new pangea

"new pangea" is a term some biologists use to describe the way transportation technology used in global commerce and travel have allowed organism to overcome natural barriers to their expansion, such as oceans, and spread to areas far outside their range in a way that hasn't been possible since the earth's landmass was a single continent...it has also allowed the rapid spread of invasive species into new territories where they have left behind competitors and predators which allows them to expand their populations well beyond what would have been possible in their native ranges...a process called "enemy release"...assisted plant movement is not a new phenomenon...humans have moved plants as long as they have been moving to the extent that in many places non-native plants outnumber native species...so i decided to have a look around the garden today..and the next two posts tell the story...this post deals with the non-natives and i am including plants that originated in this hemisphere but not this continent in the list...from top to bottom: cucumbers from india...mashua from the andean region...potatoes form thesame...tomatoes from central america...spinach from sasanian persia...green peepers from central america...asparagus from europe, western asia, northern africa...most of these were moved by indigenous peoples or came via the "columbian exchange" after the arrival of europeans in the western hemisphere...the collards in the bottom picture may actually be pangean...know to both the indigenous peoples of the americas and the romans they are a dinosaur among vegetables...they were in two places at once.

still green...still producing

the green peppers i found last thursday have all but disappeared..which is the point of growing them...this one will be gone as soon as it gets a bit larger...the yellow peas and winter rye in the fall green manure mix are doing fine ( second photo )...the peas are annuals and will set nitrogen only until frost kills them but the winter vetch and winter rye will continue to work in tandem to provide the beds with nitrogen and organic matter...the new zealand white clover is as lush as ever and there are several plants intercropped among them soaking up the nutrients...there is mashua in the third photo ( think nasturtium leaves and you may be better able to pick the single plant out of all that green ) and i have hopes of tubers to replant...and there is some asparagus poking its head up through the legume in the fourth photo...enjoying late autumn sun and a free feed by the clover...there's more to the clover story coming along in the post about the spuds.

october growth

the season will doubtlessly end...that is the way of things...but for now overwintering green manures aren't all that's going on out there...there are quite a few garlic plants up and running ( top photo with some winter vetch off to the left ) with lengthening leaves supporting root growth...after a killing frost these will be mulched with about a six inch layer of straw held in place with fabric to keep the roots safe over the winter...the beans are still flowering and still producing ( second photo )...and so are the jalepeno peppers ( third photo ) and bell peppers ( fourth photo ) ...harvest them while you can.

more blooms

more tomatoes have begun to bloom...that's a good sign that things are moving along...the peppers are coming into flower as well ( and, it would seem, some of our insect friends have been dining out given the holes in the leaves )...to top that one pepper plant has already begun to hatch peppers...you know the season's in gear when produce starts to appear...transplant or not...the potatoes have joined the parade as well as one of the ollalas has flowered and more are displaying buds ( along with the german butterballs )...i am partial to tubers so this is good news for me...fresh spuds in another month or so and on through the autumn as the plants produce in the rotation they were planted in, leading up to the jerusalem artichoke harvest which will be last of all...things are moving along...still lots of work before the payoff...stay tuned.