The Poor Prole’s Almanac

In this episode, we dive into the history and use of the American hazelnut. Often an afterthought in nut production, the American hazelnut offers significant potential as a food crop while also offering critical ecosystem services. We compare its pro...

In this episode, we're joined by the Ozark Chinquapin Foundation to discuss the historical context of the Ozark and the breeding work they're doing to create blight-resistant native chinquapin chestnuts. What potential do they have to restore chestnu...

In this episode, we dive into the history of the forgotten chinquapin and what new research tells us about its diversity and actual range. For folks unfamiliar, the chinquapin is often considered the smaller cousin of the American Chestnut, despite t...

In this episode, we're joined by the director of the University of Tennessee’s tree improvement program, Dr. Scott Schlarbaum. Most people listening are probably surprised that any university offers a tree improvement program, and they’d be even more...

The prole boys finally tackle the most divisive of nuts-- the black walnuts. Are they feety? How important have they been historically, anyway? Is juglone actually a problem-- and if so, what can be done about it? Lastly, what about the black walnut ...

We're joined by Ken Asmus from the infamous Oikos Tree Crops to talk about 40 years of plant breeding, the future of perennial crops. We chat extensively about the work he's been doing around oaks, black walnuts, potatoes, chufa, sunchokes, and many,...

Elliott & Matt are back to discuss the oak tree, acorns, whether or not Elliott works for the CIA, and the pecularities of processing acorns.    The Quercus genus is arguably the most important genus for all living things on earth, including huma...

In this episode, we're joined by Dan Kittredge to discuss the work his organization the Bionutrient Food Association is doing. The Bionutrient Institute team is a global collection of scientists, technicians, engineers, organizers, and others working...

In this episode, we're joined by Dr. Eric Burhart from Penn State's Environmental Center. Eric's focus is around wild plant research, stewardship, and use, and we get to dive into this subject specifically around ramps and ghost pipe, although he ha...

This episode is special, as we have paired it with a lengthy 2-part scything 101 collaborative substack piece. We're joined by Benjamin Brownlow of Fox Holler Almanac & Farmstead to discuss the application of the scythe and basics around making t...