The Value of Plants

The value of plants and their potential uses are infinite. The direction you take might be a good idea even if not useful to modern day agribusiness.

Time to Prune: Stem Density and the Life of the Pawpaw Colony

Pawpaws are easy to grow but what happens in the course of thirty years could create a challenge. What is going on in that pawpaw grove?

Beach Plums – The Durable and Delicious Species Plum

Beach plums can grow inland throughout most of North America and thrive under drought conditions and survive late frosts.

The Oaks: Acorns Create a New World

Collecting acorns and growing a wide variety of oaks has been a mission of mine since the beginning of Oikos Tree Crops. Here are a few discoveries surrounding the Quercus genus.

Chestnut Trees-Dropping Nuts From Great Altitudes

The above image shows a young fawn going back and forth from a protected cove on the neighbors property filled with lush vegetation to our rather open property on a hillside planted with hybrid oaks and chestnuts.  Even the turkeys like this area.  When we started planting chestnuts we never knew how long it would …

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Farm to Table Part IV: Roasted Sunchokes

Supercluster  – Now called Red GiantUsually I do my own thing with fresh fruit and veggies, but for the sunchokes, I was curious to know what others had attempted. As usual, I aim to keep things simple. A quick google search instantly pulled up a simple recipe and I decided to give it a try. …

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Farm to Table Part II: Thimbleberry Scones

Thimbleberries are interesting to harvest. You have to have very light fingers to not smush the fruit. The proper picking motion is almost like peeling a sticker off a bowling ball. After an hour, it will seem like you hardly have any in the bucket, but the fruit is dense. I was happy to harvest almost two …

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American Chestnut Wood Bowls: The Celebration of Wood

American Chestnut Wood Bowls can be created using both diseased older trees and larger prunings from standing trees.

Farm to Table Part I: Raspberry & Mulberry Syrup

Is there any greater joy than harvesting fresh fruit or veggies, making a delicious dish and enjoying it with friends? Last week we harvested a batch of Japanese Mulberries, Northern Red Raspberries, Wild Black Raspberries and Yellow Black Raspberries at the farm. Picking Japanese Mulberry It was a hot day, and the bees were out, but …

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Shining a Light on Blight: PART 2

More on the people behind the plants and the origins of blight  and a series of solutions that develop as a result… (To read Part 1, click here). The Plum Guy The Story Behind the Plant:  Ralph loved the idea of a tree crop farm. Having worked in the paper industry his whole life, he …

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