Tag Archives: garden

Roundup weedkiller and Roundup Ready crops

Posted on June 9, 2014 by argylesock

The world’s most popular weedkiller is called Roundup. It’s used in gardens, on farms and in public places. Many of the world’s most popular genetically modified (GM, genetically engineered) crops are called Roundup Ready. You can spray these crops with … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, ecology, horticulture, knowledge transfer | Tagged Africa, Agrobacterium tumefaciens, America, Asia, bacterium, Bayer, biotechnology, crop, Europe, farm, garden, genetic modification, glyphosate, herbicide, herbicide resistance, history, International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications, Monsanto, patent, pesticide, pesticide resistance, plant_dicot, plant_gymnosperm, plant_monocot, Roundup, Roundup Ready crop, Syngenta, trade, weed | 12 Comments

Gardens for wildlife

Posted on June 1, 2014 by argylesock

Here in Britain the gardening season looks good so far. Here’s an article about gardening for bees and other wildlife. Untidy gardeners like me are good gardeners for wildlife. It’s now a year since hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) bred in my … Continue reading →

Posted in ecology, horticulture, miniculture | Tagged apiculture, arthropod, breeding, bumblebee, clover, conservation, ecosystem, Europe, flower, foraging, fruit, garden, gardener, green manure, hedgehog, herb, hibernation, honeybee, hymenopteran, insect, invertebrate, leaf, mammal, nest, plant_dicot, rat, salad, vegetable, vertebrate, weed, wild bee, wild food, wild pollinator, wildlife | Leave a comment

When your produce gets wasted, it’s really a cry for help

Posted on April 24, 2014 by argylesock

Posted in agriculture, food, horticulture | Tagged fertiliser, food waste, fruit, garden, gardener, grocery, organic, vegetable, waste, water | 3 Comments

Stowaways in potted plants

Posted on April 18, 2014 by argylesock

Potted plants can seem so benign. Beautiful, fascinating, good to grow and give, but they may carry invasive species which are not benign. Tom Bawden at The Independent tells us about invasive species reaching Europe, including the New Guinea flatworm … Continue reading →

Posted in ecology, horticulture, money and trade | Tagged alien species, America, Argentine ant, arthropod, Asia, Asian hornet, beetle, biosecurity, coleopteran, Europe, flatworm, garden, harlequin ladybird, herbivore, hymenopteran, insect, invasive species, invertebrate, ladybird, landscape, lepidopteran, light brown apple moth, lily beetle, mollusc, moth, native species, New Guinea flatworm, New Zealand flatworm, oak processionary moth, pest, plant_dicot, plant_gymnosperm, plant_monocot, predator, rosemary leaf beetle, slug, snail, Spanish slug | 5 Comments

Big Garden Birdwatch 2014

Posted on January 25, 2014 by argylesock

Originally posted on Green Living London:
Pic: RSPB More than half a million people are expected to be watching their garden birds the weekend (25-26 January), for the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch. It’s the biggest wildlife survey in the world…

Posted in ecology | Tagged amphibian, bird, birdwatching, conservation, data, frog, garden, hedgehog, mammal, research, vertebrate, wildlife | 4 Comments

European pesticide rules might threaten American exports

Posted on December 26, 2013 by argylesock

CropLife America ‘represents the developers, manufacturers, formulators and distributors of plant science solutions for agriculture and pest management in the United States.’ It’s a good source of information on many topics, including the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) now … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, horticulture, money and trade | Tagged America, BASF, Bayer, crop, Dow, DuPont, Europe, farm, fruit, garden, grain, law, Monsanto, nut, peanut, pest, pesticide, plant_dicot, plant_monocot, politics, seed, soya, Syngenta, trade, Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership | 4 Comments

Exotic trees

Posted on December 9, 2013 by argylesock

Lewis at woodlands.co.uk tells us about the exotic (alien) trees which are familiar in our British landscapes. Lewis tells us how many of these trees arrived during colonial times when great houses and gardens were built. He doesn’t mention how … Continue reading →

Posted in ecology | Tagged alien species, arboriculture, disease, disease reservoir, ecosystem, forest, garden, hedge, history, human, invasive species, landscape, native species, naturalised species, plant_dicot, plant_gymnosperm, plant_monocot, sugar cane, tree, wood, woodland | Leave a comment

Paving the Way For Invasive Species

Posted on September 29, 2013 by argylesock

Originally posted on Living With Insects Blog:
Horticulturalists help bring beauty to our gardens and landscapes by introducing plants from other parts of the world and breeding them for aesthetic characteristics. In the past, not enough attention was paid to…

Posted in ecology, horticulture | Tagged alder buckthorn, alien species, aphid, arthropod, brimstone butterfly, ecosystem, garden, hemipteran, insect, invasive species, landscape, lepidopteran, native species, pest, plant_dicot, shrub, soybean aphid, tiger moth | Leave a comment

Solutions for micronutrient deficiency

Posted on September 8, 2013 by argylesock

argylesock says… Here are thoughtful words about malnutrition. My fellow blogger Anastasia Bodnar at Genetic Maize talks a lot of sense here but I’ll clarify some of her remarks about biofortification (the last section in her article). Golden Rice is … Continue reading →

Posted in food, human health, knowledge transfer | Tagged African Biofortified Sorghum, biofortification, biotechnology, breeding, cassava, child, corn, crop, crop variety, development, food, garden, genetic modification, Golden Rice, human, International Rice Research Institute, maize, nutrition, Orange Fleshed Sweet Potato, Orange Maize, plant_dicot, plant_monocot, poverty, rice, selective breeding, sorghum, staple food, sweet potato, Syngenta, Vitamin A, woman, Yellow Cassava | 3 Comments

Climate change ‘driving spread of crop pests’

Posted on September 3, 2013 by argylesock

Rebecca Morelle at the BBC tells us about evidence that climate change is affecting crop pests. Crop pests are moving North in the Northern Hemisphere, South in the Southern Hemisphere. Many crop pests are insects and other arthropods. They’re quite … Continue reading →

Posted in food, money and trade, weather and climate | Tagged alien species, arthropod, bacterium, beetle, climate, coleopteran, Colorado beetle, crop, evolution, farm, food, fungus, garden, insect, law, nematode, notifiable pest, oomycete, pest, plant_dicot, plant_monocot, trade, transport, viroid | Leave a comment