Tag Archives: ecology

The Year of the Buffalo Gourd

Of the many crop plants that I grew for my retail nursery, the buffalo gourd was one of the most fascinating. Frequently I searched for perennial versions of common annual food plants like squash. The buffalo gourd fell into this … Continue reading

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Persimmon Roots and Their Underground Network

In the beginning, I had a pasture. It was a good pasture used for hay to feed livestock. It consisted of steep hills with flat parts which was almost barren of trees. All I had to do was add trees. … Continue reading

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The Very Wild Texas Peach

The Texas peach represents a great human plant introduction into the southwestern U.S. native flora. It integrates into its surrounding environment and continues to broaden its genetic diversity. When botanists first looked at the peach thriving in the southeastern U.S., … Continue reading

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Tree Crop Pioneers and New American Persimmon Varieties

One of my first persimmon seed sources for trees at my nursery was from a persimmon cannery in Mitchell, Indiana called Dymple’s Delight. I used the cannery waste for producing trees. The seeds were extracted prior to cooking. The seeds … Continue reading

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Watermelons in Trees

One of my first attempts at growing watermelons was a huge success. I was working full time at a garden center and much like all of my co-workers I had a large garden. My garden extended the width of the … Continue reading

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The American Persimmon: Sugar Heaven

Every year is a great joy to harvest American persimmons. This year is no exception. I relish the major brush clearing and grass mowing that is needed for me to obtain the fruit in quantity and quality. To harvest the … Continue reading

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Enhancing the Natural Structures of Trees

Growing trees from seed is a start of creating a forest. Allowing nature to take its course is the easy part. Taking part in caring and guiding your trees is another aspect of growing trees so the whole becomes more … Continue reading

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The Edible World Part 3

When the vegetation management power line people came to my house a few years ago, I asked if people freak out when they show up. The foreman said that once a person decided to stop the carnage by throwing himself … Continue reading

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The Edible World Part 2

This sign from my families farm in the mid 1960’s highlights an activity at our farm enjoyed by many in our part of Michigan. You would get a bucket and go out in our 140 acre swamp and find wild … Continue reading

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The Edible World Part 1

One of the great benefits of having a nursery was to inspire others to create gardens filled with unique and delicious fruits and vegetables. Most of the plants I grew were not available by other nurseries or produced by a … Continue reading

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