Dear Sean Gambrel AmeriCorps VISTA Volunteer, My kiwi grew from seeds about 13 years ago and were fine in the latitude of Harrisburg, Pa. for the summer. We gave them to a friend in Wash. D.C. because we had nowhere to plant them for the winter. Perhaps a very sheltered area or just replanting every year would suffice. If you have an in ground type greenhouse, like the Russians use in their much farther northern areas, it might work. The USDA office, back then, had one small article about Kiwi plants which at that time wasn't very helpful. Kiwi take over everything and hold soil, which is why they are used on New Zealand hillsides. Sort of like we use Crown Vetch for soil conservation so beware of a hardy Kiwi, because Crown Vetch has now become a weed in Penna.
Crossing Kiwi with Kudzu and inserting a cold hardy gene would give us fruit and high protein flour... OK, I realize some of you fear the Monsanto gene splicer, just joking. As for support, lots of people throw out old bed springs. Rust is much safer than toxic pressure treated wood. Think chemistry, if the plant is taking in the atoms of the toxins in the root system it becomes incorporated in the structure of the plant. That is why I could never understand people telling you to wash off the insecticides. Even as a child I knew that the plant was absorbing poisons into the very essence of its being. That admonishment to just wash the fruits and veggies was as disturbing to me as the Santa Claus story when I saw my parents wrapping gifts in secret. Smart kids incorporate such nonsense into a construct of why I do not trust grownups and then transfer it to distrust of government. Just another rant about why community gardens are very important for the structure of this nation. Helen Steely Hbg., Pa. ______________________________________________________ The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one of ACGA's services to community gardeners. To learn more about the ACGA and to find out how to join, please go to http://www.communitygarden.org To post an e-mail to the list: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription: https://secure.mallorn.com/mailman/listinfo/community_garden
