Project X13

Saving corn, one seed at a time

http://www.sunjournal.com/franklin/story/883283

WILTON — For just a few days last week, when the sun was just up and the dew still wet, Pamela Prodan was out in her corn patch, doing her small part to preserve an heirloom variety that likely was grown in this region by the Abenaki.

For the past decade, in a hobby that has turned into a passion, Prodan has been hand-pollinating non-hybrid corn, using seed saved by four generations of the Mosher family of Wilton.

“This corn is part of the heritage of this region,” she said. “We have to thank the Native Americans for this corn. It is a gift from their culture.”

Prodan and her partner, Conrad Heeschen, save the seeds of many of the crops they grow on their homestead in the fertile Wilton Intervale, a small valley along Wilson Stream in the western mountains.

The Aloe Vera - One Of The Best Things You Can Have Inside Your Own Herb Garden

http://www.heirloom-seeds.info/gardening/the-aloe-vera-one-of-the-best-t...

The aloe vera plant is a medicinal herb that is sometimes used in a lot of households internationally. Unlike any other types of tamed plants, it doesn’t prosper in natural settings anymore. It is thought to have originated from the country of Africa, with relatives of the plant still living up to this day. You may also find references of the plant in the Bible, which makes it one of the oldest documented species of plants known to man. Nowadays, it thrives in captivity or cultivated by many of us for commerce purposes ( particularly inside their herb garden ). This fact makes the plant quite a unique plant when it comes to environmental sciences.

So Happy Gardening Together

http://www.shelterpop.com/2010/07/13/beginners-guide-community-garden-ho...

Community gardens are growing in number, bringing heirloom tomatoes and new friends to a neighborhood near you.

Let's say that you've never gardened much, but you're struck with an urge to eat homemade spaghetti sauce, made with homegrown tomatoes, which means you've gotta grow your own tomatoes. But wait! -- you don't have a yard. Quick: What do you do? Join a community garden of course!

Still, even if you do have a yard, there's plenty to embrace with the community garden, such as "meeting like-minded people in your community, physical activity outdoors and the opportunity to learn how your food grows," says Liz Sharp, one of the principals of the Brooklyn Bears Community Gardens;
http://brooklynbears.wordpress.com/, which has three sites in the borough.

That bonding can be a strong motivating factor.

Urban gardeners sow seeds of sustenance

http://www.projo.com/news/content/LOTS_OF_GARDENS_07-13-10_D9J1U8T_v93.1...

Fernando Faria, at Brighton and Knight streets, where he and his neighbor have planted flowers in all the treewells.

The Providence Journal / Mary Murphy

Mid-July, beans and greens, lilies and lavender flourish across the city. A young man practices bio-intensive agriculture in a vacant lot. Neighborhood-minded citizens spruce up street tree wells. A communal farm forms in South Providence. Fantastical caterpillars and three-eyed trees energize a garden mural in the West End. Take a glimpse:

PROVIDENCE –– Two years ago, Dauna Noble and a friend were sitting around, fretting about economic insecurity and whether the planet could someday run out of food.

“We thought, the world is going to hell, what can we do?” Noble recalled. “The most immediate, pro-active, hands-on response was to build a garden.”

Cauldron from rare wreckage will shed light on St. Augustine's colonial heritage

http://www.jacksonville.com/news/florida/2010-07-14/story/historical-gol...

Finding will also engage students, museum director says.
Posted: July 14, 2010 - 6:37pm

* Photos
* Video

For more information on the Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program go to
www.staugustinelighthouse.org.

It sure didn't look like the proverbial pot at the end of a rainbow as it
emerged from an estimated 250-plus years of slumber 30 feet under the waves off
St. Augustine.

Encrustations of century's-old mud marred the cauldron's shape as it was hauled
onto the dive boat Wednesday by the Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program
team.

But there could be historical gold in the pot removed from a shipwreck within
sight of the St. Augustine Lighthouse. Chuck Meide, Lighthouse Archaeological
Maritime Program director, found what could be a spoon stuck inside.

THE CALL OF THE LAND

As We Teeter Toward The Tipping Point: A Rural Advantage
7/10/2010 6:53:06 PM
by Steven McFadden

http://www.grit.com/call-of-the-land/rural-advantage.aspx

The Sower“I am convinced that sustainability is the

defining question of the 21st Century,” John Ikerd said

one icy afternoon in the depth of February, weeks before

the Gulf of Mexico exploded into an infernal industrial

mess of oil, gas, and chemical dispersant.

Ikerd, a senior statesman among American agrarians, was

addressing a conference hosted by the Nebraska Sustainable

Agriculture Society in Lincoln. He earned a standing

ovation for his definitive, imperative, and impassioned

remarks.

Ikerd painted a convincing word picture of how sustainable

food production systems can and should be employed to

restore health to our bodies and minds, to restore

vitality to the land, and to restore long-term stability

How to Grow Strawberries in Your Garden

Grow strawberries; they are easy to produce and deserve a

place in your garden.
July/August 2010

http://www.grit.com/garden/fruit/how-to-grow-strawberries.aspx

Strawberries – everyone’s favorite fruit – are welcome

heralds of summer, and they are so easy to grow in a

garden, flower bed, or any patch of sandy soil – even in a

patio pot.

Strawberry plants are inexpensive and available in most

local nurseries and mail-order garden catalogs. Any

gardener will have success growing the fruit if she

follows a few simple rules.

Why grow your own? Nothing is more pleasant than getting

up early on a clear sunny morning, wandering outside while

a mockingbird sings, and finding five or six dewy,

sparkling red berries with which to decorate your morning

bowl of cereal. The flavor of fresh berries is rich, pure

and crisp.

Several years ago when my U-Pick berry patch in Johnson

Is heirloom seed best kept in the freezer?

Only if it is perennial seed that needs a period of cold dormancy. Otherwise, it may get too damp and moldy. Keep it in a cool dry place, such as an airtight jar in a basement or pantry out of direct light.

Mother Earth News’s Honor Roll of seed companies offering a good, varied selection of open- pollinated vegetable and flower seeds, as well as untreated and/or organically grown seeds:

1. Baker Creek Heirloom Seed http://www.rareseeds.com/
2. Bountiful Gardens http://www.bountifulgardens.org
3. Cook’s Garden http://www.cooksgarden.com
4. FEDCO Seeds http://www.fedcoseeds.com
5. Heirloom Seeds http://www.heirloomseeds.com
6. High Mowing Organic Seeds http://www.highmowingseeds.com
7. Johnny’s Selected Seeds http://www.johnnyseeds.com/home.aspx?ct=HG
8. Natural Gardening Co http://www.naturalgardening.com
9. Nichols Garden Nursery http://www.nicholsgardennursery.com
10. Peaceful Valley Farm Supply http://www.groworganic.com
11. Salt Spring Seeds http://www.saltspringseeds.com
12. Seeds of Change http://www.seedsofchange.com
13. Seed Savers Exchange http://www.seedsavers.org
14. Seeds for the South http://www.seedsforthesouth.com
15. Seeds Trust http://www.seedstrust.com

Canning: The lost art?

Your grandmother's solution to an abundance of food at harvest time is making a comeback in the age of sustainability

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20100706/LIFESTYLE/100709757/1309

Preserving berries and other fresh fruit is not rocket science, but if you're new to the art of canning, it can be a bit of a sticky wicket.

CANNING SOURCES
Here are some sources for making delicious, high-quality preserves:

“Ball's Complete Book of Home Preserving” is a good guide for general information and equipment.

Pam Corbin's “Preserves” shows how to use lots of interesting, old fruits and offers good recipes.

Eugenia Bone's “Well-Preserved” explains the methods and the science of preserving. There are good recipes for what to do with the preserves after you've made them.

Linda Ziedrich's “The Joy of Pickling” is a solid guide for pickling.

Christine Ferber's “Mes Confitures” provides basics from the French doyenne of jam.