A Seed Saver's Garden

[heirloomgal]

I think it can. It certainly can happen with cats (there's that famous one Venus on the internet with the split colored face and the heterochromia).

The literal definition of a chimera is an organism which has more than one cell line with different genotypes. Literally some of their cells have one set of DNA, and others have a different one. It's pretty rare, so if your friend is that it would be notable.

She was a twin in utero, but the twin passed and she absorbed the twin. I suppose this kind of thing happens in many mammalian species. A decade ago, after she got an x ray or something of that nature (I forget) it was revealed (sorry, bit gross this part) that some of that twins dna seemed to have survived. She had internal hair and dental particles show up on the x-ray. That says to me that she must have separate dna in her physiology, unless perhaps they were identical twins? I always wondered if this qualifies as a chimera.

eta: Ok I had to check out Venus - whoa! Fascinating.

 

[heirloomgal]

it's beautiful! good job! no laughing matter to me...

i grew cabbages here once and since i did not want to deal with covering them i went out each day and picked the worms off that i could find. i didn't get them all. even the wasps were helping out but they also could not get them all. the cabbages grew great, but they had worms in them all through the cores and stems. so considering how many hours i had in picking off the worms and growing them they were probably worth $100/lb at least...

Did you give up on cabbage after that because of the bug issues? I wonder how many people grow cabbages and get shocked by the athletic presence of those cabbage butterflies. Then the earwigs get in on the action. I wonder if the people who stay on top of the bugs have to fuss all the time over the plants. I guess covering them is the least laborious way, but not really decorative for an edible front yard.

 

[digitS']

One thing that I have found that has helped is being prepared to spray early for whatever is attacking the cabbage. Yes, I was nearly ready to give up on them but began crawling around checking leaves before the heads form. Checking loose leaves is one thing. Checking them in the heads is impossible.

Spinosad or Bt for the cabbage worms, maybe even with a pyrethrin follow up. Insecticidal soap for the aphids. Honestly, the cabbage worms are not always a problem here. The aphids are nearly always so. Enough aphids and the cabbage will start to decay.

At a certain point in time and growth, I don't know if anything can be done ... organically.

Steve

 

[heirloomgal]

A potent reminder why even slightly raised beds in ground can be a good idea. This was after our deluge today. Bean Island.

This was the state of the corn when it rained. Now I'm a bit worried. Maybe I'll pull them out tomorrow..... not sure what to do, I don't want those plants absorbing water at this stage. It's a mixed bag in there, some are clearly not done drying up. None actually are totally dry, but some are more so than others. I'm hoping the plants are expired enough to give up on water intake. Probably wishful thinking.

 

[flowerbug]

Did you give up on cabbage after that because of the bug issues?

yes. cabbage is one of the least expensive items to buy at the store when it comes into season so for the space and effort it just wasn't something i wanted to keep doing. even if i could cover it...

i've also tried brussel's sprouts and broccoli and cauliflower but all of those either rotted or had groundhogs eating them so we've not done much with those now either.

 

[Pulsegleaner]

She was a twin in utero, but the twin passed and she absorbed the twin. I suppose this kind of thing happens in many mammalian species. A decade ago, after she got an x ray or something of that nature (I forget) it was revealed (sorry, bit gross this part) that some of that twins dna seemed to have survived. She had internal hair and dental particles show up on the x-ray. That says to me that she must have separate dna in her physiology, unless perhaps they were identical twins? I always wondered if this qualifies as a chimera.

That sounds more like a teratoma to me, a sort of internal tumor that can develop hair, teeth etc. They can result from the absorption of a parasitic twin.

I think to be a true chimera, the alien cells have to become integrated into the general body of the organism.

 

[digitS']

@flowerbug ! Never brassicas?

@Alasgun posting online magazine articles about kelp and FlowerBug's problem with brassicas. First of all, I am very thankful that I don't have to kill a half dozen marmots every year to keep the critters out of the garden. Maybe Marty Marmot is more territorial than the others in the groundhog family so there's not as much population density. And, as mentioned above, cabbage worms are only a big problem now and then. Maybe with all your bird life, you can encourage Red Crossbills to show-up and follow you around in the garden for the cabbage worms as they used to do in my garden.

Kelp, I bet is a good choice to improve garden soil and plant life. When the Irish were unable to garden on more fertile ground and left with rocky, coastal locations, they made good use of kelp, we are told. I was just checking on stinging nettles and their garden uses. I'm hesitant to suggest them – they are dangerous, or at least discomforting. Trying to limit insecticide use and repel especially the dang aphids from the cabbage, I have used nettle "tea" in the cabbage patch for a few years. My thinking was that, at least, the plants would benefit from the fertilizer value. I think they have.

Repellent? I'm not so sure. In an Old Farmers Almanac article, I notice that no mention is made re nettles as a repellent while they sing the praises of their other uses including ... as a trap crop for aphids!

We have a friend who makes regular use of them and has some of her fresh nettles to give away. (Allowing them to bloom and make seeds Does Not sound like a good idea!) Aphids still show up in my cabbage but I try to keep my eyes open for them and will take other measures if necessary.

Steve

 

[heirloomgal]

That sounds more like a teratoma to me, a sort of internal tumor that can develop hair, teeth etc. They can result from the absorption of a parasitic twin.

I think to be a true chimera, the alien cells have to become integrated into the general body of the organism.

My gosh, you're totally right. I checked this up and this is exactly what it was, ovarian teratoma. In her case it was cancerous. She & I always assumed that it was related to her original twin. I had no idea that tumors could grow those kinds of things on their own. I learn so much on here, and it's not always about gardening either!

 

[heirloomgal]

yes. cabbage is one of the least expensive items to buy at the store when it comes into season so for the space and effort it just wasn't something i wanted to keep doing. even if i could cover it...

i've also tried brussel's sprouts and broccoli and cauliflower but all of those either rotted or had groundhogs eating them so we've not done much with those now either.

All of them? Wow. Those darn brassicas, SO hard to grow. So many formidable enemies, you really gotta wanna eat them bad for all they ask of their gardener.

 

[flowerbug]

All of them? Wow. Those darn brassicas, SO hard to grow. So many formidable enemies, you really gotta wanna eat them bad for all they ask of their gardener.

oh, and the pak choi i tried, that barely got above an inch and a half tall before the groundhogs gnawed it back to the ground. i love cabbage and the rest of them too and was looking forwards to some leafy greens. nope. didn't happen. brussels sprouts that we planted from starts actually did get above a foot tall but they started rotting from all the heavy dewfalls we get in the mid-to-late summer. i was able to rescue some of the buds for eating but it wasn't pretty. my brother was willing to take one of the stalks to do something with but he never told me he got much from it. he was always able to grow broccoli and lettuce in his gardens, but he had to give up his gardens with his health issues.

with the storms that came through yesterday or the night before he had trees come down and fall right where his garden used to be (said if you'd been out there you'd have been killed - he does have some huge trees) and also another came down and ripped the wires right off the house. his neighbor is a licensed electrician and came over that night in the dark and replaced everything so the power company can hook him back up when they get there. he said he's not seen a power company truck yet as the whole area is pretty beat up. until then he has a generator.

Mom was supposed to go visit him today but he called and said it was a mess and that she might not be even able to get there until they get the trees off the roads.

oh, wandering off-topic... at least they are ok and the house didn't get smacked.