#(on germination and when to move babies to permanent homes and where to plant them etc)

[teaandinanity]

I am staring at my chestnut tree and like VIBRATING with glee because she's HEALTHY and has NUTS and I am going to fistfight the squirrels and deer and GOD to steal them all so I can germinate them. And then plant them EVERYWHERE.

This mountain really hears every single thing mom or I wish for re: flora and fauna and goes 'yeah, sure, here you go.'

(For context: Chestnut blight has decimated the American Chestnut but I'm pretty sure this one HAS to be a resistant native because she's at least 17 - the people who built the house said she was here when they built it. Hybrids weren't a thing until 2013/2014, and no one planted her, she just volunteered. But I don't see ANY signs of blight on her - the leaves at the ends of the branches aren't twisted or stunted and there aren't any visible cankers on the trunk!)

[trueromantic1]

(Sorry again if I wasn't clear. I was at a little girls 7th birthday party when I sent the asks.)

First, just want to be clear, none of what I was saying was geared at you. Especially the shaming thing, because we've discussed all this before and I know you'd never shame anyone.

Second, that's what I thought about GMO seed pretty much being available to larger and/or commercial operations. (And I did remember you saying that it wasn't that the seeds weren't viable, but rather something about essentially a contract between farmer and seed provider to use what is purchased in that year only, which was why they needed to order only the exact amount for their growing space and what they would be able to sell.) So obviously my quibble doesn't really apply, because I, as you're average "feed my family and maybe sell excess at the Farmer's Market if I don't just can it," would not be buying GMO seeds for my needs.

My main experience with purchasing hybrids is the Sun Sugar cherry tomato. I love it, but it's a hybrid, so I have to buy the plants or seedlings new each year. I suppose in theory I could technically selectively breed over generations to produce a "grow true each time" hybrid, as was often done historically, but I don't think of have the patience lol.

Otherwise, most of what I buy are open pollinated (usually heirloom/heritage, because IMO they tend to have a better/deeper flavor) seeds/seedlings. And I enjoy that, because provided I've successfully avoided cross-pollination, I can collect the seeds and grow it again the following year, avoiding paying money to purchase again. The benefit of that, of course, is that if I'm sure to save seeds just from the best plants of each species, I'll eventually have seeds that almost always grow well in my specific conditions. I haven't had an opportunity to get that far yet (not had enough consistent garden access where I live), but several friends have. It's fascinating to me that sometimes when they share seeds with each other, what grows excellently in one person's yard doesn't always thrive in the other person's, even if they're only 10 miles apart. Once I move to my (hopefully) permanent home, my plan is to use each season to select for my specific garden and get the best out of it.

Back to the original topic lol... Yeah, plants that need to be babied are really not ideal for commercial operations. The old saying "time is money" is true, especially for farmers that already have to deal with Mother Nature tossing out environmental curve balls (and this is from someone who lives in an area that's never really left the drought we went into during the Dust Bowl, so when we do get big rains, sometimes fields good because the grounds to dry to actually soak up the rain as fast as it comes down). If they want to make any money, they don't have time to baby the crop themselves or the money to hire more people to baby them.

I just googled Norman Borlaug, and it does sound fascinating (I guess his work with wheat is sort of the large scale use version, and sort of in the opposite direction lol, of what I find fascinating about selecting for your specific garden adaption). I'll have to read more when I have some time.

I know you respect a person's choice. That's why we've always been able to have an actual discussion about GMOs and organics without yelling at each other and severing all contact lol! I love discussing this kind of stuff with you. But I agree about most of the campaigns. I usually buy my seeds from Baker Creek Seed Company, and it really tends to annoy me when they go on about GMOs in their newsletters, because I know most of the people reading it probably never did any research into what GMOs are, not even the non-exhaustive research I've done. I love the seeds, because so far I've had good germination, the seeds seem to not lose much viability even after 3 years (the longest I've tried storing them so far), the flowers have all been good looking and the foods have tasted good, and I get free seed packets each time I order (which sometimes provides an opportunity to try things I wouldn't have bought for myself). And all the seeds they sell are open pollinated and old/heirloom varieties (many from varieties that are hard to find nowdays or from countries/cultures that have grown them for generations but they weren't know outside that), so saving seeds and getting the same plant the next year is an option. But their anti-GMO stance is way too intense IMO.

Don't worry, I won't take your rants as support lol. Yeah, I hate Monsanto. They have their hands in way too many pots (at least in the US), which makes me uncomfortable. To many people who have previously been in the upper echelon of their corporation are involved with making government decisions on food and agricultural things.

(You should make a side blog! Goggled lion would be great to see lol. You should also still make you're reading/romance book side blog lol. I'd have fun on both.)

And have I told you lately that I love you? Because I do. You are absolutely one of my favorite people to talk to, and I always enjoy myself, no matter what we're talk about.

My big issue with GMOs (and sincerely, correct me if I'm wrong, but this is my understanding from personal research, so legit correct me if it's wrong), is that they aren't open pollinated/true to type. So as a home gardener (and I know it's different because I don't think GMO plants are even available to the average (1/2)

gardener, so not a big issue), I can’t plant something, collect the seeds, then plant those seeds the next year to get the same plant. But that’s small scale, so not important on the scale we’re talking for feeding starving countries/peoples. When there are no starving people, we can get pickier about GMO vs. non-GMO with our food. If you can afford it, but non-GMO if you prefer, but don’t shame people who can’t. If any of that makes sense? (2/2)

I mean, most crops we grow aren’t open pollinated. If you’re growing any sort of Hybrid, it’s genetics break down over time.  Wheat hybrids bred for standing well, disease tolerance, etc can have their seeds used for only so long before those genetics break down and you need more seed. R1 soybeans (which are glyphosate resistant) can be grown the next year. It’s honestly more about genetic patents than seed viability the next year.  And improved genetics, but that’s an entirely different story.

Open pollination does work for small scale, like you’re describing, because you can control and essentially “baby” the plants. But to actually meet the requirements for farmers even being able to pay for their operation, much less feed the world, open pollinated plants simply don’t work.  If you want to learn more about that, you should look up Norman Borlaug and what he did for  agriculture in developing countries. You can also learn a lot about how modern wheat varieties were developed and it’s so cool.

I can respect a person’s decision to not  purchase GMO… but most of these labeling movements (looking at you Non-GMO Project) don’t even care if the  products can contain a GMO in the first place. 

For gardening… I know there were a couple flowers and vegetables on my list… but, like, it’s not even an option for the most part, honestly.  So a lot of gardening related GMO talk is just straight up fear mongering. 

(Please don’t take any of my pro GMO posts as defense of the major  companies, BTW.  Monsanto’s RR canola could be grown the next season, but if farmers got caught doing that they were sued, which is bullshit.  But that’s yet another rant)