Author Archives: Biologicalenrichment

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About Biologicalenrichment

I started a farm and nursery in the early 1980’s called Oikos Tree Crops. It was once a 13 acre pasture. Today it is a forest rich in food producing plants. I am dedicated to finding, preserving, creating and disseminating a wide variety of food plants via seeds that I harvest at my farm. I explore new plants and healthy ways to raise them. I focus on my seed repository while providing seeds to others that wish to follow my bold experiment in some way or form. My farm is one of the oldest and most diverse maintained tree crop plantings in the U.S. using many plants from around the world as a form of global agroforestry applied at a local level. Every plant grown on my farm is grown from seeds. I use the tree crop philosophy as a means to expand the use of perennial, woody tree and shrub crops raised from seed without the use of chemical and high energy inputs.The two story agriculture is alive and well at Oikos Tree Crops. This blog highlights ecological enrichment as a means to improve human health and raise awareness of the possibilities of creating a healthy earth and a wealthy farmer. My story is told by describing my 50 years of farming and life experiences surrounding agriculture filled with my love of nature and my constant search for a greater diversity beyond the cultivar on a global stage.

A Canvas and Some Paint

A Story of Creative Forestry and “Sweeta” Wild Black Cherry-Prunus serotina It is very interesting to learn about the relationships people have with nature. I love hearing stories from people who farm and discover plants and animals. Some of the … Continue reading

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Asparagii of Unknown Origins

For many years I was on the hunt for wild asparagus seeds for my nursery. I needed asparagii but only from seed. Not far from my nursery was a real life asparagus nursery which was 100 percent clonal. The asparagus … Continue reading

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The Jerusalem Artichoke Goes the Distance

It’s a root. It’s a tuber. It’s Super Sunflower. One of the great joys of growing plants is when you find a unique plant with characteristics in what would be considered impossible odds from a sea of uniformity. Because it’s … Continue reading

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Taco Bebbs Oak: Increasing Diversity

Bebbs Oak  Quercus x bebbiana  Quercus macrocarpa x alba Bur-White Hybrid Oak When I first started my oak collection, I found myself wheeling and dealing in acorns. It was like poker but with acorns. Everyone wins. Diversity increases. “Hit me.” … Continue reading

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Biodiversity in Fruits: 250 Year Old Pear Leads the Way

Diversity Expands In Novel Ecological Ways If you look at all the different systems of growing food, the plants used in human designed systems cannot regenerate on their own and go in what could be called creative directions outside what … Continue reading

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The Inbetweeners

Hybrid American Chestnuts: Castanea dentata x mollissima When I first started my nursery, I was always trying to find new seed sources to grow trees. A lot of my early sources were people known to me by reading Organic Gardening … Continue reading

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Returning to the Wild is Not That Wild

The above image is my ongoing wild potato release program for the feral potato. I’m trying to create a mini-potato oasis in the middle of a field. Eventually you have to let them go back to the wild. As you … Continue reading

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Chinquapin Chestnut: It’s Natural

A New Chinquapin Variety-“Resilient” One of the first oaks I grew at my farm was the Turkey Oak, Quercus cerris. The tree has a huge range in Europe and grows to massive sizes. I used a wide variety of seed … Continue reading

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Hip to Be: Wild Roses and Their Fruits

“Hip to be or not to be. That is the question.” Philosopher Rosa Pomeifera The idea of cultivating roses for their fruit is a funny thing. If you think about it, uncultivated wild roses often produce hips in great numbers. … Continue reading

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Black Mulberry

There is a magnificent specimen of black mulberry filled with lustrous green foliage in Central Park. I had my brother help me photograph one of the branches. To me it was a miracle because it isn’t suppose to survive in … Continue reading

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