Archive for July, 2010

Heirloom Fundamentalists

Today, greener-than-thou gardeners crusade for heirloom seeds, while unjustly damming hybrids.  Increasingly, their anti-science credo has hardened into a Luddite fundamentalism, resulting in confusion among the public between hybrids and genetically modified organisms, or GMOs.  Clearly, the hybrid versus heirloom imbroglio is about more than the quest for the biggest, most delicious tomato. As a […]

Bake-Off/Flicks

So close to the sun, canted to receive the longest days. So little cloud cover—or even precipitation in the air. Crops, including tests here at Fordhook Farm, are slowly drying out: roots, trunks, stems, branches, leaves. Petals wave in slow-motion. No wind; so all the desiccation comes from high temperatures and dry air. Stillness is […]

A More Perfect Union

My fellow Americans, on July 4th we gather to celebrate our country’s independence and pay homage to its founders. We remember this country began as a unique adventure in freedom, individual liberty and rights guaranteed by the Constitution. The United States is today the preeminent world power and beacon of freedom around the globe. As […]