Thursday Snapshot: A Slice of Blue Pine

Detail of a slice of blue pine at Metalwood Salvage.

On our last day in Portland, Oregon we strolled about a neighborhood not too far from the airport and not too far from where we started this latest adventure. We stumbled on Metalwood Salvage. Perhaps one of the most interesting places I have seen in some time, they carry a somewhat curated collection of scrap metal, glass, and wood that answers the call of practicality and whimsy alike. There was nothing we needed but much that we would gladly have taken away with us including this slice of blue pine.

Named for the color of the fungus spread by the Mountain Pine Beetle, a native beetle to this side of the country, blue pine is the result of the beetles newfound energy with the changing climate. Cold winters kept the population in check, but the changing climate and warmer summers give it plenty of time to work. Particularly long warm snaps can result in large stands of dead wood or snags as they are called out here. Getting rid of the snags reduces risk of fire, and turning the wood into something beautiful puts the wood to good use.

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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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