(01/24/19) WEST MONROE, La. — Looking back at seeds of the past was the theme of this year’s Ag Expo gardening seminar in West Monroe on Jan. 19.

This year’s program was presented by the Northeast Louisiana Master Gardeners Association, with speakers including retired LSU AgCenter horticulturalist Allen Owings and Larry Stephenson, chief orchardist at Southern Cultured Orchards and Nursery in Carrolton, Mississippi.

The keynote speaker was John Coykendall, master gardener at Blackberry Farm in Walland, Tennessee.

AgCenter horticulture agent Kerry Heafner said the seminar is held every year in conjunction with Ag Expo, and this year the seminar was all about seeds.

“This is our ninth annual seminar, and we wanted to look at some of the seeds that have all but been lost or are only known by a few people,” he said. “Our keynote speaker is someone who is well-known throughout the world in terms of seed saving.”

Coykendall is no stranger to Louisiana. He has been a volunteer each fall at the Washington Parish Fair for many years, Heafner said.

“When he was in art school in Florida, he started coming home with a friend of his who lived in Washington Parish, Louisiana,” Heafner said. “Then he started coming on a regular basis to volunteer in the Mile Branch Settlement Exhibit at the fair, which demonstrates how life used to be.”

“Some of the seeds he’s collected were only known by the family members of that farmer — so if you weren’t in the family, you may not have known about that bean, butterbean or pea,” Heafner added.

In December 2016, Coykendall was featured in a documentary produced by Louisiana Public Broadcasting called “Deeply Rooted: John Coykendall’s Journey to Save Our Seeds and Stories.” The movie was awarded the Humanities Documentary Film Award in 2018 by the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities in partnership with Lt. Gov. Billy Nungessser.

Coykendall said he’s been coming to Washington Parish since 1973, and there, he visits old farmers to discover and collect seeds from plants that are not known by most people.

“My best source is 99 years old now — Mr. Arlie O’Bryant, who grew up plowing mules, picking corn and cotton,” Coykendall said.

He said he became interested in the seeds as well as the stories and the language that came with them.

“It’s the cultural heritage that I was interested in because most of those old people are gone, so I wanted to try and preserve some of that,” he said.

Coykendall uses his knowledge of gardening in partnership with the Seed Saver’s Exchange to help repopulate seed varieties that are near extinction.

In addition to Coykendall’s talk on seeds, Stephenson discussed heirloom apples. He travels extensively with a group called the North American Fruit Explorers in search of apple varieties that are nearing extinction.

He said when you go into the grocery store today you may only see three or four varieties of apples, but years ago, people grew hundreds of varieties.

“In the old days, there were apples used for a number of different recipes, like cider,” he said. “But around 1880, in the United States, we just stopped drinking cider and started drinking beer instead.”

He said the Europeans used to laugh at Americans for drinking their apples instead of eating them.

“When apple cider dropped out of favor, a lot of the apples varieties also started to disappear,” Stephenson said.

Owings discussed ornamental flower seeds and explained the proper procedure for planting them.

“Many of us only think about the air temperature when preparing to plant seeds, but we often forget about the temperature of the growing medium,” he said.

Owings said some seeds need to be softened or “roughed up” to germinate properly.

“What I like to do for tough seed is to get an old can and line it with sandpaper to rough the seed up a little bit,” he said.

Gene Rogers, an attendee who has been gardening for about 12 years, said he came to the seminar to learn more gardening proper techniques.

“For me, it’s been mostly hit or miss when it comes to gardening,” Rogers said. “And for me, it’s probably been more misses.”

In addition to the speakers, attendees could visit vendors selling plants and trees. A variety of free seeds were available.

The Louisiana Master Gardener Program is a volunteer training program of the LSU AgCenter designed for people who have an interest in gardening, want to learn about it and who want to give back to the community, Heafner said.

Larry Stephenson, chief orchardist at Southern Cultured Orchards and Nursery in Carrolton, Mississippi, talks about heirloom apples with local gardener Gene Rogers during the Northeast Louisiana Master Gardener Association Ag Expo Gardening Seminar in West Monroe on Jan. 19. Photo by Johnny Morgan/LSU AgCenter

John Coykendall, a master gardener at Blackberry Farm in Walland, Tennessee, and the featured speaker at the Northeast Louisiana Master Gardener Association Ag Expo Gardening Seminar in West Monroe on Jan. 19, shares his expertise on collecting seeds that are nearing extinction with an attendee. Photo by Johnny Morgan/LSU AgCenter

Garden enthusiasts pick up free vegetable and flower seeds during the Northeast Louisiana Master Gardener Association Ag Expo Gardening Seminar in West Monroe on Jan. 19. Photo by Johnny Morgan/LSU AgCenter