Rural Roots

The 2020-21 Variety Showcase + Winter Vegetable Sagra will take the form of joint virtual programming from December 2020 – March 2021, featuring TED-style talks, interactive Q&A sessions, cooking demos, and virtual field tours.

Sagra program content will focus on nine winter vegetables: Celeriac, Radicchio, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Collards, Winter Squash, Garlic and Purple Sprouting Broccoli. Presentations will explore plant histories, origins and domestication; medicinal, nutritional and culinary elements of species; farm visits; cooking demonstrations; art and folklore.

Variety Showcase will be a week of virtual video presentations and Q&A sessions featuring current projects focused on breeding for organic systems and considering culinary quality.

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NOVEMBER 30TH – 4TH: GARLIC

11/30: Phil Simon of USDA-ARS will discuss history and his garlic collecting expeditions in Central Asia, where wild garlic still exists in “Garlic in History, and History in Garlic: Diversity & Domestication”

12/1: Avram Drucker of Garlicana will share his personal story and journey of becoming a garlic breeder; different garlic types; and his breeding program.

12/2: Linda McLean of WSU Colville Reservation Extension will present on the Inchelium Red Garlic project which connects youth with knowledgeable elders to learn about traditional cultural foods and harvesting & preparations practices.

12/3: Barbara Hellier of USDA-ARS will discuss genetic diversity and her role as curator of the National Plant Germplasm System’s Allium Collection.

12/4 at 10am: Irwin Goldman of University of Wisconsin will present the many medicinal properties of garlic in “Garlic is Better than Ten Mothers: An Exploration of Health Benefits”

12/4 @ 11am: Mary DeLorenzo-Woods, folk herbalist, will present on the folklore and mysticism of garlic.