Recent content by homegrown

In a weird synchronicity, my neighbours gave me a ripe monstera fruit on Sunday. I only just met them and they offered it out of the blue. It tastes amazing. I'm only eating the very ripe bits on the end and not getting a strong prickly sensation.

Certainly looks like monstera - this video shows how to eat it safely (if it is one)

Thanks @SamfromWA - I sent a message off to Garden Larder and they've confirmed they're still going to be selling their seeds next January! Co-incidentally I noticed one of my regular podcasts featured an episode on land race gardening. They're promoting a new land race program & seed bank...

Thanks @SamfromWA - just checked Garden Larder but unfortunately they've just closed down the retail business to focus on wholesale customers. Potatoes are on my nice-to-have list though as they are a bit more effort - especially without any true seeds to start from. I'm probably going to...

@SamfromWA I agree with your point: Many of our current dominant food plant genetics have evolved in Northern Europe and within highly irrigated/fertilised/pest-controlled environments. An interesting perspective comes from nature writer Fred Pearce's "The New Wild" - he does a talk on the...

Thanks @JP 1983 - I love Joseph Lofthouse's landrace channel. After reading up on the problems specific to potatoes on Cultivariable (especially their information on Potato Glycoalkaloid Toxicity) I ordered this book on the topic but it won't arrive until later this month. In the meantime my...

@SamfromWA - I agree that this stuff is what we've naturally done for all of time as gardeners/farmers. Sounds like you're a long way down the landracing path. Interested to know your annual rainfall / elevation - I'm sitting on around 650mm here and about 500m. Also interested in how you got...

Hi @Mark I've just bought Joseph Lofthouse's book on 'Landrace Gardening' as it seems very aligned with permaculture/bio-mimicry principles I'm already following. Although I've been seed saving to intentionally create localised/resilient hybrids, its a bit easier to have a name for doing that...