Coaxing roses to produce a spectacular floral display is easy if you follow a few simple rules.
21.07.2023 - 22:27 / awaytogarden.com
EVER WONDER what goes into building a better strain of seed, one that can resist pests and diseases? Edmund Frost of Twin Oaks Seed Farm in Virginia has spent the last two growing seasons looking for insights on how eventually to build a better Cucurbit– pumpkins and squash, melons, or cucumbers–in the face of downy mildew and striped cucumber beetles.All growing season, I get questions asking how to prevent, or cure, one vegetable garden disease or pest or another–especially on Cucurbits. My answers are mostly not perfect ones, because almost faster than we figure out some effective tactic, plant diseases can outsmart us by mutating, or getting an edge from dramatically changing weather patterns–or by moving into regions where they were not previously known.
So what can be done, longterm, beyond trying to “fix” the one outbreak in just your, or my, backyard, and especially: What’s the bigger answer without turning to chemicals?
The answer hopefully lies in research: research that identifies the best current varieties, and often leads to breeding of more disease-resistant and regionally adapted varieties, using the best genetic traits from the research to strengthen future generations.
I thought it would interesting as an example to go behind the scenes of one such research project, and see what goes into the beginnings of building better organically produced seed for our farms and gardens–in this case the Cucurbit project at Twin Oaks.
Twin Oaks Community is a nearly 50-year-old intentional community and home to 100 people—the nation’s oldest secular income-sharing community. A number of businesses, from tofu-making to hammock-building to Twin Oaks Seed Farm, which grows for a half-dozen familiar retail seed companies,
Coaxing roses to produce a spectacular floral display is easy if you follow a few simple rules.
Soil provides nutrients for plants as well as millions of microorganisms. However, this only applies if the soil is healthy. Soil conservation is the movement to keep soil healthy, fertile and productive, as well as protecting it from erosion and deterioration. Learn about different methods of soil conservation here.
It is often said that beauty lies in simplicity. Rock gardens are the very embodiment of that saying. With a bit of thoughtful planning, what initially may seem like a bland mixture of rocks and plants can, in skilled hands, quickly turn into the peaceful retreat that any home needs.
Since I put this list together 7 years ago but I have now started to favour Kings Seeds (Suffolk Herbs) for my vegetables. I also get many more seeds from clubs and organisations rather than merchants.
Decorative gardens can benefit from growing seedheads for their own sake. Flowers With Seedheads
Welcome, DIY Enthusiasts! If you're passionate about creating unique and sustainable projects for your outdoor space, I have an exciting endeavor for you: building your own DIY solar water fountain.
Butterflies have this unexplainable allure that seems to appeal to people of all ages. The key to enticing these winged beauties to your yard, is utilizing adult nectar sources and larval (caterpillar) host plants in your plant palette.
HE READ IT IN MY DECEMBER CHORES LIST: Make the last mowing before winter a short cut, way down low. And even though the snow fell before he got to that task, the guy in the doodle (is that you, Andre Jordan?) didn’t want to skip a single to-do I’d suggested, apparently.
THAT OLD, DISCARDED ELECTRIC FAN that isn’t strong enough for the hot summers of global warming…hey, bring it on. It’s perfect for accomplishing one of the tricks to growing better tomato seedlings, which is (after all) the only thing you probably really care about on the run-up to another spring. To hell with winter.
Start with dark green, stout transplants equally high and wide, preferably about 4 inches in each direction. (My step-by-step for growing your own includes many tricks; you can also shop locally for seedlings or by mail.)Plan to grow a mix of heirlooms and hybrids for a little insurance: Heirlooms are beautiful, delicious and a critical part of our genetic heritage, but sometimes they lack the disease-resistance (often labeled VFN) of hybrids. I like to mix it up.Remember that even with hybrids rated as having VFN resistance, the word “resistance” is the operative phrase.
All of it will be grown organically, starting with organically farmed seed, like in her family farm and home garden (below). “Our seed system is brittle,” says Theresa, who farms in Fullerton, North Dakota, on the cusp of Zone 3b and 4a. Not brittle in the way a perfectly dry seed must be to store well over the winter for next season–but brittle as in ecologically and politically fragile, and potentially broken.We’ve all heard: Years of industry consolidation by a few big corporations has reduced the d
Like all the seed farmers I’ve interviewed in this series (past links at bottom of page if you missed any), the Uprising Seeds team speaks of the mission, and meaning, behind what they do. It’s long, hard work—you have to believe to take it on.“Closest to our heart, and the main reason we do this work, is our celebration of the idea that access to open-pollinated seeds and the freedom to grow, reproduce, and share them is a basic human right that empowers community, tradition, and diversity,” says Uprising co-founder Crystine Goldberg (with Brian and their son in the photo up top). “And that the opportunity to select for those traits that are unique to individual climate and growing condition