Identifying Native Plants - California Native Plant Society So often when out on a hike, visiting public gardens, or just touring gardens around your neighborhood, we see a plant or flower that we like, and wonder if it is native to California and whether or not it will work in our own gardens. Will it attract pollinators? Is it compatible with what is already planted in your garden? Or, if not a native, is it an invasive species that could spread beyond the confines of your own garden? While some plants cannot be easily identified without a complex key or even a microscope, most of the more common plants can be identified by an amateur botanist with an eye for detail. If you do not know the name of the plant, but know the general area where you saw it you can use a search engine such as the one found on the California Native Plant Exchange website. If you already know the name of the species, you can access Cal Flora or Cal Photo directly by clicking on the links below: Regional Plant Identification Sites:
Native Seeds/SEARCH - The Story of Glass Gem Corn: Beauty, History, and Hope If you’ve spent any time online recently, you might have noticed a striking photo making its rounds. Feast your eyes on Glass Gem corn: a stunning, multi-colored heirloom that has taken Facebook and the blogosphere by storm. With its opalescent kernels glimmering like rare jewels, it’s easy to see what the buzz is about. This is some truly mind-blowing maize. For the staff here at Native Seeds/SEARCH, the viral explosion of interest in Glass Gem has been thrilling—but not surprising. As the proud stewards of this variety (along with the bioregional seed company, Seeds Trust) we are lucky enough to have grown and admired this extraordinary corn ourselves. Like many heirloom treasures, Glass Gem corn has a name, a place, and a story. Approaching old age, Barnes bestowed his precious seed collection to Greg Schoen, his corn-breeding protégé. The story of Barnes, Schoen, and their remarkable corn is not unusual. Though much of this diversity may be gone, all hope is not lost.
Saving Seeds Eat local and save money through the art of seed saving. By Andy Tomolonis Courtesy Stock.XCHNG When winter rolls around, save seeds from self-pollinating plants, such as beans and tomatoes, to plant the following spring. Before you pluck the last piece of produce from your garden and put the patch to bed for late-winter, think about conserving part of the past season by saving your plants’ seeds. Saving seeds does more than offer you an economical incentive. And while enhancing the “survival of the fittest,” you may also be ensuring a better future crop for your own garden. Finally, you can take pride in preserving the past by holding onto a plant that has survived for generations, but may be getting squeezed out of production by growers and suppliers who favor new hybrids. Here are some rules gardeners can follow when saving seeds: Choose only open-pollinated varieties of plants. This is the best method of saving seeds, unless you’re conducting an intentional experiment in breeding.
How to grow a lemon tree from seed | Growing Wild When life gives you lemons, grow trees! If you’ve ever seen a flowering lemon tree, you’ll understand why. For those of you who haven’t, allow me explain. Their lush, dark green, oval leaves have a glossy texture that shimmers in sunlight. Typically, lemon trees flourish outdoors year-round in hot, sunny regions, but they can also thrive indoors as edible houseplants in cold-season climates. This is the little tree with big fruit in the shop I work at. And while rooting cuttings is a sensible option for fast fruit, lemon tree cuttings are not readily available in many parts of the world. Here is a step-by-step guide to growing your very own lemon tree from seed: Things you’ll need: 1. This is a Meyer lemon! 2. 3. 4. Method for sprouting the lemon seed: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Here are my little guys one month after planting. At a little less than two months old, this little guy is upgrading to a larger home. 8. Water. Like this: Like Loading...
How to Save Your Seeds I think the practice of saving seeds is due for a revival. Seed saving is rewarding in so many ways. It’s very easy. If you find yourself smitten by it, there are ways you can get more expert about it. Basics What you basically do when you save seeds is this: you go to the seeds when they are ready and get them; you make sure they’re really dry, and then you store them. It’s as simple as that but … Getting good seeds at the right time involves knowing the usual life cycle of a plant and whether a seed will stay true. You can gather them in different ways such as plucking, rubbing, shaking or grabbing. Making sure seeds are dry enough means having a good drying space for them. Storing seeds well involves having appropriate labels and containers for them. Plant Types and Specifics Plants are annual, biennial or perennial. ~Annual plants (such as lettuce and tomatoes) flower and mature seed in the same year. ~Perennials live and bear seed year after year. Self-pollinating Annuals Lettuce Tomatoes Corn
How farmers are saving seeds and building a Canadian collection On Kim Delaney’s seed farm in Palmerston, Ont., the peppers, the tomatoes and the more than 100 varieties of vegetables she grows have had to cope with a lot of rain this season. That means at the end of the summer, the finest specimens she’ll choose to collect seeds from – that she’ll package and sell to her customers to plant next year – will hold the genes they need to thrive in rainy weather. And because she’s been growing seeds for the past 13 years, what she produces will also be primed to do well in other conditions, too – even droughts. “Last year we had five and a half weeks without rain and this year we have rain every two days. So, the genes in the plant populations I am collecting are constantly adapting,” she says. By going through her fields and selecting the seeds from plants that have the characteristics she’s looking for – including taste and colour – Delaney is building a truly Canadian collection. This is incredibly rare. And broccoli, says Wildfong, comes from Mexico.
How to grow a kiwi plant from seed | Growing Wild Kiwifruit is so tasty; it’s intoxicating. All my life, I’ve enjoyed the unique flavour and texture of kiwis but never stopped to wonder where they come from and how they grow. It took 24 years, countless fruit salads, and the digestion of innumerous tiny black seeds before I thought about planting some. After my first kiwi sprouts emerged from the soil, I did some research and realized that Canada, with its uncomfortably cold winters, is not an ideal environment for growing kiwi plants. While fairly hardy, kiwi cannot survive temperatures below -18 degrees celsius. This news didn’t; however, change my mind about continuing to care for my seedlings. Whether you’re planting to observe or to consume, here’s how you can get growing your own kiwi vines: Things you’ll need: 1) A kiwi. This is they type of kiwifruit I used! 2) A small mug or container. 3) Paper towels, a plate, and a clear plastic container. 4) Potting soil. 5) Containers/pots. 6) Sun, or a grow light. 6) Plant your seeds!
Shallots, Lemon grass and Apple plants from seeds Great video from My inspired creation. She has bought shallots,lemongrass and saved some seeds from store bought red delicious apples and has now got all of them to root. Then she can transplant to the garden and grow her own . Pretty neat. I really didn’t think the seeds from apples would grow. photo credit My inspired creation Les variétés paysannes de blé en voie de disparition Le Monde.fr | • Mis à jour le | Par Angela Bolis "Qu'est-ce que ça veut dire, une variété, quand on réfléchit au mot ?", interroge Jean-François Berthellot, les pieds enfoncés dans la terre collante de ses champs de blé. Il en est ainsi de sa Japhabelle, dont il est particulièrement fier. Entre sa banque de graines et ses champs, Jean-François Berthellot a amassé quelque 200 variétés de blé – en plus de ses autres cultures de légumineuses et de céréales. Lire aussi le reportage sur la réserve mondiale de semences de Spitzberg (Norvège) : "Graines en stock" La diversité génétique de ces variétés leur permet de mieux résister aux maladies – qui contamineront moins facilement l'ensemble de la parcelle, sans ajout de pesticides –, et de s'adapter mieux aux variations des sols et des climats. Mais la différence, avec une monoculture ou une variété homogène, se fait aussi ressentir dans le produit fini du blé. "Pour moi, il y a un raté historique, estime l'agriculteur.
Heirlooms, hybrids and GMOs: A hackers guide to knowing the difference - NaturalNews.com Wednesday, May 21, 2014 by: Derek HenryTags: GMOs, heiloom seeds, hybrid plants (NaturalNews) There has been plenty of discussion surrounding the food supply, and for good reason. Natural, nutritious food seems to be rare compared to its altered, compromised counterparts. This has forced labels onto food, which has created some confusion for the consumer as to what exactly they are buying. Here is a guide to help distinguish between three main categories. The most natural way to produce plant-based foods, and the way it has been done for thousands of years, is what we now refer to as heirlooms. It's quite simple actually -- you save the seeds of a fruit or vegetable that has favorable characteristics (color, shape, size and flavor are the most commonly considered) and plant them on a yearly basis. In this case, the seeds are in no way manipulated. These plants most often produce the most appealing taste. Growing hybrid plants is not a bad thing, but it has created some downfalls.
The best way to sprout strawberry seeds / growing strawberries Neat way to grow strawberry plants from the seeds on the berries you buy from the store. Fragile come unarose shows how to take seeds from your strawberries that you are eating and sprout them and then transplant the little seedlings into a container till the are ready to go in to the garden. I like it, you won’t have to buy seed or starter plants again. photo credit Fragilecomeunarose