Comments for The Tracing Paper

Comment on Alexanders: a forgotten vegetable by Diana

Diana — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 13:42:30 +0000

This plant is more than a menace it’s a plague taking over all the banks and verges where I live and is impossible to get rid of. My garden is full of it despite regular control of it and my lawn is full of it sprouting everywhere and the roots go down into the ground for miles, it would seem. I would love to know how to rid of this rampant, self seeding nuisance that is taking over my garden!!!

Comment on Mushrooms without fear: 9 steps to avoid poisoning yourself by Steve

Steve — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 22:34:43 +0000

This is a joke, isn’t it? In the “Nine steps to safe mushroom picking”, all the steps boil down to the same message, which is simply: learn how to identify mushrooms! This tells us nothing at all!

Comment on Cherry plums: a promise fulfilled by Paul Shelton

Paul Shelton — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 23:16:26 +0000

I came to this site searching for info on a delicious miniature yellow plum growing of all places in the draw of a switchback heading down into the Snake River canyon in western Idaho. I scrambled down to it and picked a couple quarts before my wife insisted I quit. Very sweet and tart at the same time, which is great for jam or thick syrup. The natural question is: how did this tree come to be here? Where is it native? — and if not native to North America, what settler in the last 150 years brought it west and grew it in the fertile bottoms of the river canyons of this region. And most likely, some traveler in the last 30 years threw a pit that beat all the odds. To stubble upon such a tree is a rare treasure to both eat its fruit and to contemplate its history. By the way, the Snake River Canyon (also calls Hell’s Canyon) and all the surrounding country in eastern Oregon and western Idaho is a magnificent spectacle of topography, geology, and natural beauty. May you be lucky enough to visit someday and find a miniature yellow plum on the way.

Comment on Mushrooms without fear: 9 steps to avoid poisoning yourself by Prof M.Browne

Prof M.Browne — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 17:27:50 +0000

I have been mushroom picking in the Finnish forests I can identify a couple of safe shrooms but I need to expand my horizons.. safely. as a local said to me “you can eat any mushroom …once”

Comment on Cherry plums: a promise fulfilled by the Urbane Forager

the Urbane Forager — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 13:22:11 +0000

Hi
Nice to meet like minded folk out here.
I just spotted a cherry plum tree today – laden with purple fruit.
On testing the fruit fell sweetly into my hands
Do you have any recipes? I’m thinking chutney or pickle of some kind…
I’m heading back with my kids this weekend to crop us a bagfull.
here is our little blog, maybe we can exchange links?http://theurbaneforager.blogspot.com/

Comment on Waking up to food security by anonymous

anonymous — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 09:01:22 +0000

We only produce 80% of the temperate produce we consume.

This is the important part. With increased efficiency and by shifting more pastoral land to agriculture we could easily boost this to 100%.
At the end of the day the temperate crops such as wheat, potatoes and apples are vastly more important than non-temperate produce such as bananas and rice.

What I’am interested in is how much a country can produce itself, what it can produce should be maximised. Of course we can still keep importing food and warm climate produce, but we should aim close to 100% cool climate, staple crop self-sufficiency, a sort of strategic food reserve if you like.
We can always import cool climate crops too, since subsisting on our own crops would be quite a limiting existence, but we do need to be 100% self-sufficient (or close) at a staples and decent diet level in case the worst case happens.

Thanks for the figures, I’ve been wondering for a long time how self-sufficient in cool-weather crops we are.

Comment on Alexanders: a forgotten vegetable by margaret

margaret — Fri, 20 May 2011 07:50:57 +0000

I am sure that all of this is wonderful…..in the right place but if you travel to the north cornish coast Alexander has taken over large amounts of the beautiful cornish hedgerows and is making its way inland. It is difficult to eradicate as the only weedkiller that works is only available to farmers. It grows feet high so blocks out views and coastal footpaths.
Maybe plant some in your back garden for your dinner but please help us to remove it from our wonderful wild spaces.

Comment on Alexanders: a forgotten vegetable by jacqueline elwin

jacqueline elwin — Fri, 20 May 2011 07:34:02 +0000

They certainly do take over after the daffodils, and they kill all the spring and summer flowering wild plants. They are a menace especially in Cornwall !

Comment on Alexanders: a forgotten vegetable by jacqueline elwin

jacqueline elwin — Fri, 20 May 2011 07:32:45 +0000

There are enough seeds in Cornwall to feed the world !!!! Here it is a WEED !!

Comment on Alexanders: a forgotten vegetable by jacqueline elwin

jacqueline elwin — Fri, 20 May 2011 07:28:43 +0000

I have never heard such rubbish !!! This WEED is taking over Cornwall – the once beautiful hedgerows which were once alive with primroses, campions, bluebells, garlic flowers, cornflowers etc. are now thick with this VEGETABLE as you call it. This means the wild flowers cannot grow, and this vegetable takes a lot of getting rid of when it gets a hold in your garden, and the seeds are prolific – if you don’t get rid of them all in one year, they will be back in abundance the following year. There is a spray which will kill them, and not kill the wild flowers – which I use. PLEASE DO NOT ENCOURAGE GROWTH OF WHAT YOU CALL “a vegetable”, or we may lose our countryside hedgerows for ever.