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Category Archives: Miracles of Nature
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
Posted in Ecology-Biodiversity-Integration, Miracles of Nature
Tagged agriculture, archaeology, culture, food, history, lima beans, plant connections
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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
Posted in Diversity Found, Ecology-Biodiversity-Integration, Miracles of Nature
Tagged agriculture, beach plum, crop biodiversity, ecology, food, fruit farming, gardening, Prunus maritima, seeds
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The Young and Evolving Oak Tree
I was surprised to read this descriptive terminology of the oak genus and related families by a taxonomist many years ago. It really stuck and I have used it many times in writing about oaks in my catalogs. Usually cold … Continue reading
Posted in Diversity Found, Ecology-Biodiversity-Integration, Miracles of Nature
Tagged acorns, edible acorns, food, oak, oak tree, quercus, timber
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Wild Strawberry Sense of Humor
Everyone loves wild strawberries. It’s a universal fruit with universal appeal. The flavor is always rich in gold. They are impossible to resist. Here grows a small perennial plant that effortlessly skips along the ground rooting as it goes through … Continue reading
Posted in Diversity Found, Ecology-Biodiversity-Integration, Miracles of Nature
Tagged agriculture, Fragaria, plant breeding, seeds, strawberry, wild fruits, wild strawberry
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Diversity Rises in the Forest: Wild Black Cherry
I did not grow the wild black cherry at my farm. It grew by itself. Today it self-seeds freely under my tree crops. It is a native tree found from Guatemala to Canada. This huge range has great diversity. Almost … Continue reading
Posted in Diversity Found, Ecology-Biodiversity-Integration, Miracles of Nature
Tagged agriculture, black cherry, chokecherry, ecology, food, nature, pincherry, Prunus serotina, seeds, Sweeta, wild cherry
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Cactus Town
I saw it first on a walk with my daughter near a sidewalk. As we rounded the corner, a cardboard sign alerted us saying it was “Free’. There it hung on a bamboo stake neatly tied by a small piece … Continue reading
Posted in Diversity Found, Ecology-Biodiversity-Integration, Miracles of Nature
Tagged biodiversity, cactus, cactus fruit, crop diversity, food crops, fruit, gardening, nature, nopal, plants, tunas
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Peach Nirvana: Peaches from Pits
The very first peach I had ever seen on a tree was from a backyard gardener next to my family home in Saginaw, Michigan. Peaches were not common there because of the late frosts and cold winters. My neighbor was … Continue reading
Posted in Diversity Found, Ecology-Biodiversity-Integration, Miracles of Nature
Tagged agriculture, ecology, food, fruit, gardening, heirloom peach, nature, organic peaches, peach culture, peach pits, peach seeds, peaches
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Peaches From Pits
One of my local customers told me about a peach in his front yard that had a lot of fruit on that he did not want. It was horrible tasting he said and filled with worms. Perfect. I was very … Continue reading
Posted in Diversity Found, Ecology-Biodiversity-Integration, Miracles of Nature
Tagged peach, peach flowers, peach pits, seedling trees, seedlings
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Diversity Explored: The European Chestnut
When I was first introduced to the European chestnut, I found it as a shrubby and stunted tree barely able to cope with Michigan’s cold winters. It was on top of a dune overlooking Lake Michigan near Grand Traverse Bay. … Continue reading
Posted in Diversity Found, Ecology-Biodiversity-Integration, Miracles of Nature
Tagged chestnut, chestnut seeds, European chestnut, fast growing, hybrid chestnuts, nuts, plants, seeds
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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
Posted in Diversity Found, Ecology-Biodiversity-Integration, Miracles of Nature
Tagged apple wood, apples, crabapple, ecology, fast growing, forest, forest fruits, healthy trees, timber apple
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