December Ramblings

Something makes me wonder if cherimoya fruit don't like to be written about. It seems that everytime I try to write up an entry on them I stop making entries entirely. It even stopped my taxonomy chart (which is more or less done, and has been for weeks). Of course, I'm just kidding, school and work happened. I recently started working a second job which was on top of a very difficult term of school. So, between all of that, it stopped my blog, though it didn't stop my plant projects.

So, although cherimoya will eventually be discussed, as well as the other fruits of it's family, and I do want to bring up carnivorous plant taxonomy, I'm just going to be indulgent and talk about the project I have coming up, as well as the projects I've been working on. And probably a few tangential wanderings ( or perhaps many ;) )

So I missed Sarracenia Northwest's September open house. I really wanted to make it, however it snuck past us. If you're interested in the nursery business, successful Internet startups, or carnivorous plants in general, and live in the Willamette Valley, you should definitely check them out. It's $10, they provide food, and generally send you home with a free plant (they'll let you know beforehand what they're giving away). Not only are Jeff and Jacob very wonderful people to talk to and visit, but they really exemplify what you can do with just a little space and a lot of determination. Part of the reason I love doing what I do so much is definitely due to their enthusiasm.

We did make it to their December open house, which happened just this last weekend. I came home with a baby Nepenthes ventricosa (as the freebie). Ventricosas are beautiful and sturdy growers. I kinda hope that one is a male and one is a female, though I think it's unlikely. It was a great visit, it was nice to catch up with them both, and their nursery is always very beautiful. Most of the North American plants are all in full dormancy now, so there was a lot of brown outside. That being said, just like there is something pretty about a bare tree in winter, so too is there with dry Sarracenia flowers, bursting with seeds.

I was very worried about my chocolate trees. I was certainly dreading bringing them in for winter. Chocolate is a tropical plant, and I had kept one of them indoors for a short time upon it's arrival, only to see it drop many many leaves and look as sickly as sickly could be. So upon bringing them in for Winter I purchased a 60W compact florescent light (apparently it's the equivalent of a 300W incandescent, and it certainly seems that way), replaced the 13W that was in the dining room, and ever since the chocolate has been doing well. Though it'll be nice to put it back outside when the weather warms back up. Only 3+ months to go... :/

I just ordered several plants from Wistuba, which recently arrived. I wanted to expand my number of Heliamphora, with the intention of eventually growing a stock and reselling. In total I purchased 5, 2 minors, a heterodoxa, nutans, and puchella. I also got a couple Nepenthes copelandii, one of which is a Christmas gift for a friend.

My wife helping mix soil for the new plants.

My dragonfruit are ok, they have both recovered, however I also need to replant them. They're growing slowly, I assume due to them being water bound, not soil bound. For now it's fine, especially since they're indoors and since it's Winter. When it warms up I will mix a better soil mix and set them back outside. I also have 5 new starts. I tried to scarify the seeds this time, a technique I learned that's used for Drosophyllum, a dry weather carnivore. Out of about 10 seeds, I got 5, so I call that a win. I'm not a big fan of dragonfruit as a fruit, but it's absolutely beautiful, and cacti are cool.

Recovering cacti

5 new seedlings (one is kinda covered)

I'm going to be revamping the way I do my tropical plant lighting schema. It's currently pretty sad, substantially sadder than it should be, as several of my plants are definitely not happy with the light. They're surviving off of it, but they aren't thriving off of it. It also kinda clogs my appartment in a way that I dislike. It's kinda hard to describe, but, in short, it makes it awkward to move around. I'm going to redo it soon based off of Sarracenia Northwest's setup, which uses T5 florescent tubes. They're also a bit more powerful than my current ones, so here's to hoping for happier and healthier plants. I'll do pictures later of a before and after, though it'll probably be a month or two before I can get started.

My dad agreed to help me borrow some space for some Sarracenia and Venus Flytraps. I've been enjoying doing plants from seed, it can be very very rewarding (though oftentimes very difficult). And this time has proven to be both difficult and a reminder that things don't always go your way. It looks like I had a 100% failure rate on this batch. But it happens, sometimes it just doesn't work out. I will try again and hope for better luck next time.

I'm going to give the community garden plot another shot this year, however this time I am not going to let it get overrun. I will be pulling out all stops and making it rock. I have ghost pepper seeds that need to be grown. But I also think I'm going to be a bit, hm, daring with some of the things I'm planning on growing. I was going to plant a couple things that might not be considered kosher for a community garden plot.

And with that I think I have run out of random topics to talk about. I think my life might be slowing down just enough for me to catch my breath, so expect taxonomy and cherimoya soon!

Have a great <insert holiday of choice here>, and Happy New Year if I don't write another entry soon enough!

Link Me:
Sarracenia Northwest's new page:
http://www.growcarnivorousplants.com/

Dr. Andreas Wistuba's webpage:

http://www.wistuba.com/

OSU Gardening Calendar for Oregon:
http://www.metromastergardeners.org/calendar/dec.php

As a final note, speaking of the new year, my resolution is to be better about taking and posting pictures. It has been pointed out that they are, in fact, worth a thousand words, which means I don't have to write as much, so I definitely need to get on top of that.

Why do We (I) do this?

I've mentioned some of the exotics and tropics that I have and it comes to mind that the casual observer may say, “Why?”. There are hundreds of beautiful zone 8 plants, many gorgeous natives in Oregon. Why would you want to deal with the difficulty of having non-native tropicals and the like when they are that much more of a headache? Why would you want to spend so much time working with plants that could, with just the smallest wrong move die, causing you so much wasted time and effort?

Challenge.

And I know it's not just me. Many people, many gardeners enjoy the challenge of growing something that isn't “normal”. We like the weird, we like the different. I love tulips to death, but they're easy (hopefully I won't raise the ire of any tulip growers with that statement...). Drosera regia isn't. Irises are easy, Heliamphora isn't. There's a reward, though subtle, for growing plants that most people are afraid to try. Even more for plants that people don't even realize exist.

I'm not the only person who does this sort of thing, but I feel a definite sense of accomplishment to tread where few step. And it's not just gardeners, of course. Many people constantly push the boundaries of what is and isn't possible. People like to go to places were few or no people have been before. I'm not sure what drives us, but I know that calling.

It's a little different for everyone. Mine just happens to be derived from the want to prove that certain plants can be grown here, where the winters, though mild, frequently dip below freezing (which isn't ideal for any tropical I can think of). And I like to think that I might help contribute to the wealth of human knowledge, in my own little way.

I'd like to think that some of the work I do will eventually help expand our knowledge of the limits of certain plants. What I learn today I hope to turn into research papers later. I want to have helpful tips and easy to use guides for people just starting. I want to provide answers for people searching into Google, “Can I grow pineapples in Oregon?” (by the way, the answer is yes, and it's not even that hard, in fact, and I just learned this, my uncle was *very* successful in growing pineapples in Oregon).

There is a personal appeal to discovering knowledge to pass on to people. But, perhaps, the simple thing is:

My challenge in growing is to prove my worth.

Afterword:

This sprang up from a conversation I had with my cousin, Chris Rombough, about the allure of growing the difficult, just because we can. I had a hard time putting into words the desire I have to do this, and at a family get together a couple weeks ago, we were discussing it. His dad, my uncle, would constantly try to grow out of the ordinary plants, trying to push the boundary of what you can do in Oregon. My first blog post talked about him, and covered some of the work that he did. And he inspired us both.

And as a shout out to what Chris does for a living, he is a fish and wildlife surveyor and educator. He's even appeared on OPB (Oregon's local PBS station) a couple times, both times on Oregon Field Guide. One appearance is in the Silent Invasion special, talking about the destructive impact of invasive species, the other a regular episode, with a segment on “Field Herping”.  I absolutely recommend watching the entirety of Silent Invasion, but if you want to skip ahead, his segment begins around the 43 minute mark.  The videos are below.

http://www.opb.org/programs/invasives/videos.php?page=full

http://ec2-50-18-136-176.us-west-1.compute.amazonaws.com/programs/ofg/segments/view/1675

Depression and Dealing with Loss

It's an odd title for a botany-themed blog isn't it? But it's relevant to what I'm going to talk about today.

First off, I apologize to my friends, family, and everyone following this blog, because I have been away for so long without any new material. I have mentioned before that I am a student, what I haven't mentioned before is that I also have a chronic health problem, one that on any given day may be tolerable or horrendous. Sadly, for the last two months, it has fallen on the side of vicious. It's disrupted my hobbies of botany, my personal relationships, and my job. It's pretty much taken over my life. And with such a disruption, paired with being home bound so frequently, it's led me straight into depression.

I hope that most of the people reading this will never ever have to deal with depression (or ulcerative colitis, for that matter). But for those that have suffer, and do suffer still, from it, it's a horrible disease. It eats you up inside, it doesn't let you do anything you want or need to do, and better yet, it convinces you that you don't want to do them. I work in IT, and I love it. I love coming into work, seeing friends and getting meaningful work done. I love being a problem solver and helping people get their technological needs met. It's part of who I am, but depression tells me that I don't want to do it, that I can't do it, that I'll never be good enough to do it. It makes you want to give up everything you love, and it's too good at convincing you of your shortcomings. It also likes to point out how many mistakes you make, as well as making them seem much worse than they are. Depression will turn all of your negative thoughts into self-fulfilling prophesies.

I'm not even sure if there is anything I can say to anyone else to help them get through these times, as I am certainly still embroiled in my own depression. But if I could say one thing to anyone who reads this, who suffers, or may suffer in the future, it would be to never listen to that bastard. It's never as bad as your depression tells you it is. People love and care about you and you are a wonderful and needed person. We all have gifts to share with the world. You matter, and what you do matters. I ask too that if it starts getting too difficult to deal with, please talk to someone, don't keep it inside. The longer you wait to get help the worse it will get, and it will be that much harder to get away from it.

This may sound weird, but I take plant losses very seriously. To me, losing a plant can hurt just as much as losing a pet. They are living, breathing organisms, and we take them in our care, in our homes, just as we do animals. It can be very difficult to lose one, but for me, most recently, I had many losses (and almost losses) all at once. It was hard to deal with, both personally and professionally. Who am I to offer advice and to teach all my readers about plants when I lose 20 some plants all at once to a few stupid screw-ups? Well, in a lot of ways, it perhaps proves that we all make mistakes, and, though hard, it's an important lesson. I won't forget what I learned from my experience, and I am also here to help tell you what not to do.

About 2 weeks ago, I tried to give my Nepenthes some extra light to help stimulate pitcher production. They need UV light to promote healthy pitcher production. I figured that removing my greenhouse cover would help them with this (it's important to note that on the best days, my greenhouse only gets about 5 hours of direct light, so I figured that this would be fine for my plants). Well, they loved it, all but two that is. My Nepenthes petiolata (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepenthes_petiolata) and my N. hamata (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepenthes_hamata) did not like the light. They both suffered severe sunburn from the experience. Now, they could recover on their own, and the petiolata was, however, the sunburn was extensive and severe enough on the hamata that it got a fungal infection (which is what I was worried about when I saw the burn). Now, I certainly don't advocate doing this on a regular basis, and I tried to let it weather the storm, waiting a couple weeks watching to see if it would recover, but as I had lost a Nepenthes recently that I had been trying to save for the last 6 months, only to watch it slowly succumb to disease and die, I broke out my tebuconazole, which is a very potent systemic fungicide, and I waited.

While this was happening, I had also moved my sarracenia starts to a new location so that they could start being weaned off of the humidity dome, and also so that I could put a new batch of seedlings underneath the plant light. Unfortunately, I didn't realize that so much water had evaporated from the tray, and the next morning I found about 20 dried and dead Sarracenia. Another 30 or so have slowly withered away and died since.

I recently replanted my two dragonfruit starts that I grew from seed outdoors in terracotta pots. I just used regular potting soil (it's what they had been in previously) and they were growing and acclimating to the new levels of sunshine and loving life, and then one day they both collapsed. Both of their root systems have rotted away, and I suspect some sort of fungal infection transmitted by gnats (or some other small flying insect). When I brought them in, the one that had it worst had them on the soil. I've seen this before in my Nepenthes hybrid that died.

I have a Drosera regia (King Sundew) that I got late last year, and it's beautiful (and temperamental). Regias are cool because they (like the D. capensis) will wrap their leaves around their prey, usually very dramatically. I have heard stories(big fish stories?) of them tying themselves in knots over insects they catch. They are also the largest of the sundews, growing up to two feet in height when fully grown. They are very neat. Mine started to die back drastically and rapidly. It had been in the same spot for some time and was happy and healthy, only to suddenly and dramatically start to wither away.

All of these events happened within a 3 or 4 day span, and in the middle of my aforementioned depression, it sent me spiraling downward. But there is always hope, and loss is a part of life. It's never easy to deal with losing a plant, a pet, or a person, but we all pull through, in our own way. And oftentimes, things aren't as bleak as they initially appear to be.

I removed my Nepenthes from their current shelter, put them under a gentler light, used the fungicide (as I mentioned earlier), and gave them extra attention and time. They are both recovering, both showing new growth, and the petiolata even has a new pitcher that has opened up. They are now back with the rest of my collection, enjoying the (once again) filtered sunlight. I refilled the Sarracenia tray, up to a very high level compared to earlier, replaced the dome and put them back under the plant light, I figured at the least, I would save the ones that were still healthy, but to my surprise some of the Sarracenia starts that I had pegged as dried out and dead have new growth popping out. I snipped off the roots of one of the dragonfruit starts (they were mostly gone by this time anyway), and then noticed that the other has already severed it's connection to it's roots. I set them in shallow cups of filtered water with some sulfur spray to reduce the chance of fungus (sulfur is an organic option to the tebuconazole, however it only works as a preventative, once the damage has started, it won't reverse it. And although my dragonfruits are probably still the most delicate, at least one seems to be re-rooting. And my regia just really needed a trim. I cut off the older dead leaves from the base and (for good measure) put it in a brighter spot, it's recovering and seems much happier.

Not every sad story will have a happy ending, however, if I can impart anything to my readers, things aren't often as bad as they seem. Sometimes things work out better than we expect, and we are often better people for having gone through them and learned from our mistakes. It was a painful lesson, but I did learn a lot over this ordeal.

Metro Master Gardeners

A long time ago I was planning on attending Oregon State University (for my out of state readers, you may know OSU for the Beavers, one of two Oregon Pac-12 teams) for a botany degree. Though that plan was put on hold, I still think of myself as a part of the school, if only by tenuous association. The reason I mention this is it might partially explain my love of the Metro Master Gardeners, and really, the OSU Master Gardeners in general. The other reason being because they are completely awesome.

For those who have no idea who I'm talking about, the OSU Master Gardeners are a group of people who have gone through OSU's Master Gardener program (obviously, right?). It is a one term credit-less class, that (if it were credited) would be somewhere on the order of 12 credits for that one term. It is a certification that requires both a 6 hour class and 6 hours of volunteer work per week. It usually is held in many locations in the Willamette Valley during Winter term (again, for out of staters, Oregon uses a term system, as opposed to the more traditional semester system, our Winter term usually begins the week after New Year's and continues for 10 weeks (+1 week for finals)). Graduates preform community services through providing information though call-lines as well as setting up tables in certain places that generally cater to gardening and sustainability practices. For example, they tend to make weekend appearances at the Oregon Zoo during summer.

I have been wanting to join their ranks for some time now, but due to time and money, it's been difficult for me. I think in many ways it would be beneficial to both myself and the Gardeners. I am very much a novice, and for myself, I think it would help me prove to myself and others that I do have some formal training. I feel I would also be good for the Gardeners. I am not 100% certain of their age range, however it seems to attract those of an older generation. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this, however, I think it's important to show not only the program, but older generations, that people of my age are certainly interested in gardening and horticulture. I think that this is very obvious to the casual observer in the Northwest, perhaps especially in the Portland area; but it can be good for more official organizations to see interest from all age groups. I have made it a person goal to have a Master Gardener feather in my cap before I turn 30.

I most recently had the pleasure of talking with a Master Gardener this last weekend at our local New Seasons.  I was inquiring about good organic slug deterrent/pesticide, she suggested Sluggo, and against the very traditional beer trap. Apparently, the beer-battered slugs are a raccoon delicacy. I will also be trying crushed egg shells. She also provided me with a large amount of material, including how-tos, coupons, and lettuce seeds.

The Metro Master Gardeners are also holding a gardening fair Saturday, May 4^th. I will most likely be attending, it's in the Woodstock neighborhood of Portland. If you're interested, it looks like it's going to be fun.

If you haven't yet. Get your seedlings started!! You're running out of time for many plants. If you still haven't planted peas (and you were planning on it) you should put them in the soil right now. I will be doing that this weekend, as well as direct sowing my free lettuce (which was a mix of many types).

Sarracenia Northwest have a workshop coming up on June 8th, as well as an open house on July 14th and 15th. They will also be at the Canby Spring Garden Fair (May 4^th–5^th).

Also, Oregon native plant sale is happening at the Tualatin Hills Nature Park this Saturday (April 27^th)

Links!

MMG Event:
http://www.metromastergardeners.org/multnomah/

Sarracenia Northwest open house and workshops:

http://www.cobraplant.com/openhouse

http://www.cobraplant.com/workshops

Tualatin Hills Nature Park native plant sale:
http://www.thprd.org/nature/programs/nativeplantsales.cfm

Journal for April 9th, 2013

What's up with me:

I love Territorial Seed. I look forward to their spring catalogue every year. It's become a bit of a tradition for me, even if I haven't always grown a garden every year. There is something wonderful about flipping through it, looking for new items, seeing vegetables or fruits that I've never heard of before. They frequently offer many rare or unique cultivars, like everyone's darling last year, the indigo rose tomato, developed in Oregon at OSU.

I remember while I was growing up, how I would thumb through it, always telling my dad and mom that I want to grow one of everything. My dad, learning from his mom, became a gardener. He would always get tons of seed and plant catalogues every year, each new one was a treasure, looking for plants that I had never heard of or ever seen before. Territorial always stuck out to me, there was always something about their style, their wonderful information, and their selection that made me enjoy it every single time.

Never one to disappoint, Territorial had another beautiful catalogue filled with tons of new cultivars and a new book that I am absolutely intrigued with, The Drunken Botanist. Written by Amy Stewart, the book chronicles many unique drink mixes, with Territorial offering many of the plants and herbs required for the drinks. They're even hosting videos of her on their youtube account, alongside their awesome planting and harvesting help videos.

I absolutely recommend Territorial Seed for their great variety and absolutely great quality, plus, for you Northwesterners, it's a local company.

I've already gotten my seeds from them this year, and started most of them. I just use Jiffy starters (which are just tiny tiny greenhouses with many seeding “pots”, they are cheap, but generally last a couple years (plus they're recyclable if they do fall apart). I did my planting about a week ago and already have about 1/2 of my plants coming up. No tomatoes or peppers yet, but they generally take longer than the rest (tomatoes can be a couple weeks, peppers can be up to 3).

Sadly, I lost two of my wasabi starts, and I think I'm starting to see a trend with the variety Mazuma, it is very susceptible to fungal attacks, which is probably a big part of why Daruma is more widely grown. As it stands, I have one of each left (the other Daruma start was just too small, and didn't really take off), and I've decided that I've had enough of fungal infections (seeing as I recently lost my poinsettia to one as well. I purchased an organic sulfur-based fungicide, and, not wanting any repeats, have already used in on my remaining wasabi. I'm not going to take any chances, even with the stronger Daruma.

What's up with the season:

This Winter in the Northwest has been pretty mild and very dry. It's raining a bit as I write this, however, I have a sinking feeling that we're going to have a dry summer. Our snow pack in the Willamette Valley isn't as good as it should be. I'm hoping we won't have a drought, but I'm nervous that we'll have a minor one at the very least.

Otherwise, now is a great time to get your seedlings started indoors if you haven't yet. Tulips are blooming right now, as are daffodils, and many others. My favorite Oregon-native flowers, Trilliums, are blooming too.

What's up in the world:

If you live in the Portland Metro Area, the Tualatin Hills Nature Park is having small Saturday plant sales for the next couple weeks, leading up to a very large one on the 27th of April from 10a-2p. I'll be elsewhere that weekend, but I would love to go otherwise. They're having a native plant sale, selling somewhere in the range of 70+ native Northwest plants.

Next month there is the Spring Garden Fair in Canby, OR. I'll definitely be going, and my wonderful colleagues from Sarracenia Northwest will be there too. I've never been, but I'm excited to go. I think it'll be a lot of fun.

I just caught an awesome episode of Nature on OPB (our local PBS station) this morning, What Plants Talk About. It just aired last week and looked into the chemical signaling that plants use to talk to eachother as well as the signals they use to fight against predation as well as other plants. It was great, if you have an hour, check it out, the full episode is online.

Alright everyone! Good growing!

Links:

Spring Garden Fair:

http://www.clackamascountymastergardeners.org/SpringGardenFair.htm

Metro Master Gardeners April planting guide:

http://www.metromastergardeners.org/calendar/apr.php

Territorial Seed Company:

http://www.territorialseed.com/

Nature (PBS/OPB), What Plants Talk About:
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/what-plants-talk-about/video-full-episode/8243/

Oregon and Canola

As I mentioned in my previous post, the State of Oregon has decided to allow genetically modified canola to be grown in a test area of the Willamette Valley.

As it turns out, it still needs to pass the house and senate.  I urge all my Oregonian followers (which I bet is most or all of you) to weigh in your opinion, either for or against.  Food rights are important to us all, whether you think so or not.

If you're willing to weigh in, here is the link to write your local Representative and Senator:

http://www.leg.state.or.us/writelegsltr/

If you want to personally phone them, but you don't know their number, check this link out:

http://www.leg.state.or.us/findlegsltr/



For the politically active-minded that follow me (which again, I have a feeling is all or at least most of you), you might have a pet issue.  This is mine.  Those who know me also know that I love technology, I volunteer as an IT worker for Portland State University.  I love science, but I feel that we step into dangerous waters with the issue of GMOs without truly understanding the consequences.

I also see this as a non-partisan issue, we talk about the basic rights of individuals to buy, sell, give, hold, and trade seeds without any worry that they are violating copyright law by doing so.  This issue redefines whether or not we're allowed to grow plants freely, or if we are merely leasing them from a corporation.  We define whether or not we want biodiversity in our land and our food.

Please, I urge you all to at least look into this issue, be better informed, and exercise your rights as an American citizen, and in this case, Oregonians, your rights as citizens of our beautiful and diverse state.


I've included my letter that I sent out, all are allowed to use it if they so choose, or modify it as they see fit (I release it under the GNU General Public Licence (GPL)):
___

Hey all,

I wanted to voice my opposition to genetically modified canola being allowed in the valley.

Oregon is one of the few places in the world that large amounts speciality seed is grown.  Due to Monsanto and other biotech companies being allowed (for the first time in human history) to copyright DNA, any crossbreeding (including accidental) of their crops and speciality seed grower's crops will result in the loss of years of work, and the loss of breeding rights of growers.  Monsanto will legally own anything that crossbreeds with their Canola.

Now, to clarify, this doesn't mean that *just* people growing organic or traditionally grown canola will lose the rights to their own seeds.  It means that anyone growing anything remotely related to canola will lose rights to their seeds.

The following plants *will* crossbreed with canola:
-Mustard (all species)
-Cabbage (all species)
-Turnip
-Rutabaga
-Kale
-Broccoli
-Cauliflower
-Brussel Sprouts
-Kohl Rabi
-And many more

Brassica vegetables are one of our largest staple crops.  You have a two basic choices in front of you; you can either hand over all rights to Brassica crop seeds to Monsanto now, saving years of heartbreak to the farmers of the Willamette Valley, billions in lawsuits, and condemn all Oregon farmers to eventually being owned by Monsanto and it's ilk; *or* you can do the right thing and stop this from passing through, giving Oregon farmers their rights, stand strong against a corporation who has in the past, and will continue to try to undermine personal rights and freedom of any person who plants seeds to see them grow: farmers, growers, and any person who has ever been entranced by the joy of gardening.

Thank you for your time,
-Bart Brandner


___


Thank you everyone.  On a lighter tone, I hope all of you are doing well this Winter.  I think this will be an early Spring for Oregon, and I hope all your early gardening is going well.  I will be doing another journal entry soon.  I have a community garden plot now, so expect to hear me gush about that.

Take care dear readers, good growing!

Journal for February 25th, 2013

What's up with me:

I love my apartment, however I've never been particularly good at space management. Part of this I think has to do with the fact that shelving can be expensive, depending on what stores and resources you have close to home. I especially needed a shelving system for my plants. Last year I managed to find this awesome mini greenhouse that was for sale at some stores nearby. It's something like 7'x3'x2', with an opaque plastic cover. I thought about getting it (and setting it up in the apartment due to patio restrictions) and talked it over with my wife, and when we decided to go for it, it was gone. When we were perusing Bi-Mart the other day, I was happy to see that they just got a shipment in and we just picked it up.

Though I might put it in a different part of the apartment eventually, for now I will utilize it in it's current spot. It's perfect for our tropicals. I think our carnivores will all enjoy the new space quite a bit. I tossed (well, set, I would never throw my babies) a couple orchids in there as well. I'd love to let the vanilla join them, but I think one of them has gotten just a little too big, and knowing that it's sibling will do the same thing soon enough, I'm going to keep them out of it.

I honestly feel that if you have a patio garden (especially if you're sure people would leave it alone, and you don't have as many restrictions as we have) that this would be a great addition, especially for orchids and tropicals if you happen to have them. Likewise, it makes for good indoor plant shelving, provided that you don't mind sacrificing some space and a window for it. Which isn't to say that it wouldn't be good for a normal sized garden, and as it was less than $50, it's hard to not suggest it. I've also seen them at Fred Meyers, but Bi-Mart (which is a local Northwest business) has it substantially cheaper.

What's up with the Season:

The days are getting longer, though it's still pretty cold outside. However, I already see new growth outside. My tulips are starting to poke out (including one that I missed last year), the gooseberry has new buds, and I'm seeing just a little bit of new growth on one of my Sarracenias. I think that this Spring and Summer will be a good one for Oregon.

On the inside, I have new wasabi starts. All but one are doing beautifully (and I think the one that isn't will recover, it's just having a difficult time rooting). Two Daruma and two Mazuma. Here's to hoping that I can start dividing rhizomes later this year. Hopefully I can make a new post about wasabi when it happens. I should probably put them outside once the temperature stabilizes a bit (and if I can find a shadecloth for them that my apartment manager won't object to.

What's up in the world:

Sadly (in my opinion), Oregon has just authorized the growing of Genetically Modified rapeseed (canola) in the Willamette Valley. I strongly object to this based on the simple fact that rapeseed is a brassica crop (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brassica). Since we rely so heavily on these plants for food, it means that the GM crops can easily cross pollinate with any other brassica crop nearby, things such as cabbage, broccoli, brussel sprouts, kohl rabi, cauliflower, mustards, turnips, etc. This would mean that anyone with these crops, those who save their seeds to replant the next year, would have to turn their seed crops over to Monsanto at the end of the year. This is especially horrendous when you think about people who have custom breeds that they have worked on their whole lives, only to lose their work now due to uncontrolled crossbreeding. There are many ways to get involved if you choose, but I'd start by contacting the Oregon Department of Agriculture (http://www.oregon.gov/oda/Pages/index.aspx).

Next Week: Most likely another journal entry, I'm planning on writing another article, this time chronicling cherimoya, but it will be a couple weeks at least. Until then, everyone, be excited! Spring is nearly here!

Gardening resources for February and March:

http://www.metromastergardeners.org/calendar/feb.php

http://www.metromastergardeners.org/calendar/mar.php

Bio-Engineering

Again, the purpose of this blog is more on how to grow plants, growing with limited space availability, and education regarding plants. It isn't really meant to be a political outlet. That being said, it is impossible to separate politics out from most issues. It is a force that permeates our lives, as it should. We all have ideas that we cling to, opinions that we hold close, ideals that we invest in. Today's blog will focus on a very large issue that has come up in recent time. And although I would love to have converts, the main purpose of this entry will be to educate, if you are at least aware and thinking about the issue, then I have done well.

Today we will be talking about the genetic manipulation of plants for food. I'm hoping that most people who read this will at least have heard something about it. For those who haven't, it's important that you know; unless you buy organic (though that itself isn't a guarantee), already have a good knowledge of where you buy your food from, or grow all of your own food, most of what you eat now is genetically modified.

What is genetic manipulation? It is the process of splicing in genes from one creature into another. Of cutting out a piece of DNA from one animal, plant, fungus, etc. and adding into the genetic sequence of another. There are many reasons that this process is done, but, like many aspects of our society, the main drive is profit.

When this issue became noteworthy, it was sold to us as a means to increase crop yield to feed the poor. To grow more nutritious crops, ones with lower water needs, better disease resistance. In truth, the actual products we got were ones that resisted herbicide, so that the company that sells the seeds can sell you their herbicide as well. We got products that, once we bought into, were nearly impossible to de-invest ourselves in. Ones that set dangerous legal precedent that we have never seen before.

There are four plants that are the primary candidates for genetic modification, soybeans, corn, rapeseed (canola), and cotton (though wheat will soon make #5). There are others, and at the time of this writing, the first genetically modified animal is being put up for the FDA to review for human consumption, however I really just want to touch briefly on the fact that of the “big four”, the three food crops are in nearly every food product on the market. Soy is in nearly everything, corn is in nearly everything (high fructose corn syrup, anyone?), and canola oil is one of the most popular cooking oils in the United States.

So why does it matter? So most of our food is GM'd, or contains them, what's wrong with that? Well, the simple answer is, we don't know. Neither biotech companies nor the FDA tests them to see if they are suitable for consumption, either by humans or animals:

"Monsanto should not have to vouchsafe the safety of biotech food. Our interest is in selling as much of it as possible. Assuring its safety is the FDA's job." -- Phil Angell, Monsanto's director of corporate communications, quoted in the New York Times, October 25, 1998 (http://www.alternet.org/story/154951/millions_against_monsanto%3A_the_food_fight_of_our_lives)

"When a company comes in with data, the FDA looks at it and writes a letter saying, "Dear Monsanto, you supplied information regarding the safety of corn variety X and we are confident about what you've shown," Halloran says. “It is your responsibility."

(http://www.cbsnews.com/2300-204_162-10004920-2.html)

No one knows if the food is safe, and no one tests it.

Besides the lack of evidence for food safety, one of my largest concerns is seed rights. For all of human history, the flow of seeds has been free. You may buy seeds from a company, however, neither they, nor you own the rights to the genes of the plant. If you collect seeds from the fruit, that is your right. If you want to replant those seeds or give them to a friend, you may. No one, nor any organization has ever had rights to the DNA of a creature. This is no longer true, and most frighteningly, this right has become the sole right of biotech companies, and no other organization or person has them. This means that if you purchase bio-engineered soy from one of these companies, they retain seed rights and you may not save them. You must re-purchase seeds every year from that company. And what makes these seeds special? They are resistant to the herbicide that the company makes. Do they use less water? No. Do they have disease resistance? No. High crop yield? No. You buy more expensive crop, that you have to re-purchase every year, which has one purpose, for you to spend more money on herbicide from the same company.

The even more dangerous side of this issue is that of cross-pollination. Plants reproduce with any member of the same genus. This means that, in the case of canola, it will happily breed with cabbage, turnips, broccoli, and many others. If your cabbage, which isn't modified, has now mated with a canola that is, and you replant those seeds, you can now be sued for stealing the DNA of a company's GM crop. I hope that the danger here is not lost on my readers. It boils down to the simple fact that, potentially, a biotech company can, through cross-pollination, own any and all plants that you grow, including any hybrids that you develop, fine you for theft, and do it entirely legally.

Though you yourself may not be a farmer or grow any kind of plants, I'm sure that you know at least one person who does. If you're reading my blog, you probably know me, so that gives you at least one person you know that could be affected. I honestly feel that this is, and will continue to be, one of the most important issues that we as a society will face. My botany instructor once told me that science moves faster than morality in our society; he was, and still is right.

___

If you want to dig deeper, there are many resources available online. A basic Google search will turn up both sides to the argument. Mine is admittedly one sided, however, I do present viable points. I urge all my readers to become better informed about this matter. I will probably touch on this controversy again, especially in relation to Oregon, but for now I hope that I've piqued interest in the issue.

___

Now for something completely different. Writing articles about growing during Winter, when many plants are dead or dormant can be a bit difficult. I haven't been publishing as many entries as I'd like, though I feel (or perhaps hope) that the quality has been going up. I will try to post more in the coming months with smaller updates, returning more to gardening in a small space, as well as longer posts, highlighting specific plants and politics as they seem appropriate.

Winter is long, but as we are past the Solstice and the days are growing longer. Sadly, in Oregon, the coldest part of Winter is still on it's way, but at least higher light levels will be returning. I hope you all had wonderful holidays, Spring will be here soon.