Good call Meyer. It's unclear that other fiddleheads are ok to eat and there are reports of cancer from eating some fern's fiddleheads. Personally I avoid species other than the ostrich fern.
Katrina, it's very interesting that most are not bitter but that some are. Is the ratio of bitter to non-bitter the same on both of your shrubs, or does one have the majority of those bitter nuts?
I don't think it likely, but how amazing would it be if I could get my hands on charcoal from the roof to christen the soil with? I can and will make my own but I would love to get some from Notre Dame if there is any possible way.
I'm going to revisit my acre planting scheme to see how to lay out the chestnuts I'm planning to plant. I'm thinking about perhaps laying them out in a cathedral format, perhaps in the footprint of Notre Dame. I need to rewalk that area to see if the lay of the land supports that large a planting footprint. I've always loved living cathedral plantings. I like that chestnuts are strong, rot resistant, drop a lovely crop and can live 1000 years. If this works out it will be planted out behind my house, through the woods surrounding my stream, then up a slope to a stone wall, then the central path will run through the chestnut cathedral. Perhaps I can get it all planted before Notre Dame's restoration is completed! (it will be a race....they are determined to move at break-neck speed!!!)
Hi Victoria, follow this link to see instructions I posted on how to add pictures....I hope you find it helpful. If you have any trouble drop me a PM and I can get you through this :)
Bri, you can get the system to automatically send you e-mails when someone replies to a thread you post in by going to your profile...just click "My Profile" on the top right of the page, then go down to "Email Preferences" and put a check in the box for " Email me when someone replies to a thread I posted to". You'll also see options for emails when someone PMs you or likes your post, etc. Good luck and, likewise, feel free to drop me a PM for any extra help with this.
I know of some sellers who graft varieties that grow slowly on their own roots or are very hard to root, but this is not a common practice and figs are almost always on their own roots in my experience. I think in Los Angeles there is a decent probability that this is a caprifig (so called male fig) that is used to pollinate figs that require that. Most figs grown in the US are "common" figs that have a copy of a gene that allows them to ripen without pollination, but in places like Los Angeles that have the fig wasp caprifigs are desirable because many of the very finest flavored figs don't have the persistence gene that makes them common types. Heck, I've been told that even common figs taste better when pollinated because the seeds that then develop bring a bit of crunchy nuttiness. For that reason it might be nice to let one branch from that rootstock grow to provide for pollination of the common figs that have been grafted onto it. Lovely tree, btw!
Greg Martin wrote:Wow. On the nightly news they just said the roof was constructed from 1700 trees. That's a small forest that was lost.
Here's a totally crazy thought: what if in the memory of this event, the people of permies got together and planted 1700 trees? Are there enough of us out there?
Besides, I love any excuse to plant trees.
I love that!!! I will plant the beginnings of a one acre forest garden design this year...you can count me in for at least 20 trees this month :) Maybe I can add some more as a challenge. I will do some thinking.
Wow. On the nightly news they just said the roof was constructed from 1700 trees. That's a small forest that was lost.
One thing about this event, and the consideration of how it has affected me emotionally, is the recognition of how strongly we can be moved by grand artistic creations. I hope that we can create permaculture communities and dramatic forest gardens that create emotional experiences by those that visit and eat in/from them. Perhaps that's not worthy of a comparison, but I'd love to be part of fulfilling a truly grand artistic permaculture vision. I know that that could also move me deeply.
This is Jordan Pond in Acadia...this one is hard to miss! There's a path that surrounds the pond that you should definitely walk. By the way, those mountains at the far end are "the Bubbles"...walk up those too!
This is a small glacial pond in Acadia National Park in Maine, Bubble Pond. From the first time I walked up to it I was in love with this spot. Not large and dramatic, but more intimate and lovely to me. If they wouldn't make you leave perhaps I'd still be there :) If you visit Acadia this one is easy to miss, but if you have a chance stop there, spend a bit of time and let me know if you felt anything special as well!
Thank you Judith...amazing. I particularly loved the forest scene in the first video with the fox, moving through until arriving at the cathedral....just stunning what they did.
This all makes me reflect on the emotions that can be attached to what we build, in stone or in forest design. Sometimes that can rise to amazing heights.
I think I heard that they have saved the outer walls...not sure about the state of the stained glass. The roof was original and it's gone, but hopefully the new roof that will be built will last at least 800 years more.
Nicole, other than as a mass planting for ground covers, check out the non-variegated Hosta at the bottom left. Doesn't that look nice as a forest denizen along with that fern tree. I'd replace the fern tree with an ostrich fern, of course (yum...fiddle heads).
Judith, I really like the looks of those for a mock desert theme garden I'm starting to imagine. I'm thinking they'd look nice with some Yucca and hardy cacti in a sandy bed. I'm not sure what I want for shrubs yet here in zone 5 Maine.
But Nicole, Hostas also grow well in the shade under your trees and help block weed growth, so that might put you back on the hook.....hehehe.
Only being mean like that because I can't wait for my Hostas to be ready for harvest. They are a great cooking green. Maybe the non-variegated ones would be less offensive to the eye?
For me, I'm very thankful for vaccinations. I'd be worried that with our population density and the high level of travel in the modern world we'd experience mass suffering without good vaccination programs.
Hi Ben. Someone posted something that didn't quite meet our publishing standards (politics outside the cider press). They chose to have it deleted rather than modify it to meet the standards.
I was going to stop at 3...but speaking of 3, here's a goodie:
A mathematician comes home at 3:00 in the morning to find his wife waiting up for him.
"You're late!" she yells angrily. "You said you'd be home by 11:45!"
"Actually," the mathematician replies, "I said I'd be home by a quarter of 12"
Diane Kistner wrote:I like the idea of anything that will get the work into the hands of the largest number of people. The idea of setting aside books for libraries is a good one. Perhaps some kind of set-aside for schools.
I could also see the "books for schools" and "books for libraries" as additional gift incentive categories. I could see people giving more money for those options.
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