Posted on

Kokopelli in New Conflict

Kokopelli Seeds of France, who last year was fined more than €17.000 for selling ‘illegal’ seeds, is involved in a new legal conflict.  Baumaux, the same company that instigated the previous legal action against Kokopelli Seeds has now registered the ownership of the name Kokopelli and is selling a new variety of tomato with it.

Baumaux is not stopping there however, they are also demanding Kokopelli Seed cease and desist in their use of the name Kokopelli and all business activities associated with it.  They are also demanding a payment of €100.000 in compensation for use of the name to date.

The original French language story is here, and a Google translated version here.

Posted on

Interesting Links

Soilmix

If you save your own seeds, make your own compost and recycle and reuse in your garden, many people don’t need to buy anything except some lime if they have acid soil and starting mix in order to start plants indoors.

A lot of people ask me about making your own seed starting mix, so they can avoid buying anything for their garden.  What’s particularly troubling for many is nearly all seed starting mixes are based on either peat, which is often harvested in unsustainable ways, or coir, which is a waste product of the less than ethical coconut industry, and gets transported long distances.  Starting mixes not based on peat or coir need to be sterilized, usually requiring fossil fuels or chemicals such as household bleach.

I don’t know if this is truly a recipe for everyone.  Perhaps not everyone raises bats for guano?  Anyway, Alan just posted a great recipe for starting mix, he makes nearly completely with waste or other products from his farm.  I think this is a great starting point for many people to think about making something similar with sustainable things you may have available locally.

Yakraut

And Owen on Radix4Roots posted this great looking recipe for fermented yacón root!  Something guaranteed to keep your digestive system in motion.

Island Blog

From a working 400 acre farm on Manitoulin Island in northern Ontario, this is a blog of someone I know from elsewhere on the Internet.  DirtSunRain

Posted on

Big Jerusalem Artichokes

big_artichokes

This garden belongs to one of my fellow community garden gardeners.  As a person, he’s a really great guy.  As gardeners however, we are polar opposites.  He buys everything from a garden center, his gardening techniques are chemical intensive and does not see the value in organic gardening.  He also grows mostly flowers, which are very much a side activity for me.

He does however like to trade plants, and our gardening interests came together when I stopped by and offered him some of my Jerusalem Artichokes.  I thought he might eat them, but he doesn’t like healthy food like that.  Instead he decided to plant them, something that prompted an excited outburst of warnings from me that went completely unheeded.  He said he liked the flowers, and had been looking for some to plant for a long time now.

So he planted them and, like he always does, doused them in chemical fertilizer.  You can see the nearly 4 meter high plants, on the right side of his garden in front of the electricity pylon.

I went by in the fall while he was busy digging up the tubers in the ground, and warned him he better get as many out now as he could find, before spring came.  I reminded him I warned him not to plant them.  He pointed to another garden down the way, and said that gardener had asked for some, so next year they’ll be growing there too.

Posted on

The Alternative Kitchen Garden an A-Z

cover

Besides being a fellow blogger and heirloom gardener, Emma Cooper is a good friend of mine and very like minded.  I’m delighted she’s written this book, something I think makes a very important contribution to promoting environmentally friendly and sustainable living.

This book is a very personal account of things she’s done in her garden and home over the last several years, including building a geodesic dome shaped greenhouse, raising chickens as well as heirloom and alternative gardening.

As an alternative to a how-to book, Emma has written an A-Z account of the most important things she’s done.  Everything from Achocha to Zucchini.  She tells you what worked, and what didn’t.  If there are tips and tricks to be had, she spells these out.  She lets you know what she’s still doing, and things she doesn’t have time for any more.

If you’re experienced in alternative living and gardening, this book probably isn’t for you.  At the same time if you are just beginning or only a year or two into things, this is a great book to get ideas from.

While her experiences are based on a wet UK climate, much of what she writes about applies to everyone, regardless of where in the world you live.

To get an idea of the kind of person she is, have a look at her blog and listen to some of her podcasts.

Also important are Permanent Publications where you can purchase this book online if you live in the UK, and the associated Sustainability Centre.  Most people outside the UK can purchase this book online from Amazon.

Posted on

Tom Wagner on Tomato Genetics and Hairy Potatoes

Tomato Genetics

Here’s a video of Tom explaining basic tomato genetics, as well as giving ideas on how people could use some of his varieties and crosses to teach themselves and others about plant breeding. Tom offers some of his ideas for creating a publicly available collection of tomato genetic resources, as well as some research people could do if they wanted to help him collect more information.

For a high resolution downloadable file to view directly on your computer, click here.

Hairy Potatoes

In this video Tom explains the genetics behind hairy potatoes, and talks about King Hairy or was that King Harry…

For a high resolution downloadable file to view directly on your computer, click here.