I spent a lovely lunchtime yesterday with a group of my high school friends yesterday. We enjoyed the small cafe at Way Fruit Farm on the north side of State College. I shared a lot of pictures of the facility in a post in the fall of 2021. You can check it out at https://marykisner.com/wonderful-lunch-with-high-school-friends/.
This time, I discovered a small display of books written by local authors hiding near the soda machine. These two books caught my attention because I had heard of the author, Debbie Marsh.
Debbie taught elementary grades in the State College Area for 30 years. She also wrote a monthly newspaper column called, “Notes From the Teacher,” for the Centre Daily Times. I remember reading her column and found her sense of humor and advice to parent of school age children very refreshing.
Her first book, The Book of Frank, is a series of stories based on her experiences with young children in the kindergarten classroom. The student named Frank in the stories represents a number of children she remembered. Absolutely spot on! The second book, The Book of Stella, continues her stories with more insights about the teacher’s role in the classroom.
The stories reminded me of my first two years of teaching, which were in kindergarten in the State College Area Schools! Almost every example she shared, I had had a similar experience. The whole book reminded me of the Art Linkletter television show from years past, Kids Say the Darndest Things (I think that was the name).
I know that classrooms today might have a totally different feel than when I started teaching in 1968, but many of Debbie’s challenges are still challenging today because 5-year-olds are FIVE YEARS OLD!
If you have folks in your life that are considering being a teacher of young children; or you are just starting to teach; or you have retired from teaching… you will love this book. I wish I had read it at the beginning of my career. But now, 45 years after I left elementary teaching it still gave me a chuckle and a shiver of memories from the 8 years I taught elementary school. I highly recommend both of these books.
Both books are available from Amazon. As of today, The Book of Frank by Debbie Marsh (published in 2014) is available as a Kindle and Kindle Unlimited book (free) or as a paperback ($3.46). The Book of Stella by Debbie Marsh (published in 2018) is also available as a Kindle and Kindle Unlimited book (free) and as a paperback ($10.99).
As an American, I’ve always been baffled by the interest our press has with the doings of the British Monarchy. The formalities, the rules and traditions, the line of succession are all topics that are definitely not at the top of my mind most of the time. The few blurbs in the news about the activities of William and Kate, Harry and Meghan, Charles and Camilla…are small anecdotes in my life.
For some reason, I was interested in this latest book from Prince Harry, SPARE, because it was described as being in his own words…without the filter of the press. From the first page I was captivated by the experiences Harry shared, from the grief of losing his mother, to trying to fit into the boarding school model with his older brother.
As a mother and former teacher, I could relate to Harry’s difficulty fitting into the academic setting when his learning style demonstrated he did better with hands on learning. Yes, he made friends, but they often got into trouble stretching and bending the rules. His saving grace was the military and his desire to learn to fly.
All his life, the UK press made sure that anything he did was documented in a most unflattering way. Harry mentioned many occasions where a story was published with damaging pictures. I remember some of those stories from our news. He shares what was really happening and told the real story. Much of the book describes his frustrations. He could complain to his grandmother, dad, brother and body guards to fight back against the made-up stories and share the facts, but the policy of the Monarchy was to not engage and not fight back. So, the stories stayed in the news.
Being harassed by the news reporters with people hiding in the bushes and looking in the windows to take pictures was continual. The competition to get the best (or most obnoxious) photos was fierce. Anything to make a buck. Harry remembered his mother being chased, ending in her death in a car crash. He carried his memory and grief for so many years.
It wasn’t until he met Meghan that all of these issues came to a head. From the beginning, Harry and Meghan retreated to isolated locations in Africa where Harry had established friendships with folks involved in the charities he supported. When they needed to participate in official functions in Britain, the press was relentless. Made up stories that Kate and Meghan were fighting, William and Harry were on the outs…every day another headline. The whole drama made me sad as Harry begged his grandmother and his father to take a stand. I really don’t understand the protocol of stoicism that has developed over centuries in the Monarchy. However, as a mother I identified with Harry’s frustrations.
Now, every time I read another article in the news sharing tidbits of his life that are really none of my business, I will turn the page/turn off the news/not buy the magazine and will send loving thoughts to Harry and his family. I hope they have found some peace and safety in California.
Please leave a comment if you have thoughts about this book!
If reading the extensive research-based book, The China Study, is not interesting or possible for you, I’d like to suggest you watch this 90-minute documentary based on the research from Dr. Colin Campbell and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn. This video weaves the research around the practical stories of a few people who were making important changes in their diets to improve their health.
This video is a comprehensive overview of The China Study research and followed the career paths of Dr. Campbell and Dr. Esselstyn. While they had not met before, their professional work supported each other’s research. Dr. Campbell was following the science of a plant-based diet, while Dr. Esselstyn’s work provided the clinical research into heart disease that supported Dr. Campbell’s findings. All of their findings were stronger when they finally discovered how their research supported one another.
This video is offered as part of Prime Video at Amazon or the DVD is available for purchase for $11.39. Your local library may even have a copy to lend.
Cataract Surgery Update
Hopefully, after tomorrow I’ll be able to enjoy reading again. It will take a few days for the eye to clear up after surgery. I’ll finally have 20/20 vision for distance. Then, I’ll have to find the right “cheeter” readers so I can see close up. I can’t wait to get back to all my ongoing projects…from sewing Greyhound coats to experimenting with soap and skin care products. While I couldn’t read books comfortably, I seemed to be able to click on Amazon to order some of the cookbooks to go along with the whole-foods, plant-based eating plan. They have now arrived, so soon I’ll share some of the recipes that worked for me. That’s all for now…I have to be at the medical center at 6:10 tomorrow morning! Yikes! More later!
Have you ever had a week where you really needed a good laugh? My week has involved too much “hurry up and wait” times in doctors’ offices and waiting rooms…not all for me actually. This used to be the time I would pick up a Reader’s Digest in the waiting room…except…there were no magazines at all to choose from! There were too many distractions around me to really enjoy the mystery story I was in the middle of reading.
I recently downloaded a new book by Peggy Rowe called, Vacuuming in the NUDE and Other Ways to Get Attention. This was a series of small stories and observations about people she had met over the years. She has a real gift to write about tough issues she and others had faced, from funeral issues to sensitive health issues, in a tasteful and humorous way. This is her third book and the one that has finally reached a wider audience. I think the title alone is a draw!
As you may know, Peggy is the mother of Mike Rowe (of Dirty Jobs fame) and apparently has been writing all her life. She was often heard saying she wasn’t a real writer because she hadn’t published a book. She had, however written stories and poems for her elementary students and articles in magazines. She was even asked to lend humor to eulogies at funerals.
Her introduction to the publishing world made it seem like she was an overnight success at 80+ years of age; yet she was playing by the rules established by publishing companies. Rules like specific ways to submit manuscripts and submitting to only one publisher at a time. The bureaucracy was truly a stumbling block.
Originally, publishers were not interested in Peggy’s first two books. The subject was interesting but they felt no one knew who Peggy Rowe was in the first place so why would folks be interested in her mother? Finally, Mike took charge and self-published About My Mother. It was so successful she was finally able to get her second book About Your Father published more quickly. With Mike’s endorsement folks began reading her work. He also began including his mother’s work in his Podcasts and Facebook posts. And the rest is history!
I haven’t read these two books yet, but I’m looking forward to a few more hours of hilarious stories by Peggy Rowe!
I suspect the clever title and general breadth of the stories in her third book Vacuuming in the Nude, have appealed to wider audience. It has received great reviews. Now, folks are discovering her first two books that did not get such wide press at the time.
If you need gifts for your adult children for Christmas, I highly recommend Vacuuming in the Nude by Peggy Rowe. It might help them understand us as we face their own aging and health issues. Enjoy a laugh!
Inspiration to expand food choices can come from many places. In my case, my nutritionist suggested I eat more whole grains…but less wheat! In my small world that means rice and maybe oatmeal. No problem. However, today I was in the mood for a broader definition of “grains.”
I’d like to share a well-loved book that I’ve had on my shelf for almost 20 years. It has been helpful in reminding me about the other grain choices I have to choose from. This book, The Splendid Grain, by Rebecca Wood (1997), has been inspiring me to explore other grains for years. There does not seem to be a more up-to-date edition but it is still available on Amazon.
The book is not full of beautiful color pictures (although there are a few of various recipes). Most of the pictures of the grains are black and white. Most of the grains are familiar to me by name, but I wouldn’t know what to do with them. This book gives a great overview of each grain, where it is grown and a few recipes using it. The Table of Contents shows how the grains have been arranged by showing where they came from:
Here are just a few of the grains that I found interesting and will work on incorporating into my menus.
Wild Rice
The author has arranged the grains as shown above, beginning here in the Western Hemisphere and following the sun around the globe. Wild rice is the only truly North American wild grain that’s commercially available. More that 80% of the available wild rice is commercially grown, mostly in California. This hybrid variety is selected for responsiveness to fertilizers, herbicides and insecticides as well as for ease of mechanical harvesting. The wild rice grown in the Great Lakes region, on the other hand, has adapted over thousands of years to the specific lake or river and is often hand harvested from small boats. Each variety has its own unique flavor. I think the story of where it comes from encourages me to use it more often.
Quinoa
Quinoa has the highest nutrition profile of all grains and is the quickest to cook. According to the United Nations World Health Organization, Quinoa is closer to the ideal protein balance than any other grain. This alone makes it worth figuring out how to cook it. Steamed like rice it’s a quick addition to any meal. Ground into flour, it can enhance the protein content of your baked goods.
This book also provides an assortment of recipes using each grain. I found this one that looked interesting…Quinoa Potato Salad. I’ll have to give it a try.
Oats
Oats thrive best in a cold climate. They were probably first established in Central Asia and made their way to Europe. They have always been used primarily as livestock food, and in fact about 90% of all oats grown in the U.S. is used for animal feed. Over the years the popularity of oats in breakfast foods has grown. I often add rolled oats to my favorite bread recipe because it gives a nice flavor and reduces the amount of wheat flour in the bread. I found the recipe below using oats that I think I’ll try:
Tef
Another grain that I find interesting is Tef. This tiny cereal grain is grown in the mountains at the source of the Blue Nile. Tef is integral to Ethiopian culture. This tiny grain was almost unknown outside Ethiopia until the 20th century. It is nutritionally superior but is a labor-intensive crop. I have found a source of Tef at https://www.bobsredmill.com/ but I am unfamiliar with the foods and recipes from Ethiopia. I’d like to try it if someone else would cook it properly.
Sources of grains
Many of these grains like wild rice and quinoa are available at our local health food store. With grains like Tef or amaranth I think your best bet is to go online a find a good organic source to experiment with. There is a list of Mail Order Sources at the end of this book, but considering it was published 20 years ago, I suspect they may have changed and there may be others. Try searching again to find new sources.
I found this book to be a good reminder that I can cut back on wheat and still have whole grains in my life. This is a good resource to have on the shelf. Enjoy!
Everyone says we should drink more water…from weight loss gurus to medical professionals. I know that! But how many of you really reach for a glass of water instead of a soda, iced tea or coffee? I really don’t mind having a bottle of spring water nearby most of the time, but it really isn’t the same as a cold, fizzy diet soda! However, I’m trying to make better choices.
I’ve had this book on my shelf for several years, Infused Water by Dalila Tarhuni (2017). It was a pretty book…lots of great pictures! However, given the choice, I always seemed to choose a diet soda over making (and drinking) infused water.
This book has a few short statements about why we should drink infused water, the benefits we might get from drinking infused water and how to make it…followed by 75 recipes! The pictures were so inviting. Certainly, I could find something that would appeal to me.
So, I found my special pitcher that I bought about the same time I got the book. It has an insert to hold cut fruit. When I checked on Amazon to see how much it cost I discovered almost 50 different models of infused water pitchers! Of course, this one was not listed any more. However, they all do pretty much the same thing…separate the fruit from the water so it can be removed easily after infusing.
Then I went to the grocery store to get some fruit. I found strawberries, kiwi and pineapple. I already had a few blueberries and apples, but I thought I’d start with just the first three.
I cut enough to fill the insert and filled the pitcher with filtered water from the tap. Then I set it in the refrigerator overnight.
The recipes in this book often include several fruits and an herb for additional flavor, like mint leaves, a sprig of rosemary or chamomile flowers. Sometimes a sweetener is suggested. My taste buds are probably out of touch with reality after years of artificial sweeteners, so I’ll have to re-sensitize my palate. Maybe then a sprig of stevia might be noticeable. Of course, none of those additives include caffeine! Yikes…how to find a natural substitute for that! I don’t care for coffee or tea so I may never wake up!
Why make it yourself?
Have you noticed how many brands and flavors of “water” are on the shelf at the store? Every brand advertises a different benefit, like detoxing your system or balancing the pH of your body; and for only $1.00 (or more)!
I’ve tried many of these brands and frankly I’d rather just drink our filtered tap water. However, I would still reach for my diet soda! Frustrating!
Are there health benefits to drinking infused water?
Bert had a few questions about why I thought this would make the water better or healthier, so I decided to do a little more research about infused water so at least I was informed about its REAL benefits, if there were any!
Diet soda on ice is very cold, which I like. When I put our filtered tap water on ice it’s good, but basically the ice doesn’t taste great, so the filtered water doesn’t either.
I’m hoping having really cold, better tasting water available will give me a healthier option to choose. We’ll see!
According to webmd and healthline,
“The main benefits of drinking infused water come from the simple fact that it’s water! Adequate hydration is absolutely key to being healthy. By infusing tasty flavors, many people tend to drink more water. Infusion can thus be a way to make water more appealing.”
Great! Every glass of cold infused water I choose is one less glass of diet soda I drink. I guess that’s a good thing.
After I took the fruit out of the pitcher and tried a glass of infused water, I could taste the faint hint of the pineapple and strawberry. It isn’t sweet but it’s cold and wet. I’ll keep you posted!
Honey is an intriguing ingredient in many skin care products; not just any honey, but Manuka honey. Finding that ingredient mentioned in many of my DIY recipes, from soap to lotion to lip balm, led me to research what was so special about it. While Wikipedia provided a general overview, this book, Manuka: The Biography of an Extraordinary Honey, by Cliff Van Eaton (2014), turned out to be an excellent history of how it was discovered and why it took so long to gain popularity.
Curiously, it was available from Amazon only as a Kindle eBook ($9.99) or as the Large Print Edition ($32.99). I first ordered it as a Kindle book and then quickly realized I wanted to read it more in-depth so I ordered the Large Print Edition too. Large print is a great idea for us old folks!
This book is described in the Introduction:
“It is a rags-to-riches tale of how a most peculiar honey became a ground-breaking medicine, along the way turning into one of the most famous honeys in the world.” (p. vi)
Manuka is a word the Polynesian voyagers, the Maori, gave to a plant they discovered when they first came to New Zealand. The plant grows uncultivated throughout both southeastern Australia and New Zealand and represents almost half the vegetation in New Zealand.
When European missionaries first brought honey bees to New Zealand in the early 1800’s, much of the honey came from the widespread Manuka blossoms. For local consumption that was fine, but when bee keepers tried exporting it to England it was difficult to sell. Buyers wanted the lighter honey from clover and other crops. The Manuka honey was darker and harder to extract from the combs.
Working to process this honey was not worth the effort. Hives were moved closer to the preferred crops of clover, thyme and heather. With so much of the area covered naturally with Manuka bushes it was difficult to control the actions of the bees.
Researching Antibacterial Capabilities of Honey
During the early 1980’s, Peter Molan, a professor of biochemistry at the University of Waikato School of Science, worked on several small research projects experimenting with local honeys to determine their antibacterial capabilities. His experiments grew to include many samples from across New Zealand documenting the sources of honey, including clover, thyme, heather and Manuka.
While the honey produced from the Manuka tree blossoms (leptospermum scoparium) was darker and harder to extract, it was very successful when tested against staphylococcus aureus…a bacteria that was very adept at developing resistance to man-made antibiotics.
Manuka flowers
By 1991, published research had determined that Manuka honey was an effective antibacterial, even after heating it or diluting it with water. A rating system for Manuka honey sold for therapeutic products was developed, represented by the following: 10+, 15+ and 20+, with 20+ being the highest antibacterial activity.
The resurgence of interest in the medicinal use of honey products prompted the author to review the history of honey in general throughout the ages. Honey’s use in medicine was considered an interesting curiosity. While honey was in common use before WWII for the treatment of wounds and burns, the discovery of Penicillin in 1928 was a game changer. Sugar production worldwide had displaced honey by a factor of 100 to 1, reducing demand. Honey was eventually regarded as just a food item.
Changing Perceptions of Manuka Honey
We now know our challenges with bacteria continue. With the advent of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, especially in wounds and sores that wouldn’t heal, stories about this special honey from New Zealand were of great interest to the medical community.
Research continues to identify the components of Manuka honey and this encourages the medical community to use it for those difficult cases of antibacterial resistance. Several chapters in this book describe the ongoing research with Manuka honey to discover its medicinal qualities.
Transforming the methods of extraction for Manuka honey, and implementing a comprehensive marketing strategy to sell the product are described at length in this book.
Manuka Honey in Skin Care Products
Manuka honey is now being suggested as a healing ingredient in skin care products. Many of the DIY recipes I use call for its use, whether for actual healing or for marketing purposes. (It does still taste delicious on toast!)
The success of the New Zealand marketing efforts can be seen in the current price for a jar of Manuka Honey on Amazon. An 8 oz. jar can range from $38 to $69, depending on its strength (10+, 15+ or 20+).
Incorporating it into a tiny tube of wound dressing (1.5 oz. tube) costs $14.99, which is 80% Active Leptospermum (or Manuka Honey).
Luckily, my skin care recipes usually call for only 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of Manuka honey in a batch of product. It is difficult to incorporate very much into soaps and salves and a little goes a long way. Whether it really works at that concentration is debatable, but it sounds good. I’d say the work of the Manuka Honey Board has been successful!
If you’d like to know more details about Manuka honey and its history, I highly recommend this book!
Please comment or email me directly if you have questions. marykisner@comcast.net. Enjoy!
(Medical Disclaimer: Always consult with your medical professional before using any product on open wounds. Because this is a natural product made by honeybees, DO NOT USE if you have allergies to bee stings or other bee products without consulting your doctor.)
Every spring, when I’m planning the garden, I reach for this reference book to see if there is some new root vegetable I might like to try. Every fall, I pull it out again when I discover unusual root vegetables at the Farmer’s Market. You might find it an interesting book also!
This book, ROOTS: The Definitive Compendium with more than 225 recipes (2012) by Diane Morgan, has been on my shelf for several years and each time I look through it I find something new.
Granted, many of these vegetables will not grow in central Pennsylvania, but even the most common vegetables have varieties I’ve never seen before. Who knows, maybe I’ll discover one that would be interesting and delicious! Many unusual vegetables, often imported from other countries, can even be found in your local grocery store.
BEET, CARROT, CELERY ROOT
If nothing else, the photographs in this book are outstanding. Each section is devoted to one root vegetable, like the BEET, the CARROT or CELERY ROOT. At the beginning is a photograph showing several varieties of the vegetable along with an explanation of its history and where it is natively grown; a list of the many varieties available; nutritional information; how to store it and how to prepare it. Following this information are 8-12 recipes using the vegetable.
BEETCARROTCELERY ROOT
JICAMA
One vegetable I was excited to read about was JICAMA. I first had this vegetable as a kid when my family spent a year in the Philippines. (I was 9 years old…so this was 1955-56). It was a quite a treat to a kid who was missing familiar foods. It was crunchy and mildly sweet like an apple. When it showed up in our local grocery store a few years ago as a novelty item I wasn’t sure it was what I remembered, until I tasted it! Wonderful memory! Now I see it in almost every grocery store…often imported from Mexico. This book has seven recipes that incorporate Jicama…but chilled and peeled and sliced is still the best!
JICAMA
LOTUS ROOT
This time through the book, I took time to read about LOTUS ROOT. It is native to tropical Asia, the Middle East and Australia and has been cultivated for more than two thousand years. However, while it might be found in Asian markets, I’ve never seen it before. Apparently, it can also be canned or pre-sliced in vacuum-sealed bags and is usually imported from China or Japan. If you live on the West Coast you might see it more often than I might. Very interesting!
LOTUS ROOTEven a recipe to use Lotus Root, in case I ever find it in the store!
How to set up a Root Cellar
This book also has a two-page spread about how to set up a root cellar. These were often found on rural farms as a low-tech way to preserve root vegetables. I you’ve ever tried to save your winter squash, pumpkins or even carrots for a few months without canning or freezing them, a root cellar can provide the right conditions to keep them usable for several months.
Some root vegetables can even be left in the garden long past fall frosts. This last year, we left a whole row of carrots in the garden, dug them up as we needed them, and discovered they stayed quite nice for months.
As I said, the photographs in this book are outstanding. Who knew vegetables could be so interesting and colorful!
So, if you’d like an interesting colorful and useful book on your shelf, try ROOTS! You may discover a new vegetable or recipe along the way!
With another few inches of snow swirling around outside (again) I thought it was time to finally get my questions answered about what my house plants are thinking under my care. If I can figure out how to take care of them maybe I’ll be a better steward of my garden this spring. My normal care falls under the description of “benign neglect.” I know, pretty sad! Amazingly, I dump water on them when I notice they look wilted; Bert gives them Miracle Grow now and then. Beyond that, when the vines start to take over all the space around them I resort to my scissors and give them a haircut.
This vine is taking over the shelf! Will it quiver when I bring out the scissors?
I just finished the book, What a Plant Knows: A Field Guide to the Senses, by Daniel Chamovitz (c) 2012, 2017. Mr. Chamovitz has used terminology normally used to reference human senses, such as sight, smell, taste, touch and hearing, and poses the questions, What does a plant see, smell, taste, feel and hear? From the beginning he suggests that while plants respond to stimuli like light and sound, there is no evidence at this time to think plants respond with subjective emotions and fear and sadness.
That’s very reassuring! My plants are not sad if I forget to water them and are not afraid when I whip out the scissors to trim an errant vine. Such a relief!
So what do plants sense? The definitions of the senses have been modified appropriately to reflect that plants do not have a thinking brain and cannot move about like animals.
What do plants see?
While plants do not “see” in pictures, like animals, they respond to ultraviolet light which signals it is daytime. This allows them to use light to turn water and carbon dioxide into sugars (photosynthesis).
Plants respond to blue light (daytime), know which direction it is coming from and its intensity. If the plant is shaded, it will attempt to grow around the shade to get to the more intense sunlight. The red light (usually seen at dawn) is a signal to wake up; the far-red light (usually the last light seen at sundown) is a signal to turn off growth. The length of day/night is determined by the number of hours of darkness. Knowing this, growers can manipulate the length of day and night to force some plants to flower (like chrysanthemums) or turn red (like poinsettias).
What do plants smell?
How about the sense of “smell?” According to Chamovitz, plants can respond to an attack by beetles by releasing chemicals. This volatile chemical in the air will be converted by surrounding plants into a physiological response to deter the attacking beetles.
What do plants taste?
Plants obviously don’t have a mouth, so what about the sense of “taste?” Plants distinguish different soluble chemicals through its roots. Plants may make their own sugars (photosynthesis) but they are totally dependent on outside sources for essential minerals. Plants regulate how much they absorb and regulate their water intake to balance the minerals.
What do plants feel?
Plants perceive touch, or mechanical stimulation, but not pain. If a bug is eating a leaf, the plant will send an electrical signal to produce a defense hormone. A strong wind will encourage a plant to strengthen its stem to better cope with the wind. Setting seedlings outside in the spring breeze helps them grow a sturdier stem.
Plants like the Venus Fly Trap will “feel” a bug touching the tiny hairs on the leaves, causing the leaves to close and trap the bug. It takes a certain sequence of touching a certain number of hairs for this to happen so the plant can close at the right time on the right size bug. Amazing!
What does a plant hear?
Can a plant detect sounds without ears? Do plants prefer classical music or rock and roll? Sound is basically pressure waves. Apparently plants are deaf to particular music, but will respond to the touch of the vibrations. So, you might as well listen to the music you like!
According to Chamovitz, it is still being determined if plants respond to the sense of water, or the sound of running water (like a leaking pipe underground). Are they sensitive to the sound of buzzing bees (hearing), or the vibrations from the bees (touch). More study is needed!
How does a plant know where it is?
Plants somehow know that roots grow down (gravitropism) and leaves grow up toward the light (phototropism). This was studied by Darwin years ago and experimented with in the weightlessness of space. No matter how a seed is planted, this principle was maintained. In space it was just a slower process. Imagine that!
What does a plant remember?
There are three kinds of memory: procedural memory (how to do things); semantic memory (memory of concepts, like in school); and episodic memory (dependent on “self-awareness” of the individual). Plants are capable of sensing and reacting to external stimulation…procedural memory. The other two types of memory are what defines us as human beings. (Chamovitz, p. 137)
The Venus Fly Trap seems to remember if a bug touches a hair; if a second hair is touched (within about 20 seconds) indicating the right size bug, the Trap will shut.
Some researchers suggest plants will “remember” the cold snap and will, over generations, begin to flower later in the spring.
So how does all this information help me take better care of my plants and my garden?
The first thing I did was trim my vine! I did not worry about touching the plant and turning it toward the light (might stimulate growth!). I didn’t worry about what music I listened to…if I liked it, good enough. Finally, I will not worry that I’m hurting its feelings!
All trimmed up ready to grow some more!
If you’d like to chat about this article, post a comment or send me an email marykisner@comcast.net. Enjoy your plants!
This is the time of year I find my mind drifting to Spring gardening season. I’m looking longingly at our garden seeds and have been sorting through photos of our garden over the last several years. Wow! The year of sunflowers was spectacular and that giant pumpkin vine sure took up a lot of space!
This plant was taller than me!This pumpkin vine is taking over!
Today, with the freezing drizzle outside, I broke down and dusted the living room. Shock! I know! Cleaning is always my last resort when I get bored! While I was watering my plants (all four of them) I was mindful that I don’t pay the same attention to them that I do to our outside garden plants.
My attention was drawn to my bookshelf with the stack of gardening books. (I’m so easily distracted!) I pulled out a book I had read in the 70’s that I found so interesting at the time: The Secret Life of Plants, by Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird, 1973. This book was quite detailed about the early experiments conducted by Cleve Backster in the 1960’s. Backster was considered “America’s foremost lie-detector examiner,” (Tompkins & Bird, 1973, Pg. 3).
When he attached electrodes to a plant leaf in his office–mostly out of curiosity to see if the plant responded when being watered–he was astounded when there was a response. He tried a few other simple tests. The plant responded wildly when he just thought about going to get a match to burn a leaf. From that point forward his research shifted from human responses on the lie-detector, to find out if plants had real emotions and if the intent to harm was enough to trigger the response. Did plants actually have real emotions?
Maybe I just need to talk with my plants more!
Just reviewing the Table of Contents of the book reminded me how far this initial research continued to influence major agricultural systems and research into how to tap into plant sentience (feelings) to affect growth. If we understood how plants feel, could we provide the right conditions for their growth? This path veered to the esoteric and extra sensory perceptions of the plants ending with a final chapter about the community of Findhorn, Scotland. This community was able to grow incredible plants in very harsh conditions by encouraging them telepathically to succeed.
So…should I be working harder to encourage my house plants to stay healthy and green?
I was curious to see if this book (published in 1973) was still in print. I searched on Amazon and yes, the book was reprinted in 1989 (with a new graphic on the cover) and was still available. Of course, thanks to Amazon’s search engine (If you liked this book here are some others you might like!) I found this next book: What a Plant Knows: A Field Guide to the Senses, by Daniel Chamovitz, 2012.
Technology and science have now caught up and revised many of the conclusions in the Tompkins & Bird book. I can see I’ll read this next one with great interest. It has been over 40 years and I’m curious how history now views the book. I was not disappointed. Here is a direct quote from Mr. Chamovitz, in the Prologue:
“My book is not The Secret Life of Plants, if you’re looking for an argument that plants are just like us, you won’t find it here…Worse than leading the unwary reader astray. The Secret Life of Plants led to scientific fallout that stymied important research on plant behavior as scientists became wary of any studies that hinted at parallels between animal senses and plant senses.” (Chamovitz, 2012, Pg. 6).
I’m looking forward to reading about the latest research in plant biology! Stay tuned for From the Bookshelf: What a Plant Knows.
