Living and farming as I do in one of the world's largest cities, I am instantly drawn to books that discuss innovative ways to grow food in an urban environment. And now that I'm preparing to move to a place where my garden will be as much on my balcony as it will be in the backyard, I'm even more interested. So, it was with great pleasure that I found a review copy of Edible Cities: Urban Permaculture for Gardens, Yards, Balconies, Rooftops and Beyond by Judith Anger, Immo Fiebrig, and Martin Schynder waiting for me. What did I think? Well, read the review at Permaculture Magazine and find out!
Drying pods of heirloom Hutterite Soup Beans. Since moving to Japan eight years ago, one of my greatest challenges as a farmer-gardener has been to find heirloom or open-pollinated seeds. The majority of seeds available are not GMO (genetically modified organisms) as Japan, at this point, doesn't accept this material. Most seeds, though, are nearly all F1 varieties. Heirloom and F1 Varieties In plant breeding, F1 is the name given to the first generation of a cross between two true breeding parents. For example, if I decide to cross an Amish Paste Tomato with another heirloom variety tomato such as Emmy, in hopes of getting a gold paste tomato, the resulting generation of fruit is F1. In order to get that tomato of my culinary dreams, I'll need to choose members of that first generation that are headed in a direction I like - early ripening, medium-sized fruit, good taste - and save their seeds. I'll plant them and repeat the process again and again over time unti
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