Episode 131: OTL sowalong part three - inside the seed

The fruit and seeds of the saguaro cactus (Carnegiea gigantea). Photograph: Ken Bosma on Flickr.

The fruit and seeds of the saguaro cactus (Carnegiea gigantea). Photograph: Ken Bosma on Flickr.

Transcript

Episode 131

[music]

Jane: Hello and welcome to On The Ledge podcast and breathe! It's Friday 13th March 2020 and I don't know about you but I am desperately in need of a bit of a calming release from the stressful news of the day, so, here we are! On The Ledge podcast is here for you today and every week as we go through this pandemic that we're all facing right now. In this week's show, On The Ledge sowalong part three, we'll be finding out exactly what's going in a seed as it starts to germinate. I'll also be bringing updates on what everyone's been sowing. I'll be answering a question about gardening books and we meet listener Sam.

A bit of housekeeping as we get underway and the first thing to say is that there's been a small change of plan with the Chelsea Flower Show. I had announced that I was going to be interviewing James Wong. Unfortunately, James has had to make a change of plans due to other commitments that he has. He's a very busy man, as you know. So, instead, I will be interviewed about house plants by the designer Paul Harvey-Brookes. So, still a great talk and a very big reason to get along to the Chelsea Flower Show this year. I'm crossing everything in sight that the show goes ahead. Obviously we don't know at the moment what the situation will be with the coronavirus. We're working on the basis at the moment that the show is happening, the RHS is going ahead. I'm going to hold off on running the competition for tickets at the moment just because things are so uncertain. I will bring you the details for the competition a little bit nearer the time.

Thank you to my new Patreon subscribers this week. They are Megan, Lydia, Laura and Alysa, who all became Ledge-ends and Sara who became a Crazy Plant Person. If you want to find out how to unlock extra exclusive content including more than 40 episode of my bonus podcast, An Extra Leaf, then visit the show notes at JanePerrone.com Do pop along to the Facebook group, House Plant Fans of On The Ledge, if you need another outlet for your thoughts and desires about house plants because that is a great group for sharing all kinds of posts. There is always somebody there to comment and put in their tuppence on the matter, so it's a great community because you're only allowed in if you answer all the questions and show that you really are a fan of the show. Best of all, there's absolutely no drama thanks to my wonderful moderators, Nathaniel, Amy and my assistant, Kelly. So you'll find us on Facebook as House Plant Fans of On The Ledge. We're up to more than 1,200 members now and it's growing all the time, so do come and join us!

Just advance warning I'm doing a Q&A special over Easter, so do get in touch with your queries and I will be loading them up in to my query queue and getting on with as many of them as possible. So do drop me a line. As always, lots of information in there if possible, with pictures and your location, what your plant is and what's happened to it would be fantastic! I'll do my best to either answer it in an upcoming episode, drop you a line back personally or cover it in that special Q&A episode, which will be episode 135.

On to today's business! I thought we'd start with Meet the Listener this week for a change, so it's time to meet listener Sam.

[music]

Sam: Hey everyone, my name is Sam Sumpter and I'm very excited for you to all get to learn a little bit about me, a fellow listener. I grew up in the state of Kansas in the US and probably had my first exposure to plants gardening with my mom around the age of five. One thing eventually led to another and now I found myself having recently graduated with a degree in horticulture and working as an assistant grower for a local production nursery. My love for house plants started a few years ago. It seems to be reaching a limit due to space in my one-bedroom apartment but I haven't let that stop me from getting more just yet.

Jane: Question one - there's a fire and all your plants are about to burn. Which one do you grab as you escape?

Sam: If going for sentimentality, I probably have to go for my variegated schefflera that I've had for like fourteen years, but just going on pure favourites - probably going to grab my big Philodendron mexicanum.

Jane: Question two - Wwat is your favourite episode of On The Ledge?

Sam: I can't remember the exact number but I would have to say the recent episode on Lithops would be my favourite. I think they're just one of the most interesting little houseplants and it was great to hear such a wealth of information from an expert on them.

Jane: Question three - which Latin name do you say to impress people?

Sam: When talking specifically about one of my plants, I'd have to say Thaumatophyllum spruceanum.

Jane: Question four - crassulacean acid metabolism or guttation?

Sam: Always got to go with Crassulacean acid metabolism.

Jane: Question five - would you rather spend £200 on a variegated Monstera or £200 on 20 interesting cacti?

Sam: Especially now that I'm trying to limit myself to only more wish list plants outside of plant swaps, I would definitely have to go with the variegated Monstera.

[music]

Jane: Now it's time for Question of the Week. That comes from Lynne. She got in touch to say that she listens to On The Ledge every day on her commute to work. "Thank you for your wonderful sense of humour and abundant knowledge of plants." My pleasure, Lynne! Now, Lynne says she's heard me refer to the Houseplant Expert numerous times. Yes Lynne I do talk about it a lot, you're absolutely right, this cannot be denied! She says that she had this book when she was a teenager and loves it too but she adds are there any other houseplant books you might recommend? Great question.

As you can imagine I have an awful lot of houseplant books leaning back in my chair I can see there's at least three shelves worth of house plant books among my many other gardening books, so it's quite difficult to narrow it down. I have managed to pull from those shelves five books other than Dr Hessayon's good work, which I think would be great general books on house plants. Some of them are current volumes, some of them are ones from the past that you may need to get second hand, so let's have a look at what we've got here. The first one is the RHS Practical House Plant Book by Fran Bailey and Zia Allaway. It is really, I guess, the modern day equivalent of the Hessayon book in some respects, lots of plant profiles of different houseplants and practical advice. The thing that's mainly different is that there are quite a few little projects that you can do, so for example, how to do a Kokedama fern, succulent wreath, willow climbing frame. That's a really good idea, willow climbing frame, I like the idea of that. I'm going to have a look at that later, that's a nice little frame for a Hoya or something made out of pieces of willow pole. Yes, this is a good book, it's got lots of styling things in it as well as plant profiles. I would say that the plant profiles are a tiny bit less detailed and there isn't a lot on plant propagation and things like that. So, yes, it's still well worth a look if you want to get into houseplants and want a general guide and this is published by DK. I'll put all these books in my show notes by the way for you to take a look at if you want to look there.

Next up, this is going back to the past, this book was published 1979 and it's called The Care of Houseplants, illustrated step-by-step, published by Peter Lowe and the author is a guy called David Longman. The picture on the inside cover, he's such a dude this guy, this book is probably my favourite of this pile of five I've got here because it's got really detailed entries for each of the plants that it profiles with lovely line drawings of how to take stem cuttings, how to repot, how to spray and clean the leaves of a citrus. This is a really detailed book, I think it's well worth a look if you want that catch-all houseplant book. On the cover, the lady has got a wonderful copper watering can and she's staring lovingly at her ficus pumila in a macramé basket, so it's all very late-70s, but as I say, it hasn't really aged in many respects in terms of the advice in there, so check that one out. I'm going to move those out of the way because they're getting heavy.

I've got a book by a friend of the show, Alys Fowler's Plant Love, so we talked about this many moons ago on the show. This book came out about two or three years ago, it's published by Kyle Books. Alys, you can't go wrong with Alys really because she knows her stuff as well as beautiful inspirational pictures, information on Latin names and so on. If you love Alys Fowler that's a great one to look at. Next up we're going back to the future once more, this one is What Houseplant Where? by Roy Lancaster and Matthew Biggs. This is one is good if, for example, you're looking for large specimen house plants for a big room, or you're looking for houseplants with scented foliage or you're looking for house plants with sword like leaves because that's how this book is divided. Each section covers a different kind of group of plants and it will really help you to narrow down your choices for those places. There's also growing guides for each of those plants that are mentioned and some useful illustrations. It's a really lovely book, this came out in '98, it's a Dorling Kindersley book. The thing I like also is there's a nice choosing the right plants for your home section, which has got detailed ideas of what to put where. This book is a really nice one for those of you looking for an overall plan for your houseplants in your home.

Finally, we go to the extremes of the style end of things, a book called The Indoor Garden by the designer John Brookes. I think I've mentioned this on the show before. This has really stood the test of time this book. It's published by Guild Publishing and it came out in 1986. There are a few pictures which make you realise that it's a bit dated, but overall, the design aesthetic is wonderful as you would expect from a designer like John Brookes. There's some wonderful pictures in here. I'm currently looking at a wonderful picture of a fireplace with an asparagus fern that's just going all over the place above this fireplace and looks amazing. There are detailed instructions here for making a moss pole out of small gauge chicken wire and moss. If you were going to make a moss pole that's a really good way of doing it if you do actually want to add humidity to the plant because that'll really work well. They've got detailed instructions on planting up hanging baskets, making water gardens. There's also some stuff about arranging flowers and arranging dried flowers in a basket, probably not something that has translated well from the 1980s but there are lots of things that will translate very, very nicely. If you like looking at pictures of rooms from the '80s, boy there are some treats in here for you. There's also plants arranged by different design aesthetics, so trailing plants, bushy plants, pinks, mauves and purples, and some wonderful flat lays as we call them these days with different types of leaves and different flowers arranged, so you can check out what looks good. So this is a really fine book to get your hands on if you can because it will give you a sense of what might go well together and some styling tips that aren't just based on the 2020 aesthetic but look back at what's worked in the past as well.

So that's five books that would be a great starter library for somebody who is getting into house plants. Obviously there are specialist books about all kinds of things and I've got many more books that I could tell you about on my book shelves, but that's for another day! But Lynne, I hope for the moment that gives you an idea of the kind of things you could be splashing out on to get your house plant book collection started.

Of course, if you don't have a copy of the Houseplant Expert by Dr David Hessayon's, check out the gold plated edition, which is either in red and gold, or red and black cover. That really is my bible and definitely worth looking out for when you're next in a charity or thrift shop.

[music]

Jane: Thanks to everyone who's been in touch about the On The Ledge Sowalong, tagged a post on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook with their progress, or asked a question. I'm really glad that you're all enjoying the experience of getting involved in the Sowalong. Don't worry if you hadn't had any time to get hold of seeds yet, there's plenty of time to go. If you want lots of practical advice on finding seed, choosing seed, sowing seed, then do check out the On The Ledge Sowalong page on my website - I'll put a link to it in my show notes - which includes all the previous episodes & which has got tons of great advice. If you are writing about the Sowalong, do remember to include the hashtag #OTLSowalong with your post. That will help me to spot it and therefore I'll know how you're getting along and will also be mentioning some of you in the show.

I asked you to tell me about how plants were going for previous On The Ledge sowalongs and on Instagram, CactiWithCharacter posted a lovely picture of a cactus sown last April, which is adorable and cute and looks like it's doing absolutely brilliantly, so well done to CactiwithCharacter who also sells some really lovely plant t-shirts. Definitely worth checking out if you like a bit of plant-themed clothing. Also on Instagram, Mossicked, has got some African Violet seedlings growing really well - another you can grow from seed very easily. I think Mossicked has been so successful that they're not actually sure what they're going to do with all those babies. Send some my way, why not? The lovely ItsPamEla, says: "I made cacti, you guys!" I'm glad you're excited Pam - that's great to see! On the Facebook page, Andy has been showing pictures off of his Aloe polyphylla from last year's Sowalong - my they do look fine, Andy! And he's going to be sowing some Wollemia seeds this year, that rare Australian tree, so that'll be interesting to see how well they go. Who else have we got? Kylieukscaha has got a Coleus plant that they grew last year. Well done, that looks amazing!

Now let's look at what people are up to with this year's Sowalong. Over on Twitter Kapiapoa has been growing chillies which are getting a bit lanky and they've run out of propagating space so the bathroom will have to do. I do love growing chillies. I must sow my soon because that's one of my fave, fave things to grow. If you're still looking at chilli seeds, I really like the variety, Trifetti, which is only going to get to about 40cm tall and has amazing green, white and purple variegated leaves and purple fruits. Kapiapoa is also growing cactus and succulent seeds from the BCSS - well done you. And StoneCropped3 has sown chilli plants, Astrophytum Asterias Super Kabuto and Euphorbia obesa for the Sowalong. While SouthSeaJungle has been bringing on some oxalis bulbs. We're not sticklers here, if you want to plant some little oxalis bulblets, that's absolutely fine. I have just recently planted some Oxalis corymbosa aureo-reticulatabulblets, which are the Shamrock that has an amazing network of golden veins. I am so excited about that one. No sign of growth yet, but I'm hoping the heat mat they're on will prompt them into life. I'll post a picture of those in the show notes, so you can see what I'm talking about.

FiveGreenFingers on Twitter is growing Coleus - excellent! He last did it when he was ten. Alistair and I'm sure you'll do absolutely fine and all the memories will come flooding back. Ashleigh is looking for advice on houseplants she can sow that aren't cacti or succulents and she doesn't like palms. Actually, if you're into Coleus, they're a really good choice. Also the Gesneriads, there are loads of different Gesneriad family members that you can sow, from African Violets, as we've already seen, to Streptocarpus, to Sinningias - the seed of those is pretty freely available or you can join the Gesneriad society scheme. These plants are pretty tough and don't need particularly great light levels, so they make great indoor plants.

You can also grow air plants from seed and unusualseeds.net does have some of these in stock at the moment. They've got various Tillandsia species available by seed. You could also try Plectranthus, which is often grown as a houseplant, as well as being an outside bedding plant during the summer. I've noticed that SeedMan.com has seed for the Griffin Begonia, which is a really beautiful plant. SeedMan.com is also the place to go for seed for asparagus ferns which they have in abundance. I was also very excited to read Jessie's post on the Facebook group. She's found a flower on her Chlorophytum amaniense that's got a bunch of seeds on it. She's planted them up and within two weeks she's got some growth after putting that on a seed pad. So that's really wonderful and just shows you that you don't necessarily have to buy seed if one of your plants produces a seed pod it's always worth potting that up. It may not work, you may not get anything viable, but it's certainly worth giving it a go. You really do have nothing to lose.

Also on the Facebook group, Emily, who we heard in last week's episode's Meet the Listener, has got her Echeveria seeds in. She's growing Echeveria agavoides Romeo Rubin and Echeveria hyalina and she's got a grow light to make sure they get plenty of light. That sounds fantastic and it's really great to hear from listeners about everything that you're getting up to for the Sowalong. So do remember, add that hashtag and if I possibly can I'll give you a shout-out in the show.

Jane: So now we're up-to-date with all your sproutings, let's have a little chat about seeds. I hope this doesn't end up feeling like up like too much of botany lesson but I think it's really interesting to delve into what exactly is going on inside our seeds before, during and after germination. One of the first things you can observe about your seed is whether it's orthodox or recalcitrant. Recalcitrant seeds are generally the kind of things that need to be sown really fresh in order for them to germinate, in other words, once they start drying out they tend to lose viability pretty swiftly, whereas orthodox seeds, these are the ones that are programmed to dry out and then wait until conditions are right to germinate.

So, for example, the avocado seed, which we know all about from growing them in our previous On The Ledge episode, it's recalcitrant. If you leave that seed to dry out, it's not going to do very well, so that's why we use the technique of taking the stone out of the fruit and getting it sown as soon as possible. Orthodox seeds by their nature can be sown long after they've been collected, so generally these are the easier ones to deal with. Cacti fits into the orthodox category, as do many of the other houseplants that we might grow like Gesneriads. A lot of the aroids tend to be recalcitrant and there are also some seeds that are intermediate, somewhere in the middle. So, as we always say, check your seed packet to see whether your seed needs to be sown straight away.

Before we go any further, there is one fundamental thing we haven't actually established yet, what actually is a seed? It's a good question to ask. Well, it's a package, a survival package for a plant that contains everything it needs from the DNA that makes the new plant, to the protein and starch that feeds its development once the right conditions are met. It's a kind of propagule, which just means any bit of plant that's used for making new plants. If you're talking about asexual reproduction, then that would be something like a stem cutting or a leaf cutting. If you're talking about sexual reproduction, as we are here, it's a seed, or in the case of ferns, as we found out the other week, a spore.

If you take a cross-section of most seeds you'll find they come in three parts. You've got the seed coat, the outside bit, the technical name for this is the Testa. Then you've got the embryo and then you've got the source of nutrients and food, the endosperm. There's something called the micropyle in the testa or seed coat, this is the weak spot, the Achilles heel of that seed coat, which is the point where moisture will be allowed in to get that seed going inside. Once the seed is germinated and that embryo starts to grow, then that's what turns into the seed leaves, or cotyledon, the root and the stem of the plant.

As you'll know if you've bought a few different packets of seeds and open them up, seeds can vary massively in how they look. That's because they're adapted differently for different kinds of dispersion. So, for example, something like the avocado seed, as we discovered in the avocado episode, that was designed for the giant sloth to munch on and then pass out of its system in its poop and germinate from there. So it's held within a delicious fleshy fruit. Tiny little seeds with parachutes, they're usually ones that are spread by wind, whereas some seeds are designed to float on water, like the coconut.

If you're interested in seeing the sheer diversity of the world of seeds, there's a very good book called The Book of Seeds: A Life-size Guide to 600 Species From Around The World. This is a book that's well worth a look if you like looking at crazy seeds. There are some beauties in here. It also has information about all kinds of seed-related issues. I have to say that the most unusual looking seed in this book has to be the seed of Strelitzia reginae, the Bird of Paradise flower, which is a black oval with this incredible aril at the top. So this is the appendage which attracts spreaders of seed, dispersers of seed, such as birds, to pick up the seed. This is like an orange mop of hair, an incredible orange wig on top of this black seed. It looks amazing, so definitely worth getting hold of some Bird of Paradise seed if you can. Worth noting with this seed, it's got a really hard casing which is designed to withstand passing through the bird's gut, so it's most definitely in the orthodox category, in other words, it's tolerant of being dried out. So it could be a while before your seed germinates and it's definitely beneficial to soak this one before sowing because that way the seed is kick started into life.

Sometimes people also use a technique of giving the seed a bit of a scrub with a bit of sand paper just as you do for sweet pea season in the garden, which also helps to break down that very tough seed coat or testa and get things moving on the sprouting front. Of course, there's much more to seeds than I've been able to squeeze into this episode. If you want to get down and dirty with seed germination, do check out the orchids, which have these incredible associations with mycorrhizal fungi and they have this amazing symbiotic relationship and seem to need this mycorrhizal fungi order to germinate. If you are interested in this, I shall post in the show notes a really interesting article from the Kew Gardens website, which explains how this works. Basically orchid seeds don't have the food supplies that other seeds have, so they have to hook up with some kind of mycorrhizal fungus that then provides it with food as it emerges from the seed. Fascinating stuff, so do go and check that out.

Well, I hope that gives you a new insight into the minute world of your seeds as you're sowing them this Spring. Please, please, please do avoid the mistake I make every single year which is label your seeds properly! Even though you are absolutely 100% sure that you're going to remember what seed you put into what pot or tray, trust me, you won't! In less than 24 hours you'll have completely forgotten and you'll have these mystery trays and not sure what is what, so do label carefully!

So, happy sowing this week and keep me posted on everything you're up to #OTLSowalong and we'll be back next Friday, when I'll be interviewing the founders of the wonderful plant community Urban Jungle about their new book, Plant Tribe. Can't wait! Bye!

[music]

Jane: The music you heard in this episode was Roll Jordan Roll by the Joy Drops and I Snost, I Lost by Doctor Turtle. Both tracks are licensed under Creative Commons. See JanePerrone.com for details.

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In this week’s show, I find out what’s really going on inside your seeds, chronicle your #OTLsowalong successes, answer a listener question about great houseplant books and meet listener Sam.

  • Don’t forget to join the OTL Facebook group, Houseplant Fans of On The Ledge, to become part of our houseplant community!

  • If you want to post on social media about your progress in the On The Ledge sowalong, remember to use #OTLsowalong so I can spot your post easily!

  • There’s been a change to my talk at the Chelsea flower show - it’s still on Friday May 22 at 3pm, but I am now being interviewed by designer Paul Hervey-Brooks. As it stands, the RHS is not planning to cancel the show, but if that changes I shall let you know straightaway. For the moment, I am holding off on the giveaway for a pair of tickets, until the situation becomes clearer.

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Question of the week

Lynne asked me to recommend some houseplant books other than the oft-mentioned Dr Hessayon’s Houseplant Expert … here’s my top five.

The RHS Practical House Plant Book by Fran Bailey and Zia Allway (DK, 2018)

This is probably the modern-day equivalent of Dr Hessayon’s Houseplant Expert, with lots of practical advice for houseplant growers. The plant profiles are perhaps a little less detailed, and there isn’t a huge amount on plant propagation, but the projects are a nice addition, and are all very achievable even for the DIY-ice challenged like me!

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The Care of Houseplants by David Longman (Peter Lowe, 1979)

This is probably my favourite of the five because it has really detailed entries for each of the plants it profiles, with beautiful line drawings of tasks connected with the plants it profiles: of which there are many.

It’s probably not the book for you if you want advice on styling, but for solid houseplant growing advice, it’s excellent.

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Plant Love by Alys Fowler (Kyle Books, 2017)

Friend of the show Alys Fowler’s book is beautifully shot without looking like one of those unattainable houseplant styling books. She covers plant care and profiles key plants in detail, producing an all-round general houseplant book that’s hot on sustainability.

Alys’s writing style is accessible and clear, and she has a great way of spreading her passion for plants to her readers.

Oh, and she covers Crassulacean Acid Metabolism too!

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What Houseplant Where by Roy Lancaster and Matthew Biggs (Dorling Kindersley, 1998)

If you are looking for a specimen plant for a big room, or houseplants with sword-shaped leaves, this is a great resource as it will help you narrow join your choices.

There are useful illustrations and plant profiles as well as a handy room-by-room section called ‘choosing the right plant for your home’.

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The Indoor Garden by John Brookes (Guild Publishing, 1986)

Brookes - a giant of the British garden design scene, now sadly no longer with us - wrote this wonderful book on indoor plants in the 1980s, but it still stands as a great design resource.

Some of the ideas may not have stood the test of time, but do check out the instructions for making a moss pole, they really are far superior to the poles you can buy today! You’ll also love the flat lays of gorgeous houseplant leaves and the delightful eighties styling of some of the rooms.

Want to ask me a question? Tweet @janeperrone, leave a message on my Facebook page or email ontheledgepodcast@gmail.com. The more information you can include, the better - pictures of your plant, details of your location and how long you have had the plant are always useful to help solve your issue!

Golden-veined shamrock, available from Glasshouse Works.

Golden-veined shamrock, available from Glasshouse Works.

#OTLsowalong updates

  • Remember, there is loads of information on how to find seed, how to sow it and how to care for your seedlings - check my OTL sowalong page for more.

  • My recommendation for windowsill chillies are the compact, variegated variety ‘Trifetti’ aka ‘Purple Tiger’.

  • The golden-veined shamrock I am trying to grow from bulbils is Oxalis corymbosa aureo-reticulata, pictured left. I got mine from West Cornwall Carnivores on eBay.

  • Ashley was looking for stuff to grow that’s not cacti or succulents. Did you know you can buy airplants from seed? Online shop Unusual Seeds has various Tillandsia species for sale. Seedman.com has seeds of the ‘Gryphon’ Begonia and asparagus ferns in its houseplant pages.

Inside the seed

Seed is classified as either orthodox or recalcitrant: recalcitrant seed need to be planted quickly after harvesting, as they will not stay viable if they become dry, whereas orthodox seed can be dried and will still sprout. Chilli seeds, for instance, are orthodox, whereas avocado seeds are recalcitrant.

What’s a seed anyway? It’s a package containing all the materials needed to make a new plant: DNA, protein and starch. A seed is a propagule, which simply means a unit of propagation, be it asexual (eg a stem cutting) or sexual (seeds). Most seeds have three main parts: a seed casing aka testa, the embryo, which goes on to form the root, cotyledon(s) and stem, and the endosperm, which is mostly starch. The micropyle is a weak point in the testa where water begins to enter as the germination process begins.

Want to know more? The Book of Seeds is a lovely compendium of seeds from around the world. Strelitzia reginae (bird of paradise) is a standout for its bright orange aril which encourages birds to pick up and disperse the seed.

If you are interested in my reference to orchid seeds and their relationships with fungi, check out this piece from the Kew Gardens website.

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CREDITS

This week's show featured the tracks Roll Jordan Roll by the Joy Drops, Chiefs by Jahzzar and I Snost, I Lost by Doctor Turtle.

Logo design by Jacqueline Colley.