Gavin, thank you for these insights and lending your perspectives and experience to the topic! While I was impressed with the quality of the book, the nice photos and easy organizing style, I had noticed a few of the same things you have, so your work confirmed my thoughts and as well as added a lot and has given me some more avenues for research. In particular, the latest in the bioengineered seeds, which is a subject I find so dense and incomprehensible it would’ve really been an essential section of a book that calls itself “The Complete Guide”.
I agree that the authors seem to try to awkwardly straddle an academic or institutionalized mindset into a book meant more for the layman, or generalist. In some cases I’d have been totally put off saving seeds after reading their descriptions. I haven’t been seed-saving that long, about 4 years in many cases. Tomatoes and peppers and all the herbs and easy ones like okra are how I started, and in the book it says tomatoes and peppers should be isolated by 1/2 mile if cross-pollination is a concern. I plant mine all together and save the seed and I’ve had no cross-pollination. I wonder how many folks who would buy this book have that much land?
Anyway, I am glad to have the book on hand for future reference and I very much appreciate your efforts and thoughts! I know we’ve got the soil book next, which I’ve yet to purchase, so I best get on that. In future, would you also consider a book about breeding? And also about propagation? Or maybe those would be in the same book. I have one that is very popular by the American Horticultural Society, but I’ve not had any good luck yet using the methods there. Could be my lack of experience. But I don’t give up! 😁
(On another note, I remember you asked me a question about a previous comment concerning US landowners and the neighboring ones I know ‘donating’ their land to ‘re-wilding’ projects. I’d like to compile some evidence before I reply and I hope I will soon have the time for that, I think it’s worthwhile, so thank you for the prompt there and more to come!)
You make some great points regarding the infeasibility of typical isolation distances for most people and the importance of the totally omitted info regarding genetically "engineered" (aka genetically contaminated/toxic) seeds.
Yes, while I was put off by some of the book there are aspects that are helpful, I will just cross reference at least three other books before trusting their suggestions given how bad (inaccurate and likely to result in low to zero viablility seeds) of advice they gave on apple and paw paw seeds in the book.
I am pretty excited about the soil book as despite it not being published recently it seems more aimed at assessing soil with beneficial biological aspects as a central focus ("terrain theory" minded in how it looks at soil and less "germ theory" minded). I have only glanced at a couple pages so far but liking what I am seeing so far. Only thing I have come across so far that (which is more a linguistics and timing thing more than a philosophical/content based criticism) is the soil book's apparent favoring of the word "sustainable" (for describing ideal soil care practices). I mean, a lot more greenwashing and propaganda surrounding that word has happened since they published the book so it is understandable, but as you know, the UN (ONE HEALTH) etc attacks on humanity and the living Earth are all over that word (sustainable) now. But ya, I am looking forward to exploring the book more in the next couple months.
I like your suggestions for book topics, I will take those into consideration for the future book club topics.
Thanks for letting me know about the "re-wilding" research, I agree it is worthwhile.
I appreciate your input and you taking the time to share your thoughts.
Thank you! I appreciate your taking the time to comment.
As a general rule, sadly, I have found your statement regarding the purchasability and mercenary qualities of mainstream academics to be accurate. There are exceptions to the rule, though, especially now (in post mRNA injection cult days) most of the free thinkers, courageous individuals and honest truth seekers have been squeezed out of such institutions.
Julie Ponesse is one such exception to that rule, though, through her choice to choose integrity over compliance with tyranny and capitulation to corporate edicts (handed down through government mandates) she no longer holds her tenure as an ethics prof. Such is the society we live in where the dominant institutions covet compliance and uniformity. That is one of the reasons I avoided such places and chose a path of autodidacticism instead.
I am familiar with Julie Ponesse. My intention was not to paint all academics with an overly broad brush, but I tried to get all the way through that seed saving book and did not succeed because I kept getting stopped in my tracks by what I perceived as an entrenched orthodoxy from which I am trying to break away. Beautifully produced books ate very seductive to me, so I was doubly disappointed.
Ya, I had not actually looked at his full bibliography until reading your comment but it looks like you are right. I can (maybe) understand one book on blueberries (with several revised editions perhaps as one discovers new techniques and info on the species through hands on experience over the years) if one really loves them, but three books on the same species??
I am quite enthusiastic about blueberries (I grow about 7 varieties in our garden and I love cooking and creating in the kitchen with them) but I would write an entire chapter on them max, not an entire book.
What are your thoughts on the fact that the guy has published so much material on that one species?
Also, what are your thoughts on the book I reviewed above in general?
I skimmed one of his books on blueberries. I did learn a few things. I love blueberries, and we can certainly have them. He says that blueberries were late to the game in being brought into cultivation because they are so prolific in the wild, which is certainly true. His data on cultivation, high bush vs low bush hybrids created large blueberries 1.5 cm and larger. He says that they had a lovely flavour but that hasn't been my experience. Any blueberries I have found that are that large that I group into the 'cultivated' group have been sorely lacking in flavour. Some things that I found interesting that certainly ring true is that blueberries thrive in poor soil and that they have a fungus that grows on the roots in a likely symbiotic relationship that he had no explanation for. Blueberries do poorly in what would otherwise be good soil. So my experience and his research don't jive where it concerns flavour in blueberries. It would be lovely to be wrong and sort out how to grow tasty blueberries that large.
A couple years ago up above lake Huron I found a lovely patch in very sandy soil near an abandoned airport. There was a woman there picking them with the cutest beagle I've ever seen. Totally adorable. The blueberries there were as good as I've ever picked and very prolific. I have a date with a friend to go up to Bancroft and harvest them this fall. He's also hot on wild cranberries. Not a big fan of cranberries but I've never picked them in the wild.
As for the book you reviewed, I didn't really look at the book after reading your thoughts on it. It was a little disappointing, the subject is certainly an interesting one.
Regarding your research in general, you certainly pour your heart and soul into creating a body of research Gavin, but they are heavy reads. If a body of research is your goal then you are on track, if subscribers is what you want you should pare them down by half so they aren't such a big investment in time for your readers. IMHO.
I can relate to your wild vs cultivated observation though I have found that there are tricks to make cultivars pump out some very vibrantly flavored (and high ORAC Rating) berries as well. That being said, I think there is more at play regarding the variables that result in wild foods offering that something extra, that soul hunger quenching nourishment and that experience beyond words which so many wild foods do, beyond just perfect soil conditions or ideal genetics. After all, food is also imbued with Chi (life force energy) and the quality and potency of that energy is influenced by the energy of the place where it grows.
Thus, even the most perfectly balanced soil (aligned with PH for blueberries ideal range, with good calcium and magnesium levels for fruit formation, symbiotic fungi introduced, lots of humus for moisture retention and even hydrated soil etc) cannot contend with blueberries that grew on the side of a mountain made out of quartz crystal that was bathed in starlight for millions of years, while being slowly dissolved over millennia via glaciers, one hundred thousand years of Lichen gently dissolving the stone into it's constituent atoms, allowing for the beginnings of soil to form, ten million rain storms shaping the landscape to create soil holding spaces, one hundred million bears walking over the stone with their claws over countless generations, leaving their soil building manure and a symphony of plant species that were orchestrated by the conscious mind of the living earth that grow along side those blueberries, in perfect balance, as that place imbues the wild berries that grow there with exceptional Chi (as well as all the molecular components that make the physical plant healthy).
Have you ever been to Killarney provincial park on Lake Huron? The scene I describe in the paragraph above exists there.
One time I was foraging for blue berries along side a black bear up in that park and tasted some of the most amazing berries I have ever had. the bear and I were both grateful to have such a feast that day and happy to share the patch with each other.
I appreciate your candid observation about the length of this post (and many others I have published in the past) and the inevitable result that it will deter many people from reading the posts (and perhaps deter them from subscribing, or maybe even motivate them to want to unsubscribe).
To be honest though, I am less interested in accruing subscribers as I am in fully expressing what I know to be the truth, and doing so in a way that can offer the highest potential to empower those who are willing to be able to use that information to improve not only the quality of their own lives, but also to nourish the ecosystem that sustains them, and beyond that to take actions that nourish future generations. In my experience, such work does not easily fit into the constricting limitations of social media character counts or endless scrolling consumer attention spans. Alas, while I do want to help those who have been pulled into a routine, psychology and proclivity that involves short attention grabbing snippets of online material, I do not feel I can cater to their preferences while also being true to myself and doing a service to those that want the more in depth explorations I feel moved to provide.
This may (as you allude) result in less subscribers (though I have seen a steady increase in subs despite my often voluminous posts) but it will let me sleep well at night in the knowing I did my best to share my gifts with this world in their fullest form, in the hopes that I might light the same spark of love for the more than human world, and the curiosity to learn from our elder species and the sheer awe that has come to life in my heart and mind as I fully embrace my role as an apprentice to the living Earth.
Thanks again for the thoughtful comment my friend.
By the way, here are some pics I took on one of my trips to that park filled with mountains made of Quarts crystal, with thousands of acres covered in blueberries and black bears roaming happily that I mentioned above:
That then begs the question, if the berries are planted and fertilized by bears are they cultivated? or "wild"? Or what about if a human was to throw sow seeds on the mountain side adjacent to their property and the forces of nature carried them forward beyond that initial act to produce berries? Are those "cultivated"? or "wild"? What exactly makes something "wild"? Is it a lack of human involvement? or the setting in which they grow? Or some other set of variables?
Gavin, thank you for these insights and lending your perspectives and experience to the topic! While I was impressed with the quality of the book, the nice photos and easy organizing style, I had noticed a few of the same things you have, so your work confirmed my thoughts and as well as added a lot and has given me some more avenues for research. In particular, the latest in the bioengineered seeds, which is a subject I find so dense and incomprehensible it would’ve really been an essential section of a book that calls itself “The Complete Guide”.
I agree that the authors seem to try to awkwardly straddle an academic or institutionalized mindset into a book meant more for the layman, or generalist. In some cases I’d have been totally put off saving seeds after reading their descriptions. I haven’t been seed-saving that long, about 4 years in many cases. Tomatoes and peppers and all the herbs and easy ones like okra are how I started, and in the book it says tomatoes and peppers should be isolated by 1/2 mile if cross-pollination is a concern. I plant mine all together and save the seed and I’ve had no cross-pollination. I wonder how many folks who would buy this book have that much land?
Anyway, I am glad to have the book on hand for future reference and I very much appreciate your efforts and thoughts! I know we’ve got the soil book next, which I’ve yet to purchase, so I best get on that. In future, would you also consider a book about breeding? And also about propagation? Or maybe those would be in the same book. I have one that is very popular by the American Horticultural Society, but I’ve not had any good luck yet using the methods there. Could be my lack of experience. But I don’t give up! 😁
(On another note, I remember you asked me a question about a previous comment concerning US landowners and the neighboring ones I know ‘donating’ their land to ‘re-wilding’ projects. I’d like to compile some evidence before I reply and I hope I will soon have the time for that, I think it’s worthwhile, so thank you for the prompt there and more to come!)
Michelle,
I appreciate the in depth comment.
You make some great points regarding the infeasibility of typical isolation distances for most people and the importance of the totally omitted info regarding genetically "engineered" (aka genetically contaminated/toxic) seeds.
Yes, while I was put off by some of the book there are aspects that are helpful, I will just cross reference at least three other books before trusting their suggestions given how bad (inaccurate and likely to result in low to zero viablility seeds) of advice they gave on apple and paw paw seeds in the book.
I am pretty excited about the soil book as despite it not being published recently it seems more aimed at assessing soil with beneficial biological aspects as a central focus ("terrain theory" minded in how it looks at soil and less "germ theory" minded). I have only glanced at a couple pages so far but liking what I am seeing so far. Only thing I have come across so far that (which is more a linguistics and timing thing more than a philosophical/content based criticism) is the soil book's apparent favoring of the word "sustainable" (for describing ideal soil care practices). I mean, a lot more greenwashing and propaganda surrounding that word has happened since they published the book so it is understandable, but as you know, the UN (ONE HEALTH) etc attacks on humanity and the living Earth are all over that word (sustainable) now. But ya, I am looking forward to exploring the book more in the next couple months.
I like your suggestions for book topics, I will take those into consideration for the future book club topics.
Thanks for letting me know about the "re-wilding" research, I agree it is worthwhile.
I appreciate your input and you taking the time to share your thoughts.
Great review! Academics know which side their bread is buttered on.
Thank you! I appreciate your taking the time to comment.
As a general rule, sadly, I have found your statement regarding the purchasability and mercenary qualities of mainstream academics to be accurate. There are exceptions to the rule, though, especially now (in post mRNA injection cult days) most of the free thinkers, courageous individuals and honest truth seekers have been squeezed out of such institutions.
Julie Ponesse is one such exception to that rule, though, through her choice to choose integrity over compliance with tyranny and capitulation to corporate edicts (handed down through government mandates) she no longer holds her tenure as an ethics prof. Such is the society we live in where the dominant institutions covet compliance and uniformity. That is one of the reasons I avoided such places and chose a path of autodidacticism instead.
Thanks again for sharing your thoughts.
I am familiar with Julie Ponesse. My intention was not to paint all academics with an overly broad brush, but I tried to get all the way through that seed saving book and did not succeed because I kept getting stopped in my tracks by what I perceived as an entrenched orthodoxy from which I am trying to break away. Beautifully produced books ate very seductive to me, so I was doubly disappointed.
I agree about beautifully produced books.
He has three books on blueberries.
Ya, I had not actually looked at his full bibliography until reading your comment but it looks like you are right. I can (maybe) understand one book on blueberries (with several revised editions perhaps as one discovers new techniques and info on the species through hands on experience over the years) if one really loves them, but three books on the same species??
I am quite enthusiastic about blueberries (I grow about 7 varieties in our garden and I love cooking and creating in the kitchen with them) but I would write an entire chapter on them max, not an entire book.
What are your thoughts on the fact that the guy has published so much material on that one species?
Also, what are your thoughts on the book I reviewed above in general?
Thanks for the comment my friend.
I skimmed one of his books on blueberries. I did learn a few things. I love blueberries, and we can certainly have them. He says that blueberries were late to the game in being brought into cultivation because they are so prolific in the wild, which is certainly true. His data on cultivation, high bush vs low bush hybrids created large blueberries 1.5 cm and larger. He says that they had a lovely flavour but that hasn't been my experience. Any blueberries I have found that are that large that I group into the 'cultivated' group have been sorely lacking in flavour. Some things that I found interesting that certainly ring true is that blueberries thrive in poor soil and that they have a fungus that grows on the roots in a likely symbiotic relationship that he had no explanation for. Blueberries do poorly in what would otherwise be good soil. So my experience and his research don't jive where it concerns flavour in blueberries. It would be lovely to be wrong and sort out how to grow tasty blueberries that large.
A couple years ago up above lake Huron I found a lovely patch in very sandy soil near an abandoned airport. There was a woman there picking them with the cutest beagle I've ever seen. Totally adorable. The blueberries there were as good as I've ever picked and very prolific. I have a date with a friend to go up to Bancroft and harvest them this fall. He's also hot on wild cranberries. Not a big fan of cranberries but I've never picked them in the wild.
As for the book you reviewed, I didn't really look at the book after reading your thoughts on it. It was a little disappointing, the subject is certainly an interesting one.
Regarding your research in general, you certainly pour your heart and soul into creating a body of research Gavin, but they are heavy reads. If a body of research is your goal then you are on track, if subscribers is what you want you should pare them down by half so they aren't such a big investment in time for your readers. IMHO.
Thanks for the in depth and candid comment.
I can relate to your wild vs cultivated observation though I have found that there are tricks to make cultivars pump out some very vibrantly flavored (and high ORAC Rating) berries as well. That being said, I think there is more at play regarding the variables that result in wild foods offering that something extra, that soul hunger quenching nourishment and that experience beyond words which so many wild foods do, beyond just perfect soil conditions or ideal genetics. After all, food is also imbued with Chi (life force energy) and the quality and potency of that energy is influenced by the energy of the place where it grows.
Thus, even the most perfectly balanced soil (aligned with PH for blueberries ideal range, with good calcium and magnesium levels for fruit formation, symbiotic fungi introduced, lots of humus for moisture retention and even hydrated soil etc) cannot contend with blueberries that grew on the side of a mountain made out of quartz crystal that was bathed in starlight for millions of years, while being slowly dissolved over millennia via glaciers, one hundred thousand years of Lichen gently dissolving the stone into it's constituent atoms, allowing for the beginnings of soil to form, ten million rain storms shaping the landscape to create soil holding spaces, one hundred million bears walking over the stone with their claws over countless generations, leaving their soil building manure and a symphony of plant species that were orchestrated by the conscious mind of the living earth that grow along side those blueberries, in perfect balance, as that place imbues the wild berries that grow there with exceptional Chi (as well as all the molecular components that make the physical plant healthy).
Have you ever been to Killarney provincial park on Lake Huron? The scene I describe in the paragraph above exists there.
One time I was foraging for blue berries along side a black bear up in that park and tasted some of the most amazing berries I have ever had. the bear and I were both grateful to have such a feast that day and happy to share the patch with each other.
I appreciate your candid observation about the length of this post (and many others I have published in the past) and the inevitable result that it will deter many people from reading the posts (and perhaps deter them from subscribing, or maybe even motivate them to want to unsubscribe).
To be honest though, I am less interested in accruing subscribers as I am in fully expressing what I know to be the truth, and doing so in a way that can offer the highest potential to empower those who are willing to be able to use that information to improve not only the quality of their own lives, but also to nourish the ecosystem that sustains them, and beyond that to take actions that nourish future generations. In my experience, such work does not easily fit into the constricting limitations of social media character counts or endless scrolling consumer attention spans. Alas, while I do want to help those who have been pulled into a routine, psychology and proclivity that involves short attention grabbing snippets of online material, I do not feel I can cater to their preferences while also being true to myself and doing a service to those that want the more in depth explorations I feel moved to provide.
This may (as you allude) result in less subscribers (though I have seen a steady increase in subs despite my often voluminous posts) but it will let me sleep well at night in the knowing I did my best to share my gifts with this world in their fullest form, in the hopes that I might light the same spark of love for the more than human world, and the curiosity to learn from our elder species and the sheer awe that has come to life in my heart and mind as I fully embrace my role as an apprentice to the living Earth.
Thanks again for the thoughtful comment my friend.
I'll stick to the wild blueberries then. I'm good with that.
By the way, here are some pics I took on one of my trips to that park filled with mountains made of Quarts crystal, with thousands of acres covered in blueberries and black bears roaming happily that I mentioned above:
https://archive.org/details/killarneyprovincialparkpics/DSCN7238.JPG
I've been all around it. I like Manitoulin Island, but haven't visited that park.
That then begs the question, if the berries are planted and fertilized by bears are they cultivated? or "wild"? Or what about if a human was to throw sow seeds on the mountain side adjacent to their property and the forces of nature carried them forward beyond that initial act to produce berries? Are those "cultivated"? or "wild"? What exactly makes something "wild"? Is it a lack of human involvement? or the setting in which they grow? Or some other set of variables?
If you think bears are cultivating blueberries then 'cultivation' is not an objective term.