I went yesterday to buy a bag (50kg) of crushed mielies (corn, maize) for chicken feed, and was a bit peeved to see that the price has risen quite a bit since last month. This is in the face of a bumper maize crop in South Africa.
We're seeing headlines like, "S.Africa harvests biggest maize crop in 30 years" at the same time as reports that the US, European and Australian corn (and other grain) harvests have been smaller than normal. Should be good for SA farmers, no? Explains why the price is a little higher, no?
No! The trouble is that over 50% of maize planted in SA is one or other GMO variety, and Europe and Japan won't touch any South African maize as a result. Legislation in SA does not require separate handling or labelling for GMO varieties, so some of our biggest markets won't touch our glut of maize.
Simultaneously, and much related, we read that as many as 30% of SA's maize farmers face bankruptcy, as they struggle to find ready markets for all that GMO maize. As a result, "price of maize has fallen precipitously in the last 12 months". Really? Not seeing that, here...
The talking heads expect a significant backlash against GMO varieties from farmers. I hope so! Our government is so deep in Monsanto's pocket that mere mortals stand no chance of getting GMO varieties labelled, sorted or outlawed here. We must simply wait and rely on what goes around coming around, and in the present weirdness it seems it has.
But will farmers' memories stretch so far back come planting time?
03 December 2010
02 December 2010
Plant Breeding Ideas
Plant breeding projects I'm interested in tackling...
Carrots:
I am interested in a wider, more interesting range of Carrots. More colours, more flavours. I am particularly interested in one or more varieties that are specifically grown for juicing. They would need to be juicy and somewhat sweet; colour would not matter very much, but a touch of anthocyanin would be a good thing for its nutritional advantages. On the other hand, people might be put off by a "Carrot Juice" that is not orange... (People are funny that way.)
Cabbages:
I'd love to see a purple-leaved Savoy or conical Cabbage. Its flavour should be sweeter than most Cabbages, somewhat along the lines of Red Russian Kale, and I'd like it to have a tender, succulent texture. More of a salad Cabbage than a cooking variety. Size should preferably be a bit small so that we don't have to keep chunks of partly-consumed Cabbage hanging about in the back of the fridge because they're way too large to use all at once. This variety would definitely be a "use fresh" type. Heat tolerance while growing would be a big advantage, because Summer is when we would want these, though I guess it might be good in Winter soups, too.
Parsnips:
Just interested in working with them, since there don't seem to be too many varieties available (at least locally.) Only "Hollow Crown", in fact.
Chiles:
I'd like to once again taste the Jalapeno x Habanero type I accidentally got a few years ago. Had the size and general shape of a Jalapeno, with the dimples characteristic of Habanero, and a flavour that was a fantastic blend of the two. If all goes well with our weather and water I'll be trying that cross this year.
Then, too, I'd love to see whether C. Baccatum "Amarillo" (Aji Amarillo) will cross with anything else. It's a pretty wide cross, so likely nothing will come of it. Crossing C anuum, chinense and frutescens at least stand a chance; according to my books they share a common ancestral gene complex that allows some of the crosses to work. I'll probably be shooting for crosses between (at least) Purple Jalapeno, Jalapeno, Sweet Banana and Amarillo.
Another accidental cross some years back resulted in a Chile I called Hot Banana: Sweet Banana with something warmer crossed into it, probably Serrano, but maybe Jalapeno. I'd like to try and stabilise something like that. The heat was not very great, perhaps about 4/10, but the Sweet Banana flavour really worked very nicely with a touch of heat.
I'd really like some thin-skinned drying varieties, but with better and more interesting flavours than the commonly-available Long Thin Cayenne. Then, too, ALL varieties could do with better UV-tolerance and drought-resistance than I have seen to date. Another interesting direction could be for better Wintering: most varieties that I have were sourced from the US, frequently from higher latitudes, and they have mostly had their cold-tolerance destroyed or diminished - mostly, I suspect, through it being unattainable under any circumstances in those climates - and I'd like to get it back in. There's no reason for Chiles to be anything but perennial here, since we have no Winter frost at all.
Potatoes:
I'd like to see more varieties, and more specialised varieties than the generic "potato" varieties available locally - fryers, boilers, mashing potatoes, salad types,... Greater disease resistance is always of interest, particularly in our climate and soil. Would also be interesting whether one could breed a good-tasting and nutritious Porcupine-resistant variety. :-O
Mostly this means growing from true seed, and few of the commercially available varieties set seed. Challenging...
Beets & Chard:
Interested in where they can go - wild crosses. I'd like to get back to some Sugar Beets, Fodder Beets, Fodder Chard, as well as new, interesting eating varieties. Chard in more colours. Chard grown primarily for its stem, which would need to be flavoursome and stringless. Worthwhile, since Chard lasts so well in the ground, and just keeps on coming while we harvest leaves. Nicely< trouble-free under my growing conditions, too.
Grains:
Maybe not so much a breeding project as maintaining some of the older
varieties. Modern agribusiness grains are very monopurpose - grain only - and terribly vulnerable in the face of anything but the Full Monty of fertilisers, supplements, and drug cocktails. Not at all suited to permaculture, organic or self-sufficiency setups. Older varieties tended to be more multi-purpose; straw was used for animal bedding, mulch, roofing material, chaff for mulch and composting, sometimes feedstock, fuel. Not to mention that there's a genetic heterogeneity there that's worth preserving, propagating and playing around with in its own right.
That's probably enough to be getting on with for a while... Anybody who can help source genetic material that might be interesting for these, please get in touch with me!
Carrots:
I am interested in a wider, more interesting range of Carrots. More colours, more flavours. I am particularly interested in one or more varieties that are specifically grown for juicing. They would need to be juicy and somewhat sweet; colour would not matter very much, but a touch of anthocyanin would be a good thing for its nutritional advantages. On the other hand, people might be put off by a "Carrot Juice" that is not orange... (People are funny that way.)
Cabbages:
I'd love to see a purple-leaved Savoy or conical Cabbage. Its flavour should be sweeter than most Cabbages, somewhat along the lines of Red Russian Kale, and I'd like it to have a tender, succulent texture. More of a salad Cabbage than a cooking variety. Size should preferably be a bit small so that we don't have to keep chunks of partly-consumed Cabbage hanging about in the back of the fridge because they're way too large to use all at once. This variety would definitely be a "use fresh" type. Heat tolerance while growing would be a big advantage, because Summer is when we would want these, though I guess it might be good in Winter soups, too.
Parsnips:
Just interested in working with them, since there don't seem to be too many varieties available (at least locally.) Only "Hollow Crown", in fact.
Chiles:
I'd like to once again taste the Jalapeno x Habanero type I accidentally got a few years ago. Had the size and general shape of a Jalapeno, with the dimples characteristic of Habanero, and a flavour that was a fantastic blend of the two. If all goes well with our weather and water I'll be trying that cross this year.
Then, too, I'd love to see whether C. Baccatum "Amarillo" (Aji Amarillo) will cross with anything else. It's a pretty wide cross, so likely nothing will come of it. Crossing C anuum, chinense and frutescens at least stand a chance; according to my books they share a common ancestral gene complex that allows some of the crosses to work. I'll probably be shooting for crosses between (at least) Purple Jalapeno, Jalapeno, Sweet Banana and Amarillo.
Another accidental cross some years back resulted in a Chile I called Hot Banana: Sweet Banana with something warmer crossed into it, probably Serrano, but maybe Jalapeno. I'd like to try and stabilise something like that. The heat was not very great, perhaps about 4/10, but the Sweet Banana flavour really worked very nicely with a touch of heat.
I'd really like some thin-skinned drying varieties, but with better and more interesting flavours than the commonly-available Long Thin Cayenne. Then, too, ALL varieties could do with better UV-tolerance and drought-resistance than I have seen to date. Another interesting direction could be for better Wintering: most varieties that I have were sourced from the US, frequently from higher latitudes, and they have mostly had their cold-tolerance destroyed or diminished - mostly, I suspect, through it being unattainable under any circumstances in those climates - and I'd like to get it back in. There's no reason for Chiles to be anything but perennial here, since we have no Winter frost at all.
Potatoes:
I'd like to see more varieties, and more specialised varieties than the generic "potato" varieties available locally - fryers, boilers, mashing potatoes, salad types,... Greater disease resistance is always of interest, particularly in our climate and soil. Would also be interesting whether one could breed a good-tasting and nutritious Porcupine-resistant variety. :-O
Mostly this means growing from true seed, and few of the commercially available varieties set seed. Challenging...
Beets & Chard:
Interested in where they can go - wild crosses. I'd like to get back to some Sugar Beets, Fodder Beets, Fodder Chard, as well as new, interesting eating varieties. Chard in more colours. Chard grown primarily for its stem, which would need to be flavoursome and stringless. Worthwhile, since Chard lasts so well in the ground, and just keeps on coming while we harvest leaves. Nicely< trouble-free under my growing conditions, too.
Grains:
Maybe not so much a breeding project as maintaining some of the older
varieties. Modern agribusiness grains are very monopurpose - grain only - and terribly vulnerable in the face of anything but the Full Monty of fertilisers, supplements, and drug cocktails. Not at all suited to permaculture, organic or self-sufficiency setups. Older varieties tended to be more multi-purpose; straw was used for animal bedding, mulch, roofing material, chaff for mulch and composting, sometimes feedstock, fuel. Not to mention that there's a genetic heterogeneity there that's worth preserving, propagating and playing around with in its own right.
That's probably enough to be getting on with for a while... Anybody who can help source genetic material that might be interesting for these, please get in touch with me!
22 October 2010
Kill the Witness FTW
For all other metalheads out there... Pretty proud of Dale and his KtW buddies. Great to see all the Rhodies ;-) Sound is a bid dodgy for the first bit, but it gets better as it goes along. We might have a singer in the family after all... well, a growler, anyway!
Go Dale!
Music Video: Kill the Witness - As Crumbs Tumble
Go Dale!
Music Video: Kill the Witness - As Crumbs Tumble
15 October 2010
Water Tank Disaster
Well, we'd had a lovely bit of rain - over 35mm in the course of a day-and-a-half - and I just said to my wife, "That rain is good enough for Jehovah!" when, stone the crows, but I discover that the water tank that provides a supplementary backup feed to the bathroom is empty. Empty!
When last I checked the water levels of all the tanks - no more than 10 days or so ago - it was full. So clearly we have a leak somewhere. With a little luck it's just the pipeline between the water-tank and the bathroom that's been nicked by the lawnmower or something. (My guess. My fault for never burying the pipe properly.) Without luck it could be the tank itself or the pipework that supports the stopcock. Still, it couldn't come at a worse time. Spring. What looks like being another dry Summer - the third in a row. Just starting to transplant Tomatoes and Chiles, Beans and Squashes just emerging from the ground. Mind you, I did think the dam looked unjustifiably full, this morning, too full even for all this lovely, wonderful rain.
It's a funny thing... went into town for a bit of a change of scenery today, and all the locals are soooo cheerful and happy and friendly... and all because we've had a bit of decent rain. The first in 3 months, and more than we had in August and September put together.
Oh well... I guess the 5000litres is not totally lost; we'll use it in the veggie garden. And besides, all our other water tanks are full, fuller, fullest.
When last I checked the water levels of all the tanks - no more than 10 days or so ago - it was full. So clearly we have a leak somewhere. With a little luck it's just the pipeline between the water-tank and the bathroom that's been nicked by the lawnmower or something. (My guess. My fault for never burying the pipe properly.) Without luck it could be the tank itself or the pipework that supports the stopcock. Still, it couldn't come at a worse time. Spring. What looks like being another dry Summer - the third in a row. Just starting to transplant Tomatoes and Chiles, Beans and Squashes just emerging from the ground. Mind you, I did think the dam looked unjustifiably full, this morning, too full even for all this lovely, wonderful rain.
It's a funny thing... went into town for a bit of a change of scenery today, and all the locals are soooo cheerful and happy and friendly... and all because we've had a bit of decent rain. The first in 3 months, and more than we had in August and September put together.
Oh well... I guess the 5000litres is not totally lost; we'll use it in the veggie garden. And besides, all our other water tanks are full, fuller, fullest.
06 October 2010
Blogroll Housekeeping Note
I've temporarily taken down my blogroll listing. It was being served by blogrolling.com, and google evidently think that blogrolling.com is hosting malware, so, rather than put y'all at any risk or cause any consternation, I've taken the blogroll off the blog completely. I've had the Good Intent to switch my blogroll to something better for some time anyway, since blogrolling.com is dreadfully slow and unreliable at the best of times. Right now I'm pretty busy earning some money, so it will be a little while before a replacement blogroll takes its place.
Please be patient; your links will return!
Please be patient; your links will return!
06 September 2010
New Family Member
 |
| Keira |
She arrived here a very frightened and timid little thing, petrified of human contact, eyes constantly watching our hands in case we moved to strike her. I believe that she and her siblings have suffered a neglect that borders on abuse. Not that we knew this up front... For the first several hours here she refused to leave the car. If anybody tried to approach she growled very fiercely, baring her teeth in self-defence. Eventually J managed to lift her out of the car, but we clearly had a significantly unsocialised doggie on our hands.
Fortunately we understand dogs, and particularly the Belgian Shepherd breed, quite well. We simply gave her space and time, lots of gentleness, and a good number of dog-biscuits as a means to coax her closer to us until she would take them from our hands - scampering for safety as soon as she could.
Sunday morning started with her in much the same stressed-out state, though she was showing signs of improvement almost minute-by-minute. Kate, a local friend and dog breeder in her own right, came to visit late in the morning, and immediately Keira snapped back into growley-defensive mode. Once again it was a case of simply giving Keira space and time. Kate and J sat outside where the dog could see them, while I remained inside. Exhausted and emotionally spent, Keira fell asleep on the floor beside me. At that point in her frightened existence I represented the safest person to be around.
She slept for about an hour. Upon awakening, a near-miraculous transformation had taken place. Something in her little puppy brain had decided that we were safe to be around, that we were not going to hit her, and that being touched and petted was actually quite nice! She walked up to both of us and - although a little hesitant at first - actually welcomed our attention, stroking and petting.
Today we have a much more relaxed and happy little dog. Her inquisitive and intelligent nature shines through, and I'm sure that she will settle in to being a well-behaved, hard-working and lovable member of the family.
Welcome, Keira!
Keira is a Celtic name meaning "Raven Haired" (or so I am told.)
08 August 2010
First of the Season's Sowing
First sowing for the coming Summer. We've been experiencing a very early warm spell, so, despite, a day or two of cold and (hopefully) wet forecast, I've taken a chance on an extra-early sowing of Chillis and Eggplants. Since I'll be in Cape Town for two weeks starting next week, I'll miss my usual Chilli/Eggplant/Tomato sowing window (3rd week in Aug.) With a bit of luck the weather will stay warm enough to get this batch going.
In any case I'll sow again in about 3 weeks' time when I return. For this sowing I've taken no risks, and only sown varieties that I have plenty of seed stock. Others - Rocoto Amarillo, Tobascos, Corno di Toro, Aji Dulce and a few more - where I only have a very few seeds have been held back for later planting in warmer weather.
Every year I swear that I will build a greenhouse, but it hasn't happened yet.
Tomato sowing next...
In any case I'll sow again in about 3 weeks' time when I return. For this sowing I've taken no risks, and only sown varieties that I have plenty of seed stock. Others - Rocoto Amarillo, Tobascos, Corno di Toro, Aji Dulce and a few more - where I only have a very few seeds have been held back for later planting in warmer weather.
Every year I swear that I will build a greenhouse, but it hasn't happened yet.
Tomato sowing next...
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