(Signe Wilkinson via GoComics.com) My bad; I had a Garden Chat submission queued up, only to discover that my ‘permission’ to view the photos from the new-to-me file sharing system had ‘expired’. So here’s an abject apology to JeffG166 — I hope I’ll be able to share his pics *next* week — and some …
Sunday Morning Garden Chat: SnippetsPost + Comments (50)
The potatoes that grow in the Andes of South America are far more than a starchy staple of the local diet. They are a rich part of the culture.
“There’s one really wonderfully beautiful potato, it looks almost like a rose. And the name of that one is ‘the-one-that-makes-the-daughter-in-law-cry’,” says Tammy Stenner, executive assistant at Asociación Andes, a non-profit organisation in Cusco, Peru, that works to protect biodiversity and indigenous rights in the region. “A potential mother-in-law would ask the young woman who wants to marry her son to peel this potato, but she has to peel it with care, so not wasting the flesh, not ruining the shape.”
It is just one of more than 1,300 varieties of potato to be found growing in the mountains of the Andes, somewhere between 3,200m and 5,000m (10,500ft-16,500ft) above sea level. These are not the smooth-skinned russets or pale Maris Pipers that can be found on supermarket shelves in Europe and the US. Instead, they come in shades of purple, pink, red, and black, as well as white and yellow. Some have so many lumps and bumps that peeling them is enough to bring tears to the eyes.
Others require special methods of preparation. There are some that have to be freeze-dried (using one of two different methods for doing so), some that should only be cooked whole, and those that can be peeled and cut up for cooking. Individual varieties often have wonderfully descriptive names that describe their shape: one name translates to “puma’s paw”, another to “llama’s nose”. Then there are the potatoes named according to the role they play in the field, like the wild relatives of the cultivated potatoes known as the “grandfathers”, or the role they play in local customs.
But now these beguiling vegetables have a new and vital role to play – helping to ensure potato crops can adapt to the challenges of climate change.
Potato Park, located near the Peruvian town of Pisac, was founded by six indigenous communities in 2002 to preserve the genetic diversity of potatoes grown in the region, as well as the cultural heritage of the people that grow them. Other native Andean crops grow here, too, from maize to quinoa. The agricultural methods used in the park have been developed over thousands of years, and resilience to extreme weather, such as that caused by El Niño, is built in. Farmers also vary planting locations within the almost 10,000-hectare (38 sq miles) reserve, and harvest at multiple times across the year.
As well as preserving many varieties of potatoes that might otherwise be lost – along with the agricultural knowledge and traditions involved in growing potatoes at high altitude – farmers are testing which of the existing varieties can best adapt to the kind of extreme conditions that are expected to become more common as the global climate changes…
In fact, you don’t need to be a farmer to save seeds and steward a diverse range of crops for the future. Seed Savers Exchange is a non-profit organisation based in Iowa, US, dedicated to the preservation of heirloom seeds. The organisation uses a combination of ex situ conservation (long-term storage of seeds in their gene bank) and in situ conservation (sharing their seeds with gardeners and farmers to grow). All of their seeds are open-pollinated, which means that growers can save their own seed year after year.
As well as holding information on the cultural heritage of their heirloom seeds – gathered by specialist seed historians – Seed Savers Exchange is working with a network of 700 gardeners across the US to help it learn which varieties might best adapt to different environments. Those gardeners grow seeds that the organisation would like more information on, then report back on aspects like germination rate, growth habit, and how the plants are doing in their climate. “These are people that are all across the country, so it allows us to be able to start to see what sort of environments some of these crops are thriving in,” says Mike Bollinger, executive director of Seed Savers Exchange…
#Sewers are overflowing everywhere. One solution is right in your #backyard. https://t.co/lcfad2JAom
— Matthew O. Harbour (@MOHarbour) December 10, 2023
… When water is captured by a rain garden, it infiltrates into the ground, evaporates, or is absorbed by plants and eventually returns to the atmosphere. The city is also installing permeable pavement.
The goal is to slowly absorb storm water to keep it out of the combined sewer, said Seth Charde, D.C. Water’s green infrastructure manager…
D.C. is promoting rain gardens in other ways. For $100, the city will design and install a rain garden through an incentive program for homeowners. The city is also helping private projects get federal money.
Less than half a mile from the White House, the streets of the Golden Triangle district are lined with restaurants, businesses, and lots of greenery. The wide sidewalks host tree boxes, pollinator plants, and enough rain gardens to capture 48,000 gallons of water…