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Can’t share what I don’t have, so y’all get news snippets instead of pics from commentors this week…
Indigenous peoples in the Southwest have used a wild potato species for 11,000 years—far longer than any other documented potato use in North America.
USDA is now studying its 8-year shelf life, and its resistance to disease, heat, and drought. ??https://t.co/aktMRb5VgE
— The Counter (@TheCounter) December 3, 2021
The Four Corners potato is related to the common potato in somewhat the same way coyotes are related to dogs.
Its tubers are about as small and varied as grapes.
It has an ability to remain viable for eight years in the fridge, and is resistant to extremely cold temperatures. pic.twitter.com/vfvwYZt5nw
— The Counter (@TheCounter) December 3, 2021
USDA is now studying these very traits to see if they can be crossbred with the common potato to be hardier in the face of our changing climate.
This research, though, is not welcomed by some Indigenous peoples, who see the jamesii potato as a sacred part of their own heritage.
— The Counter (@TheCounter) December 3, 2021
The fear is that potato varieties with jamesii genes would be patented by large commercial agricultural concerns, and that Indigenous contributions to stewarding and domesticating the potato would not be acknowledged.
— The Counter (@TheCounter) December 3, 2021
University of Maine researchers are trying to produce potatoes that can better withstand climate change. Warmer temperatures, more rainfall and more pests all pose challenges to the crop.https://t.co/3697Kjk2f7
— The Associated Press (@AP) November 28, 2021
"In the Southwest, projects are looking to plants and farming practices that Native Americans have long used as potential solutions to growing worries over future food supplies. At the same time, they are seeking to build energy resilience." https://t.co/cwHd3XjUVV
— Center for Earth Ethics (@EarthEthicsCtr) December 11, 2021
WATCH: The Manguinhos neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro was once a garbage dump. Now it’s one of Latin America’s largest urban vegetable gardens with crops feeding around 800 local families https://t.co/vB8ZgBR4o7 pic.twitter.com/F0Lt4WYft8
— Reuters (@Reuters) December 11, 2021
rikyrah
Good Morning, Everyone???
NotMax
Olé. Tuber tuneage.
;)
p.a.
Good morning!
I don’t contribute much to the garden threads but I do garden, ‘meh-ly’, and I never see discussion of garden tools. What are your go-to’s for turnover, weeding etc?
I like the ‘wiggle-weeder’ style for weeding, the steel trapezoid at the end of a handle does a decent job of weeding and loosening the top layer also (do a lot of hand weeding too?). Also I’m big on gloves, those stretchy cotton/synthetics with the rubber dip on the grasping surfaces.
Ten Bears
It could be – has been – argued the “discovery” of the potato ushered in the Industrial Age.
Well, that and distilling vodka out of potatoes …
sab
@p.a.: Back when I lived near rural part of California I got a pair of canvas gloves dipped in rubber that were great- durable and very protective. They lasted about 15 years until I adopted an adolescent dog who ate the finger tips off them. So now I use the ones you like.
Geminid
@p.a.: I like a digging fork for loosening soil and weeding. That won’t take out dandelions, which seem to wriggle past the narrow tines. A narrow ditching spade works well on them and other weeds with taproots. A square spade is good for edging and cutting out sod for new beds. Both spades and the digging fork have D handles. I try to use spades as much as possible because trowel work tends to strain my wrists and elbows. What loosened weeds I can’t pull by reaching down I get kneeling, and I wear good kneepads. My friend Joan uses a narrow spade almost exclusively, but has a Japenese-style hooked knife she uses for close work.
The most efficient weeding technique is to wait until it’s rained a day or two to soften the soil. We haven’t had good rain in central Virginia for over two months, though. That’s the second two month+ drought this year. We’d be in trouble if the first three months of the year hadn’t been so wet.
satby
So many fascinating snippets Anne Laurie! Thank you for them.
@rikyrah: @NotMax: good morning/ night for NotMax
@p.a.: Garden tools is an interesting subject. I also have a triangle hoe that I prefer to the regular kind. For close work around established plants I bought this claw tool, the five times are more effective than the three tine versions for me. And I can’t live without my ratcheting lopper, this version is similar.
satby
@Geminid: you reminded me that another indispensable tool I use frequently is my Root Slayer spade. They have several kinds, mine is the classic one with the O handle. Planting is so much easier with a shovel that cuts right through turf and roots. I adore that spade.
raven
Our backyard, “The Kudzu Valley” was a de-facto dump back in the day. This was 20 + years ago when the garden girl started her magic. Here’s what it looked like when we had the Kudzu patch cleared in 2012
And later
The little pine trees are now 40 feet tall
and the gardens are in full flush.
satby
@raven: I’m in awe of your bride.
p.a.
@Geminid: I don’t take out dandelions, I eat them. One of my jobs as a kid was getting sent out to harvest them. I hated it: you know how kids hate looking ‘different’, and no one else in my urban hellhole did that. My ‘rents were older, had me in their early 40’s and were children of the depression: teens in the 1930s so they had strong memories of the time. Dandelions= free food! Who knew at the time they were good for you too.
Geminid
@satby: The flaired top on the Rootslayer looks good. The top of the ditching spade I use is a little too narrow for me. My friend has small feet so she does fine with hers. Joan has a lot of garden beds and some arthritis in one wrist, and she uses her core strength to do a lot of spading. Joan also maintains her flexibility so she can pull weeds while standing, which is something I need to do more.
Geminid
@p.a.: I’ve seen dandelion greens for sale in stores. My friend Joan leaves hers except in her vegetable beds. I do a lot of my gardening for people with conventional standards, so their dandelions have got to go.
There is a “mountain” dandelion I see sometimes where I live. The leaves are more narrow, and the flowers are taller and smaller than the regular type.
Spanky
@Ten Bears: Without potatoes the Irish famines would have been impossible.
p.a.
Young people tend to be extremely picky abt what they eat; IIRC part of the reason is their taste buds are more sensitive, so among other things bitter greens are a really tough ‘sell’- hell they’re a tough sell for adults.
Dandelions wilt immediately after cut, but come right back with a bath.
debbie
Wait, potatoes should be refrigerated?
OzarkHillbilly
That comic is especially apt for me this year. I didn’t quite get all my bulbs in the ground before my surgery. Still have a hundred Glory of the Snow to put in. Fortunately the weather gods have kept things on the warm side so it is not yet too late. Maybe this week I can finish that up.
satby
@Spanky: The Irish famine would have been greatly reduced or averted if the peasants were not deprived of the rest of the food crops grown for export to England. Ireland exported food throughout the entire famine, while 50% of the population either died or fled for lives to other countries.
satby
@OzarkHillbilly: The comic applies to me too, though I managed to finish planting or potting up everything over Thanksgiving. So this year no December planting for me for once. And it’s still possible, the next three days will warm up until we hit a predicted 63° on Wednesday. Which really isn’t good for these plants.
Argiope
@p.a.: How do you prepare your dandelion greens? Are some ways more tasty than others?
Immanentize
Morning All!
Garden tools — some of the best couple I have are from my wife’s grandparents. One is a thin bladed how with a pointed side and a flat side like a tall building with the stick attaching by a brass nail straight into the middle
./-\
|°|
Maybe that will look like it (if you connect the lines at side and bottom).
The other is the handy claw everyone likes, but on a long stick. No short handled hoes for me! Great 80+ yr old tools that really get a ton of use.
And for dandelions, a root fork.
satby
@Immanentize: I have one of those hoes too, it’s old and I have no idea where I got it from.
p.a.
@Argiope: Fresh in salad, sautéed in olive oil, garlic, red pepper alone or with other greens, fresh cherry/grape tomatoes optional. Yes, my name ends in a vowel.?
Immanentize
@satby: It really is my go-to stick tool (as we called them in Texas). Considering how old it is and how thin the blade is, I’m amazed it still exists.
ETA every year I promise I will clean and sharpen my garden tools, repaint the handles if necessary, etc. But somehow, Spring arrives regardless.
MagdaInBlack
@p.a.: My mother wilted them with a sweet/sour hot bacon dressing and tossed in sliced hard boiled eggs.
She only gathered them in spring tho, and went digging under leaves to get the young tender plants, not big tough full grown dandelions
p.a.
@MagdaInBlack: That sounds good! but I’d leave out the eggs; to me the smell of hardboiled is offputting. And yes, the young small are less challenging.
OzarkHillbilly
@satby: Those Chinese have really gone too far with their climate hoax this year.
Argiope
@p.a.:
@MagdaInBlack:
Thanks, both of you! I think I’ll try some when Spring arrives.
oldgold
Although I have never raised potatoes in West of Eden, I consider myself a couch potato gardener.
Speaking of potatoes, yesterday, I had to smile at the notion Dan Quayle, who was unfairly labeled as a damn dunce for misspelling potato, may have saved our constitutional republic by giving spudtacular advice to Pence.
satby
We certainly are living in a timeline as imagined by Salvador Dali.
oldgold
@satby:
Like a spud, Dali had his eyes peeled to the future. Yet, I doubt even his creative genius could have imagined these traitor tots.
scav
Love DeWit gardening tools, but I probably use my hori hori and kana hoe more consistently. And, of course, the felcos.
Kristine
@satby: Oh, bookmarking the Root Slayer site for later perusal.
I need new gloves, so I’m also interested to see what other folks are using. Do you spring for heavier duty garden store varieties or are hardware store grades good enough?
Kristine
@raven: Wow.
Kristine
@Immanentize:
That’s what I use.
Not a dandelion fan. For the last few years, I’ve spread corn gluten on the lawn portions of the yard as both food and weed suppressor–they prevent seeds from germinating for several weeks after application, so you have to be careful where you spread it. Anyway, dandelion population has decreased quite a bit, though I still need to dig them up here and there. I leave the wild violet alone–they take over bare areas, but remain more scattered in lawns, and the occasional purple flower amid the green is pretty. I leave the clover, both white and pink. I will battle creeping Charlie until the day I die.
I planted the orange Monarch crocuses a few weeks ago, and needed to replant a few that the squirrels excavated–even the cayenne I scattered in the hole and over top didn’t dissuade them. If half of the 25 or so bulbs I planted make it, I will consider it a resounding success.
Unseasonably mild here in NE Illinois. Rainy Friday followed by wow windy, but the horrific storms that hit the southern part of the state missed us. Sunny and calm today, mid-40s–could hit 60 midweek, followed by another cooldown. No mention of snow for the next ten days, though I know that can change.
frosty
@p.a.: Gloves: deerskin for me. The cotton ones with a leather palm are too big, calfskin too bulky.
stinger
@Kristine: I have small hands, and though hardware stores sometimes carry children’s gardening gloves, my hands aren’t that small. Garden stores (and online) have the right size for me, and better quality too. I go through two pairs of Mud (brand) gloves a year, and also a pair of Digger gloves from Womanswork or nitrile gloves from Gardeners Supply Co.
Seldom buy plain cloth gardening gloves, as they don’t keep out moisture and wear out really fast.
Faithful Lurker
@OzarkHillbilly:
@satby: Me too. I finally planted my daffodils and tulips last week. The weather has been mild (40’s in the day, high 30’s at night) But a ton of rain. That atmospheric river that is running over our heads is at full spate.
Bill Arnold
@p.a.:
I started using these this last year (Amazon, and there are multiple similar/identical items) for gardening/yard work.
“DEYAN Cut Resistant Work Gloves – 2 Pairs Level 5 Protection Cutting Gloves with Non-Slip Silicone Dots”
They are thinner and provide better tactile feedback than leather gloves, and while they won’t always block a long rose(or blackberry) thorn they’re pretty good. protection vs casual damage by typical gardening sharps.
Cowgirl in the Sandi
I ordered some iris from White Flower Farm in the spring and planted them. Several are the kind that bloom twice / year. Amazingly, one has sent up buds already (Bay area CA) – even though it is December and in the 40’s! I hope they don’t get frozen before they bloom!
StringOnAStick
@Kristine: I use the knit gloves that have rubberized palms and fingers, but the thinner ones wear out at the tips pretty quickly. This year I found a brand that’s twice as heavy so it really lasts but is still flexible enough to be quite sensitive for weeding. The brand is the same name as a very common fertiliser and potting soil, green and black label.
This year I bought a hori hori knife and it was a lifesaver for digging up deadish sod, sawing it into chunks so it could dry completely and I could shake the dirt and fine organic matter out for adding soil back to where I removed it. It was so much easier to sit and peel the sod towards me instead of use a shovel. The sod had been placed 20 years ago on top of a layer of peat moss over very thin, very rocky ground, so not only could I reclaim the peat moss, there was all the same just as fine root material to salvage from the dead sod, taking my nearly organic -free native soil to one with lots of moisture retentive fine organic matter. I could not have done it without the hori hori knife, best new tool ever. Also the trowel with an edge like a shovel that can be kept as sharp as the day I bought it; 99% of the trowels out there have blunt ends and are very hard on your hands and arms because of it. It cost double to triple the blunt ones but is worth every penny!
p.a.
@Bill Arnold: Those look nice. I only have one rosebush, but 2 large firethorn bushes: yow! I just consider the damage inflicted from pruning them cosmic payback for my teenage years.
jnfr
A month after planting my dormant amaryllis bulb, it is finally showing the first shoots. It is a very slow bulb.
Kristine
@stinger: @StringOnAStick: Yeah, to this point I’ve bought gloves at the local hardware store, and the fingertips do wear quickly. I found these at The Grommet--my hands are smallish, too, and they offer three sizes.
I like that hori-hori knife. I bought a good pruning saw a couple of years ago, and it does pay in the long run to buy quality. I’m checking descriptions for mention of ergonomic handles because I have tendonitis in both thumbs and ergonomics matter.
Reverse tool order
Re gardening tools: Wondering if the tools Immanentize & Satby mention are “Hoedads”, used in forestry for planting conifer seedlings?
Felco shears for left hands: Amongst the many pruning shears by Felco, there are four for lefties. They’re #9 & #16 with fixed lower handle, #10 & #17 have rotating lower handle. All have the latch on the right side for your left thumb.
If you like rectangular kneeling pads, highly recommend the Kraft Tools WL069. It has a tough plastic tray bottom with handles and a durable closed cell foam top. Spans small rocks & rough ground better than just foam.
Late to the show as usual, oh well.
Reverse tool order
Should add: Once you are used to it, the Felco rotating handle reduces fatigue from sustained pruning. And, maybe a little more force as you finish the cut.
You might be interested in wildland firefighting hand tools, most notably the “Pulaski” and the “McLeod”.
The Pulaski head has a transverse grubbing end opposite a single bit axe. Avoid cheap hardware store Pulaskis with soft, weak steel. Yes, real FFS (Forest Service Supply?) grade tools, like Ames True Temper or Council brands, are expensive. I see Rogue makes a Pulaski too, presumably using their very hard & tough steel. You would need a grinder to resharpen it. If really strong, there are some “Super P”s with a wider grubbing end.
The McLeod tool is another combo with tines for soil penetration and raking plus a flat hoe for scraping and scalping duff especially. Best to use the tines more than you would think. The notches are tapered to aid unclogging.
The standard McLeod is wide, about 11 inches, and has six tines. It will kick your ass with prolonged use. I have seen pictures of narrow McLeods with four tines, or you could cut one down with a cut-off disk on a grinder or a plasma cutter.
For completeness, I’ll mention the (wildland) fire shovel. It differs from a common #2 round point by having a slightly smaller & more triangular head, forged solid socket for handle, and handle is much more angled relative to head & a bit short. That angle is made for doing a lateral scraping motion parallel to ground with less bending over. A bit short to fit in a Bell 206 helicopter tail boom, for one. I like these shovels, but probably not worth seeking out.
I could go on, but probably already beyond what you want to know.
Reverse tool order
Actually, one more thing for one sort of tool use. The concept with chopping, grubbing, and the like is for user to swing the tool and the resulting kinetic energy of the tool head does the work. Don’t be swinging with hands far apart on handle or getting slammed hard with landing the blow. It’s kind of like stand back and watch the tool do the work.
If you can’t swing a given tool, get a smaller, lighter one. Nowadays, I can barely swing a six lb splitting maul for a few minutes. The 10 lb maul days are long gone. Or, give a youngster some work experience.