tilling it like it is

"And one knows it sometimes when one stands by oneself in a wood at sunset and the mysterious deep gold stillness slanting through and under the branches seems to be saying slowly again and again something one cannot quite hear, however much one tries." Rural Pennsylvania transplant to NYC. Transitioning from agriculture to horticulture and gardening in a waterfront public park.

[cactussucculentcollection]

[cundtcake]

Botanical Sexism Cultivates Home-Grown Allergies 

Arborists often claim that all-male plants are “litter-free” because they shed no messy seeds, fruits or pods. In the 1949 USDA Yearbook of Agriculture, which focused on trees and forests, this advice was given to readers: “When used for street plantings, only male trees should be selected, to avoid the nuisance from the seed.”  In the years following, the USDA produced and released into the market almost 100 new red maple and hybrid-maple-named clones (cultivars), and every single one of them was male.

It took a number of years for these new trees to mature enough to start to bloom, but eventually they did and with them came more city pollen and the “epidemic of allergy and asthma.” Many of these same trees are still alive and well and getting even larger, and the bigger they get, the more pollen they shed.

Allergies are rarely triggered by small amounts of an allergen; they are initiated by an overdose. Small amounts of pollen exposure are actually good for us, but if we have highly allergenic trees or shrubs in our own yards or lining our streets, we will soon enough be over-exposed. In order to put the brakes on America’s allergy epidemic, we need to reverse the trend toward male-dominated landscapes and stop selling and planting any more of the most allergenic trees, shrubs and grasses in our cities.

and the kicker:

Female trees produce no pollen, but they trap and remove large amounts of pollen from the air, and turn it into seed. Female trees (and female shrubs also) are not just passive, but are active allergy-fighting trees. The more female plants in a landscape, the less pollen there will be in the air in the immediate vicinity. By relying less on males and paying more attention to the allergy-potential of all the plants in our urban landscape, all of us may one day breathe easier.

[emrakijo]

Wildlife crossing underneath US Highway 93 in Montana

[6thsensical]

“I’ve often thought about how all these different life forms occupy the same space as me during a given moment and how easy it can be to get so wrapped up in your own world you forget you’re part of something larger and marvelous.”__Noel Marie Fletcher

[passionforpasta]

Danielle Nierenberg, President of Food Tank, shares a sustainability pro-tip in honor of Earth Day. Instead of wasting leftover pasta water by pouring it down the sink, you can save it, let it cool and use it to water your plants. The starchy H2O will give them a beneficial nutrient boost and help them grow. Just be sure to avoid using cooking water that has been salted or seasoned.

[smalltownsustainable]

This also applies to leftover water from boiling spinach, potatoes, and hardboiled eggs, according to Reader’s Digest.

[mindblowingscience]

How 12,000 Tonnes of Dumped Orange Peel Grew Into a Landscape Nobody Expected to Find

Almost magical.

An experimental conservation project that was abandoned and almost forgotten about, has ended up producing an amazing ecological win nearly two decades after it was dreamt up.

The plan, which saw a juice company dump 1,000 truckloads of waste orange peel in a barren pasture in Costa Rica back in the mid 1990s, has eventually revitalised the desolate site into a thriving, lush forest.

Continue Reading.

[gothic-punk]

This is the greatest thing I’ve read in a long time and I want this experiment replicated everywhere as soon as possible.

[lamentedgores-adventures]

My town would be a good start.

[jumpingjacktrash]

the funniest part is that everyone is so surprised.

“composting kitchen waste makes plants grow. who knew???”

well… everyone?

[vegacoyote]

It’s not so much that they’re SURPRISED about it. That was actually the original plan.

This juice company agreed to donate a few acres of its own land to a bordering national park, and compost orange peels there to help restore the land. They were subsequently sued by a rival juice company for having “defiled a national park.” The law sided with the rival company, and the project was discontinued early.

This isn’t so much a “Wow SO SURPRISE!” as a “FUCKIN’ TOLD YOU SO!”

Plus also, sixteen years ago, we might’ve known the answer to the question “What happens when you compost kitchen waste?” but we DIDN’T know the answer to “What happens when you dump 12,000 tons of orange peel on 7 acres of ecologically depleted wasteland?”

And for the first six months, the answer was, “7 acres of nasty-smelling, fly breeding ex-fruit sludge, and a lawsuit from a rival juice company,” but 16 years LATER we can say, “A 176 percent increase in above-ground biomass, and a study site so transformed we couldn’t tell we had the right place until we dug the sign out of undergrowth consisting mainly of native shrubs and grasses, SUCK IT, TICO FRUIT!!!!”

[otorohanga]

a guide to exploring abandoned farms

essential supplies include: plenty of food and water, a change of socks, a hat, rope, bandaids, a knife, gloves, an acorn in your pocket, and an offering

there are always odd noises on the farm. half of them come from the animals

try to forget what the lake looks like between the hours of three and four AM

never ever find yourself alone in the milking shed in the south end of the farm. time passes differently there

if you happen to hurt yourself in your exploration, make sure you do not bleed onto the dirt

bring plenty of water, you do not want to drink from there

the cows will watch you, this is normal

close every gate you open, even if the fields are empty. don’t ever leave one open behind you, just trust me

beware unstable rocks, the cracks tend to be filled with insect nests

bring a weapon with you, but no guns

if you see someone else while exploring, never tell them your name. you can never be sure if they are real or not, and further out you go, the less real they will seem. the patupaiarehe have evolved in cruel and unusual ways

do not go inside the empty share-milkers cottages, whatever you do, do not go inside. something else lives there now

a tree with the undersides of its leaves showing mean that a storm is coming. a tree with no leaves means the storm has already come

sometimes the hills look like they’re moving. be aware of this, because some things don’t like to be disturbed

do not sleep under the full moon, in fact, just don’t sleep on the farm

finding skulls is normal, only become worried when you start finding ribs

if you find yourself lost in a forest, continue walking in a straight line until you are free again. the trees may make it look as though you are going in circles, but i promise you’re not. ignore the soft music you can hear

your phone won’t work out here

the ghosts from the land wars won’t harm you, but be sure to show them respect

don’t take anything from the farm with you when you leave. just be grateful you have made it out alive

[kittleimp]

This is labeled as New Zealand Gothic so there are a few things specific to NZ here, but I live in Michigan and let me tell you. This isn’t a joke, not is it region specific. There is a farm my father has visited since childhood that never felt right. He once saw a black mass that they don’t like to talk about. A few years ago a swarm of flies attacked his tent one morning while he was camping with a friend. That same day, he became suddenly and violently ill. He brought whatever attached itself to him back home and it didn’t leave until we did a full cleansing ritual.

Do not fuck around on farm land. Especially if you don’t know what was on that land before it.

[flyingpurplepizzaeater]

@aprilwitching

[carmot-arch-deactivated20240621]

I actually need to add to this because there’s some stuff the locals out in Missouri told me.

around dawn/dusk/twilight if you feel something behind you, don’t turn around.  Even if you are in an open field

you hear a woman crying in the woods, hope that its probably a cougar.  dont go looking for it

avoid the woods around these farmlands if you can

dont cross streams

try not to be there around the evening time.  whatever you’re feeling will get worse and might follow

if you’re religious, don’t bring any artifacts of such if you can.  crosses etc.  it can upset whatever is there.  

I dont care how pretty the rock is, don’t pick it up

avoid going in most buildings.  not just the ones listed above.  especially barns.  look in, look around, don’t physically walk in there. not only is it structurally unsafe, you don’t know whats hiding in there.  corporeal or not.

lastly, before you leave.  check your belongings and pockets and anywhere anything you can stash stuff in. chances are you will be missing something, that’s normal.  if you had something there you didn’t before.  sometimes they just happen to be there even with no recollection.  get rid of it on that land, not off of it!

[mindfulwrath]

A Simplified Guide To Exploring Abandoned Farms, by MindfulWrath

Don’t

[dismhay]

She’s a beauty queen

[gay-mo-deactivated20250509]

@mirandaputsherbestbuttforward

[thatkindofwoman]

Some pictures I took around the farm this past weekend while I was farm sitting. 

[kevinruss]

[90377]

mushrooms near middle falls by Aryk Tomlinson

[yummytoadstools]

[thriftedrose]

I found this little lady hiding 🐞

[cincylibrary]

Illustrations from The Botanical Cabinet, 1818-1832.

[vidadesignstudio]

MISTICO, COSTA RICA

[curiousbotanicals]

[sixpenceee]

An albino redwood tree is unable to produce chlorophyll, so it produces white needles instead of green ones. In order to survive it must join its roots to the roots of a normal redwood tree, from which it must obtain nutrients. 

[landscapevoicetrip]

The Getty Center: The Central Garden | Los Angeles, CA | Robert Irwin

Out of all the gardens at The Getty, the most famous and recognizable is the one not by a landscape architect, but by Robert Irwin, a renowned artist who, in collaboration with gardener Jim Duggan designed The Central Garden. Lying at the heart of the Getty Center, this 134,000-square-foot design features a natural ravine and tree-lined walkway, descending into a plaza with bougainvillea arbors, and finally into a cascade of water over a stone waterfall and a pool where that famous maze of azaleas are poised—though, since I visited in November, were not in bloom. It was a work that Irwin, who continued to walk The Central garden once a month for a decade to watch the landscape morph, called “sculpture in the form of a garden.”

More: Landscape Voice - The Getty Center: The Central Garden