Here’s a great article by Jane Turner discussing agroforestry growing as a way to diversify farms. She includes many examples of farmers who have begun incorporating and benefiting from its practice — taking pressure off wild populations at the same time. Download PDF Here Originally published in Growing for Market, Vol. 29 / Issue 9.
BY JOSHUA HARKNESS Why must we think so poorly of wild plants? We dismiss them merely as “weeds”; we think of them as insignificant foreigners in our lawns, gardens and other manicured “landscapes”. We see them as a threat to the aesthetical appeal of the sterile environments we are so fond of creating. These are …
Encounters with life and death as a Deep Ecology artist-in-residence at United Plant Savers by Colleen Leonardi It’s a green day in early June with blue sky above and 379 acres of botanical sanctuary below. These Appalachian foothills at the United Plant Savers (UpS) Sanctuary in Rutland, Ohio rise and drop with enough horizons to …
by Jonathon Miller Weisberger Now reaching into 20 years, the extensive gardens at Ocean Forest Ecolodge harbor hundreds of species of native and rare ethnobotanical treasures from Central and South America as well as the Asian Tropics. These include fruit trees that guests enjoy seasonally, aromatic herbs, medicinal and sacramental plants, detox bitters, emollients, and …
Kenmore, Washington Sanctuary Steward: Katie Vincent At Bastyr University we teach integrative medicine— where the best of western medicine and natural healing modalities come together to create an approach to health and wellness that is more holistic and representative of the complex, collaborative ecosystems we are a part of. The gardens at Bastyr are an …
by Justin Wexler and Anna Plattner American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) loves shade but not too much shade. After seven years of direct observation of hundreds of acres of wild-simulated and wild ginseng, we’ve noticed a pattern. Old wild ginseng plants growing in deep shade grow extremely slowly. Likewise, in full shade, the wild-simulated seedlings of …
Read moreGIVING THE GREEN LIGHT TO HEALTHY WILD-SIMULATED GINSENG CULTIVATION
Madison County, North Carolina Sanctuary Stewards: Michelle Dixon and Peter Waskiewicz Our Botanical Sanctuary story began Thanksgiving 2016 when we stood with the Lakota Sioux Tribe at Standing Rock and became avowed water protectors for life! On the long road back to North Carolina we hatched our first action plan and long-time dream: find a …
Deerfield, Virginia Sanctuary Stewards: Shay and Kim Clanton and family Walker Mountain Botanical Sanctuary lies in a hollow between two mountains—Walker Mountain and Sideling Hill. Clayton Mill Creek, a rushing rocky mountain stream, flows the length of the hollow. At the base of the north slope on Sideling Hill there is a small, nearly hidden …
Sperryville, Virginia Sanctuary Steward: Teresa Boardwine The Green Comfort Botanical Sanctuary has been growing for 15 years on an acre near the Shenandoah National Park, in Sperryville, Virginia. The land that surrounds us is naturalized and undeveloped, providing opportunity for plant walks through adjoining properties in woods, to a sandy river basin, out to pavement …
By Joe Pigmon with Kate Farley Those of us who love Appalachian woodland medicinal herbs often hear stories about the men and women who have harvested these plants from the wild for generations. Sometimes these stories blame traditional herb harvesters for the declining abundance of our beloved plants. We hear about diggers who take plants …