Saving Seeds and Stories with John Coykendall. Master Gardener at Blackberry Farm.

by Amy Campbell


S13:E2. 01.10.2026

Saving Seeds and Stories with John Coykendall. Master Gardener at Blackberry Farm.

Seed Saving & Stories with our seed-saving pal John Coykendall of Knoxville, TN. John tells us how he became a seed saver, some of the varieties he has saved, where to find old-time heirloom seed like the ones he saves, and shares plus some cute stories. John and I (Amy) worked together in the garden at Blackberry Farm together in 2007, where I learned from John the importance of this heirloom seed.

Many of the varieties that John has saved and referenced in the podcast can be purchased at http://www.seedsavers.org/

John Coykendall on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/john.coykendall.3

John Coykendall documentary: https://www.lpb.org/programs/deeply-rooted-john-coykendalls-journey-to-save-our-seeds-and-stories

John Coykendall book: https://lsupress.org/books/detail/preserving-our-roots/

Fred Sauceman “Pot Luck Radio”: https://www.facebook.com/fred.sauceman

Emi Sunshine (Sings our theme song): https://theemisunshine.com/

More heirloom seed sources:

Seed Savers Exchange : https://www.seedsavers.org/

Southern Exposure Seed: https://www.southernexposure.com/

Sow True Seed: https://sowtrueseed.com/

Rare Seeds: https://www.rareseeds.com/

Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, Rare Seed: https://www.rareseeds.com/

John Coykendall at his home with journals and seeds. Photo Shawn Poynter.