August is the time when gardens look their best. Fruit becomes showy, flowers abound, and plants are large and plentiful. Mendel's Garden #4, currently blooming at The Inoculated Mind, is no exception. Evolgen pointed this out, so I had to go take a look.
I enjoyed this trip through the experimental garden at UC Davis. It's a nice change to see someone with a scientific bent planting such a spicy garden. It was interesting to learn about how genetic engineering saved the papaya industry in Hawaii and the strains of flood-resistant rice.
Karl's own gardening experiences were enlightening, too. It was funny that people would complain about the mental stress they experienced from viewing the sign posted in his garden. What's not so funny, is that many of the people I've known, who are opposed to biotechnology in the plant world, are so uninterested in learning about the science of it. Ah well, another day, and another tour.
Check out the garden tour schedule to find out more about future times and gardens.
technorati tags: : mendels garden, mendel, genetics, genes, dna, organic gardening, papayas, plants
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Hi Sandra,
Thanks for the excellent review of my garden post. In a couple weeks, when I have more time to write about it, I'm going to relate the negative reviews I've had, including damage. But you might be surprised, despite the opposition, there were many people who were open to or intrigued by the prospect of combining the two approaches to agriculture.
But when I look around the garden, I can't help seeing all the "un-natural" and altogether bizarre ways in which we've modified our foods. I didn't even get into gene transfer between species of grains that happened long ago - yet today, doing the same in a more careful fashion has a stigma associated with it.