Description: Do you garden? If so, have you ever wondered what the potential of a single non-hybrid tomato plant could be? My guest this week, Craig Floyd, manages an 11,000+ square foot acre garden for the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center in Mystic CT. Passionate about sustainable farming; he gives us detailed advice about soil health, water needs and practical tips for any level gardener. It’s exciting to meet folks like Craig who are out there walking the talk, growing fantastic gardens. He relates how troubled children, teens and those with disabilities are transformed by walking in his gardens, how the soil heals. Fascinating? Definitely! I hope you will join us and leave your comments. They are appreciated.
About My Guest: Craig Floyd. Farm Manager for the Coogan Farm in Mystic CT. Craig manages 11,000 sq feet as part of the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center. He’s passionate about using his extensive farming experience creating a sustainable, healthy no-till,, no-spray garden in order to give quality food to the needy. He watches children with emotional and physical handicaps change as they roam the garden. It works for adults too. I encourage everyone to put the Coogan Farm and Nature Center Trails on their to-do list this year. It’s worth it. and if you have the time, why not lend a hand? Volunteers are always welcome.
The vegetable life does not content itself with casting from the flower or the tree a single seed, but it fills the air and earth with a prodigality of seeds, that, if thousands perish, thousands may plant themselves, that hundreds may come up, that tens may live to maturity; that, at least one may replace the parent. Ralph Waldo Emerson
Seeds, amazing structures, some tiny, barely the size of the head of a pin, some large like the sunflower or a bean, that produce an almost infinite variety of plants, delight and nourish us. When January comes along so do the seed catalogs. We have the time and the energy to pour over endless possibilities. Never boring, we drool over page after page of color and form all in preparation for that spring garden. Seeds, tiny and large have the potential of infinitely so much more. I wonder how we can doubt that the universe is abundant beyond measure?
Here’s a couple of basic seed facts, good reminders for the upcoming growing season.
1. Seeds develop in the ovary of a flower, most from flowering plants and some from non-flowering plants.
2. It is a miniature plant with a protective cover in a suspended state of development
3. Inside each seed is the genetic information for future growth, a food supply, called endosperm that can be made up of proteins, carbohydrates or fats. Considered nutrition, this food store supplies the world’s major foods e.g. cereals, wheat, and rice.
Seeds are precious. Together with healthy soil, good water, and air they feed us, nourish us, delight our senses in so many ways. Yet, we have manipulated them, doused them and injected them with substances not natural to their very existence. I hope you will continue to buy heirloom, organic varieties of seeds. When we support the companies that offer us these invaluable choices we cast a vote. We make a difference, one choice at a time.
Seed Starting Tips*
1. Get your timing right for seeds chosen.
2. Buy fresh seed. Remember seed is alive.
3. Inoculating seeds is one of the best ways to encourage healthy production. “Inoculation may be defined as the process of adding effective bacteria to the host plant seed before planting. The purpose of inoculation is to make sure that there is enough of the correct type of bacteria present in the soil so that a successful legume-bacterial symbiosis is established.”
4. Use seed-starting mix or germination mix.
5. Cleanliness counts: when reusing flats, trays, cells or pots wash with a dilute bleach solution: 1:10 bleach to water; soapy water can also be used.
6. Pre-moisten mix before using but do not leave soggy.
Seed Germination Tips
1. Bottom heat is recommended and a dome or plastic lid or plastic wrap can create a germination chamber too; looking for 70 degrees.
2. Once plants have emerged, take off the lid and shut off heat.
3. Don’t let seeds dry out before they germinate: let the soil go slightly dry between watering.
4. Water new seedlings lightly. Heavy hose sprays can damage tender growth.
5. Seedlings need lots of light; Take outside by day and bring in by night till time for planting
Seed Planting Tips
1. Harden off seeds first: place outside during day 1-3 hours in a sheltered location. Do this over 7-10 days. Protect from strong sun, wind, and cool temperatures.
2. Chose the strongest and healthiest looking seedlings to plant in the garden. Weak or smaller than average can yield poor results.
3. Plan for succession sowings. Sow a short row every couple of weeks to avoid large servings of lettuce in a single day’s harvest.
We forget our holistic relationship to the world around us, a partnership is a dynamic, thriving one. While the above offers practical advice let us not forget about our connection to all that is around us. It is my deepest hope to kindle within you a reverence again for nature and that includes seeds.
“In every seed lie the components of all life the world has known from all time to now.” —Sister Joan Chittister from “Seeds of a New Humanity”
* Disclaimer: I participate in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn small fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliate sites. Thank you so much for supporting these efforts to pass on worthwhile and invaluable resources. And as I said before I love books and high-quality garden supplies. It’s a pleasure to share with you my favorites. Enjoy. Judith
My guest this week, Gunther Hauk and I talked about the detrimental effects climate warming is having on our planet. His farm is based on biodynamic principles. I had the privilege of visiting Spikenard Farm, Honeybee Sanctuary a few years ago. Set upon a hilltop in the Blue Ridge Mountains, surrounded by an organic farm, forests, creates a safe haven for many critters and plant species including honeybees. These folks create a deep reverence for nature and all its species. Here’s a link to an upcoming biodynamic farming class.
However, we ask tough questions: Are we doing enough? Are we doing enough in a timely enough fashion to make a difference?
I trust and hope my podcast series: Holistic Nature of Us is making a difference in some measure to remind all of us how precious nature is to us. There is a hidden genius and an intelligence in nature that we have ignored as we focused on building a strong economy, developing an industrial based society. Today we need to look at the whole, how everything we do impacts everything on this planet. ( photo, courtesy J Dreyer, Spikenard Farm, Beehives)
Enjoy this short yet informative video about how small farmers contribute to the solutions we desperately need now.
Remember to like and share. All comments are appreciated too. Thanks. Judith
Description: Science is probing the deep forest floor and discovering networks of communication, now known as the “wood-wide web.” Today’s guest, Carole Cheah, shares her extensive body of research concerning the Eastern Hemlock Tree and two pests that have severely impacted these trees, wooly adelgid, and elongate scale. These trees, while not a highly sought after timber product, contribute greatly to the forest ecosystem here in NE America including Nova Scotia. It’s part of a holistic system that when one species suffers many suffer. Join us for an informative discussion.
About My Guest: Dr. Carole Cheah is a durational research entomologist at the Valley Laboratory, the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station in Windsor, funded by the US Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture and previously, by the USDA Forest Service. Educated in England with a doctorate in biological control and Masters in Applied Entomology from the University of Cambridge and a B.A. (Hons) in Zoology from the University of Oxford, she has conducted research for the past 24 years into the implementation, assessment and improvement of biological control of hemlock woolly adelgid, a serious introduced pest of the urban landscape and native hemlock forests. Her most recent research is on the long-term effects of climate change on populations of HWA, concentrating on the impacts of severe winters in the Northeast. She also conducts biological control releases of a weevil for invasive mile-a-minute weed control in collaboration with the University of Connecticut.
“To exist as a nation, to prosper as a state, and to live as a people, we must have trees.” Theodore Roosevelt
Trees, tall and majestic, as a species, are profoundly connected to us. We value their wood for fire, warmth, cooking and creating tools, cooking implements, crafts. We use their leaves, barks, fruits, and roots for food and medicine. They provide shade in the summer, reducing cooling costs. They break the winds from the north providing protection from the cold. They offer habitat to diverse species.
My podcast guest this week, Dana Karcher, Program Manager for the ADF Alliance for Community Trees, says tree science is relatively new. I’ve been reading, TheHidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben from Germany. His research and others are beginning to show how holism principles apply to the forest, though many indigenous cultures knew/know this. Science is catching up.
Let’s look at the concept of holism: it is defined as: “the theory that the parts of any whole cannot exist and cannot be understood except in relation to the whole.”
Scientists are discovering that members of the forest are interconnected. What happens to one can affect the whole. If one part is weak, then through an intricate underground network, messages are sent, received with help on the way. Fungi connect the dots and seem to help by receiving chemical signals through their networks that are connected to root tips. Fungi seem to be mediators, too seeking to distribute information and resources equally. The well being of our forests depends on their community. Isolated trees can actually lose their biodiversity and disappear. Therefore we can no longer go in with our machines, look for the best trees, cut them down often injuring others anymore. All parts are connected. Irresponsible logging destroys ecosystems which can take several years to recover if that is even possible.
” ..a tree is not by itself a forest. Together they actually create an ecosystem that can moderate extremes in temperature and generate humidity.” ( The Hidden Life of Trees, by Peter Wohlleben.) And its complexity is just beginning to be understood.
I saw trees near where I lived completely cut down for apartment development. A beautiful rolling hill was grazed of its trees, many of which were oaks. Oaks alone support over 500 species, versus a Bradford Pear which has now become invasive and supports little wildlife. Our insects need homes, and if we continue to take habitat away, then we see declines and even extinction up the food chain. What are the implications then of removing trees for development?
First, trees give us oxygen. “One acre of forest absorbs six tons of carbon dioxide and puts out four tons of oxygen. This is enough to meet the annual needs of 18 people.” U.S. Department of Agriculture
Second, they help retain rainwater. When removed from our landscapes we see an increase in stormwater. Stormwater collects all manner of garbage and pollutants which end up in our waterways. “The planting of trees means improved water quality, resulting in less runoff and erosion. This allows more recharging of the groundwater supply. Wooded areas help prevent the transport of sediment and chemicals into streams.” USDA Forest Service
Third, trees improve our health and add economic value to a property. “Healthy, mature trees add an average of 10 percent to a property’s value.” USDA Forest Service
Fourth, trees help keep carbon in the soil. With development like I mentioned above, acres of trees were removed and the soil dug up for housing development. This act alone sends carbon into the atmosphere and contributes to global warming. “There are about 60– to 200-million spaces along our city streets where trees could be planted. This translates to the potential to absorb 33 million more tons of CO2 every year and saving $4 billion in energy costs. National Wildlife Federation
Trees are a part of our world and therefore a part of us. They create intricate ecosystems that I hope will be valued again.
Please plant a tree and if you cannot, support the wonderful work that the Arbor Day Foundation, ADF, offers around our world. If you live in communities with rules, find out which ones support habitat and diversity and if they don’t, get involved and change them. ADF’s Alliance for Community Trees helps individuals and communities replant.
What stories do you have about adding diversity to your landscapes? Have you been able to make a difference in your community? I would enjoy hearing your stories.
Can a plant give us a clue by its structure, its form? Can the color of a flower or root be an indication of some of its properties or the organ system it helps?
Apparently, that’s not new information. In herb classes, the Doctrine of Signatures is a well-known reference to these correlations. Stemming from the ancients and passed down through the ages, often referred to as folklore, gave herbalists, the village healers, doctors, a reference point for which ones to use in healing various conditions, disorders, organ systems.
“The doctrine of signatures, dating from the time of Dioscorides and Galen, states that herbs resembling various parts of the body can be used by herbalists to treat ailments of those body parts.” (Wikipedia)
“Paracelsus was a physician and alchemist (early 1500’s) who believed that medicine should be simple and straightforward. He was greatly inspired by the Doctrine of Signatures, which maintained that the outward appearance of a plant gave an indication of the problems it would cure. This theory is sometimes surprisingly accurate.” (USDA forest service)
Today we have advanced equipment, labs to test the validity of some of these claims and guess what? Science is proving what the oral traditions, the folklore traditions knew: clues from the plant, their structure, their form, colors that seem to help heal, can, in fact, help heal specific organ systems. Nature reflects back to us what we are and offers help. Many successful healers looked at the plant world in this way. They were connected to the sun and moon cycles, very aware of the weather, knew their landscapes well.
Centuries ago and not that long ago, we did not have the knowledge of bacteria, viruses that we can see with super microscopes. Evil spirits were the names of the stuff that gets you, brings in illness etc. That was the lingo of the times. There was a deeper more colloquial connection to the Creator, to God, by whatever religion you followed. There was a recognition that the Divine in nature provided clues, assistance. My Native elders said that we have all that we need for healing if we pay attention to what’s beneath our feet, what’s near us. Observe.
My guests this week, Andrea and Matthias Reisen, have over 25 years experience as growers deeply connected to the plants and their land. They are caretakers in the true sense of the word, offering prayers of thanks, gratitude, and acknowledgment for the gifts the land provides. In our discussion, we touched upon invasives, Japanese knotweed in particular. My curiosity piqued. I decided to look into this plant more carefully because the Reisen’s harvest it, for use in the medical community for Lyme’s disease.
Name:Japanese Knotweed: Polygonum cuspidatum var. Japonica or Japanese bamboo; bamboo-like stems with somewhat heart-shaped leaves, herbaceous perennial shrub-like.
Where Found: Originated in Eastern Asia, member of the buckwheat family. It was introduced in the US in late 1800’s. Thrives in disturbed areas, forms dense thickets; little grows with it so it crowds out vegetation. Unfortunately, the soil remains bare between the stems which can be susceptible to erosion. This plant decreases species diversity, alters ecosystems. Can grow to 3-15′ tall. Its stems are easy to identify, notched like bamboo and have purple-red speckles.
Properties: very high in resveratrol, an antioxidant found in grapes, peanuts, mulberries, red wine
Uses: Leaves, young shoots: spring vegetable in Asian cultures, Used extensively in Traditional Chinese Medicine with other herbs for gastrointestinal issues, cardiovascular issues as well as cognitive function. Resveratrol continues to be studied for its effect on decreasing cancer and helping combat Lyme’s Disease. In the plant, resveratrol acts to stop microbial infections. It’s this observation that links the way Japanese knotweed may work in Lyme’s disease.
I came across this article, from the forager chef, on how to cook and use it. I am not familiar with foraging this plant but the recipe I link you too looks delicious. It’s too early here but I know of a patch and will keep an eye on it. Young stems 12″ or less need to be cut in the early spring. Otherwise, as the season and growth progresses, the stems become too fibrous and not very palatable. You can make a refreshing tea from its roots.
Let’s look at the root, known as ‘tiger root’ in the orient..
Healing Spirits Herb Farm has been selling the root for many years. It’s been difficult for me to find a picture of its roots due to royalty rights. However, from the ones I found, I can see Matthias’ description very well. There’s a knot, then root, then knot, then root and the root can go down 10′! No wonder once you got it, it won’t go away. It’s the root that he harvests and because he does so, he contributes to managing the land space where this plant is located by his ‘neck of the woods’ in western NY. Will it go away? No. but by harvesting in large quantities he helps control its spread.
Now, tying in the Doctrine of Signatures, the root system seems to have notches, like steps, Maybe this pattern gives a clue as to how the plant works. Studies are showing that the root in tincture or capsule form helps kill the bacteria found in Lyme’s Disease. The resveratrol may work on the bacteria in steps. Can we prove this? Not yet. But observations from nature have validity and patient healing offers hope for healing Lyme’s disease.
Today, its too early to gather the young shoots and leaves but I want to try. I also want to make a tea this summer from its root. How about you? We have plants in our backyards we have forgotten how to use. How about looking into an invasive such as Japanese knotweed and use it. Get your neighbors involved. Make a recipe and bring to a block party, a family picnic. Remember it’s a cherished food in Asian cultures.
Send me your recipe, a short story on how you use Japanese knotweed. I look forward to hearing from you.
Judith Dreyer, MS, BSN, Writer, Speaker, and Workshop Presenter, Master Gardener.
Seed Planting Tips
depends on their community. Isolated trees can actually lose their biodiversity and disappear. Therefore we can no longer go in with our machines, look for the best trees, cut them down often injuring others anymore. All parts are connected. Irresponsible logging destroys ecosystems which can take several years to recover if that is even possible.
perennial shrub-like.
