Posted on 09/18/2021 5:23:47 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
That GMO sperm killer corn made me wonder about distance to prevent cross pollination. Surprising how many veggies need 1,600 feet. I suppose it really depends on the wind and terrain. Corn #1 on a knoll, high wind in the direction of corn #2 in a valley 2,500 feet away? Probably gonna cross.
Add to the list of risk factors, the fact that corn is infamous for its “pollen drift”.
With most plants, you have to grow a seed out in order to see traits from the pollinator, or “father” plant. Corn is different. Each individual kernel will show traits from both parents. This is easy to see if the parents are different enough from each other. If you were to grow, say, a white corn and a blue corn near each other, there would be some blue kernels in the white cobs, and some paler-blue kernels in the blue cobs.
Which means that, even if the corn you eat was from a non-GMO patch, it’s entirely possible that some of the kernels will have GMO traits, simply because of pollen drift. And corn pollen can travel quite a distance! I’ve had to turn down growing contracts for heirloom corn seed, because the seed companies want at least a mile between varieties, and my land just isn’t that big!
What’s more, because this contraceptive corn relies on antibodies, it’s entirely possible that the sterilizing effects on men might be permanent. Or at the very least, take years to wear off.
This is something that belongs in doomsday fiction.
have put up canned tomatoes, canned dill pickles, bread and butter pickles, hot banana rings, pepper rings, pickled beets, pepper jelly, dehydrated green and red peppers. Froze peppers and roasted red peppers, green and yellow beans....made several loaves of zuchinni bread.
and then throw in my fermented tomatoes and peppers and cukes....
this has been a busy and successful gardening year.
Y’all make gardening sound enjoyable.
My harvest consisted of 3 tomatoes, 1 acorn squash, 0 cukes, a dozen sunflowers.
But my 2 new catalpa saplings have grown into healthy trees. Same with the dogwood, black cherry, ash, linden, hickory, oak, ewes. They grow faster than I can prune. All for free ... seeds from the forest.
Meanwhile, I’m still plodding along with glyphosate extermination. The tree of heaven was an easy kill. Knotweed ... 90% is gone, but the last bit may linger for a few years. Norway maples are an easy kill, but there are too many mature ones. A long-term project.
Enemy number 4 is garlic mustard. Which is dealt with in the spring. No chemicals used for that.
I found this youtube a couple of weeks ago, she had a nice homesteading channel many neat videos this one on vinegars, looks easy enough.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53h7LmFJBso
Thank you! :)
“Each individual kernel will show traits from both parents.”
A few weeks back, my Mom invited a bunch of her family to our farm for lunch and fun and frivolity ‘on the farm.’ (These are 100% Inner-City Milwaukee people.)
They were FASCINATED with me describing how corn gets pollinated with the tassel on top and the silk below.
I loved it! I felt SO smart talking about something I THOUGHT everyone knew in the first place, LOL! :)
“...This has been a busy and successful gardening year.”
I did a general clean-up and put ALL of my ‘stuff’ away, today! To quote someone near and dear to my heart, ‘It. Is. Finished.’ ;) The ‘sticky’ kitchen still needs a good scrubbing, though!
Last year was so awful for me (it rained ALL THE TIME!) that I actually had to BUY Salsa! That has NEVER happened in my past THIRTY years of tomato growing!
I’m so glad to have the pantry more full than ever. And the freezers. And wherever else I have stashed foodstuffs! :)
Of course, the locals took the corn and planted and GMO will work its way through the Mexican food chain.
Orderly stand down time for my garden. Starting to pull up dying things. (Cucumbers and yellow squash, some tomato plants, basil...) I still have a load of green Trifle and Stupice tomatos hanging on the vines!
Fried green tomatoes, ahead? :)
Being born in 1933 means I turned 88 back a couple of months ago and Lady Bender is 6 years younger so we are starting to wind down and scale back and we may actually retain a garden helper...
Nice to hear from you always and wishing you and Lady Bender the best. Getting ready to plant some of that garlic.
You should! I’ve been skimming from my Grocery Allowance for a Cabana Boy to help me out around here! ;)
Ain’t that the truth?
They also forgot…
Plant perennials for next year.
Good one!
I’m in the process right now.
Gotta get them in the ground to get established before it gets too cold.
I got some good deals this weekend.
Garden centers are looking to get rid of inventory before it’s too cold.
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