For most of us, our New Year's gardens are at this point absolute perfection. Since our gardens exist mainly in our minds' eye, chance frosts haven't yet blackened our young seedlings, or our nearly mature crops. The insect pests, like our gardens, are in stasis, whether as eggs, larvae or pupae—quiescently awaiting the moment where their potential is actualized. Hail hasn't flattened nor rains flooded out our perfect, potential gardens. All our rows are straight (or our raised beds level), no planting windows have passed us by while we were otherwise engaged.
The Sakurajima Radish is known as the “Largest Radish in the World.” It has produced radishes at a standard weight of 13 pounds and is capable of reaching 100 pounds! This traditional variety of daikon radish has a round basketball-like shape, unlike its longer and skinnier daikon relatives. Daikon radishes were introduced to Japan over 1,300 years ago, and there are over 120 varieties with unique characteristics cultivated regionally. During the Edo Period (1603-1868), daikons became extremely popular, and today 90% of daikons are
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced recently his vision for Russia to become the world's leading exporter of non-GMO foods. In an address to the Russian Parliament on December 3, 2015, Putin said: “We are not only able to feed ourselves taking into account our lands, water resources – Russia is able to become the largest world supplier of healthy, ecologically clean and high-quality food which the Western producers have long lost, especially given the fact that demand for such products in the world market is steadily growing.”
ARTICLE BY SHANNON MCCABE WITH PHOTOGRAPHY BY DEBRA-LYNN VLIETSTRA
Sunlight pierces through the trees illuminating an old boat at a Chacra farm near the Amazon.
Situated overlooking a tributary of the Amazon River, Iquitos, Peru is a bedraggled yet beautiful city, considered to be the gateway to the jungle. It is here, in this mysterious and conflicted outpost, that the mos
Euell Gibbons, the author of Stalking the Wild Asparagus, describes the preciousness of asparagus well when he writes, “I doubt that young people today can realize how good the first green vegetables of spring tasted in those days b
Who doesn't love the cheerful colors of pansies? The rich, velvety petals in a wide range of jewel-tones—ruby, amethyst, topaz, and many other stunning hues--brighten many a spring garden.
Squash plants grow in lavish gardens in Touraine, France. (Image courtesy of Fotolia)
Citrouille de Touraine is a splendid French heirloom cultivated for centuries in the province of Touraine, France. There, it was grown for animal feed and for its amazing seeds, which are delicious and were esteemed for reputed medicinal properties. And they a
