JUST ONE SEED

01/23/2024

Happy New Year...Time to start seeds for your favorite alliums! Read on...lots of good advice!

If you are into growing food, check out Onions 101: A Comprehensive Guide to Growing and Preserving Onions.

04/10/2023

You don't often think of grandma's hosta patch as the best place to harvest lunch, but hostas are edible (and delicious).  Perhaps it's time to open your eyes to all the wonderful edibles lurking in

04/10/2023

🐰🐰🐰 Happy Heirloom Easter Friends!
"Annually, the Spring Equinox helps to re-enliven vestiges of the ancient rites of spring, rebirth, and renewal celebrating Eostre, Passover, and Easter—holidays traditions that make good use of the abundance of early spring flowers, herbs, eggs, and dairy. Living in tune with the seasons helps bring variety and flow to life. It helps us to observe and celebrate the subtle changes around us, and join in celebrations observed since ancient times. Most importantly, as a gardener, these spring holidays remind me that every Spring offers an opportunity to start anew".

Excerpted from The Heirloom Gardener - Traditional Plants and Skills for the Modern World

04/10/2023

It's that time of year when we begin to see Ramps (Allium tricoccum) coming up in the Northern Hemisphere! Full of minerals and vitamins A and C, ramps are delicious and versatile...and, importantly, they are on United Plant Savers "At-Risk" List due to their status as a threatened native medicinal plant.

Overharvesting and poaching has decimated local populations to meet the demands of rising culinary popularity in big cities, annual ramp festivals across the eastern U.S., and surging local popularity among foragers and wildcrafters. When you see ramps for sale at the farmers market ask the seller how they source them. Don’t buy ramps that aren’t sustainably sourced or that are harvested with bulbs.

𝗗𝗶𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗦𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗡 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆?

If you love ramps, leave them in the ground! Every bulb you dig is cutting short the life of the patch. And remember, it’s okay if you didn’t know before—share your newfound knowledge with others to prevent overharvest in your area.

𝗕𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗥𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀, 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴...
🌱 Is there an abundant population?
🌱 Do you have permission to harvest?

𝗢𝗞, 𝘀𝗼 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁...
🌱 Harvest leaves only
🌱 No bulbs, folks!
🌱 Take one leaf per plant
🌱 But only from plants with 2+ leaves in an abundant population
🌱 Harvest only what you will use
🌱 Tread lightly—it should look like you weren’t there
🌱 Thank the plants!

𝗔𝗻𝗱, 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸...
🌱 Plant ramp seeds in the fall
🌱 Get bulbs from in spring
🌱 Educate others and share widely!

Bottom line, don’t harvest ramps unless you know what you’re doing. If not, leave them alone. It should look like they haven't been touched. A modest leaf-only harvest ensures the patch is viable for years to come. Your ramp pesto will taste the same with leaves instead of bulbs (the flavor is in the leaves)!

For more information on ramps and sustainable forest farming visit follow United Plant Savers and visit unitedplantsavers.org.

With deep gratitude. 🌱

03/20/2023

🌕🌖🌗🌘🌑🌒🌓🌔🌕

03/09/2023

Very cool

03/07/2023

Ours is not the task of fixing the entire world all at once, but of stretching out to mend the part of the world that is within our reach. - Clarissa Pinkola Estes

Artist Grant Wood - Spring in the Country

02/28/2023

Amazing!!

02/27/2023

02/27/2023

02/03/2023

Lovely…!

01/27/2023

Fun to do…

Winter tree id...

01/25/2023

01/17/2023

Carrots stacked on a truck, source unknown.

01/06/2023

I like this inspiration by a wise woman…! What do you think?

01/05/2023

Tiny mushroom nest
Photo: Kateřina Černohorská

01/04/2023

Yes!! What do you think?

Returntonow.net

01/04/2023

My mentor…!

So you want to start reaping a winter harvest, but you're not sure where to start? No, worries, we've got you covered! Eliot Coleman breaks down the three basic components of the winter harvest so that this time next year, you'll be knee-high in produce! (Maybe not knee-high, but you'll definitely h...