Thursday Snapshot: Night Fruit Seller in Kathmandu

Night fruit seller in Kathmandu.
Photo by R. Bailey

We spotted this fruit vendor on a walk back to Sunrise Farm from Swayambhunath (the Monkey Temple). What was most impressive about these vendors was their ability to turn a simple bicycle or cart into a full-fledged fresh fruit stand complete with scales, lights, and a lovely display. We couldn’t eat much, but they never failed to dazzle our eyes and tempt our tastebuds.

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Finding Heirloom Seeds in Japan

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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Japan Farmers Markets

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