I need to learn to use spell check, it exists for a reason, I should use it.
I should also slow down when writing a blog post so as not to make as many grammatical and punctuation errors.
Life is too busy for writing "proper" sometimes.
I love all of you and sorry for my terrible spelling. LOL.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Thanksgiving is coming!
Lots and lots of projects on the farm ongoing! Renovating the floor of the greenhouse and transforming it into a raised bed is going well, just waiting on another load of rotten sawdust and then I'll add a 4 x 4 x 4 container of composted chicken/turkey/guinea litter and a 4 x 4 x 4 container of refined worm castings and several good scoops of composted cow manure and a couple 50 lb. bags of dolomitic lime.
Spring will allow me to know if my experiment was worth while.
We have finally moved into the world of raising rabbits, mostly for meat for ourselves, but also for sale to the local area in the coming months. We have started with two Harlequins (one buck and one doe) and a couple of mutts of pretty good size. Hoping to pick up a mini-lop and Californian from a good friend of mine. I built one 8 food 3 chambered hutch and a second six foot two chambered grow out hutch along with scraping together two 3 foot grow out hutches, I've already breed the 3 does and am hoping to see the results soon! Pictures will be posted in coming days.
In other news, I finally got around to calling around and getting hold of the "Indiana food police" as I call them to ask about poultry regulations.
I can slaughter and kill 999 birds and sell direct to consumer here on farm or deliver directly to the consumers home. Good......next year the turkey business expands, the talk at the moment between Kim and myself is for 200 a year.
Of course, we will be hedging our bets on weather the corn strains I have developed will produce the much needed grain to raise and fatten these majestic animals, I see a one row corn picker and building a corn crib in my future to say the least. Next year I plan on having four acres of dent corn production. One planted to UK Tuxpeno, One planted to Backwater, One planted to Onedia, and one split between Bloody Butcher and Hopi Blue. These will be grown in isolation to prevent crossing as we will be experimenting with each corn in controlled feeding of the poultry in both it's cracked corn form as well as in mixtures made on farm, to determine which is the best for our purposes.
We will also start selling butchered chickens next season as well.
I went today and bought a nice set of processing knives and scisors for $40.00, the name brand is nothing spectacular and the knives were slightly used, but having worked for Cutco back in the day, I can guarantee these were made by that same company given their design.
Tomorrow I will be practicing my poultry processing skills on a few extra roosters before I move on to 3 turkeys on tues. or wed. next week just in time for Thanksgiving here and at Kim's parents house.
I'm also currently evaluating my seed strains and my breeding work and looking into starting a legitamate seed company next season. Nearly all the gaps in my seed stock are filled in minus just a couple brassica types that I've been unsuccessful in producing seed stock for in previous seasons, but there is always next season to perfect that skill.
Everyone be sure to check out the Homegrown Goodness message board when you have a few free minuites, lots of good information over there and now that cool weather is setting in we expect the site traffic to pick up once again.
Spring will allow me to know if my experiment was worth while.
We have finally moved into the world of raising rabbits, mostly for meat for ourselves, but also for sale to the local area in the coming months. We have started with two Harlequins (one buck and one doe) and a couple of mutts of pretty good size. Hoping to pick up a mini-lop and Californian from a good friend of mine. I built one 8 food 3 chambered hutch and a second six foot two chambered grow out hutch along with scraping together two 3 foot grow out hutches, I've already breed the 3 does and am hoping to see the results soon! Pictures will be posted in coming days.
In other news, I finally got around to calling around and getting hold of the "Indiana food police" as I call them to ask about poultry regulations.
I can slaughter and kill 999 birds and sell direct to consumer here on farm or deliver directly to the consumers home. Good......next year the turkey business expands, the talk at the moment between Kim and myself is for 200 a year.
Of course, we will be hedging our bets on weather the corn strains I have developed will produce the much needed grain to raise and fatten these majestic animals, I see a one row corn picker and building a corn crib in my future to say the least. Next year I plan on having four acres of dent corn production. One planted to UK Tuxpeno, One planted to Backwater, One planted to Onedia, and one split between Bloody Butcher and Hopi Blue. These will be grown in isolation to prevent crossing as we will be experimenting with each corn in controlled feeding of the poultry in both it's cracked corn form as well as in mixtures made on farm, to determine which is the best for our purposes.
We will also start selling butchered chickens next season as well.
I went today and bought a nice set of processing knives and scisors for $40.00, the name brand is nothing spectacular and the knives were slightly used, but having worked for Cutco back in the day, I can guarantee these were made by that same company given their design.
Tomorrow I will be practicing my poultry processing skills on a few extra roosters before I move on to 3 turkeys on tues. or wed. next week just in time for Thanksgiving here and at Kim's parents house.
I'm also currently evaluating my seed strains and my breeding work and looking into starting a legitamate seed company next season. Nearly all the gaps in my seed stock are filled in minus just a couple brassica types that I've been unsuccessful in producing seed stock for in previous seasons, but there is always next season to perfect that skill.
Everyone be sure to check out the Homegrown Goodness message board when you have a few free minuites, lots of good information over there and now that cool weather is setting in we expect the site traffic to pick up once again.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Hip-Gnosis: Edenic "Food Forrest" breeding project
Alongside the orchard which I am planning and planting at the moment I am also working on a veritable "Food Forrest" made up of mostly ungrafted fruiting trees, vines, and shrubs.
The back fence and subsequent dirt road of our woodlot here on the farm was filled with many old and decaying trees, young trees which were not of good quality, and a ton of wild black raspberry and multi-flora rose until the recent weeks.
Throughout the months of September/October while my colleagues Michael Lachaume and Tom Wagner (of Tater-Mater seed)over at Homegrown Goodness were in Europe (I was supposed to go, but personal responsibility got in the way) I took the time to clear this land which had once, not long ago even, been an open and fertile field. Only today was the project finished.
I recently moved one of the wood burning stoves from one of the greenhouses into a new small outbuilding behind the house and set it up to heat our house this winter in a bid to save on rising electric bills, as such the wood was needed and the free space this wood cutting provided was much appreciated for a new project.
Amongst the many things I am planning in this food Forrest are persimmon trees (I have collected seed from the very best of the local American varieties available to me including one outstanding variety with fruit nearly 3 inches across!) peaches, apples, crab apples, wild Kazakhstan apples, pears, plums, Asian plums, date plums, blueberries, orange/red/black/pink/purple blackberries, alpine strawberries and a ton of Tim Peters amazing perennial grain varieties including individual breeding plots.
This will be my veritable "Garden of Eden" so to speak. Here I will work for years and years and years keeping everything well organized and selecting for new fruiting varieties, work which sorely is needed in the world of agriculture. Many of the trees will produce nothing of value and will at some point become a point for grafting good cultivars onto or will become firewood, but some will produce quite good fruit and a very few may produce something excellent. All apples and pears can be used for cider and I very well know what to expect from persimmon seeds and berry plants started from cuttings and seeds. If no other purpose this will be prime hunting grounds for supplementing my income and diet in the future.
The Orchard will be close to 4 acres when all of the brush is burned off and will be made up of 6 rows of trees, two "groves" of plums and "persimmons" planted on the wet marginal land, a future pond for fish and irrigation of the farm purposes and the periphery of the project will be marked by brambles. On one side, the east, will be placed the many different cultivars of raspberries and blueberries I have collected. On the west side will be located "Iceberg" and "Snowbank" white blackberries as well as the infamous Lawton. These will be kept in check and kept from spreading by way of the bush hog. The understory of this food forest will be made up of breeding pools of non shattering and shattering perennial wheat, rye, and sorghum which I am working with courtesy of Tim Peters, many selection will be made here of these very important and impressive grains, some of which will in time be introduced to the farming and gardening public. I made it very clear to Tim that he can consider this farm a repository for all of his important work and is welcome to visit any time he wants.
The ground cover in this Edenic wonderland will be made up of various cultivars and hybrids of strawberries, most notably white and yellow alpines.
It's a big project and chances are I'll never see a dollar from it, but the peace of mind that I will have from this area will be worth more than any real "job" could ever pay me.
The back fence and subsequent dirt road of our woodlot here on the farm was filled with many old and decaying trees, young trees which were not of good quality, and a ton of wild black raspberry and multi-flora rose until the recent weeks.
Throughout the months of September/October while my colleagues Michael Lachaume and Tom Wagner (of Tater-Mater seed)over at Homegrown Goodness were in Europe (I was supposed to go, but personal responsibility got in the way) I took the time to clear this land which had once, not long ago even, been an open and fertile field. Only today was the project finished.
I recently moved one of the wood burning stoves from one of the greenhouses into a new small outbuilding behind the house and set it up to heat our house this winter in a bid to save on rising electric bills, as such the wood was needed and the free space this wood cutting provided was much appreciated for a new project.
Amongst the many things I am planning in this food Forrest are persimmon trees (I have collected seed from the very best of the local American varieties available to me including one outstanding variety with fruit nearly 3 inches across!) peaches, apples, crab apples, wild Kazakhstan apples, pears, plums, Asian plums, date plums, blueberries, orange/red/black/pink/purple blackberries, alpine strawberries and a ton of Tim Peters amazing perennial grain varieties including individual breeding plots.
This will be my veritable "Garden of Eden" so to speak. Here I will work for years and years and years keeping everything well organized and selecting for new fruiting varieties, work which sorely is needed in the world of agriculture. Many of the trees will produce nothing of value and will at some point become a point for grafting good cultivars onto or will become firewood, but some will produce quite good fruit and a very few may produce something excellent. All apples and pears can be used for cider and I very well know what to expect from persimmon seeds and berry plants started from cuttings and seeds. If no other purpose this will be prime hunting grounds for supplementing my income and diet in the future.
The Orchard will be close to 4 acres when all of the brush is burned off and will be made up of 6 rows of trees, two "groves" of plums and "persimmons" planted on the wet marginal land, a future pond for fish and irrigation of the farm purposes and the periphery of the project will be marked by brambles. On one side, the east, will be placed the many different cultivars of raspberries and blueberries I have collected. On the west side will be located "Iceberg" and "Snowbank" white blackberries as well as the infamous Lawton. These will be kept in check and kept from spreading by way of the bush hog. The understory of this food forest will be made up of breeding pools of non shattering and shattering perennial wheat, rye, and sorghum which I am working with courtesy of Tim Peters, many selection will be made here of these very important and impressive grains, some of which will in time be introduced to the farming and gardening public. I made it very clear to Tim that he can consider this farm a repository for all of his important work and is welcome to visit any time he wants.
The ground cover in this Edenic wonderland will be made up of various cultivars and hybrids of strawberries, most notably white and yellow alpines.
It's a big project and chances are I'll never see a dollar from it, but the peace of mind that I will have from this area will be worth more than any real "job" could ever pay me.
Back to the blog!
OK, cold weather has arrived and presumably at some point I'll be here on a regular basis!
I've been working hard the past two months to bring all of my projects together and start a few new ones.
Amongst the many projects that have kept me busy, the orchard(s) by far have been the most time consuming. I have been working hard to track down a number of cultivars of various varieties including the two very hard to find Burbank white blackberries, of which I have obtained "Iceberg" the first of the two, and am waiting to hear back from a new friend I made in California by the name of Bob Hornback who has located for me and is sending to me "Snowbank", or improved iceberg. These will be heavily propagated here on our little far, available as nursery stock, fruit, seeds, and available for sale and trade in coming years.
I have also been working on obtaining breeding material for perennial fruiting vines and trees and starting those, most of which require some degree of winter stratification. Of the many things I have been able to obtain I must think everyone who has helped me, sometimes tracking down this material is harder than it would seem, but via friends, expeditions into the local country side, and a few commercial sources I have located tons of persimmons, nuts, raspberries of all colors, blackberries, boysenberries, dew berries, apples, pears (including recessive red/purple fleshed material), peaches, apricots, plums, grapes and so many other things. Many of these will be placed in the "food Forrest" orchard I am working on at the moment, but some will be reserved for grafting projects as well.
I have also managed to locate via ARS GRIN a cache of seed of Kazakhstan wild apples and some scion wood from my friend Phillip Forsline at the New York, Geneva ARS. The scion wood is from that of elite varieties, those already tested for disease resistance/tolerance and for production and taste. The seed is a mixed genetic lot from those planted on Geneva's trial grounds several years back. I am so very excited to get to work with this very rare material from the motherland of the apple! Lot's of discovery to document I am sure.
I also had the strange luck of stumbling into the "pink lady" or "cripps pink" apple seeds germinating inside the apple experiment which I have read so much about in recent years......as we speak there are probably 100 seedlings in a south west facing window of the house.....many of these I will graft on to but some will be added to the "Food Forrest" for selection purposes.
My time has also been occupied filling seed orders and more well organizing my seed collection. The coming years will see the introduction and further stabilization of many Hip-Gnosis breeding projects and the balance of my seed production will be in selecting from the best of the rarest of those other varieties available to me. Regarding annual crops my work in coming years will focus mostly on field corns and their improvement, but there are a number of other very interesting projects at the forefront and close to release as well, from time to time these will be introduced as new Hip-Gnosis Seed Development varieties and offered here and at Homegrown Goodness.
I also lucked out late in the season and was able to locate five 7 week old Royal Palm turkeys to add to my breeding flock. Good healthy turkeys at that which have taken away to free ranging and are thriving in their new home. It was particularly important for me to find these lovely smaller turkeys for their genetics and my shortage of hens. At the moment they are too young to sex, but I am presuming that at least 2-3 of them will be tom turkeys with any luck! With these and the remainder of my flock I will now have access to all the genetic combinations available in color and size to an aspiring poultry breeder (minus midget white, which the genetics probably contributed to the diminutive Royal Palm anyhow). From here I can begin my breeding experiments next year with some amount of predilection when it comes to isolating pairs and making crosses. Narragansett, Royal Palm, Bourbon Red, Black Spanish, Bronze, Slate Blue, Norfolk Black are all amongst my flock now.
In the bit of spare time I have had I have taken up the hobby of squirrel and rabbit hunting to both supplement my diet (that's as free range and "organic" as it gets!) and to cut down on the pest problems here on the farm. I am constantly fighting a loosing battle with these pests when it comes to seedling trees, nut caches for trees, and growing sweet corn.....the freezer is quickly filling!
I have also taken it upon myself to set up and design a more appropriate and long term Bishop's Homegrown and Hip-Gnosis Seed Development web-site. Hopefully by December or January it will be finished and online, but we shall see!
I've been working hard the past two months to bring all of my projects together and start a few new ones.
Amongst the many projects that have kept me busy, the orchard(s) by far have been the most time consuming. I have been working hard to track down a number of cultivars of various varieties including the two very hard to find Burbank white blackberries, of which I have obtained "Iceberg" the first of the two, and am waiting to hear back from a new friend I made in California by the name of Bob Hornback who has located for me and is sending to me "Snowbank", or improved iceberg. These will be heavily propagated here on our little far, available as nursery stock, fruit, seeds, and available for sale and trade in coming years.
I have also been working on obtaining breeding material for perennial fruiting vines and trees and starting those, most of which require some degree of winter stratification. Of the many things I have been able to obtain I must think everyone who has helped me, sometimes tracking down this material is harder than it would seem, but via friends, expeditions into the local country side, and a few commercial sources I have located tons of persimmons, nuts, raspberries of all colors, blackberries, boysenberries, dew berries, apples, pears (including recessive red/purple fleshed material), peaches, apricots, plums, grapes and so many other things. Many of these will be placed in the "food Forrest" orchard I am working on at the moment, but some will be reserved for grafting projects as well.
I have also managed to locate via ARS GRIN a cache of seed of Kazakhstan wild apples and some scion wood from my friend Phillip Forsline at the New York, Geneva ARS. The scion wood is from that of elite varieties, those already tested for disease resistance/tolerance and for production and taste. The seed is a mixed genetic lot from those planted on Geneva's trial grounds several years back. I am so very excited to get to work with this very rare material from the motherland of the apple! Lot's of discovery to document I am sure.
I also had the strange luck of stumbling into the "pink lady" or "cripps pink" apple seeds germinating inside the apple experiment which I have read so much about in recent years......as we speak there are probably 100 seedlings in a south west facing window of the house.....many of these I will graft on to but some will be added to the "Food Forrest" for selection purposes.
My time has also been occupied filling seed orders and more well organizing my seed collection. The coming years will see the introduction and further stabilization of many Hip-Gnosis breeding projects and the balance of my seed production will be in selecting from the best of the rarest of those other varieties available to me. Regarding annual crops my work in coming years will focus mostly on field corns and their improvement, but there are a number of other very interesting projects at the forefront and close to release as well, from time to time these will be introduced as new Hip-Gnosis Seed Development varieties and offered here and at Homegrown Goodness.
I also lucked out late in the season and was able to locate five 7 week old Royal Palm turkeys to add to my breeding flock. Good healthy turkeys at that which have taken away to free ranging and are thriving in their new home. It was particularly important for me to find these lovely smaller turkeys for their genetics and my shortage of hens. At the moment they are too young to sex, but I am presuming that at least 2-3 of them will be tom turkeys with any luck! With these and the remainder of my flock I will now have access to all the genetic combinations available in color and size to an aspiring poultry breeder (minus midget white, which the genetics probably contributed to the diminutive Royal Palm anyhow). From here I can begin my breeding experiments next year with some amount of predilection when it comes to isolating pairs and making crosses. Narragansett, Royal Palm, Bourbon Red, Black Spanish, Bronze, Slate Blue, Norfolk Black are all amongst my flock now.
In the bit of spare time I have had I have taken up the hobby of squirrel and rabbit hunting to both supplement my diet (that's as free range and "organic" as it gets!) and to cut down on the pest problems here on the farm. I am constantly fighting a loosing battle with these pests when it comes to seedling trees, nut caches for trees, and growing sweet corn.....the freezer is quickly filling!
I have also taken it upon myself to set up and design a more appropriate and long term Bishop's Homegrown and Hip-Gnosis Seed Development web-site. Hopefully by December or January it will be finished and online, but we shall see!
Friday, October 16, 2009
Hip-Gnosis 2010 Seed List
Seed List 2010 (available seed)
Hip-Gnosis Seed Development List of Available Seed 2009
First a quick introduction to the Hip-Gnosis Seed Development Project:
Hip-Gnosis is a continuing endeavor to re-introduce old Open Pollinated food and flower crops as well as all new unique cultivars and seed mixes to the gardening public. Hip-Gnosis started out as an offshoot of our produce business called “Bishop’s Homegrown” and it is through “Bishop’s Homegrown” that we have introduced many of these new and old and unique crops to our farmer’s market customers with great success and acclaim. We continuously select (year round) for new adaptations, unique colors, and higher nutritional content as well as taste and performance in our seed crops. Many of our seeds are unique breeding lines that will allow the home gardener to select for what they like and need in their own unique micro-climate conditions as well as in taste and color. Hip-Gnosis Seed Development operates now as a unique collective of seed growers and plant breeders working and trading together on the homegrown goodness message board (http://alanbishop.proboards60.com) where many of our varieties can be traded and bartered for (both from us and from other members). As always, all of our seed is public domain property and as such should be traded and allowed to continue its regional expansions into new territories for new selections and strains. We openly encourage everyone to share these special seeds far and wide. Many of the genes present in our crosses have been selected and preserved for hundreds and sometimes thousands of years by enterprising gardeners, farming cultures, and unique people all over the world. We hope to continue that trend with these seeds. These seeds are not for the taking by multi-national seed and bio-tech companies which we fight tooth and nail. More information on what we do can be found on our blog site at http://homegrowngoodness.blogspot.com along with links to more of our products, you can also check out and edit (after growing of course), the individual pages for our crops over at http://hipgnosisseed.wikispaces.com/ (still undergoing construction). Don’t be afraid to contact us for trades as we love to trade seeds and other natural goods! You can contact us at any time at:
Alan Bishop
5604 S. State Rd. 60
Pekin IN 47165
1-812-967-2073
bishopshomegrown@gmail.com
The short list.
This list of available cultivars encapsulates most of what we will be offering for fall 2009 and spring 2010. The list is a bit short this year as we have been re-evaluating certain crops and experimenting with new crops as well as re-tooling our work and selecting towards Open Pollinated status with many of our lines. 2011 will see the release of over 20 new open pollinated lines if we play our cards right, so we decided to focus on that line of research this year as opposed to simple seed increase. All seed has been grown “Eco-Logically” (read organic without certification) on our farm without the use of inorganic sprays or pesticides and for the most part using resources found within only 5 miles of our farm including compost, worm castings, and other natural fertilizers.
It is important to note that we do not sale seeds as our seeds do not necessarily meet the requirements of our state or national seed laws. Many of our seeds are made up of mixes, are segregating hybrid populations, or are otherwise intended for home garden use and experimentation. Packets may be requested for a $3.00 shiping cost per packet of seed or $20 for 10 listings. As such you are paying a small donation for our packaging and shipping costs and the seeds are simply a free gift. Of course as always we love to trade, so contact us with your trades if you’re interested. We are particularly on the lookout this year for fruit genetics including seeds and cuttings. Seed can be rquested by mail with a check or well secured cash (and list of what you want) mailed to:
Alan Bishop
5604 S. State Rd. 60
Pekin In 47165
Make checks and money orders payable to Alan Bishop.
Have You Got It Yet Tomato Seed Mix- All original mix of 5 “saladette” type tomatoes bred by Alan Bishop. 3-5 ounces. Including Red-Mer De Noms, Black-La Mer Noir, Black and Green Striped-La Luna, Yellow-Le Soliel, and a new Orange cultivar that is as of yet unnamed. Some are still segregating. All are delicious. Great for Farmers Markets and children. Collection named after a legendary song by Syd Barrett.
Two Headed Dog Sweet Corn - The first of many OP selections of Astronomy Domine Sweet Corn parentage. A 70 day Bi-color sweet which is fairly productive with good strong stalks, good tip fill, and old fashioned corn flavor. Named after a Roky Erickson song, this corn becomes dual purpose, drying down to an Anthocyanin rich blood red color for grinding or feed. Seed is limited.
Zinnia “Color Wheel” Mix - A wide genetically variable mix of beautiful zinnia flowers of all types. Great for field borders and beneficial insect refuge, good for cut flowers as well!
Jack White Tomato - Another of our unique new OP tomatoes. Jack white is a stabilized cross between White Beauty and White Tomesol, gaining the love of white tomato haters everywhere for it’s unique and delicious taste when compared to other white tomatoes. Named after Jack White, lead singer of the White Stripes band.
Saucerfull of Secrets Sunflower Mix- From our genetics and those of Alan Kapuler/Peace Seeds. A very nice mix of tall stemmed sunflowers of various colors and combinations including teddy bear types. Very pretty!
Paste Tomato Mix - A mix of white, yellow, orange, pink, red, green when ripe, and purple paste (roma type) tomatoes. Great for farmers market. Create unique sauces and salsas. If you love canning tomatoes or fresh pasta sauce give these a go, you will not be disappointed but you will be surprised.
Tobacco “Sacramental Mix” - A mass cross of various types of tobaccos. Includes Burley Types, Madole, Orinoco types, Havannah Types and many more. Beautiful as a landscape plant. Makes a wide spectrum insecticide as well as a useful trade item.
University of Kentucky Tuxpeno Corn - A bi-color (yellow and white) Dent corn bred at the University of Kentucky and sent to us by our friend Jim Culpepper. Large stalks, late season, medium sized and well filled ears, usually 2 - 3 ears to a plant. High protein, great for culinary use or animal feed. Very productive and beautiful corn with a rich genetic history.
Rollercoaster Cherry Tomato Mix-Like cherry Tomatoes, then this mix is for you! 60 varieties in the mix. Different colors including white, yellow, orange, bi-color, green when ripe, red, black/purple. Pear and currants, wild types, lots of rarities! Plenty for everyone to enjoy!
Rutgeurs Tomato (Bishop's strain)- One of the many seed accessions given to me by my paternal grandmother who owned the farm that is now Bishop's Homegrown. Grown for years and selected by my grandmother and grandfather, Father and Mother, and now myself.
Red Tomato Mix - From our gene pool of red tomato types. This is great for those looking for diversity, thinking about breeding, or looking for a winner in their climate. Over 80 types.
Yellow/Orange Tomato Mix - Same as above, but yellow/orange.
Pink Tomato Mix - This one is the real winner in our opinion. We think you will enjoy a lot of these and find them worth merit.
Blue Tomato - Yeah, it’s that blue tomato. The experimental one bred by Jim Meyers of OSU. High Anthocyanin, breeding stock for future tomato lines. Makes a nice juice tomato as well. This one is for trade only.
Winter Squash Mix - Highly vining and mostly large fruited C. Maxima, C. Moschata, and C. Mixta varieties of acclaim. Great for pies and baking. Lots of diversity and something for everyone!
True Platinum Sweet Corn - The work of Alan Kapuler, an open pollinated SU corn with whitish-yellow kernels. A pure classic!
True Gold Sweet Corn - Another Alan Kapuler original. Similar to above but yellow with a buttery type taste. An OP selection of Jubilee, truly a winner!
We do accept money orders, checks and well concealed cash as well, sent to:
Alan Bishop
5604 S. State Rd. 60
Pekin IN 47165
Hip-Gnosis Seed Development List of Available Seed 2009
First a quick introduction to the Hip-Gnosis Seed Development Project:
Hip-Gnosis is a continuing endeavor to re-introduce old Open Pollinated food and flower crops as well as all new unique cultivars and seed mixes to the gardening public. Hip-Gnosis started out as an offshoot of our produce business called “Bishop’s Homegrown” and it is through “Bishop’s Homegrown” that we have introduced many of these new and old and unique crops to our farmer’s market customers with great success and acclaim. We continuously select (year round) for new adaptations, unique colors, and higher nutritional content as well as taste and performance in our seed crops. Many of our seeds are unique breeding lines that will allow the home gardener to select for what they like and need in their own unique micro-climate conditions as well as in taste and color. Hip-Gnosis Seed Development operates now as a unique collective of seed growers and plant breeders working and trading together on the homegrown goodness message board (http://alanbishop.proboards60.com) where many of our varieties can be traded and bartered for (both from us and from other members). As always, all of our seed is public domain property and as such should be traded and allowed to continue its regional expansions into new territories for new selections and strains. We openly encourage everyone to share these special seeds far and wide. Many of the genes present in our crosses have been selected and preserved for hundreds and sometimes thousands of years by enterprising gardeners, farming cultures, and unique people all over the world. We hope to continue that trend with these seeds. These seeds are not for the taking by multi-national seed and bio-tech companies which we fight tooth and nail. More information on what we do can be found on our blog site at http://homegrowngoodness.blogspot.com along with links to more of our products, you can also check out and edit (after growing of course), the individual pages for our crops over at http://hipgnosisseed.wikispaces.com/ (still undergoing construction). Don’t be afraid to contact us for trades as we love to trade seeds and other natural goods! You can contact us at any time at:
Alan Bishop
5604 S. State Rd. 60
Pekin IN 47165
1-812-967-2073
bishopshomegrown@gmail.com
The short list.
This list of available cultivars encapsulates most of what we will be offering for fall 2009 and spring 2010. The list is a bit short this year as we have been re-evaluating certain crops and experimenting with new crops as well as re-tooling our work and selecting towards Open Pollinated status with many of our lines. 2011 will see the release of over 20 new open pollinated lines if we play our cards right, so we decided to focus on that line of research this year as opposed to simple seed increase. All seed has been grown “Eco-Logically” (read organic without certification) on our farm without the use of inorganic sprays or pesticides and for the most part using resources found within only 5 miles of our farm including compost, worm castings, and other natural fertilizers.
It is important to note that we do not sale seeds as our seeds do not necessarily meet the requirements of our state or national seed laws. Many of our seeds are made up of mixes, are segregating hybrid populations, or are otherwise intended for home garden use and experimentation. Packets may be requested for a $3.00 shiping cost per packet of seed or $20 for 10 listings. As such you are paying a small donation for our packaging and shipping costs and the seeds are simply a free gift. Of course as always we love to trade, so contact us with your trades if you’re interested. We are particularly on the lookout this year for fruit genetics including seeds and cuttings. Seed can be rquested by mail with a check or well secured cash (and list of what you want) mailed to:
Alan Bishop
5604 S. State Rd. 60
Pekin In 47165
Make checks and money orders payable to Alan Bishop.
Have You Got It Yet Tomato Seed Mix- All original mix of 5 “saladette” type tomatoes bred by Alan Bishop. 3-5 ounces. Including Red-Mer De Noms, Black-La Mer Noir, Black and Green Striped-La Luna, Yellow-Le Soliel, and a new Orange cultivar that is as of yet unnamed. Some are still segregating. All are delicious. Great for Farmers Markets and children. Collection named after a legendary song by Syd Barrett.
Two Headed Dog Sweet Corn - The first of many OP selections of Astronomy Domine Sweet Corn parentage. A 70 day Bi-color sweet which is fairly productive with good strong stalks, good tip fill, and old fashioned corn flavor. Named after a Roky Erickson song, this corn becomes dual purpose, drying down to an Anthocyanin rich blood red color for grinding or feed. Seed is limited.
Zinnia “Color Wheel” Mix - A wide genetically variable mix of beautiful zinnia flowers of all types. Great for field borders and beneficial insect refuge, good for cut flowers as well!
Jack White Tomato - Another of our unique new OP tomatoes. Jack white is a stabilized cross between White Beauty and White Tomesol, gaining the love of white tomato haters everywhere for it’s unique and delicious taste when compared to other white tomatoes. Named after Jack White, lead singer of the White Stripes band.
Saucerfull of Secrets Sunflower Mix- From our genetics and those of Alan Kapuler/Peace Seeds. A very nice mix of tall stemmed sunflowers of various colors and combinations including teddy bear types. Very pretty!
Paste Tomato Mix - A mix of white, yellow, orange, pink, red, green when ripe, and purple paste (roma type) tomatoes. Great for farmers market. Create unique sauces and salsas. If you love canning tomatoes or fresh pasta sauce give these a go, you will not be disappointed but you will be surprised.
Tobacco “Sacramental Mix” - A mass cross of various types of tobaccos. Includes Burley Types, Madole, Orinoco types, Havannah Types and many more. Beautiful as a landscape plant. Makes a wide spectrum insecticide as well as a useful trade item.
University of Kentucky Tuxpeno Corn - A bi-color (yellow and white) Dent corn bred at the University of Kentucky and sent to us by our friend Jim Culpepper. Large stalks, late season, medium sized and well filled ears, usually 2 - 3 ears to a plant. High protein, great for culinary use or animal feed. Very productive and beautiful corn with a rich genetic history.
Rollercoaster Cherry Tomato Mix-Like cherry Tomatoes, then this mix is for you! 60 varieties in the mix. Different colors including white, yellow, orange, bi-color, green when ripe, red, black/purple. Pear and currants, wild types, lots of rarities! Plenty for everyone to enjoy!
Rutgeurs Tomato (Bishop's strain)- One of the many seed accessions given to me by my paternal grandmother who owned the farm that is now Bishop's Homegrown. Grown for years and selected by my grandmother and grandfather, Father and Mother, and now myself.
Red Tomato Mix - From our gene pool of red tomato types. This is great for those looking for diversity, thinking about breeding, or looking for a winner in their climate. Over 80 types.
Yellow/Orange Tomato Mix - Same as above, but yellow/orange.
Pink Tomato Mix - This one is the real winner in our opinion. We think you will enjoy a lot of these and find them worth merit.
Blue Tomato - Yeah, it’s that blue tomato. The experimental one bred by Jim Meyers of OSU. High Anthocyanin, breeding stock for future tomato lines. Makes a nice juice tomato as well. This one is for trade only.
Winter Squash Mix - Highly vining and mostly large fruited C. Maxima, C. Moschata, and C. Mixta varieties of acclaim. Great for pies and baking. Lots of diversity and something for everyone!
True Platinum Sweet Corn - The work of Alan Kapuler, an open pollinated SU corn with whitish-yellow kernels. A pure classic!
True Gold Sweet Corn - Another Alan Kapuler original. Similar to above but yellow with a buttery type taste. An OP selection of Jubilee, truly a winner!
We do accept money orders, checks and well concealed cash as well, sent to:
Alan Bishop
5604 S. State Rd. 60
Pekin IN 47165
Friday, October 9, 2009
Michael Pollan possibly a hypocrite?
Although I am excited about the Botany of Desire documentary (mostly due to the subject of Khazakistan wild apples as well as the section on Marijuana, as well as an appearance by Phillip Forsline of ARS GRIN Geneva) I have always questioned Michael ...Pollan, and now more than ever, I'm thinking he is just another tool. Now he suddenly supports "open source" genetic engineering...absolutely not....playing god/artifically manipulating DNA is not our place.
The Botany Of Desire documentary trailer:
The Botany Of Desire documentary trailer:
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Kazakhstan Wild Apples
After posting my "happy birthday johnny Appleseed" article here and over at the Homegrown Goodness forum our good friend Jason Carty and some other fine folks were kind enough to pass some information onto me regarding some apple diversity having come from Kazakhstan which is the motherland of our apples.
Apparently Michael Pollan (spelling?) had written about this diversity in his book "The Botany of Desire" which I have not yet had an opportunity to purchase or read.
Anyhow, given the morsels of information left on my blog regarding disease resistance and wide genetic diversity of the "apple Forrest's" apparently dotting the land in Kazakhstan I immediately started googling for images and information and found lots of information, one thing in particular that I found was a source for seed and scion wood via a friend of ours at USDA ARS GRIN Geneva New York.
Phillip Forsline who was kind enough to share many budwood apple cuttings with me this season was kind enough to also speak with me on the phone regarding this diversity and I was able to place a request and will subsequently obtain some seed from the Kazakhstan stock planted a Geneva, now these will obviously all be crosses between the Kazakhstan apples that Geneva has grown from seed as the actual seed from Kazakhstan which was collected there is being held for Universities and Professional breeders which I find respectable for sure. Anyhow, I'll be receiving this seed in November and some Scion wood of some "elite" varieties come next spring. Some of these apple varieties will be pretty useless taste wise no doubt and given the plantings proximity to Malus Domestica at Geneva I expect some crosses will not contain pure Kazakhstan wild apple genes, but that just makes the shuffling of the deck all that much more fun!
Anyhow, the exciting news in all of this is that some of these apples are proven winners with supermarket qualities already expressing themselves in the wild apple forests of their homeland. Many have interesting disease resistance which is lacking in much of our domestic apple diversity (not really very diverse at all if you look into the history of the apple). And many also contain interesting protein compounds leading to the development of interesting flesh colors.
Pretty cool If I do say so myself!
If you get a chance this week do some google searching and read a bit about these wild apples and this diversity that needs to be saved!
Apparently Michael Pollan (spelling?) had written about this diversity in his book "The Botany of Desire" which I have not yet had an opportunity to purchase or read.
Anyhow, given the morsels of information left on my blog regarding disease resistance and wide genetic diversity of the "apple Forrest's" apparently dotting the land in Kazakhstan I immediately started googling for images and information and found lots of information, one thing in particular that I found was a source for seed and scion wood via a friend of ours at USDA ARS GRIN Geneva New York.
Phillip Forsline who was kind enough to share many budwood apple cuttings with me this season was kind enough to also speak with me on the phone regarding this diversity and I was able to place a request and will subsequently obtain some seed from the Kazakhstan stock planted a Geneva, now these will obviously all be crosses between the Kazakhstan apples that Geneva has grown from seed as the actual seed from Kazakhstan which was collected there is being held for Universities and Professional breeders which I find respectable for sure. Anyhow, I'll be receiving this seed in November and some Scion wood of some "elite" varieties come next spring. Some of these apple varieties will be pretty useless taste wise no doubt and given the plantings proximity to Malus Domestica at Geneva I expect some crosses will not contain pure Kazakhstan wild apple genes, but that just makes the shuffling of the deck all that much more fun!
Anyhow, the exciting news in all of this is that some of these apples are proven winners with supermarket qualities already expressing themselves in the wild apple forests of their homeland. Many have interesting disease resistance which is lacking in much of our domestic apple diversity (not really very diverse at all if you look into the history of the apple). And many also contain interesting protein compounds leading to the development of interesting flesh colors.
Pretty cool If I do say so myself!
If you get a chance this week do some google searching and read a bit about these wild apples and this diversity that needs to be saved!
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