Plant Cunning Podcast

We welcome the village witch of Asheville back to the podcast and have a lovely, but deep and heavy chat about seasonal celebrations, cycles, death, loss and acceptance. This is part 1 of the interview, part 2 is available for our $9 and up patrons at Patreon.com/plantcunning. Find Seasons of a Magical Life:A Pagan Path of Living at any local bookstore! Byron on IG @ByronBallard5789 on Facebook, Twitter and MyVillageWitch.com

In this episode we speak with Neal Peterson, who has devoted over 40 years to breeding pawpaws (Asimina triloba). We talk about how he first fell in love with this delicious fruit, how he tracked down the remnants of the early 20th century pawpaw collections just in time, and selected 7 superior pawpaw cultivars out of 1,500 seedlings. You can find his website at: Petersonpawpaws.com And support the podcast at: Patreon.com/plantcunning

In  this episode we speak with Eric about some more of his favorite plants, including sweet potato, hickory and chestnut, about how to start a DIY nursery, selecting genetics for nursery stock, the secret of how to eat sunchokes so you don't gas out all your friends, and some very important appropriate technologies. You can find him on facebook as Eric Joseph Lewis, and on Instragram at @ericjosephlewisplants, and the nursery he is affiliated with is Plant Path Nursery You can support the podcast at Patreon.com/plantcunning

In this episode we speak with Eric about getting interested in plants after finding out he was living in a field of lowbush blueberries, the influence of Frank Cook, natural male birth control with Papaya seeds, and some of his favorite plants. You can find him on facebook as Eric Joseph Lewis, and on Instragram at @ericjosephlewisplants, and the nursery he is affiliated with is Plant Path Nursery You can support the podcast at Patreon.com/plantcunning

We speak with esotericist, author and director of studies for the Institute for Hermetic Studies, Mark Stavish, about alchemy and spagyrics, always keeping the end goal in mind, the purpose and the future of esotericism, the importance of group work, and how to build an effective group.

The number 42 is AC's fav and we talk about why briefly. We draw inspiration from some of our previous episodes and dive a bit deeper into some topics discussed like diversity, dissensus (and do-ocracies), climate crisis, grief and how to throw mud at walls. Of course, discussing plants is also a big part of the episode. We talk about wild flowers, weeds, cottage gardens and dumpstered potatoes. 

In this episode we speak with Siv about the wide world of the "smalls", how to interact with microbes as people, where humans ends and bacteria begins, horses, and lots more fun. You can find Siv at https://www.microanimism.com/ and you can support the podcast at Patreon.com/PlantCunning

In this episode we speak with Janet Kent about learning herbalism as a young punk, starting Terra Sylva School of Botanical Medicine, radical vitalism, the autonomic nervous system (and herbs for that!), and her famous "grief relief" formula (which she shared with us and is posted below!) Acute Grief Tincture Hawthorn (Berries, Flowers or both) 4 parts Peach leaf 3 parts Motherwort 2 parts Kava kava 2 parts Anemone 1 part "Also,  if people want my zines, Ease Your Mind:  Herbs for Mental Health and  Under Pressure:  Herbs for Resilience by writing me at  medicinecountyherbs@gmail or messaging me @radicalvitalism on Instagram." Radical Vitalism  essay https://radicalvitalism.wordpress.com/2016/08/19/radical-vitalism-by-janet-kent-and-dave-meesters/ Herbalism in an Age of Mass Extinction, two essays https://radicalvitalism.wordpress.com/2017/09/03/herbalism-in-an-age-of-mass-extinction-part-one-context-concepts-and-strategy/ https://radicalvitalism.wordpress.com/2017/09/12/herbalism-in-an-age-of-mass-extinction-part-two-ecologically-minded-practice/ You are Nature essay https://radicalvitalism.wordpress.com/2020/02/01/you-are-nature-working-with-the-elements-for-change/ Janet and Dave's podcast https://thebookonfire.podbean.com/ Season one we discuss Donna Haraway's Staying with the Trouble. Season two we discuss Sylvia Federici's Caliban and the Witch.

In this episode we speak with herbalist Guido Masé about consciousness, will, the beauty of science, how herbalism helps him unite his love of science with his love of spirit (and plants!) We talk about the importance of phytochemical diversity, "wild plant deficiency syndrome",  and dancing with darkness.  You can support the podcast at Patreon.com/plantcunning

In this episode we speak with Jain about growing up with a botanist in the backyard, helping folks connect to nature (even if they didn't grow up with a botanist in the backyard), herbal cakes, being a park ranger, and going off the trail.  You can find her at: https://www.champagnehillbotanicals.ca/ and on IG at @champagne.hill.botanicals