Interesting, 250 year old grapevine in San Gabriel! I guess I should be a bit more careful about where I plant my grapes. 🤔
https://abc7.com/post/grapes-historic-vine-mission-san-gabriel-used-limited-edition-wine/18546599/
Alex Akselrod
and 1 other
boosted
#CentralAsia’s #fruit and #nut #forests: the real Garden of Eden?
Birthplaces of some of the world’s most beloved snacks
by Monica Evans
17 December 2020
"Millions of years ago, in the temperate montane forests of a little-known region in Central Asia, some of the world’s best-loved fruit and nut trees began to grow. #Apples, #apricots, #cherries, #plums, #grapes, #figs, #peaches, #pomegranates, #pears, #almonds, #pistachios and #walnuts all originated in the hills and valleys of the #TianShan mountain range, which stretches from #Uzbekistan in the west to #China and #Mongolia in the east.
"The area is volcanic and geologically tumultuous, but fertile – scientists have hypothesized that in a place prone to frequent eruptions, earthquakes and landslides, shorter-lived tree species that could disperse their seeds widely by making themselves palatable to large mammals had a better shot at survival than long-lived, slow-maturing trees.
"And that tasty survival strategy has served these species well. For residents of the region, the foods represent both security and social currency. 'From the taxi drivers to the ministers to the local people, almost everyone carries some #DriedFruit or #Nuts with them,' says Paola Agostini, a lead natural resources specialist for Europe and Central Asia at the World Bank. 'It’s like this safety net, and it’s also a lovely gift: something to share with others that is always appreciated.'
"Central Asian marketplaces offer a cornucopia of colors, flavors, textures and varieties – many more than those most of us are accustomed to finding in our local supermarket’s produce aisle. 'I was always astonished that people in the region could so easily tell which country a particular dried apricot came from,' says Agostini. 'Their knowledge of these products is just so deep.'
"Procuring and sharing these energy-dense treats is an ancient practice in the area. Fruit and nuts were major commodities on the Silk Road, an ancient network of trade routes that tracked through the heart of Central Asia, linking Europe, the Middle East and Asia, from the first century BC through to the mid-1400s. Over centuries of trade and travel – and lots of munching by humans, camels and horses along the way – prized fruit and nut species spread their seeds wider and wider, and new hybrid varieties were created, many of which are now supermarket and home-orchard staples, cultivated enthusiastically in temperate regions across the globe.
"Narratives of plant domestication often tend to overstate the role of humans, but newer science suggests that 'evolution in parallel' with the plants we love is often a more accurate way of framing this process. 'It’s very unlikely that when somebody took an apple from #Kazakhstan and carried it across an entire continent, they were thinking that they could cross it with another variety and end up with something better,' says #RobertSpengler, a paleo-ethnobotanist at the Max Planck Institute in Jena, Germany. 'They were more likely just carrying the seeds to plant somewhere else. And in doing so, they inadvertently set off a chain reaction of hybridization events.'
"According to Spengler’s research into the origins of apples, humans were not the first mammals to participate in that process of dispersal and co-evolution, either. In the late #Miocene, which spanned the period from 11.63 to 5.33 million years ago, large mammals such as #mammoths and #horses played critical roles in dispersing apple seeds and facilitating their evolutionary process into the large, sweet, flavor-rich fruits we enjoy today."
#SolarPunkSunday #Ethnobotany #PlantHistory #SaveTheForests #SaveTheTrees #FruitTrees #NutTrees
#CentralAsia’s #fruit and #nut #forests: the real Garden of Eden?
Birthplaces of some of the world’s most beloved snacks
by Monica Evans
17 December 2020
"Millions of years ago, in the temperate montane forests of a little-known region in Central Asia, some of the world’s best-loved fruit and nut trees began to grow. #Apples, #apricots, #cherries, #plums, #grapes, #figs, #peaches, #pomegranates, #pears, #almonds, #pistachios and #walnuts all originated in the hills and valleys of the #TianShan mountain range, which stretches from #Uzbekistan in the west to #China and #Mongolia in the east.
"The area is volcanic and geologically tumultuous, but fertile – scientists have hypothesized that in a place prone to frequent eruptions, earthquakes and landslides, shorter-lived tree species that could disperse their seeds widely by making themselves palatable to large mammals had a better shot at survival than long-lived, slow-maturing trees.
"And that tasty survival strategy has served these species well. For residents of the region, the foods represent both security and social currency. 'From the taxi drivers to the ministers to the local people, almost everyone carries some #DriedFruit or #Nuts with them,' says Paola Agostini, a lead natural resources specialist for Europe and Central Asia at the World Bank. 'It’s like this safety net, and it’s also a lovely gift: something to share with others that is always appreciated.'
"Central Asian marketplaces offer a cornucopia of colors, flavors, textures and varieties – many more than those most of us are accustomed to finding in our local supermarket’s produce aisle. 'I was always astonished that people in the region could so easily tell which country a particular dried apricot came from,' says Agostini. 'Their knowledge of these products is just so deep.'
"Procuring and sharing these energy-dense treats is an ancient practice in the area. Fruit and nuts were major commodities on the Silk Road, an ancient network of trade routes that tracked through the heart of Central Asia, linking Europe, the Middle East and Asia, from the first century BC through to the mid-1400s. Over centuries of trade and travel – and lots of munching by humans, camels and horses along the way – prized fruit and nut species spread their seeds wider and wider, and new hybrid varieties were created, many of which are now supermarket and home-orchard staples, cultivated enthusiastically in temperate regions across the globe.
"Narratives of plant domestication often tend to overstate the role of humans, but newer science suggests that 'evolution in parallel' with the plants we love is often a more accurate way of framing this process. 'It’s very unlikely that when somebody took an apple from #Kazakhstan and carried it across an entire continent, they were thinking that they could cross it with another variety and end up with something better,' says #RobertSpengler, a paleo-ethnobotanist at the Max Planck Institute in Jena, Germany. 'They were more likely just carrying the seeds to plant somewhere else. And in doing so, they inadvertently set off a chain reaction of hybridization events.'
"According to Spengler’s research into the origins of apples, humans were not the first mammals to participate in that process of dispersal and co-evolution, either. In the late #Miocene, which spanned the period from 11.63 to 5.33 million years ago, large mammals such as #mammoths and #horses played critical roles in dispersing apple seeds and facilitating their evolutionary process into the large, sweet, flavor-rich fruits we enjoy today."
#SolarPunkSunday #Ethnobotany #PlantHistory #SaveTheForests #SaveTheTrees #FruitTrees #NutTrees
Sabrina Web :privacypride: 📎
and 1 other
boosted
@fedipourgaza
I am Rania from Gaza. Hello everyone, I will talk to you about a little-known sector in Gaza, which is agriculture, before the war... I am the daughter of a farmer.
#farming #farm #farmers #mondaymotivation #monday #paysannerie #alimentation #food #foodinsecurity #circuitscourts #agriculteurs #CeintureVerte #maraichage #olivetrees #grapes #fruit #vegetables #palestine #hydroponics #greenhouse #sustainablefarming #landwirtschaft #bauern #gemuse #water
2 media
HT @ai6yr
#California farms applied millions of pounds of #PFAS to key crops, study finds
‘ #ForeverChemicals’ sprayed on #almonds, #grapes, #tomatoes and other crops as activists warn of ‘obvious problem’
by Tom Perkins
Tue 18 Nov 2025 07.00 EST
Excerpt: "California farms applied an average of 2.5m lbs of PFAS “forever chemicals” per year on cropland from 2018 to 2023, or a total of about 15m lbs, a new review of state records shows.
The chemicals are added to pesticides that are sprayed on crops such as almonds, pistachios, #wine grapes, #alfalfa and tomatoes, the review of California Department of Pesticide Regulation data found. The Environmental Working Group nonprofit put together the report.
The risk for uptake of PFAS is likely higher in water-rich fruits and vegetables, because water attracts the chemicals, and research has shown PFAS may concentrate at dangerous levels in some produce. The chemicals also pollute water supplies and present a higher risk to the often low income and Latino #farmworkers."
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/nov/18/california-pfas-forever-chemicals
#ForeverChemicals #DowChemicalKnew
#3MKnew #BigAg #RoundupReady #Glyphosate #Bees #Extinction #Hubris #WaterIsLife #PFASContamination #EnvironmentalDamage #EPACuts #Pollution #PFOS #PFASPollution #PFASContamnation #ManMadeDisasters #3M #3MLied #GenXChemicals
#PFNA #PFHxS
@fedipourgaza
I am Rania from Gaza. Hello everyone, I will talk to you about a little-known sector in Gaza, which is agriculture, before the war... I am the daughter of a farmer.
#farming #farm #farmers #mondaymotivation #monday #paysannerie #alimentation #food #foodinsecurity #circuitscourts #agriculteurs #CeintureVerte #maraichage #olivetrees #grapes #fruit #vegetables #palestine #hydroponics #greenhouse #sustainablefarming #landwirtschaft #bauern #gemuse #water
2 media
@fedipourgaza
1. Before 2000:
Agriculture was at its peak, with exports abroad (especially to Israel and Arab markets via crossings).
Good use of groundwater and great diversity in crops.
2. After 2007:
Agriculture was damaged due to restrictions on agricultural materials (fertilizers, seeds, plastic).
Repeated wars led to the destruction of large areas of agricultural land, especially near
#circuitscourts #agriculteurs #CeintureVerte #maraichage #olivetrees #grapes #fruit #vegetables
@fedipourgaza
I am Rania from Gaza. Hello everyone, I will talk to you about a little-known sector in Gaza, which is agriculture, before the war... I am the daughter of a farmer.
#farming #farm #farmers #mondaymotivation #monday #paysannerie #alimentation #food #foodinsecurity #circuitscourts #agriculteurs #CeintureVerte #maraichage #olivetrees #grapes #fruit #vegetables #palestine #hydroponics #greenhouse #sustainablefarming #landwirtschaft #bauern #gemuse #water
2 media