" Anderson's (1952) description of agriculture as a 'transported landscape' honors the thousands of generations of cultivators who have moved seeds and transformed the world."
"Farmer's Bounty: Locating Crop Diversity in the Contemporary World" Stephen B. Brush. p.21
so where did all this stuff i'm planting start out from? a couple of the answers suprised me...names are misleading.
arugula originates along the southern and eastern mediterranean from portugal south through turkey.
asparagus is native to europe, north africa, and western asia.
elephant garlic got its start in central china.
fennel is another mediterranean plant.
jerusalem artichokes caught me completely off guard...among other places they are native to indiana.
anyone who doesn't know that potatoes originated in the highlands of what is now peru could be in dutch with dr. forgey.
spinach was born in central and southwest asia.
tomatoes began their journey to italy in south america.
misleadingly welsh onions are from central asia.
winter savory is native to southern europe.
and anyone who thinks chinese yams are from china would be correct.
so not only have humans experimented with plant traits over the millennia, they've also done quite a bit of tinkering around with where they might adapt to and perhaps grow better than in their native range...something to think about next time i'm in the garden...which, i think, will be tomorrow since the jerusalem artichokes came in today's mail and it's been a few weeks since the garden has seen any activity...that and the fact that they have to reside in my refrigerator until i plant them, and god only knows what someone here may mistake them for...if it's in the refrigerator it MUST be food...maybe the gama grass will find its home too.
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