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Last seen on Belle Isle, Michigan in 1896, the thicket bean established itself in the thickets of this island in the middle of the Detroit River. It was never seen again. “If native, this was surely at the northern edge of the range for this species” wrote Edward G. Voss in Michigan Flora Part 2 …
Continue reading “The Thicket Bean Makes a Return to Michigan”…
Not too far from this wonderful slippery elm tree on my family’s farm was a great field of rye my father and I created. Like this tree, the rye field idea was latent and was not discovered until later in life. Who knew it was there all along? The field was the last thing we …
To grow a pear tree as a source of wood for musical instruments seemed like a long shot when I first started. I got the idea initially from a Hohner pear wood recorder I purchased in high school. I had quit playing trumpet and needed another avenue. Please note I was not aware of Miles …
I am always surprised to find that no animals will consume the pawpaw seed. There is really only a very insanely small number of seeds that animals or insects will not eat. I often viewed my nursery seed beds as the most valuable portion of my nursery as well as the most expensive buffet of …
Briana Apricots Harvested this Year from Three Generations of Trees Mention growing apricots in the north and often you will hear “Not apricots, they flower too early”. But at the same time the question of its possibilities and practicalities arises. The apricot shares a long history with humans as both the seeds and the fruit …
Continue reading “Briana Apricot-From Seed-One Great Fruit Nut Tree”…
Starting from beach plums, I began growing lots of plums at my farm in the early 1980’s. I had no irrigation at the farm and filled 5 gallon buckets from my house 25 miles away. (I always had to take corners slowly!) I was a fan of yucca extract and humates and used them in …
Continue reading “Plum Good: North American Plum Selections”…
Wild plums are found everywhere in North America. Many of them look alike. Some are small shrubs like the beach plum. Others are tall trees to thirty feet like the Chickasaw plum. They thrive in the mountains. Some live in wetlands. Others are found in the desert. I think I have grown them all. But …
Continue reading “The Wild Goose Plum-From One Seed to Another”…
Finding blueberries is pretty easy in Michigan. Where I live in southwestern Michigan there are many farms dedicated to growing them. With one farm exception that uses massive irrigation on sandy soil with lots of mulch, they are grown in wetlands or were wetlands prior to their farming. As the image above of my family …
Continue reading “The “Madeline” Blueberry-The Wild is Brought Back”…
It is a not the healthiest world we live in right now. Not everyone is accepting of others but sometimes in the midst of it all, there are break throughs of understanding and compassion. The same is true of our relationship with plants. In some ways, on some deep emotional level …
Many years ago right after graduating from college, I began joining organizations and arboreta and played an active role in seed exchange. During that time, I found many like minded individuals that thought the best safety net for plants is dispersion. I wanted to be the Seed Savers Exchange of woody plants. Without some sort …
