Seasonal Events

Posted on September 23, 2016 by tomkarwin

At about this time each year, our thoughts drift to certain seasonal topics. For example, this is the time to plan a display of spring bulbs. I thought I should write about this activity (which can lead to adventuresome ideas), but I have already written before on this topic. To see earlier columns, browse to http://ongardening.com and search for “bulbs.”

Let us consider other aspects of seasonal gardening.

The annual Succulent Extravaganza is happening this weekend. This is a fine free event to learn about and become fascinated by succulent plants. If you are already collecting and landscaping with these interesting plants, the Extravaganza offers a selection of plants to add to your garden. For info, visit http://sgplants.com and click on ”Events.”

The next really big event for succulent gardeners is the Fall Show & Sale convened by the Monterey Bay Area Cactus & Succulent Society. This event will happen on October 1^st & 2^nd, in nearby San Juan Batista, California. Nineteen members of the Society will offer a vast array of small succulent plants, many larger plants and some unique pots for sale. The selection is great, the prices are very good, and members of the group will be available to answer specific questions and share their enthusiastic for gardening with succulents. The display of exceptional plants is a “must-see” event in its own right. For info, visit http://mbsucculent.org .

Dudleya brittonii — a California native succulent plant

Toward the end of October, an event for gardeners is the annual apple tasting, organized by the California Rare Fruit Growers, Monterey Bay Chapter. This will be included in the Wilder Ranch Heritage Harvest Festival, which is on October 15^th. It will be a unique opportunity to learn which apple tree you want to plant in your garden. The Festival also includes other interesting activities. Info: http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=26413.

The UCSC Arboretum’s annual Fall Plant Sale will be on Saturday, October 15^th. It will be open to members of the Friends of the Arboretum from 10-12, and to the public from 12-4. Just before the sale, you could join the Friends. There are year-round benefits to belonging to the Friends, in addition to gaining early access to the Sale, which offers a great selection of plants from California, Australia, and South Africa. The California Native Plant Society will have a concurrent sale, at the same location: the Arboretum’s Eucalyptus Grove, which is accessible from High Street, near the intersection of Western Drive. Info: http:// http://arboretum.ucsc.edu/.

The Friends of the University of California, Santa Cruz Arboretum held its annual meeting —called the “AR-B-Q” — on Sunday, September 18^th, in the Australian Garden. This was a fine, convivial event, as always, with many volunteers enjoying the company and the warm weather. The meeting included thanks to retiring board members (including this writer), the election of board members, and the announcement of officers for the coming year.

Several readers of this column have expressed interest in our recent column about the book, The Invention of Nature, about the extraordinary Alexander von Humboldt 1769-1859. On October 19^th, the Garden Conservancy will sponsor a visit of the book’s author, Andrea Wulf, at the UC Botanical Garden at Berkeley to discuss the influence of Humboldt’s vision, and how he helped shape our understanding of nature today. Wulf ‘s very readable book reflects her thorough research and inspires interest in her other highly regarded books about gardeners:

This Other Eden Seven Great Gardens and Three Hundred Years of English History

The Brother Gardeners. Botany, Empire and the Birth of an Obsession

The Founding Gardeners. The Revolutionary Generation and the Shaping of the American Nation

For info on WUlf’s talk at UC Bekjeley, visit the Garden Conservancy website:

The gardening world is very lively, as always. Enjoy your garden!

***

Tom Karwin is past president of the Friends of the UC Santa Cruz Arboretum, president of the Monterey Bay Area Cactus & Succulent Society, and a Lifetime UC Master Gardener (Certified 1999–2009). Visit ongardening.com for links to information on this subject, and send comments or questions to gardening@karwin.com.

Labeling GE Foods: New Issues

Posted on September 9, 2016 by tomkarwin

The federal requirement to label foods with genetically engineered ingredients is generating turmoil in the marketplace.

To review, a very large majority of U.S. consumers demanded labeling of GE foods, and the food industry spent a reported $400 million to defeat related legislation. The debate, which continued for over five years, resulted in late July of 2016 in the adoption of “compromise” legislation that strongly favored the food industry’s position.

The central issue in the debate has been a policy of 1992 under which the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) concluded that the health and nutrient values of genetically engineered foods do not differ from “conventional” foods and therefore do not warrant labeling.

Labeling advocates have insisted that GE foods have not been studied sufficiently by independent researchers, and federal policy ignores the environmental and economic impacts of such foods. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) supported labeling by pointing to consumers’ strong interest in knowing when foods contain GE ingredients.

Consumer groups are still a bit stunned by the adoption of what has been called “the weakest labeling law imaginable.” They continue the struggle, but have abandoned the political arena and are moving future battles to the marketplace.

The simplest strategy is buy only foods labeled as organic, under long-standing federal standards. Organic foods, by definition, do not contain GE ingredients.

The flipside of this strategy involves boycotting foods that are not labeled “organic” or “non-GE.”

A related strategy includes rejecting foods labeled as “natural.” Some consumers regard “natural” and “organic” as equivalent but current FDA practice states that “natural” foods do not include artificial ingredients. The FDA is being pressured to define “natural” in a way that includes foods with GE ingredients. We’ll see how that goes!

Another strategy is take legal action against companies that label foods as “organic” when they in fact contain GE ingredients. To date, such initiatives appear to be effective.

One group has mounted a campaign to label selected conventional foods with the “Non-GMO Project Verified Butterfly.” Such labels are becoming more used, reportedly.

One thoughtful observer, food writer Mark Bittman, has suggested that the GE labeling “cloud” has a silver lining, because the new labeling law opens the door to a new era of transparency about food products. He notes that the new law, however flawed, calls for labeling a food’s production process in addition to labeling its health and nutrient values.

Bittman lists the new categories of information that consumers should be told about a food product’s ingredients: Where are they from? Were they dosed with pesticides or other synthetic chemicals? How much water was used to grow them? Did farm workers receive fair pay and treatment? Were farming practices friendly to the environment? For food products from animals: Were the animals treated with antibiotics? Were the animals treated humanely?

Such labeling requirements might be required on a state-by-state basis, which is still permissible under federal law. State-level responses to consumer interests in such areas could force the adoption of overdue national standards regarding food production processes. GE labeling might be only the beginning of a much-needed “transparency revolution.”

Continue reading →

The Invention of Nature

Posted on September 2, 2016 by tomkarwin

California’s Board of Education has included five environmental principles for the curriculum:

People depend on natural systems.
People influence natural systems.
Natural systems change in ways that people benefit from and can influence.
There are no permanent or impermeable boundaries that prevent matter from flowing between systems.
Decisions affecting resources and natural systems are complex and involve many factors.

These very basic ideas certainly are important in learning about the environment.

These principles are an updated version of ideas that were expressed in the early 1800s by Alexander von Humboldt (1969–1859), who presented his views of how the forces of nature interact with one another and about the unity of nature.

At the time, Humboldt’s ideas were the leading edge of leading scientists’ understanding of natural systems. He developed these ideas by traveling extensively through South America and Central America, closely observing nature, and, significantly, learning from the wise practices of native populations.

Humboldt was one of the great polymaths of history. He was the earliest geobotanist, studying the geographic distribution of plants (also called phytogeography), but also made important contributions to meteorology, and geology. His greatest contributions are in the area called terrestrial physics, which deals with the dynamic interconnections that comprise natural systems.

A new book by Andrea Wulf describes Humboldt’s momentous journey through life in impressive and readable detail: The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt’s New World (Knopf, 2016). The book is organized chronologically, in five parts.

Humboldt shared his extensive knowledge and advanced ideas through extensive publications, correspondence, and public lectures. His major work was Cosmos. Sketch for a Physical Description of the Universe. This five-volume work, was widely read and highly regarded, and added to his reputation as the greatest scientists of his era.

Humboldt conversed with many prominent people of his day and directly or indirectly influenced a long list of scientists, authors, and political leaders, too many to list here.

Today, Humboldt might not be known as well as some other early scientist. Author Andrea Wulf has commented that the truth of Humboldt’s views has become so widely accepted that the man himself has become less visible. Still, many admirers have honored him by attaching his name attached to more places and things than anyone else. These include a northern California county. An impressive list of these recognitions is available in Wikipedia’s entry for Alexander von Humboldt. (See also Wikipedia’s entry, “Humboldtian Science.”)

Andrea Wulf, who has also written about other historically important botanists, has provided a masterful, readable, and valuable account of the “formidable genius” Alexander von Humboldt. The New York Times named The Invention of Nature as one of the best books of 2015 and several additional reviewers recognized its quality, This book presents the fascinating story of a man who explained the natural context in which gardening is done.