Pandora's Seed

Pandora's Seed
Author: Spencer Wells
Publisher: Random House
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2010-06-08
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0679603743

Ten thousand years ago, our species made a radical shift in its way of life: We became farmers rather than hunter-gatherers. Although this decision propelled us into the modern world, renowned geneticist and anthropologist Spencer Wells demonstrates that such a dramatic change in lifestyle had a downside that we’re only now beginning to recognize. Growing grain crops ultimately made humans more sedentary and unhealthy and made the planet more crowded. The expanding population and the need to apportion limited resources created hierarchies and inequalities. Freedom of movement was replaced by a pressure to work that is the forebear of the anxiety millions feel today. Spencer Wells offers a hopeful prescription for altering a life to which we were always ill-suited. Pandora’s Seed is an eye-opening book for anyone fascinated by the past and concerned about the future.

The Triumph of Seeds

The Triumph of Seeds
Author: Thor Hanson
Publisher: Basic Books
Total Pages: 321
Release: 2015-03-24
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 0465048722

As seen on PBS's American Spring LIVE, the award-winning author of Buzz and Feathers presents a natural and human history of seeds, the marvels of the plant kingdom. "The genius of Hanson's fascinating, inspiring, and entertaining book stems from the fact that it is not about how all kinds of things grow from seeds; it is about the seeds themselves." -- Mark Kurlansky, New York Times Book Review We live in a world of seeds. From our morning toast to the cotton in our clothes, they are quite literally the stuff and staff of life: supporting diets, economies, and civilizations around the globe. Just as the search for nutmeg and pepper drove the Age of Discovery, coffee beans fueled the Enlightenment and cottonseed sparked the Industrial Revolution. Seeds are fundamental objects of beauty, evolutionary wonders, and simple fascinations. Yet, despite their importance, seeds are often seen as commonplace, their extraordinary natural and human histories overlooked. Thanks to this stunning new book, they can be overlooked no more. This is a book of knowledge, adventure, and wonder, spun by an award-winning writer with both the charm of a fireside story-teller and the hard-won expertise of a field biologist. A fascinating scientific adventure, it is essential reading for anyone who loves to see a plant grow.

The Seed Keeper

The Seed Keeper
Author: Diane Wilson
Publisher: Milkweed Editions
Total Pages: 240
Release: 2021-03-09
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1571317325

A haunting novel spanning several generations, The Seed Keeper follows a Dakhóta family’s struggle to preserve their way of life, and their sacrifices to protect what matters most. Rosalie Iron Wing has grown up in the woods with her father, Ray, a former science teacher who tells her stories of plants, of the stars, of the origins of the Dakhóta people. Until, one morning, Ray doesn’t return from checking his traps. Told she has no family, Rosalie is sent to live with a foster family in nearby Mankato—where the reserved, bookish teenager meets rebellious Gaby Makespeace, in a friendship that transcends the damaged legacies they’ve inherited. On a winter’s day many years later, Rosalie returns to her childhood home. A widow and mother, she has spent the previous two decades on her white husband’s farm, finding solace in her garden even as the farm is threatened first by drought and then by a predatory chemical company. Now, grieving, Rosalie begins to confront the past, on a search for family, identity, and a community where she can finally belong. In the process, she learns what it means to be descended from women with souls of iron—women who have protected their families, their traditions, and a precious cache of seeds through generations of hardship and loss, through war and the insidious trauma of boarding schools. Weaving together the voices of four indelible women, The Seed Keeper is a beautifully told story of reawakening, of remembering our original relationship to the seeds and, through them, to our ancestors.

Enduring Seeds

Enduring Seeds
Author: Gary Paul Nabhan
Publisher: University of Arizona Press
Total Pages: 260
Release: 2002-10
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 9780816522590

As biological diversity continues to shrink at an alarming rate, the loss of plant species poses a threat seemingly less visible than the loss of animals but in many ways more critical. In this book, one of America's leading ethnobotanists warns about our loss of natural vegetation and plant diversity while providing insights into traditional Native agricultural practices in the Americas. Gary Paul Nabhan here reveals the rich diversity of plants found in tropical forests and their contribution to modern crops, then tells how this diversity is being lost to agriculture and lumbering. He then relates "local parables" of Native American agriculture—from wild rice in the Great Lakes region to wild gourds in Florida—that convey the urgency of this situation and demonstrate the need for saving the seeds of endangered plants. Nabhan stresses the need for maintaining a wide gene pool, not only for the survival of these species but also for the preservation of genetic strains that can help scientists breed more resilient varieties of other plants. Enduring Seeds is a book that no one concerned with our environment can afford to ignore. It clearly shows us that, as agribusiness increasingly limits the food on our table, a richer harvest can be had by preserving ancient ways. This edition features a new foreword by Miguel Altieri, one of today's leading spokesmen for sustainable agriculture and the preservation of indigenous farming methods.

The Prairie Homestead Cookbook

The Prairie Homestead Cookbook
Author: Jill Winger
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Total Pages: 384
Release: 2019-04-02
Genre: Cooking
ISBN: 1250305942

Jill Winger, creator of the award-winning blog The Prairie Homestead, introduces her debut The Prairie Homestead Cookbook, including 100+ delicious, wholesome recipes made with fresh ingredients to bring the flavors and spirit of homestead cooking to any kitchen table. With a foreword by bestselling author Joel Salatin The Pioneer Woman Cooks meets 100 Days of Real Food, on the Wyoming prairie. While Jill produces much of her own food on her Wyoming ranch, you don’t have to grow all—or even any—of your own food to cook and eat like a homesteader. Jill teaches people how to make delicious traditional American comfort food recipes with whole ingredients and shows that you don’t have to use obscure items to enjoy this lifestyle. And as a busy mother of three, Jill knows how to make recipes easy and delicious for all ages. "Jill takes you on an insightful and delicious journey of becoming a homesteader. This book is packed with so much easy to follow, practical, hands-on information about steps you can take towards integrating homesteading into your life. It is packed full of exciting and mouth-watering recipes and heartwarming stories of her unique adventure into homesteading. These recipes are ones I know I will be using regularly in my kitchen." - Eve Kilcher These 109 recipes include her family’s favorites, with maple-glazed pork chops, butternut Alfredo pasta, and browned butter skillet corn. Jill also shares 17 bonus recipes for homemade sauces, salt rubs, sour cream, and the like—staples that many people are surprised to learn you can make yourself. Beyond these recipes, The Prairie Homestead Cookbook shares the tools and tips Jill has learned from life on the homestead, like how to churn your own butter, feed a family on a budget, and experience all the fulfilling satisfaction of a DIY lifestyle.

Seed to Seed

Seed to Seed
Author: Suzanne Ashworth
Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing
Total Pages: 231
Release: 2012-10-31
Genre: Gardening
ISBN: 0988474905

A complete seed-saving guide of 160 vegetables, including detailed info on each vegetable.

Viability of Seeds

Viability of Seeds
Author: E.H. Roberts
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 458
Release: 2012-12-06
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9400956851

From prehistoric times man has had a pecial s relationship with seed plants - as a source of food, materials for tools, buildings, clothing and pharmaceuticals, and for ornamenting his surroundings for his own delight (probably in that chronological order which, incidentally, also gives some indication ofthe priorities oflife). Today man's most important staple foods are derived directly from seeds as they have been since neolithic times. (It is a sobering thought, as Harlan* has pointed out, that nothing significant has been added to his diet since then. ) From those times he must have learned to collect, conserve and cultivate seeds; and the accumulated experience has been handed down. This book then is part of an ancient tradition, for here we are still primarily concerned with these skills. Seeds are plant propagules comprised of embryos in which growth has been suspended, usually supplied with their own food reserves and protected by special covering layers. Typically they are relatively dry structures compared with other plant tissues and, in this condi tion) they are resistant to the ravages of time and their environment. But resistant is a relative tenn and seeds do deteriorate: the type, the extent and the rapidity of the deterioration, and the factors which control it are important to agronomists, horticulturalists, plant breeders, seedsmen, seed analysts, and those concerned with the conservation of genetic resources.

Survival Strategies of Annual Desert Plants

Survival Strategies of Annual Desert Plants
Author: Yitzchak Gutterman
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 372
Release: 2002-08-28
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9783540431725

Annual desert plant species of unrelated taxa in the Negev Desert of Israel have developed complementary sets of adaptations and survival strategies as ecological equivalents with physiological, morphological and anatomical resemblances, in the various stages of their life cycles. After 40 years of research in hot deserts Yitzchak Gutterman provides a comprehensive treatise of such adaptations and strategies. In doing so he covers the following topics: post-maturation primary seed dormancy, which prevents germination of maturing seeds before the summer; seed dispersal mechanisms with escape or protection strategies; cautious or opportunistic germination strategies; seedling drought tolerance. The day-length is an important factor in regulating flowering as well as the phenotypic plasticity of seed germination which is also affected by maternal factors.

The Complete Guide to Saving Seeds

The Complete Guide to Saving Seeds
Author: Robert Edward Gough
Publisher: Storey Publishing
Total Pages: 321
Release: 2011-01-01
Genre: Gardening
ISBN: 1603425748

A full-color resource explains how to gather, clean and store seeds for 300 different kinds of vegetables, fruits, herbs, flowers, trees and shrubs, as well as how to propagate and care for new seedlings. Original.

Grow Or Die

Grow Or Die
Author: David The Good
Publisher: Good Books
Total Pages: 192
Release: 2021-04-16
Genre:
ISBN: 9781955289009

What if everything collapsed tomorrow? What if the shelves on the supermarket were empty? What if you couldn't get gas for your tiller? What if you didn't stockpile fertilizer... or water? What if you've never even planted a garden in your life... and your life depended on growing your own food? Don't panic! Grow or Die: The Good Guide to Survival Gardening has the answers. From hand tools that will till the ground better than a tractor to plans for growing all the calories you need in a crisis to easy-to-follow crop rotations that will beat the pests, this book is the cheapest insurance you can own against the crash we all know is coming sooner or later. You'll discover how to scrounge for seeds in unlikely places. How to till without a tiller. How to preserve your harvest. How to beat pests without poison. How to convert a lawn into a food factory. How to garden to survive in emergencies and crises. Expert gardener David The Good, author of the bestselling Compost Everything: The Good Guide to Extreme Composting, has written the gardening book that could one day save your life. Easy to follow and entertaining, Grow Or Die doesn't bog down in the technical details, but focuses on how you can turn your garden into a tool for survival. It's perfect for those interested in preparedness, low-tech gardening and living with a lighter, more ecologically sustaining footprint.