Chicago seed swap, February 20 in Rogers Park

The Winter Seed Swap and Garden Gathering will be an opportunity for Chicago-area gardeners to share seeds* and discuss plans for the growing season. Participants will learn the basics of seed germination, how to use recyclables as starter pots, and how to transplant and protect tender seedlings. Come to find out how others maintain a garden in this area's charmingly variable climate.

The Winter Seed Swap and Garden Gathering will take place on February 20 from 2 p.m. until 4 p.m. at the Rogers Park branch of the Chicago Public Library, 6907 N. Clark St. We will meet in the community room on the second floor. Everyone from the absolute novice to the backyard botanist is welcome to attend. The event is free.

For more information, contact Damon Taylor at (630)234-5168 or damon AT nmazca DOT com.

*For everyone's benefit:

1. Share seeds that will succeed. Seeds need to be clean, dry and no more than two years old. If in doubt, don't bring them. Passing off shaky seeds will just disappoint other gardeners.

2. Name that bloom. Seeds need to be identified. Bring them in the original package, if possible. If you can take the time, portion seeds into small, labeled zipper bags or envelopes. Don't worry about Latin names.

3. Remember: they're seeds, not sapphires. There's no reason to stuff your pockets or purses full. If your garden is 10'x10', 10 ounces of seed is too much. Take two seeds for each plant you want to grow.

Yard-sharing in Chicago

I want to find out who would be interested in yard-sharing. This is an arrangement in which a property owner makes an agreement to share his or her space with a gardener who doesn't have access to a yard or a community garden plot. You can imagine that there are quite a few people in that category in Chicago.

In many situations, the gardener enters into an agreement whereby he or she grows whatever is desired, then splits the harvest with the property owner. The percentages of the produce taken by the gardener and the property owner can vary: either 80-20, 60-40 or 50-50. Those conditions, as well as the responsibilities for utility costs, seeds, soil et cetera, are subject to the needs and requirements of the parties involved. All of that obviously needs to be worked out before the first seedling goes into the ground.

Yard-sharing arrangements are gaining acceptance and popularity in a number of cities and towns across the country. There are a number of national and regional websites that provide a way for those with land but not enough time or skill to connect with people with green thumbs who don't have enough space. Look up Hyperlocavore, Portland's Yardsharing site or Sharing Backyards. You'll find lots of information on drawing up agreements, choosing a good sharing partner and insight into people's experiences. You'll also notice that there isn't a whole lot going on (yet) in Chicago.

I received word that the 49th Ward (Rogers Park) Green Corps will promote yard-sharing this year. It would be good to see that kind of initiative taken up all over the city. Even if people didn't want anyone else on their property, collaborative efforts among neighbors on the same block -- pooling garden resources (tools, materials, plants) and sharing what's grown in yards and on trees -- could have tremendously positive social and ecological outcomes.

They're ideas. If you want to connect and work to develop them further, then contact me at oceandesetoilesATyahooDOTcom.

Seeds and seed people for 2010

Below, you will find a list of plants that can be grown from the seeds that I've collected. Many of these seeds were gathered by hand throughout the year. Some are the remainders of what I purchased last winter. A few were sent to me by friends. Then there are those that I picked up at seed swaps.

I've organized the species in the list according to plant type, habitat or potential for overgrowth. Each botanical classification is followed by a common name in parentheses. Secondary attributes of a plant are noted with a C for culinary, D for decorative, M for medicinal and T for toxic. My favorite group, the daturas, can be lethally poisonous if ingested.


Herbs

Agastache foeniculum (anise hyssop)

Astragalus propinquus (milk vetch, huang qi)

Calendula officinalis (calendula) D

Cnicus benedictus (blessed thistle)

Echinacea purpurea (broadleaf purple coneflower) D

Lavandula angustifolia (lavender) D

Leonurus cardiaca (motherwort)

Matricaria recutita (chamomile)

Mentha piperata (peppermint)

Monarda spp. (bergamot, bee balm) D

Nicotiana obtusifolia (desert tobacco)

Nicotiana spp. [N. rustica, N. quadrivalvus?] (sacred tobacco)

Ocimum basilicum (various basils)

Ocimum sanctum (holy basil, tulsi)

Origanum vulgare (oregano)

Prunella vulgaris (heal-all)

Salvia officinalis (garden sage)

Withania somnifera (ashwagandha)



Fruits, grains, legumes and vegetables

Allium sativum (garlic)

Allium schoenoprasum (chives)

Amaranthus hypochondriacus ('Manna de Montana' amaranth)

Amaranthus spp. (amaranth)

Brassica spp. (mixed mustards, arugula, broccoli)

Brassica oleracea (broccoli)

Capsicum annuum (arbol, Anaheim, bell, cayenne and sweet peppers)

Chenopodium quinoa (quinoa)

Cicer arietinum (chickpeas, garbanzo beans)

Citrillus lanatus (watermelon 'Moon and Stars')

Cucurbita maxima (Hopi, Lakota squash)

Cucurbita pepo (zucchini)

Cucurbita spp. (unclassified Japanese and straightneck summer squash)

Eragrostis tef (teff, the grain used for injera bread)

Fagopyrum esculentum (buckwheat)

Glycine max (soybean)

Hordeum vulgare (barley)

Lablab purpureus (hyacinth bean)

Lactuca sativa (New York head lettuce)

Luffa cylindrica (luffa gourd)

Melons of unknown classification

Millet

Oryza sativa (Asian rice: 'Wehani,' 'Black Japonica')

Phaseolus vulgaris (bush and pole beans; some unclassified)

Physalis philadelphica (tomatillo)

Pisum sativum (green peas)

Raphanus sativus (radish)

Solanum betaceum (tree tomato, tamarillo)

Solanum retroflexum [syn. S. burbankii] (sunberry, wonderberry)

Solanum lycopersicum (various tomatoes: Tigerella, Orange Blossom, Ugly [Purple Cherokee], Siberian, Zapotec Pleated, unclassified yellow and orange types)

Solanum melanocerasum (garden huckleberry; not the same huckleberries that grow wild in the Northwest)

Spinacia oleracea (Bloomsdale spinach)

Vigna radiata (mung bean)

Vigna unguiculata (yardlong pole bean)

Vitis rotundifolia (Muscadine grapes)

Zea mays (several varieties of corn)



Flowers

Alcea spp. [A. rosea?] (mixed-color hollyhock)

Aquilegia spp. (columbine)

Asclepias tuberosa (butterfly weed)

Centaurea montana (mountain bluet)

Cosmos spp. [C. bipinnatus?] (cosmos)

Digitalis purpurea (mixed-color foxglove)

Eschscholzia californica (California poppy)

Linum grandiflorum (mixed-color flax)

Linum usitatissimum (blue flax) C

Lupinus polyphyllus (Russell's lupine) C

Nigella papillosa (grey-flowered nigella)

Nigella sativa (black cumin, love in the mist) C,M

Papaver somniferum (blue breadseed, black peony poppies) C

Petunia axillaris (petunia 'Rainmaster')

Phacelia tanacetifolia (bee's friend)

Platycodon grandiflorus (balloonflower, doraji) M

Salvia farinacea (blue bedder sage)

Scorpiurus muricatus (prickly caterpillar)

Tragopogon spp. (salsify) C

Tropaeolum majus (maroon nasturtium) C

Tropaeolum minus (vining nasturtium) C

Zinnia spp. (mixed-color zinnias) D



Prairie and woodland plants

Anemone spp. (anemone) D

Angelica archangelica (angelica) M

Asclepias spp. (native milkweed) D

Aster ericoides or A. praealtus (heath or willow aster)

Bromus spp. [B. pubescens?] (woodland brome)

Cichorium intybus (chicory) C

Daucus carota (wild carrot, Queen Anne's Lace) M

Echinacea pallida and E. paradoxa (pale purple, yellow coneflowers) D

Helianthus annuus (native and cultivated sunflowers) D

Helianthus grosseserratus (sawtooth sunflower)

Helianthus maximilianii (Maximilian's sunflower)

Heliopsis helianthoides (false sunflower)

Osmorhiza spp. (sweet cicely)

Panicum virgatum (switchgrass)

Physalis subglabrata (smooth groundcherry)

Physostegia virginiana (obedient plant)

Plantago spp. [P. major?] (plantain) M

Ratibida pinnata (grey-headed coneflower)

Rudbeckia triloba (brown-eyed Susan) D

Rumex crispus (yellowdock) C

Solanum americanum or S. nigrum (American or black nightshade) T

Solanum carolinense (Carolina horsenettle)

Solanum dulcamara (bittersweet nightshade) T

Solidago canadensis (goldenrod) M

Taraxacum officinale (dandelion) C,M

Trifolium pratense (red clover) M

Verbascum thapsus (mullein) M



Aquatic and wetland plants

Desmanthus illinoiensis (Illinois bundleflower)

Nelumbo spp. (a couple of lotuses)



Plants that will bite or grow beyond the boundaries

Bidens frondosa (pitchfork weed)

Cardiospermum halicacabum (love in a puff)

Cirsium vulgare (bull thistle) C

Ipomoea luteola (morning glory 'Sunspots')

Ipomoea purpurea (morning glory 'Carnevale di Venezia,' 'Grandpa Ott's')

Ipomoea sloteri [syn. I. x multifida] (morning glory 'Cardinal Climber')

Ipomoea spp. (mixed morning glories)

Ipomoea tricolor (morning glory 'Heavenly Blue')



Specials

Datura inoxia (sacred Datura, toloache) T

Datura leichhardtii ssp. leichhardtii (Leichhardt's Datura) T

Datura metel var. fastuosa f. fastuosa (double-flowered, purple-and-white Datura; deep purple stems) T

Datura metel var. muricata (double-flowered, cream-colored Datura; green stems) T

Datura stramonium var. stramonium (thornapple, jimsonweed; white flowers with purple stripes inside corolla; pale violet flowers with purple stripes inside corolla) T

Datura wrightii (also called sacred Datura) T

Lycium barbarum (goji berry, wolfberry) C,M

Rio Olympiad

It was sometime around 11 a.m. when I heard that Chicago was out of the running for the 2016 Olympics.

Earlier, on my way downtown, I was pretty much praying that the IOC would vote for another city. I know that many people had there hopes up and expected that the city would gain new stature (while some gained new wealth). However, as I stated in the previous post, I wasn't interested in seeing the Olympics come to Chicago if for no other reason than the plan to raze Washington Park.

So, after my morning's business at the Museum of Science and Industry was done, I walked over to the park and took some time to appreciate what will continue to be a wonderful, natural area on the South Side.







As I made my way back through downtown on the Red Line, two women sat behind me. One asked if the other had gone to the gathering at Daley Plaza. The second woman didn't know there had been a gathering for anything.

As they discussed all of the plans, the buildup and the money spent for the bid, the second woman added, "They wanted to do all these things for that, they can still do it now just to make the city better."

"That's right," her companion agreed.

Tokyo 2016

I completely agree with the sentiments expressed in the letter below. I was neither supportive of nor opposed to Chicago's Olympic bid until earlier this year, when I learned that the central venues would be built on top of Washington Park, the second-largest green space on the South Side.

So I'd be quite happy to see the Olympics return to Tokyo or go anywhere else.

Avoid ordering from Banana Tree.

I have received nothing from them after ordering seeds two months ago. The one time (out of three times contacted) that I got a reply, it was a bit of a runaround. So now I'm pressing for a refund.

Buy your fruit-bearing cacti now.

"If global warming continues unchecked, Chicago would see a repeat of the killer 1995 heat wave every summer by the middle of the century, an environmental group says in a study released Wednesday.

"The report from the Union of Concerned Scientists, "Confronting Climate Change in the U.S. Midwest," also predicts that the city's air quality would deteriorate if humans do not scale back greenhouse gas emissions dramatically.

"By century's end, the report projects, every Chicago summer would be hotter than 1983, the hottest summer on record for the city. Illinois' climate would resemble East Texas today, the report says.

"The projections stem from an analysis of climate-modeling projections by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in a 2007 report. The report includes two scenarios: one with heat-trapping gas emissions continuing to increase along current trend lines and one where countries take major steps to limit emissions.

"Emissions limits would stave off many of the worst effects of warming in the middle and long term, the report concludes. But they would barely affect warming in the next three decades -- including a more than 50 percent increase in summer days topping 90 degrees -- because that warming has been essentially "locked in" by previous emissions.

"'What we really have control over,' said Melanie Fitzpatrick, a climate scientist for the Union of Concerned Scientists, 'is our temperatures in the middle and end of the century.'"


See also: "Impacts of Climate Change in the United States: Great Lakes Region"

Avoid (abandon!) pesticides and grow a wide array of plants in order to support native pollinators.

"The European honeybee is the solo act of industrial agriculture. But in natural landscapes, there has always been a diversity of pollinators busily at work: bumblebees, moths, flies, beetles, butterflies, birds, and bats, just to name a few. There are 4,000 native bees in the U.S. alone, and at least 17,000 species known on the planet. And some of them make European honeybees look like slugabeds: Bumblebees will work when it's cool and cloudy and honeybees refuse to fly.

"Native bees also can buffer declines in agricultural production because of honeybee losses. 'They are really the unsung heroes,' said Claire Kremen, an ecologist at the University of California, Berkeley who has studied native pollinators and the services they provide — if conditions are right.





"Native pollinators need food and habitat to survive. In her research, Kremen found that, ironically, monocultures of single crops that most need the help of native pollinators are least likely to support them.

"In recognition of the pollinator problem, Congress in the 2008 farm bill included cost sharing to encourage farmers to plant some of their land just for bugs, to diversify the nation's pollinator portfolio with more native bees and other beneficial insects."

How the Farm Belt feeds industry, not people.

"Illinois’ status as a major agricultural state leads many to believe that it produces a lot of healthy food. But the reality is that the miles of farm fields produce just two crops: soybeans and corn, primarily used to sweeten food or for ethanol production. Ken Davis reports on the dangers of industrial farming."

Take farms to new heights, but remember that plants need to be rooted.

Vertical farms are a fine idea, but I think there are a few things glossed over in this article.

First, many plants -- especially your root crops -- need soil/pressure/the Earth to grow well and to absorb the nutrients that they need (and that will nourish us, in turn).

Second, thinking "water + fertilizer = food" is the same reductive, "everything can be treated like parts in a machine" mentality of science and Big Agribusiness. So I'm a bit suspicious of the author's boosterism for aquaponics and aeroponics. They're useful methods and they'd obviously work well in elevated structures or small, urban spaces, but truly nourishing foods need to be grown in soil.

"I think it helps entice the kids to go through the lunch line and get lunch."

That's one explanation for why the Chicago school district continues to offer sugary desserts and junk food in its lunches.

Just last night, my lady friend and I walked through Warren Park, and she mentioned my "if I was president" plan to nationalize all golf courses and use them as public farms. "Imagine the changes you could make to school lunches with all this space," she said as we walked by the putting greens.

Yes, imagine... and it wouldn't even need to be done by my fantasy decree. The park district and the school district could work together to do it. Or individual schools could make the choice to cut out sweets themselves while supplementing their lunches with produce grown at or near their campuses.

Almost anything would be better than hollow rationalization about choices that you know will have negative consequences for young people's health.

From the Tribune:

"Illinois suffers from the fourth-highest level of childhood obesity in the nation, with Chicago kids checking in heavier than the rest of the state. Yet, while many school districts are phasing out sweet treats, Chicago Public Schools officials continue to say, let them eat cake.

"And it's not just cake that the district serves daily to most grade schoolers. It's also chocolate fudge pudding, Keebler Elf Grahams, vanilla creme cookies, double fudge cookies, lemon flavored creme cookies, Rice Krispies treats, pound cake, chocolate cookies with candy pieces and comfort cake with icing, according to school menus.

"Earlier this year, district officials told the Tribune that this daily dessert policy was 'currently under evaluation.' But even with the district in financial crisis, the Tribune has learned the district will continue to buy and serve the sweets to most of its 240,000 elementary school kids -- 80 percent of whom are on the free and reduced lunch program."