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.

The American Chestnut Revisited

Thanks to a previous generation of growers who appreciated and loved the chestnut tree for its nuts and wood quality, I was able to grow the hybrid populations on my farm. From these seedling American hybrid nuts, I was able … Continue reading

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The Alpine Strawberry Moves to Flat-Landia

One of the most common and widely available perennial edible groundcover plants is the Alpine strawberry, Fragaria vesca. I grew as many as I could find in the seed trade. Unlike regular strawberries, Alpine strawberry varieties are grown from seeds. … Continue reading

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Plants That Saw the Light of Day (Part 3)

If you love plants, it is only natural to want to try to grow something that is entirely based on a feeling. There is no objective knowledge or science involved. It is a form of appreciation of the natural world … Continue reading

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Plants That Saw The Light of Day (Part 2)

Every plant that I grew whether it was in great profusion or just a few for experimental purposes had possibilities. If it died unexpectedly or had some horticultural issues of some sort, then I want to know what happened and … Continue reading

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Plants That Saw The Light of Day

(Part 1) I do not have much of a selection process for plants. Every plant looks interesting to me. I really liked the flavor of that wild Rocket I found in the cracks of a sidewalk in Grand Haven, Michigan. … Continue reading

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Two Story Agriculture

Ground Floor and Going Up I first found the concept of Two Story Agriculture in the best selling book Tree Crops: A Permanent Agriculture by J. Russell Smith. He was an economic geographer for Columbia University and had written extensively … Continue reading

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Exploring Diversity: Creating Flavor Forests With the Species Apples

From the time I was a child, I loved to grow plants. I threw a pit of a prune near the back door of my home. A tree emerged and I quickly put it in a pot. How could this … Continue reading

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Thoughts From the Bean Warriors

Thoughts from the Bean Warriors Archaeologists                                                                               Bean Warriors Archaeologists: The jungle was inhospitable.                                                       Bean Warriors: We made it hospitable. Archaeologists: They grew lima beans.                                                            Bean Warriors: It was the protein that didn’t run away. Archaeologists: Small bushy annual … Continue reading

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The Plum From the Beach Comes to Visit and Plans to Stay

Beach Plums I always wondered about the range maps of plants found on the USDA Plants Database.  Is the line of demarcation a real and genuinely smooth line or was it purchased directly from the Sears and Roebuck botanical books … Continue reading

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Making Your Way Through the Storm

When I first purchased my land in the early 1980’s, there was plenty of information in the books on conservation and ecology. I kept some of my texts from college like Fundamentals of Ecology by Eugene Odum and Shrubs and … Continue reading

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