Monday, September 17, 2012




 It was fun getting to see my garden for the first time since planting the seeds/transplants!
Thankfully the transplants were still alive...and some of the seeds had germinated and started growing! The squash, beans, and sunflowers were now little plants with leaves. 

All of the transplants seemed pretty healthy and a little bit bigger.  I weeded for most of the time, then planted more sunflower seeds, and finished by spraying the plants with Bt insecticide (organic).  Bt insecticide will work in killing caterpillars that attempt to eat my plants. 

One of the TA's noticed that there was leaf miner larvae on my eggplant leaves.  You can tell (see pic below) where they "mined" the nutrients in the leaf.



During class we learned about crop improvement and genetics.  It was interesting to learn that 97% of farms are currently owned by families.  Also, the modern farm is 470 acres, on average.  

We also discussed natural selection (environmental pressure) versus artificial selection (plant breeding).  When breeding plants, the following are traits of interest:  yield, resistance to pests, forage quality, tolerance to mineral and environmental stress, adaptability, flavor, and photo-period response. 

We finished by talking about GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms).  Since, 1980s, GMOs have been used quite extensively.  98% of corn and over 80% of soy beans are GMOs.   They haven't found GMOs to have ever caused a negative health effect, but I wonder if it is to premature in the use to be able to detect?!   

Can't wait to see what my garden looks like next week! 

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