pgp 3-24-2012

things are moving along on campus...the top photo is intermediate wheat grass which is an ancestor to the winter wheat in the bottom photo and which the land institute is working to breed into a perennial strain of wheat...both grasses are flourishing and will probably be fine with the cooler weather ahead ( but i am still concerned about the teosinte )...another asparagus spear is up and they will soon be ready to harvest...coach had first call on it... she's been supportive and kind so i need to engender some reciprocity to match...organic veggies are a start...the purple butes will turn green when boiled or steamed...the fourth photo is a phalanx of the basically defiant jerusalem artichoke, which "native american food plants: an ethnobotanical dictionary" by daniel e. moerman says are a food crop for the dakota but a famine food for the lakota...the cultural differences in the perception of what is or is not food are facinating...you will no doubt be treated to all sorts of tidbits of information from this one as i search for food crops native to the area and try to ( please pardon my arrogance here ) reconstruct a truly local food culture. the weather is variable but plants are adaptive...the whole season is pretty much before us..i am geeked agian.