I simply love this book by James Wong. I have read SO many books and articles about growing veggies, and I have tested SO many varieties of seeds out of curiosity, but the focus of seed choice has always been on abundance, or here in Norway also hardiness and bolting resistance in light nights. Important stuff, of course, but still: What about the taste? Why did I really hate my tiny first beetroots? Because they were earthy. Now I am scholared by Mr. Wong, and know that the next variety to test is "Detroit Dark Red", which has a very low geosmin level. Geosmin being the chemical compound giving the terrible taste.
I am to buy new strawberry plants next year, and I will definitely make a more careful choice than "any sixpack" as I would usually grab. There will be a hunt for Marshmello, I hope it is possible to find and grow here north! If not, there is always Korona, which also gets a good recommendation.
I also know that the poor people who hates my favourite herb cilantro have a genetic reason for doing so. And I have stopped throwing away the roots, now chopping it into my guacamole with the leaves.
I particularly enjoyed a chapter named Edible flowers aactually worth eating and I can't wait to sneak up on a begonia to taste it.
You also have a chapter for Undercover edibles and Eat your weeds. Now my sheperds purse gets on my potatoes at dinner.
Flapping through the book again while writing this, I find I need to study the chapter of sweet potatoes more deeply, it might add new insight on what it might be possible to grow and also worth growing in my veranda greenhouse. I just need to discuss with the "chef" if he wants the one best for fries, for desserts, for soups og for mash!
Saturday, 5 December 2015
What has nature ever done for us? How money really does grow on trees
I think I first found this book described (link goes to norwegian text)on the pages of the Friends of the Earth Norway
I keep coming back to it, reading a chapter now and another then, although I have already read it as a whole. It is the kind of book that you should not really bring if you are to read nearby a stranger, as your inner missionary will urge you to read all the important stuff out loud...
Tony Juniper, well known in Britain, takes us for a journey to the most different parts of the planet, looking whith economic glasses to different parts of nature. I was really fascinated by the paramo of in the colombian Andes, and their huge impression on the water quality for the rest of the country. This was a totally new natural habitat for me, why have none told me of it before? The same feeling crept upon me while reading the chapter named Insurance. I felt somewhat educated about the importance of mangroves in advance, but my knowledge appeared pretty scarce compared to what everybody SHOULD have known.
And the same goes for the health benefits of cycling in Copenhagen, the importance of oyster banks and so on! Every chapter, actually.
The book has its own home page,and links to another page where all the references are kept. This invaluable resource contains reading to last for weeks after you have read the book and lent it to other people you think needs to gain the same insights as you just have.
I keep coming back to it, reading a chapter now and another then, although I have already read it as a whole. It is the kind of book that you should not really bring if you are to read nearby a stranger, as your inner missionary will urge you to read all the important stuff out loud...
Tony Juniper, well known in Britain, takes us for a journey to the most different parts of the planet, looking whith economic glasses to different parts of nature. I was really fascinated by the paramo of in the colombian Andes, and their huge impression on the water quality for the rest of the country. This was a totally new natural habitat for me, why have none told me of it before? The same feeling crept upon me while reading the chapter named Insurance. I felt somewhat educated about the importance of mangroves in advance, but my knowledge appeared pretty scarce compared to what everybody SHOULD have known.
And the same goes for the health benefits of cycling in Copenhagen, the importance of oyster banks and so on! Every chapter, actually.
The book has its own home page,and links to another page where all the references are kept. This invaluable resource contains reading to last for weeks after you have read the book and lent it to other people you think needs to gain the same insights as you just have.
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