Brief moments of silent flakes
There happen to be few days where I can set myself and just stare through the window. I either stare at my computer, at home, or I stare at another computer, at work. Yesterday, however, I finally saw some really nice snow. There was these big flakes that looked like if they had been made out of several other flakes parachuting down in order to change the landscape. It was startling to see the small whips of rain turn into rain-blended-with-snow turn into these big fluffy flakes that just rained down in a speedy fashion. For about five minutes before I left for work I just stood at one of my house's many windows and looked at it.
No one else seemed to be home in our small community. Then a car arrived. One of our lesser thought of neighbours. He dislikes our hedge, because we don't cut it, but it is only because he dislikes it uncut which we leave it as it is. He also dislikes our garbage can. We've had plans on painting it pink and blue. But only had. This man is dangerous. He asks our relatives, and humble neighbours, to ask us to take care of our hedge. He also comes up with the idea that one of our former family members, a cat, scratched the lacquer on his car. Though cats favour a car for it's heat.
It's soon time to look around at nature, eh, our garden and see what shall be grown this year. I made up several plans last autumn but most of them have to be changed. It would be interesting to try and grow Quinoa, soybeans and sweet potatoes. Why? Quinoa is related to a common weed that can be found in Sweden and most of Europe: Fat-hen. Since Quinoa also is said to have the ability to grow everywhere it might as well be suited to grow here too. Soybeans are a tough one, but there is a Swedish variety called Fiskeby V, which was developed in Fiskeby, that is being used in some European countries and was grown in Sweden:
"The mean yield for Swedish-grown Fiskeby soybeans from 1945 to 1954 was 1,576 kg/ha (23.3 bu/a) while the high (in 1953) was an impressive 2,266 kg/ha (33.5 bu/a). In 1950 (Ref??) Holmberg reported on his work in the Journal of the Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture, and in 1956 in World Crops (Ref??). By the latter date he had made some 2,700 hybridizations with Japanese germplasm, followed by selection for adaptation."[Link]
So that wouldn't be much of a problem. But it worries me that Soybeans might, if the old Fiskeby V variety comes back, might compete with the old Brown Bean. Soybeans are the number one crop in the world after all! At the moment the online seed shop who seem to have them in stock do not have them in stock, or how to explain it. It is a new crop in their assortment but not yet available. Sweet potatoes might be grown in a pot in the greenhouse we have. Thus my parents need to be negotiated with since it is their domain. It would be nice, however, to try and come up with my own cultivar of sweet potatoes. It is a cool tuber.
Oh, yeah, there are tons of cool vegetables out there that are underutilized and also overlooked in the grocery store (if they ever happen to reach one). From time to time I will provide something written about a couple of forgotten or re-discovered crops every now and then. Maybe I'll dedicate one entry each, maybe on entry gets two.
Last thing to mention. What do you think of this latest art of mine?
No one else seemed to be home in our small community. Then a car arrived. One of our lesser thought of neighbours. He dislikes our hedge, because we don't cut it, but it is only because he dislikes it uncut which we leave it as it is. He also dislikes our garbage can. We've had plans on painting it pink and blue. But only had. This man is dangerous. He asks our relatives, and humble neighbours, to ask us to take care of our hedge. He also comes up with the idea that one of our former family members, a cat, scratched the lacquer on his car. Though cats favour a car for it's heat.
It's soon time to look around at nature, eh, our garden and see what shall be grown this year. I made up several plans last autumn but most of them have to be changed. It would be interesting to try and grow Quinoa, soybeans and sweet potatoes. Why? Quinoa is related to a common weed that can be found in Sweden and most of Europe: Fat-hen. Since Quinoa also is said to have the ability to grow everywhere it might as well be suited to grow here too. Soybeans are a tough one, but there is a Swedish variety called Fiskeby V, which was developed in Fiskeby, that is being used in some European countries and was grown in Sweden:
"The mean yield for Swedish-grown Fiskeby soybeans from 1945 to 1954 was 1,576 kg/ha (23.3 bu/a) while the high (in 1953) was an impressive 2,266 kg/ha (33.5 bu/a). In 1950 (Ref??) Holmberg reported on his work in the Journal of the Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture, and in 1956 in World Crops (Ref??). By the latter date he had made some 2,700 hybridizations with Japanese germplasm, followed by selection for adaptation."[Link]
So that wouldn't be much of a problem. But it worries me that Soybeans might, if the old Fiskeby V variety comes back, might compete with the old Brown Bean. Soybeans are the number one crop in the world after all! At the moment the online seed shop who seem to have them in stock do not have them in stock, or how to explain it. It is a new crop in their assortment but not yet available. Sweet potatoes might be grown in a pot in the greenhouse we have. Thus my parents need to be negotiated with since it is their domain. It would be nice, however, to try and come up with my own cultivar of sweet potatoes. It is a cool tuber.
Oh, yeah, there are tons of cool vegetables out there that are underutilized and also overlooked in the grocery store (if they ever happen to reach one). From time to time I will provide something written about a couple of forgotten or re-discovered crops every now and then. Maybe I'll dedicate one entry each, maybe on entry gets two.
Last thing to mention. What do you think of this latest art of mine?