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.

‘Michigan’ Tree Collard: Annual To Perennial in Nature

If you were to grow broccoli or brussel sprouts you might discover by accident a few plants that resprout from the soil level the following spring. It’s a common experience. It is not a reliable means of propagation waiting to … Continue reading →

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The Timber Apple: An Opposite Value Rises in the Forest

All fruit trees contain within them their original blueprint of the forest environment that they were originally found. There are apricots, plums and apples throughout the world that are part of the forests around them in some way. When these … Continue reading →

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It Happens: Growth.

2024 was a year of surprises. Things grow. Part of growth is change. Enjoy. Kenneth Asmus

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Diversity Explored: Serviceberry

At the time of my early nursery life in the 1980’s I was well aware of this beautiful flowering ornamental plant with delicious fruit. Sometimes in the nursery profession, you would not want to use the word serviceberry. It made … Continue reading →

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Diversity Discovered: The Wild Gourd

One of the blessings of growing plants is the unknown progeny produced by cross pollination. This twist of fate brings huge benefits to the plants as they change. The species is plastic and changes over time to help adjust to … Continue reading →

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Diversity Discovered: The Atlantic White Cedar

It is always a surprise to me that a wetland tree found only in swamps, back waters of streams and lake fronts will grow outside of it’s specific low oxygen and high moisture location into the front of the average … Continue reading →

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Dreams of Crop Diversity-The Perennial Bean

The thought of creating or exploring a new crop is a good idea. It is very simple. You start with seeds. All new crops start with new seeds. Like an idea the new seeds are something that no one has … Continue reading →

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The Hazelnut Arrives

It was over forty years ago when I first peered through the tree line on the land I was about to purchase and spotted hazelnuts. It was a good sign. I had no idea what was ahead of me. Here … Continue reading →

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Flavor in the Distance

There are many types of wild fruits that people use for jam, jelly and syrup. These are harvested locally by those who are aware of a unique fruit that are not cultivated. It is made on stove tops in small … Continue reading →

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Alders Grow the Extra Mile

The Genus Alnus contains some amazing unsung heroes of tree crops.There are no commercial stands of alders or horticultural varieties to be found in cultivation. As far as I could tell there were no indications that any nursery produced alders … Continue reading →

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