Aura: An extra early Polish bush bean
Our crop climate project aims to preserve and test a diversity of varieties especially for northern climates with short growing seasons. My rather eclectic approach to the bean component of our project was to trial whatever we could find. A few years ago, I purchased...
Kashmir Bean: Mountain Bounty
Kashmir conjures up visions of monstrous mountains covered in snow at the top of the world, and certainly does not call up a picture of beans. Yet according to one source Kashmir heritage beans are the most widely used variety in India! Who could resist trying this...
Xico – Black Bean Bounty
Part of a series on growing heritage bean varieties for local food sustainability. Figure 1. At centre, a row of closely planted Xico bushes with pink flower (bottom of photo), Edamame (soy beans) to the left and various pole beans to the right. Dense planting...
Spanish Pinta: one early bean
Several years ago, I bought an attractive speckled bean in a local grocery store in Villanova, in Catalunya (Catalonia, Spain). Villanova is a small rural and vacation town about 45 minutes along the coast from Barcelona (Figure 1). When I asked the shop attendant if...
Giant Heritage Bean from Vancouver Island
Tiny gifts can bring huge surprises. Let me tell you about an incredible bean with a 70-year history on Canada’s Vancouver Island… a story of saving and growing bean seeds in one community for decades and an excellent example of the “Many eggs in many baskets”...Potatoes In The News
Gardening and Climate Change
This video by professor and botanist Dr. Richard Hebda looks at ways to mitigate and adapt to climate change within your garden. He specifically focuses on water managed landscape techniques, techniques for preparing excellent soils, the advantages of diverse and dense plantings, and the (numerous) benefits of mulch!
For more great gardening resources: www.growingfood-together.com
How Peru’s potato museum could stave off world food crisis
Read the Guardian article here.
With a climate changing faster than most crops can adapt and food security under threat around the world, scientists have found hope in a living museum dedicated to a staple eaten by millions daily: the humble potato
This spud’s for you: A breeding revolution could unleash the potential of potato
Potatoes that are resilient in the face of climate change is more important forever. This article talks of some of the challenges of breeding and selecting climate-smart potatoes.
Unleashing the potential of the potato
News from the Blog
Starting with 2 potatoes, in two years, Scott Harris harvests 120 pounds!
Read about Scott's success growing Ozette-Nootka potatoes in Metchosin, BC.