The Utopian Seed Project

06/11/2026

Something fresh is growing at Kelly's Kitchen, and we can't wait to share it with you.

As part of the debut of Plant One More (POM), we're thrilled to partner with The Utopian Seed Project and the incredible Chef Terri Terrell to bring you a new series of accessible, educational cooking videos celebrating the foods we grow and the many ways we can enjoy them.

Here's a little teaser: Chef Terri is taking on one of the most underrated vegetables in the garden—celery. In the full video, she'll show us how to transform this humble ingredient into two delicious dishes: a comforting braised celery recipe and a bright, refreshing celery salad. Along the way, you'll learn why almost every part of celery can be used and even how to regrow it at home in water or soil for a fun spring gardening project.

This is just a taste of what's to come. Want to watch the full video before everyone else? Join the free tier of our Patreon community! The complete video drops at the end of this week, and we'd love to have you along for the journey.

Join us here: https://www.patreon.com/cw/KellysKitchen2016

We're excited to grow, cook, and learn together through Plant One More—and this is only the beginning.

05/22/2026

We are thrilled to announce that the Request for Proposals is now LIVE for the 2027 Organic Seed Growers Conference.

In 2027, we will have separate In-person (March 26th & 27th) and Virtual (March 30th & 31st) components, providing an interactive agenda of workshops, demonstrations, farm tours, lightning talks, art, seed swaps, affinity spaces, keynote presentations, and of course – celebration!

We welcome farmers, plant breeders, advocates, government staff, academics, and anyone with practical knowledge of organic seed systems to apply. (Note: Organic certification is not a requirement.)

2027 Conference Priorities:
- Nuts-and-bolts production sessions. (EX: seed cleaning, packing and shipping, contracting) for both beginning and advanced farmers
- Centering farmer voices
- Presenters from a diversity of agricultural backgrounds and approaches
- Meaningful inclusion of racially diverse speakers or communities (i.e. not just as administrators or subjects but as presenters and/or experts)
- Building equity and justice in organic seed work, including participatory methods for building community beyond the Conference cycle
- Interactive or audience-engaged proposals
- Presenters from the Southeast represented as experts across all tracks (seed production, plant breeding, seed stories, and advocacy & policy)

Proposals are due July 1st.

Learn more and submit yours at https://ow.ly/JKrg50Z2Yka

The Utopian Seed Project | NC Alternative Crops & Organics Program

05/22/2026

"I’m obsessed with Vignas. It’s true. They come in all sizes and colors, each deliciously unique. From the adorable fuzzy pods of Vigna mungo, roughly the size of a chubby matchstick, to the multi-colored marbles of Vigna subterannea, and the *actual* yardlong pods of Vigna unguiculata subsp. sesquipedalis. Vigna unguiculata is the star of this particular edition of Crop Stories, but I’ve yet to meet a Vigna that I didn’t fall in love with. I’m delighted to introduce you to these six legume lovers, who in turn, will introduce you to their beloved Vignas." — Chris Smith

The Vigna Monologues: tiny essays on the legumes we love Artwork by Yasmin Ahram

05/18/2026

05/09/2026

I spent the last two days as a guest at the USDAs Griffen Campus where the S9 seed storage facility is housed. Amongst the many seeds in the collection are over 1000 accessions of okra. In 2012 they used a TD-NMR machine, which was described to me as something akin to an MRI machine for seeds, to assess the percentage of oil in the seeds by mass. The seed oil content ranged from 9% to 20%.

In 2021 I requested the top oil seed varieties (19-20% content) from the USDA and made crosses between them all. I ended up with around 40 successful crosses. Jordan Collins and Halsey Congleton we're helping in the field that year!

In 2022 we grew 10 of the F1 lines. In 2023 the grew 1600 of the F2 population and the Conway Lab used an NMR to assess oil seed content so we could make selections for the plants that produced the highest seed oil yield. We repeated the process in 2024 (F3) and 2025 (F4). The lines were stabilizing. The project progressing. And then Princeton's NMR machine broke! There's no way to make the selections without the machine!

As we started casting around for a way to run the oilseed analysis connected me with Dr. Tonnis at the Griffen Campus, who invited me to come use their machine! He's working with peanuts and sesame on fairly similar oilseed analysis and was extremely helpful. He seemed really happy that the seeds they curate and the paper they published had led to a tangible impact on the world!

Perhaps, soon to be tangible... We are one generation closer to a higher oil seed variety! I ran 393 samples through the machine. With a handful of samples clocking in around 27%. We'll grow these out for at least another two generations.

is going to grow the first test of bulk seed oil okra to start working out the process of growing okra for oil!

05/07/2026

Our newest episode of The Crop Stories Podcast features Dr. Edward Davis’s piece on collard seed savers in the heart of the Collard Belt.

This quote by Miss Ira from the episode exemplifies the history of collards and the importance of these greens for African Americans, from the South to Chicago.

Listen to the full episode on our website or wherever you stream podcasts.

05/06/2026

Today!!

The Leicester Farmers Market starts again tomorrow and runs through October.
3- 6:30pm!

05/03/2026

Proud of the work our Culinary Director is doing in the community. Check out the Mother’s Day Brunch at supporting Transformation Village.

100% of ticket sales and 20% of food sales go directly to supporting the Transformation Village!

Here's the all star female team of chefs (all of them have worked with us on Trial to Table events and consistently cook amazing food, so this is going to be great!).

Michelle Bailey - Chef, AB Tech Culinary Instructor
Mallory Foster - Chef, Rhubarb
Jamie Crone .jam - Chef, Food Experience Catering
Brooke Adams - Chef, Finest Deli
Terri Terrell - Chef, Utopian Seed Project

Grab your tickets here: https://resy.com/cities/asheville-nc/venues/rhubarb/events/mothers-day-brunch-benefit-2026-05-10

04/20/2026

Open Call‼️

The Utopian Seed Project’s Crop Stories Program is working on our next publication, and this year, it’s all about Taro!

Following the success of our Southern Pea issue, we’re bringing back a crowd favorite. Our last edition featured the Vigna Monologues, an experimental collection of stories which explored the deep, personal connections writers have with different peas. It was so loved that we’re doing it again for Taro.

We are inviting authors to contribute to Taro Tales, to really demonstrate varietal differences and people’s connections with them. We are seeking short, evocative, and personal stories (100–150 words) centered around these specific crops.

The end date for this Open Call is April 27th, 2026. If you are selected, your Taro Tale submission would be due May 3rd, 2026. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfuatQLEQhH4RI8tInUr31X1A6bPP8JX5st8hEhDWtqhIIFEg/viewform