> Warren Ockrassa <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> > Deborah Harrell wrote:
> > Debbi
> > who is experimenting with herbs at altitude,
having
> > discovered already that tomatoes don't do well
> I imagine getting the herbs to burn adequately is
> difficult, let alone
> *tomatoes*, which are of course rather wet
just
> how powerful *are* these herbs anyway?
Hey, I rarely burn my suppers!!! The altitude
(~7800ft) is not so high that ignition is difficult,
although water boils more quickly if in a kettle or
covered pot.
I think I've mentioned before that oregano has, ounce
for ounce, about 40 times the antioxidant power of
apples, so that's pretty darned powerful, in my
almanac.
Does that cover your agenda? <tiny little grin>
Kevin Street wrote:
>One thing I wonder about though that isn't addressed
>by this research is the importance of symbiotic
>bacteria and little one-celled critters in soil.
>Your average handful of dirt is teeming with
>microscopic life, so it would be kind of a shock to
>the system to put one of these new, toughened plants
>directly into martian "dirt" (or dust, or whatever).
>The plant wouldn't have any other organisms around to
>help it out, which might make it harder to survive.
Absolutely, as well as less useful (thinking of
nitrogen-fixers like legumes, which depend on
co-living bacteria to do part of that work). The
beauty of using extremopile bacteria for donor genes
would be that adapting necessary and beneficial
bacteria ought to be easier than gene-splicing the
plants. And why not work on other symbiotes, like
lichens, to live in /on the polar ice?
Andrew Paul wrote:
>Certain herbs grow way better at altitude, as the
>higher UV makes them secrete more of the stuff they
>are grown for. But I doubt these are the ones you are
>testing. And what happens to tomatoes?
Kitchen window-box type herbs, like oregano and basil,
are my subjects. Tomatoes need more warmth than is
available to produce fruit, although they do grow; a
greenhouse might allow them a longer growing season.
You'd need to let bees have access at least part of
the time, or hand-pollinate the flowers.
Besides tomatoes, hot peppers don't do well (no
fruit), and neither does dill (although I'll try it
again). Sage, oregano, cilantro and surprisingly
watercress do fairly well, although you have to watch
for those odd cold nights (despite our record-breaking
recent heatwave, nights now are in the 40s-50s oF!).
The jury's still out on basil.
Debbi
Where Have All The Flowers Gone? Maru :)
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