EP. 37: Cempaxochitl, Papalo, and more tastes of Mexico with Maria Hernandez of Cruz Family Little Farm

About this episode

This episode features an interview with Maria Hernandez about her farming journey and the significance of various Mexican plants.

This episode features an interview with our friend Maria Hernandez of Cruz Family Little Farm about an hour northwest of Philadelphia in Gilbertsville, Pennsylvania. Maria grows vegetables, herbs, and flowers for her community, including many Mexican specialties, some of which she shares through our seed catalog as well. We discussed Maria's life from growing up with eating mangos with chili in a hammock in her grandmother's orchard by the river in Mexico as a child, to moving to NYC, and then starting a farm in Pennsylvania. We walked the field visiting her favorite plants, including Cempaxochitl, which filled her grandmother's house with their aroma and beauty. Cempaxochitl are orange marigolds planted in May or June and harvested for Day of the Dead celebrations in October. SEED STORIES: Cempaxochitl Papalo Epazote Cilantro Macho Jicama Flor de Jamaica (Roselle) Tomatillo LINKS: Cruz Family Little Farm web page Cruz Family Little Farm at Truelove Seeds Cruz Family Little Farm: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok THIS EPISODE SUPPORTED BY: YOU! Please become a Patron for $1 or more a month at Patreon.com/trueloveseeds Scribe Video Center and WPEB, West Philly Community Radio ABOUT…

People in this episode

Hosts: Owen Taylor, Chris Bolden-Newsome

Guest: Maria Hernandez

Topics covered

• Cempaxochitl
• Papalo
• Mexican specialties
• farming
• community

Keywords

• Cruz Family Little Farm
• Gilbertsville
• Day of the Dead
• mangos
• herbs
• vegetables

Mentioned in this episode

Products: Cempaxochitl, Papalo, Epazote, Cilantro Macho, Jicama, Flor de Jamaica, Tomatillo

Books & works: Seeds And Their People

Places: Mexico, Philadelphia, Gilbertsville, Pennsylvania, NYC

More episodes of Seeds And Their People

• EP. 40: Lana Mustafa's Roots of Resilience in Palestine and the Diaspora · January 30, 2026 · 1h 4m
• EP. 39: Mountain Farmers from Burma in Thailand and Philadelphia · January 9, 2026 · 1h 11m
• EP. 38: Vivien Sansour on Palestinian Seeds, Longing, and Love · December 4, 2025 · 1h 6m
• EP. 36: Preserving Seeds, Culture, and Farming Traditions of Battir, Palestine · October 27, 2025 · 1h 11m
• EP. 35: Growing Sabzi from Iran in the San Francisco Bay Area with Reyhan Herb Farm · August 27, 2025 · 1h 4m
• EP. 34: Sankofa Community Farm and the African Diaspora - Go Back and Bring Forward What You Left Behind · March 28, 2025 · 1h 2m