The Utopian Seed Project is a hands in the earth non-profit committed to trialing crops and varieties in the Southeast to support and Celebrate diversity in food and farming. OUR VISION is an engaged community of growers, gardeners, farmers, foodies, cooks and chefs (actually, everyone) WHO embrace regional biodiversity for a resilient and delicious food and farming system.
OUR WORK
THe Experimental Farm
We growing many different things in Western North Carolina to explore what could be grown in a more diverse food and farming system. In our farm work we explore emerging crops for this region as well as variety trials for traditional crops. Diversity and experimentation is at our core!
Crop Stories
Crop Stories is our way of speaking about, educating and celebrating the crops that we are working with. Crop Stories includes a crop-specific event series, a crop-specific magazine and a supporting podcast, with a high degree of synergy between these three platforms.
Seed Commons
Collective responsibility, sharing of knowledge and seed, protection from private enclosure, and distributed, polycentric governance are key features of Seed Commons. Equitable and open-source seed work is at the center of everything we do.
TRIAL TO TABLE
The Utopian Seed Project grows a wide range of crops and varieties with the aim of increasing agrobiodiversity into the food and farming system. We host food focused events and partner with incredible local chefs to showcase the crops we’re working with.
SE SEED VIDEO SERIES
This project traveled across 12 states and interviewed over 50 farmers, community gardeners, seed savers, seed growers and seed advocates. The footage was weaved together to tell the story and seed saving of six southern crops: corn, okra, southern peas, collards, sweet potatoes and squash.
EVENT SERIES SEASON PASS!
Two big changes in 2024. First is we are running five #TrialToTable events this year (thankfully I have the talented @chefttlivinandlovin coordinating, so everything is smooth and organized!). Second, we`re offering a Season Pass. The season pass is a flat $200 and gets you access to every single one of the five events, plus if you can`t make an event then you can assign your spot to a friend or family member to attend in your stead.
We think this is an amazing deal AND it really helps us with planning and promotion to have upfront ticket sales. Our first event is just one week away, so I`m humbly asking if you could help spread the word!
Tag your friends in this post, tell your extended family they need to grab one, share on social media, spray paint the side of your car and drive up and down Patton Ave, tattoo this message across your forehead - every little helps!
Full details and tickets via the link in our bio.
Huge thanks to event series sponsors @shaybrownevents @devilsfootbrew @hickorynutgap @sunbursttrout @edibleasheville @wickedweedbrewing @sowtrueseed @visitasheville
#ashevillenc #ashevilleevents #asheville #events #food #farming #farmtotable #828isgreat #ashevillechefs
Check out the color on this Japanese Knotweed and Roselle syrup!! It`s a beautiful sweet-sour sensation and will be debuting at our Trial to Table event on April 27 at @hickorynutgap
Chefs Michelle Bailey (@baileycooks) and Tiffany Schultz (@laughing.seed.cafe) will be using the syrup in their dishes.
Tickets available via the link in our bio.
#eatlocal #eattheweeds #japaneseknotweed #roselle #ashevillechefs #trialtotable
Our upcoming #TrialToTable event is celebrating squash. Every attendee will get a copy of Squash Crop Stories, which has some great articles and lots of awesome squash recipes. We`ll also be sharing packets of squash seeds: summer squash, kindly donated by event series sponsors, @sowtrueseed, as well as our own Ultracross Squash seeds.
So, lots of beautiful bonuses for our first Trial to Table event of the year, and we`ve not even started talking about all the delicious live fire food!
Grab a season pass or single ticket via the link on our bio. Sliding scale pricing.
April 27, 1230-3pm at @hickorynutgap
#trialtotable #squash #ashevillenc #828isgreat #ashevilleevents
Beautiful photography and words about the turmeric diversity we`re working with. Huge thanks to @ambrookag for including us in their inaugural print publication. We`ve got a link to an online version of the article in our bio.
#turmeric #agrobiodiversity
PBS NC @mypbsnc did a great segment on The Utopian Seed Project for the show, State of Things. Very grateful for the skilled story telling and video work. You can read the article and watch the video vid via the link in our bio.
#climatechange #regionalseeds #food #farming
Finally organized the seeds! Each bucket has a gamma lid retro fitted with a temperature and humidity sensor. In each bucket are the seeds and a ~1lb bag of ceramic drying beads. The buckets will live in the basement at a stable 50F. All seeds are logged in an AirTable database and grouped by rim/lid color combo.
#lifegoals #seeds #seedstorage
Just some beautiful flowering collards from our purple selection of the Ultracross Collards, all under a partially cloudy partial eclipse. The bees were happy doing their (essential) job - collards are obligate outcrossers, meaning they HAVE to share pollen with a genetically distinct collard plant. It`s one of the reasons the ultracross population stays so diverse and is always changing.
You can buy seeds for this purple selection from @ujamaafarms and @experimentalfarmnetwork
- 50% of all sales will go straight to supporting the @appalachian_seed_collective Seeds from this planting will be saved for next year!!
#collards #pollinators #ultracrosscollards #seedsthatknowthesouth #seedsaving
Water chestnuts! Fun to grow, pain to peel, delicious to eat.
#waterchestnuts #wncgrown #aquaticedibles
We`ve got some super cool squash that grew in no input, no irrigation, no spray conditions last year and have passed the long storage test. These squash are going to be shared with chefs ahead of our Live Fire Trial to Table event at @hickorynutgap on April 27. We`ll be saving seeds to plant and share and enjoying dishes prepared with the squash (and plenty of other ingredients).
AJ of @blackbearbbqavl is going to make some butternut jerky and then roast some of these big squash on the fire.
Tickets available via the link in our bio.
#squash #seeds #livefire #ashevillenc #ashevilleevents #828isgreat #trialtotable
TRIAL TO TABLE – LIVE FIRE
April 27, 12:30 – 3:00 PM | Hickory Nut Gap, Fairview, NC
Michelle Bailey (@baileycooks) | AJ Gregson (@blackbearbbqavl) | Suzy Phillips (@gypsyqueencuisine) | Tiffany Schultz (@laughing.seed.cafe)
Full details and tickets via the link in our bio.
You’re in for a treat with our first event of 2024. We are combining live fire cooking with winter squash and Hickory Nut Gap meats (huge thanks to Hickory Nut Gap for sponsoring!). There’ll be plenty of diversity and experimental cooking, but a core focus of this event is to celebrate the amazing Winter Squash. Chef’s will be using our Ultracross Squash, harvested from our field trials last fall and stored all the way through to the event in April. Each guest will also receive a packet of Ultracross Squash seeds, a copy of Winter Squash Crop Stories, and an open invention to be part of our Total Squash Sovereignty project.
Huge thanks to our venue sponsors @shaybrownevents and @hickorynutgap
#828isgreat
#asheville
#ashevillenc #ashevillechefs
Thanks to our Sustaining Sponsors
