learn about the English Victorian author who loved roses. We’ll recognize the inspiring former president and owner of Tulsa Greenhouse and Four State Wholesale. We'll hear an excerpt about pruning from a peach farmer. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book from American garden royalty - it’s part garden book and part cookbook. And then we’ll wrap things up with a story about the only First Lady recognized by The American Horticultural Society with their highest honor, the Liberty Hyde Bailey Award. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart To listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to “Play the latest episode of The Daily Gardener Podcast.” And she will. It's just that easy. The Daily Gardener Friday Newsletter Sign up for the FREE Friday Newsletter featuring: A personal update from me Garden-related items for your calendar The Grow That Garden Library™ featured books for the week Gardener gift ideas Garden-inspired recipes Exclusive updates regarding the show Plus, each week, one lucky subscriber wins a book from the Grow That Garden Library™ bookshelf. Gardener Greetings Send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes, and so forth to Jennifer@theDailyGardener.org Curated Garden News Tree ferns are older than dinosaurs. And that’s not even the most interesting thing about them | World Economic Forum | Gregory Moore Facebook Group I share all of my curated news articles and original blog posts with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. So, there’s no need to take notes or search for links. The next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community where you’d search for a friend... and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Important Events December 22, 1835 Today is the anniversary of the death of the doctor and botanist David Hosack. He was 65. In 2018, David Hosack’s story was brilliantly told in the biography by Victoria Johnson called American Eden. David was a New Yorker and he was a leading doctor in America during the early days of the country. David had a fantastic gift: he was able to form incredible relationships with leading thinkers of his time. Doctor Benjamin Rush was his mentor, and England’s top botanist William Curtis trained him in botany and medicinal plants. At the age of 25, David returned to his alma mater, Columbia University, to teach medicine and botany. David’s patients included Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton. And if you've watched the musical Hamilton, you know that although David was one of the best physicians available, he could not save Hamilton. David Hosack established the nation's first public botanical garden in the middle of Manhattan. David initially focused on medicinal plants, but he soon added vegetables, grasses, grains, fruits. And exotics collected from all over the world. It really was a paradise. David's medical students used his garden as an extension of their classroom and that was a first for students on this side of the Atlantic. At its zenith, David’s garden boasted of having over 2,000 different species of plants - just incredible. It was David’s pioneering work with plants that allowed him to teach an entire generation of doctors brand-new remedies to common medical problems. Now, unfortunately, David’s vision for the garden way exceeded his financial ability to keep it going. Sadly David was forced to sell off and dismantle his botanical dream. And today, his former garden is the site of Rockefeller Center. Yet David’s garden and his work had inspired botanists all over the world. And although his botanic garden did not survive, David’s dream of a garden of discovery and learning would be carried out through the work of other pioneers like Henry Shaw, Charles Sprague Sargent, and David Fairchild. In the twilight of his life, David’s wife died. After remarrying a very wealthy woman, David built a country estate with an incredible garden (of course) where he enjoyed his remaining days on earth. December 22, 1880 Today is the 140th anniversary of the death of the English Victorian author George Eliot. George Eliot was the pen name for a woman named Mary Ann Evans, and her many works like Silas Marner and Middlemarch are packed with images from the garden. To Mary Ann, plants were the perfect representation of faith. Like faith, our botanical friends require care and feeding to grow and flourish. On October 1st, 1841, Mary Ann wrote a letter to her old governess, Maria Lewis. She wrote: “Is not this a true autumn day? Just the still melancholy that I love - that makes life and nature harmonise. The birds are consulting about their migrations, the trees are putting on the hectic or the pallid hues of decay, and begin to strew the ground, that one's very footsteps may not disturb the repose of earth and air, while they give us a scent that is a perfect anodyne to the restless spirit. Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns." My favorite quotes from Mary Ann, (George Eliot), are about her love of roses. She wrote: "I think I am quite wicked with roses. I like to gather them, and smell them till they have no scent left." And, Eliot wrote this little poem about roses: "You love the roses—so do I. I wish The sky would rain down roses, as they rain From off the shaken bush. Why will it not? Then all the valleys would be pink and white, And soft to tread on. They would fall as light As feathers, smelling sweet; and it would be Like sleeping and yet waking, all at once. Over the sea, Queen, where we soon shall go, Will it rain roses?" This concept of raining roses was something Eliot wrote about several times. She loved that idea. This last quote about roses is the one she is most famous for: "It never rains roses; when we want more roses, we must plant more..." December 22, 1928 Today is the birthday of the president and owner of Tulsa Greenhouse and Four State Wholesale, William B. Arnett. The origins of Bill's greenhouse went back to 1916, when it was founded by Gordon Vernon Voight back in the early days of Tulsa. During the depression, Bill's dad and a partner took over the retail nursery business started by Voight, and they, in turn, developed it to include a wholesale operation. After learning the ropes from his father, Bill officially took over the business in 1966. Bill and his wife Louise ran the business together. While they raised their four daughters, they oversaw five retail shops, three wholesale houses, and one growing facility. Now, the wholesale side of the business created exciting opportunities for Bill. At one point, The Tulsa Greenhouse provided flowers for florists across four states. Bill enjoyed sharing his expertise with others. And in addition to personally training florists, Bill influenced an entire generation of new designers by contributing to design schools every holiday season. A lover of fresh flowers, Bill prided himself on knowing every aspect of the business, including how to grow each of the flowers in his nursery. In his obituary, Bill's family recalled the time Bill flew on the first jet airliner out of Tulsa. Now, this was no vacation. Bill had brought along a bouquet of fresh roses, and he wanted to see just how fast he could ship them across the country. He was a true floral businessman. At the time of Bill's death, he'd lost his wife Louise (after being married to her for 60 years), he'd served as president of the Wholesale Florists and Florist Suppliers of America, he’d left a mark on the florist industry in the heart of the country, and he’d closed his business in 2005 (after 90 years of operating in Tulsa). And I found out about Bill after I stumbled on his obituary online. In Bill's obituary, one of his daughters said something that I thought was such a beautiful quote and a wonderful tribute about what it was like to grow up with her dad, “We were surrounded by flowers all our lives — there were flowers galore.” Unearthed Words My thoughts turn to the work of pruning. Ideally, the first blasts of winter have left their mark and strip the trees of leaves. But I've seen antsy farmers prune while lots of leaves still hang in the tree. The work is slow, and it's hard to see. I delay my pruning because, for me, vision is crucial. The art of pruning involves seeing into the future. I can easily spot the dead branches by their dried, dark, almost black wood. But it's hard to envision new growth and the new shape the tree will take two or three or four years from now. When I prune, I have to keep that vision in mind. Otherwise, I'll hesitate and grow timid and insecure, as I gaze down the just-worked row and see all the butchered trees and fallen limbs lying in the dirt. With each dead limb, there's hope for new growth. That's why I enjoy this part of pruning: I'm always working with the future. I'm like a bonsai gardener with my peach trees, shaping each tree for the long term. When working with dying trees, I feel one of the most important and strongest emotions a farmer has: a sense of hope. — David Mas Masumoto ("Mahs Mah-sue-moe-toe"), Peach & Grape Farmer and Author, Epitaph for a Peach, Pruning Grow That Garden Library The Four Season Farm Gardener's Cookbook by Barbara Damrosch and Eliot Coleman This book came out in 2013, and the subtitle is From the Garden to the Table in 120 Recipes. In this book, America’s most respected gardening couple Barbara Damrosch and Eliot Coleman, share what they’ve learned from growing and eating on their extraordinary Four Season Farm in Maine. This book shows you how to grow what you eat and how to cook what you grow. And this book is an excellent resource for the times we are living through - there’s even a section for what to plant for a yearly cycle survival garden. Barbara and Eliot divide their book into two parts. The first half covers gardening, and the second part is devoted to the recipes. I should also mention that Barbara is a master cook. This book is 496 pages of step-by-step instructions from America’s garden royalty - it's a big book with an even greater value. You can get a copy of The Four Season Farm Gardener's Cookbook by Barbara Damrosch and Eliot Coleman and support the show using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $3 Today’s Botanic Spark Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart December 22, 1912 Today is the birthday of the American socialite and the First Lady of the United States as the wife of the 36th President, Lyndon B. Johnson, Claudia Alta Taylor Johnson who always went by "Lady Bird". On her 70th birthday, Lady Bird made her greatest contribution to American botany when she gave a financial endowment and a land grant of 60 acres to found the National Wildlife Research Center in Austin, Texas. A non-profit dedicated to conservation and preservation, the Center conducts scientific research on wildflowers as well as other native and naturalized plants. Together with Helen Hayes MacArthur, Lady Bird served as the co-chair of the center. For her philanthropy and love of nature, Lady Bird was awarded the American Horticultural Society's highest honor, the Liberty Hyde Bailey Award. Although her work as the first lady had brought her incredible experiences, Lady Bird wrote: "My story begins long before that - with a love of the land that started in my childhood." Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener. And remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."
David Mas Masumoto, organic farmer and acclaimed author of Epitaph for a Peach and Harvest Son, is joined by his wife, Marcy Masumoto, for a lively talk about life on their Central California farm. Through stories that offer a personal perspective on growing organic crops, the Masumotos share their reflections on the vision required of artisan farmers in today’s food world. This talk is part of the Brody Lecture series at The Huntington.
David Mas Masumoto, organic farmer and acclaimed author of Epitaph for a Peach and Harvest Son, is joined by his wife, Marcy Masumoto, for a lively talk about life on their Central California farm. Through stories that offer a personal perspective on growing organic crops, the Masumotos share their reflections on the vision required of artisan farmers in today’s food world. This talk is part of the Brody Lecture series at The Huntington. Recorded May 7, 2017.
David Mas Masumoto, organic farmer and acclaimed author of Epitaph for a Peach and Harvest Son, is joined by his wife, Marcy Masumoto, for a lively talk about life on their Central California farm. Through stories that offer a personal perspective on growing organic crops, the Masumotos share their reflections on the vision required of artisan farmers in today’s food world. This talk is part of the Brody Lecture series at The Huntington. Recorded May 7, 2017.
In this episode, Alice Waters, the celebrated chef and author; Raj Patel, a noted food scholar; and David Mas Masumoto, a writer and organic farmer, discuss the topic "Food and Hunger: Eating in America." This event was presented in partnership with Three Square and took place October 13, 2009 in the UNLV Student Union Theatre in Las Vegas, NV.
Guest David Mas Masumoto speaks with Diane Horn about his book "Wisdom of the Last Farmer: Harvesting Legacies from the Land."
David Mas Masumoto is a third-generation Japanese-American peach and grape farmer. His book Epitaph for a Peach: Four Seasons on My Family Farm is a chronicle of family, farm travails, and his struggle to market on old variety of peach. In addition to being a writer and farmer, Masumoto is a farm activist and a member of the California Council for the Humanities. His book was awarded the Julia Child Cookbook Award for best book in the Literary Food Writing category. He lives in Del Rey, California. For more information on the Masumoto Family Farm, please visit www.masumoto.com. This program as presented as part of the 1997 season of Racing Toward the Millennium: Voices from the American West, in partnership with the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles.