The English vegetable picked by candle light

The English vegetable picked by candle light

A notoriously fickle vegetable to harvest, Yorkshire forced rhubarb is anything but easy to grow. It thrives in the county’s cold winters, but if the soil is too wet, it can’t be planted. If the temperature is too hot, it won’t grow; and 10 or 

What’s Wrong with Bananas

What’s Wrong with Bananas

Reproductively, domesticated banana plants are self-copying machines. Proto-farmers who found an individual whose fruit they liked (maybe tasty and not so seedy) could dig up its suckers and replant them in a nearby clearing or even along the trail. In a few years, an industrious proto-farmer might 

Plant Consciousness

Plant Consciousness

Found an interesting article on Plant consciousness. Deep in within us we all know they have consciousness, but people keep running test after test to trying to prove that they don’t. We are so limited in our modern thinking, we assume that plants and the 

Saguaro Blossoms

Saguaro Blossoms

The saguaro (/səˈwɑːroʊ/, Spanish pronunciation: [saˈɣwaɾo]) (Carnegiea gigantea) is an arborescent (tree-like) cactus species in the monotypic genus Carnegiea, which can grow to be over 40 feet (12 m) tall. It is native to the Sonoran Desert in Arizona, the Mexican State of Sonora, and the Whipple Mountains and Imperial County areas of California. The saguaro blossom is the state wildflower of Arizona. Its scientific 

What makes a tree a tree?

What makes a tree a tree?

If one is pressed to describe what makes a tree a tree, long life is right up there with wood and height. While many plants have a predictably limited life span (what scientists call “programmed senescence”), trees don’t, and many persist for centuries. In fact, 

Microscopic Images Of Seeds

Microscopic Images Of Seeds

The diversity and intricacy of shapes and sizes of seeds is extraordinary. Even more amazing is that within even the tiniest of seeds lies the complete genetic information required to birth and structure such organisms as the complex passion flower, or a 360 foot tall sequoia. 

This Peruvian Farmer Grows Over 400 Varieties of Potatoes

This Peruvian Farmer Grows Over 400 Varieties of Potatoes

Consider the humble potato. Many of us take the starchy tuber for granted. But not Julio Hancco Mamani. That’s because deep in the Andes mountains, in the Cusco region of Peru, this “Potato King” is continuing a family legacy by cultivating more than 400 native 

The Wild World of the Creosote Bush

The Wild World of the Creosote Bush

If you are in the Mojave, Sonoran, and Chihuahuan Deserts of western North America, you are never far from a creosote bush. They are medium sized, slow growing shrubs with sprays of compact green leaves, tiny yellow flowers, and fuzzy seeds. Apparently what is thought