Looking for whole pumpkins!

November here in Canada means harvest, root vegetables, warm meals and hunkering down for the winter.

November in Zambia means hot hot weather, hopefully the rains come and planting a lot of seeds.

It is always a rush for me to get the pumpkin seeds dry so I can send them to Zambia. It could take 5+ days to get them there via DHL so I don’t want them to go moldy during transit so all of the seeds I send must be dry.

I usually pick up un-cut pumpkins from my neighbourhood a week or so after Halloween but this year I was fortunate to have my neighbour Lorraine, her husband and her two little girls donate their whole pumpkins for me to take the seeds and send with my  already packed seeds waiting to be sent.

This shipment I am sending lettuce seeds ( Thanks Uncle Lyn), pumpkin, (thanks Lorraine), pomegranate,( thanks Sobeys) yellow tomatoe, (Thanks Michelle from Thorncliffe Park Urban Farmers), sweet peppers, Butternut squash, (thanks Mr. Beer & Bendale B.T.I students), Cantaloupe seeds, (thanks Rean from The Big Carrot), Mustard & Leek seeds from a gentleman I met at our Garage Sales and the rest I have saved or purchased myself like Peach, plum, pear, avocado, and many many more to see the list of what was sent with this shipment see below. 145,322 seeds in all were sent on Nov.16, 2017 totaling 4,654,028 seeds sent since October 2013.

We are sending Physalis or Golden Berry seeds from Columbia which are high in vitamin C, have Anti-Inflammatory Properties, helps Prostate, Diabetes Control, Improves Liver & Kidney Health and much more.

Antioxidant Content

The most important benefits of golden berries are derived from their high antioxidant content, which makes them an ideal nutritional supplement for preventing certain chronic diseases, including certain types of cancers. Antioxidants, like the carotenoids and polyphenolic compounds found in golden berries, can neutralize free radicals, the damaging byproducts of cellular metabolism that can cause healthy cells to mutate into cancerous ones. This is the quality that makes golden berries a “superfood”. Research has shown that polyphenols can stop the spread of various types of cancer, making it a very important food source in many parts of the world.

https://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/fruit/golden-berries.html

Physalis or Golden Berries

This shipment will go to our Resource Garden in Mongu,  and our new connection named Happy Chooma in Kalabo.

We are also sending seeds to Muyunda Kwaleyela at Sioma Ngwezi National Park to help feed the conservation officers and our newest location in Chipata Zambia to our manager Paul Chibesa  at The Ngoni Seed Bank & Trees for Elephants where the rainy season has just started. More details to follow in another blog.

So next year if you don’t cut your pumpkin open I would be happy to save it from the yard waste pick up and send the pumpkin seeds to Africa.

Let me know and I will come and pick it up!

Thanks Joanne

List of seeds sent this month.