links: sane food, ancient seed, a tiny chameleon
WE DO THIS ON FACEBOOK DAILY: I read something that grabs my attention, and pass it on. Easy: I just insert a link and a comment, click, go. But I realize only about 8,000 so far of you “like” the A Way to Garden Facebook page (care to join us there?), and that I must make an effort to share my random “bookmarks” more regularly with the wider group. And so…
They could be things like yesterday’s “New York Times” story by Anne Raver on Eliot Coleman and Barbara Damrosch at Four Season Farm in Maine, for instance. Or the animated video (above) produced to illustrate the tenets of sustainability from a Michael Pollan lecture that I spied on a favorite site, Maria Popova’s Brain Pickings [dot] org. Or:
In With the Old…
Talk about reincarnation. How about a 32,000-year-old flower seed that germinates anyhow—and in the Arctic, no less. And we worry about how and where to store our leftover packets for a year or two.
On the subject of antiquity: Jump back nearly another 300 million years to a fossilized forest just reported on by Russian scientists in China, covered (Pompeii-like) in a thick layer of volcanic ash.
Biotech Blues
I find it very ironic that the word “goodwill” could be applied to Monsanto, in any context, but when it comes to accounting methods, apparently it has a lot of goodwill (on its books). Related: The LA Times just recapped the suit filed last month in NYC Federal Court against Monsanto by a group of farmers and seed companies. The judge’s decision on whether the case has the merits to continue (or be dismissed, as Monsanto requested) is due by the end of March.
Speaking of biotech: This video from a Canadian environmental group may be a cartoon, but perhaps that underscores that even a CHILD should be able to understand how dangerous releasing untested transgenic hybrids (a.k.a., GMOs) is. Too bad their inventors don’t.
Nature’s Little Geniuses
Smaller is better, this chameleon asserts (and he should know, because he can fit on a matchhead). How clever of him to hail from a suitably small island off Madagascar, where he was recently discovered.
More tiny magic: We have the most interesting community here on A Way to Garden (whether blog or Facebook page). I “met” a reader the other day when his comment was the winner of one of my giveaways, and learned he raises silk worms and spins silk from their cocoons. That’s him in the American Museum of Natural History video, above. I had no idea of how this magical process worked–but now I do.
You see? It’s not just seed catalogs and how to prune Viburnum and what to put in your compost (or leave out) here on A Way to Garden and its Facebook page. Don’t hesitate to add what you’ve been browsing in the comments below; I’m sure we’d all like to see.
Great video
I have just read ‘The omnivores dilemma’ by Michael Pollan. A very interesting book. I am also listening to ‘Folks, this ain’t normal’ by Joel Salatin.
Both have proved very illuminating.
This morning ‘Food, inc’ has arrived on DVD.
Amazing really what happens in the food industry.
Great website now. Very easy to use
Last week I mowed for the first time this year.
Thanks, Simon, for such good suggestions! “Amazing” or “Shocking” maybe what has happened, right? Yikes!
I don’t want to join facebook! You can set it up so that people can read it without signing up for facebook.
I just don’t care to add more sites to Facebook. I do love these columns, however, so thanks for bringing parts you have gleaned to us.
Thanks for the link to the NYTimes. I have hoop wire and one kind of cover sitting in my garage. Time to reassess, perhaps shop for another one, and start the cold greenhouse! What a great inspiration Barbara Damrosch and Eliot Coleman are.
GMO’s are going to continue to be shoved down our throats, at the same time that Organic farmers are attacked, because the former Chief Counsel of Monsanto now heads the FDA…
I post many of your stories on Pinterest.com which links back to your website. You could add the Pinterest link for your followers to easily add to their network of followers. Spreading/sharing the news.
Thank you, Justy. I am thinking about it! Thanks for the nudge.
Hi, Scott. Scary, isn’t it? So much like big oil and the finance world and so on: not about the many, but more about the few and their power/affluence/privilege. Worrisome, to say the least.
This is great plant & fungi directory from the RHS Kew Gardens.
https://www.kew.org/plants-fungi/plants-fungi-A-Z/index.htm
I was so glad to hear a bit of news about Barbara Damrosch and Eliot Coleman.(NYT link above) Both are so talented as teachers and gardeners. I used to watch their TV show on TLC, taping episodes on VHS. I have watched these tapes over and over and still have them. Their books are legendary and have influenced me greatly. In 2011, I decided to teach composting classes right in my own back yard, and have met many like-minded individuals who are home gardeners. I’ll be doing it again this year.
We’ve all been brainwashed by commercials that feature yard chemicals. Instead, we should be “brainwashed” by organic gardening practices. If your readers are unfamiliar with the team of Coleman and Damrosch, I hope they’ll look into finding out more about them. They are Garden Heroes! And you’re catching up to them fast, Margaret!
Well, Beverly, since they are among the most talented and inspiring gardeners/farmers I know of, I have to say that’s a VERY large compliment. I often wish I had focused on one area and become super-expert in it, but alas I am a generalist, with a little knowledge of many aspects of gardening — not the kind of depth they really both have in their field. Thank you!
Margaret,
Ditto to Astrid Bowlby comments.
A site I visit weekly: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qp2f/episodes/player
How Can I knot know about this, Denise — those BBC Gardeners’ Question Time podcasts! Thank you.
Margaret, thank you for embedding links in your email. I have also liked you on Facebook, but because I have many friends, my newsfeed flows pretty fast, so I might miss a link you share there quite easily. I enjoyed the link about the Petrified Forest. Thanks for sharing!
Please do share more things you spot! I love what you find!
thank you
Great NYT article; I had missed that! Thanks!