Seed Underground

Gardening Books

I really enjoyed this book; it was a great read. Here is aome information I found very useful.

"I almost never write about the hours I spend in the garden, not even in my journal. Something happens to me when I garden. I am fully, reliably, blissfully present to who I am and where I am in that moment. I am an animal with a hundred different senses and all of them are switched on." p. 93
 

Tomatoes to try

  • Arkansas Traveler ("brilliant rose pink/red inside and out)
  • Germain Giant (deserves a lot more attention)
  • Olympic Pink (four-foot vines that grow with the determination of a bulldog)
  • Purple Brandy (at least twenty pounds per plant, but the taste is the thing, deep rich funky old-time flavour" -this one is a cross between Brandywine and Marizol Purple)
  • Eva Purple Ball
 
"If you believe in moon magic, plant between either the last quarter or the new moon in the signs of Gemini for mutliplication; or in the earthy signs of Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces - believed to be the most productive consetllations for aboveground crops."
Seeds harvested at full moon have the best germinating power.
 
"Gardening is managing our relationship with nature" said writer and naturalist John Tallmadge.
 
Marigolds near tomatoes. Horseradish with potatoes. Try pole beans growing on amaranth. Let sunflowers get up several inches then intersperse with pole beans. Try corn and White Tender Creaseback Cornfield beans.
 
Become a farmer.
Become a young farmer.
Become an elder farmer.
Become a girl farmer.
Become a small farmer.
Become an aspiring farmer.
Grow open-source seeds.
Buy seeds from small, independent companies.
Buy organic seeds.
Save your own seeds.
Trade seeds within your community.
Learn to hand-pollinate.
Select seeds for seed saving based on your locality and conditions.
Learn to breed seed.
Never grow GM seed.
Nourish your pets and farm animals with non-GM feed.
Promote your local farmers market and farmers market in general.
Become a seed activist.
Work for local and national sovereignty over seeds.
Work to refocus agricultural experiment stations.
Work to retrain extension agents in organic, seed-based low-input systems.
Work for the rights of small farmers.
Work for the intellectual property rights of indigenous farmers.
Educate others about the importance of open-pollinated seeds.
Help pass a food sovereignty ordinance in your village, city, country, or state.
Succeed in passing laws requiring GM foods to be labelled in your state and country.
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Further Reading

Cultures of Habitat: On Nature, CUlture and STory - Gary Paul Nabhan
Gathering: memories of a Seed Saver - Diane Ott Whealy
Growing Garden Seeds: A Manual for Gardeners and Small Farmers - Robert Johnston Jr.
Pleasant Valley - Lous Bromfield (1945)
Seed to Seed: Seed Saving and Growing Techniques for Vegetable Gardeners - Suzanne Ashworth
Seeds of Change - the LIving Treasure - Kenny Ausubel
The World According to Monsanto - Marie-Monique Robin

Bilbiographical Info

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2012 Chelsea Green Publishing; White River Junction, Vermont
ISBN 978-1-60358-306-0

These are notes I made while reading gardening books. See more gardening book notes