Monday, November 25, 2013

a broader spectrum

"crops are both cultural and biological entities that have been shaped by hundreds of generations of farmers. in turn, crop plants have shaped cultures and landscapes." stephen b. brush from "farmer's bounty"____________________________________________________well...i'm not a farmer...and i sometimes wonder if you can call the social system i live in a culture...but i am what i eat for sure and i am trying to shape some plants as well so i have at least a tenuous connection to folk taxonomies and organic methodologies that brush writes about...the new, broader spectrum, grow light bulb i ordered came in today's mail and i didn't waste any time in installing it...i had one with a narrower spectrum and one bulb like the one that came today...the plants in the second photo were under the narrower spectrum bulb and are about eighteen inches tall and they were hugging the bulb in an attempt to get more light...they were spending energy to grow taller and expand their photosynthesis area rather than focusing on the work at hand, setting tubers...the plants under the broader spectrum bulb are shorter ( a foot or less ) have larger leaves and, on the whole, are healthier looking...hopefully the new bulb will slow down the taller plants and let them produce some spuds...the storage project is doing okay...no further losses..the ollala (fourth photo ) early blue ( fifth photo ) and the roja narino ( bottom ) are solid and sproutless...there may indeed be something to adding some lavender to the storage boxes...still a long way to go and it will be done day by day tuber by tube and plant by plant...losses are to be expected and endured...it's part of building a culture.

No comments:

Post a Comment