Not that common a sight to see woodpigeons in the garden, here at the top of a cone-laden Norwegian spruce.
The bay was on fire this morning
Indoor edible shoots: my living room is alive!!
A collection of pictures of greens now available in my house (15th February 2016), mainly shoots of perennial vegetables!
Sunrise on 14th February 2016
Sunrise now in the south east…it’s changing fast….
Birds in the garden 14th February 2016
Wild Ulluco
Ulluco is a colourful root vegetable from the Andes. The tubers are quite small….wild Ulluco tubers (Ullucus tuberosus) which I received today (just for fun!) are even smaller (they do get bigger than these though!)! Two of these originate in Peru (1040 to 1300m), the other from Bolivia.
Two Ulluco cultivars grown in Malvik for Xmas dinner:
Ski trip at Hønstad 14th February 2016
Just a few pictures from the Hønstad area during today’s little trip out into our local nature…
Review of ATW in Economic Botany
Very pleased to get a review of my book in the latest issue of the journal Economic Botany (4/2015) :) The first time that Hablitzia tamnoides gets a mention in said journal too, although they managed to spell it HABLITIZIA, so you won’t find it in the index :(
Stratifying seed
Seed stratifying in the garden are visible again as the snow melts. They are covered with a double window frame which I lift off when it rains or snows…
Stratification is also known as cold treatment. Most perennials are adapted to germinating irregularly, sometimes over several years, to maximise the chances of favourable spring weather conditions. The seed coat is broken down as a result of the winter weather, freezing and thawing. I germinate my perennials by putting them out in the garden to “stratify” naturally. Some people bring the seed inside (a greenhouse) to germinate in early spring. I wait for them to germinate naturally outside as I don’t have much space inside in spring and I’m in no hurry as these are perennials that will be around for many years and saving a month is of little importance :)
See more here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratification_%28botany%29
Extending the perennial veggie season with nodding onion
Allium cernuum (Nodding onion / Prærieløk) is one of the few plants that can be harvested in winter if one can find then under the snow! An important food plant for both Native Americans and “colonists”. I planted up a bucket full of these onions in the autumn leaving it outside and brought into the living room frozen solid about 10 days ago. The plants have now started to grow and I had some for lunch :)
