Category Archives: Ecology-Biodiversity-Integration

A healthy environment starts with a healthy human making the best of what is available and adding to what is possible.

I Can Plant Trees

My father took this picture. It was a cloudy day and I wanted to show him what I was up to on my new farm. There was no barn, water or phone. I was planting trees in a little box … Continue reading

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Regeneration Through Dissemination

Like my family’s Christmas tree farms of yesteryear, most tree crops are planted in long rows of a single species to maximize production. At my 13 acre farm, I did not have the luxury of both time and money to … Continue reading

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Simply Making the Plant World More Diverse

One of easiest ways to increase plant diversity in the natural world is to look for potential species that can reproduce and increase on their own without burning, mowing or herbiciding everything to near death. The same can be said … Continue reading

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Now That’s A Grape

Its interesting in that grapes are so widely consumed in so many forms, yet if you mention woody agriculture or tree crops, they are not considered in the same life saving way as a tree. Vitis is vine in Latin. … Continue reading

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Purpurea

Purple pigments in plants attract attention. Probably the most well known purple plant is the purple leaf Norway maple. It is produced from seed as well as varietal selections with intense purple coloration. You still see it in the nursery … Continue reading

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Meet the Perennial Brassicas

It’s a common experience with gardeners to discover sprouts on year old broccoli or cabbage stalks from the year before. Even the Brussel sprouts will kick out a new stem in the second year. This is because by and large … Continue reading

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The Wild Andean Pumpkin

I have always enjoyed finding and growing the ancestors of crop plants. Unlike what would be called scientific breeding or selection I have a different motive. I want to see the plant that began it all. I want to time … Continue reading

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The Edible Lily

I have always found it fascinating to read about the use of wildflowers as food plants. In particular, I wondered how anyone could make a go of harvesting lily bulbs to any degree for food. You hear stories of many … Continue reading

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The Earth Pea

One of the most interesting perennial crops I grow is the earth pea, Lathyrus tuberosus. It reminds me in many ways of the highway pea that is so common along roadways used as a soil stabilizer and nitrogen fixer. As … Continue reading

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The Shape of Oaks To Come

I’ve always like the description of the oak genus as young as evolving. When horticulturists make selections from oak trees they are strictly ornamental in nature and usually columnar in shape. It is old and devolving in terms of our … Continue reading

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