A "New" oldest plant!

Previously the oldest seed that germinated and grew was about 2000 years old. Well, that record was broken....shattered actually.

The "new record"? 30,000 years.

Life resurrected from prehistoric seeds

Here is the beginning of the article:

Russian scientists say they've grown a flowering plant from material extracted from seeds deposited in the Siberian permafrost 30,000 years ago.

The work of the scientists at the Institute of Cell Biophysics in Russia is creating a worldwide buzz after being published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in the United States.

Previously, the oldest known seed material that has been able to produce life was from about 2,000 years ago, science writer Ed Yong reports in a Discover magazine blog giving details of the work of the Russian breakthrough.

The plants, named silene stenophylla, are from a time when wooly mammoths and saber-tooth cats lived in Siberia. Their 300-century path to life began when squirrels brought the fruit of the plant and the immature seeds the fruit contained into a riverbank burrow. As the climate cooled, the burrow was covered with layers of ice and the seeds were preserved by temperatures of minus-7 degrees Celsius (19.4 degrees Fahrenheit), according to Yong's report.

The immature seeds were extracted from the burrow along the banks of the Kolyma River more than five years ago.

Seeds seeds and more seeds!

Got the latest seed orders in. one from Henry Fields and one from Gurneys...

I could not resist the "half off" at Gurneys and the $25 off at HF.

A few things on back order: my lily of the valleys (I really LOVE these flowers) and some new grapes. I still want to place an order with Johnny's.

AND I bought the rest of the walls/fiberglass for my green house!! YAY!!!

It's all stacked up in my shed but all that is left is the rock for the floor and I will try to get that at the quarry.

It will be a couple weeks (maybe just one) before my son can come over and finish it up.

I was wandering around my yard today (been so busy, I've not wandered around in a few days) and my roses have new leaves and all my bulbs are up and beginning to bloom! I sure hope we do not have a deep freeze!

If I have time tomorrow, I will take pictures and post them. :D

This week we do STEMS!

In our botany lab this week we will go over stems of plants, all the usual information: what tissues and structures are going on inside and outside. The students will look at various sticks and chunks of wood. They will learn about phyllotaxy (leave arrangement on a stem) so I need to see if we have enough plants in the greenhouse to cover all the different arrangements.

They will learn about heart wood, sap wood, soft wood, hard wood, spring wood, summer wood.

and yeah, I did make the comment about my ex....It was funny watching them try so very hard to not laugh (I think they did not think it appropriate to laugh) but seriously, how can you NOT think about what this root tip looks like?

and that is rather a decent picture of it. I don't think they will forget about the root cap either since I called it the "condom of the root tip".

have a great day!

very cool do it yourself-er!

I really like this recycled milk jug planter thingy....not sure what you would call it but you can find it and the directions HERE at Coach House Crafting.

I think I will hit my son up for extra milk jugs and make me an herb garden, cause one cannot have too many herbs!!! :)

This week we do ROOTS!

In the botany lab I teach here, we are going to be learning all about roots; inside, outside, modifications, etc.

I have to remember to start the plants SOONER in my little "grow tubes" where I have radishes, onions, and carrots started. While you can see roots, they are not mature enough for the differences. However, we will have "fresh" stuff from the grocery store to annihilate....I mean dissect.

I've got six trays of seeds sprouting so they can dissect many embryo's. Beans, peas, alfalfa, lentils, and some hard white wheat. They seem to be growing well. There should be enough for all three labs.

Got my compost bucket ready, razor blades, and slides! It should be a rowdy chaotic day .........in other words: the usual! :)

They usually get a kick when I break out the root tip model. It's huge: about 24 or so inches high and a good 11 or so inches wide. It looks like a huge phallic god or something. And yes, I use it's looks to "lock in" what it is and does....very rarely does anyone get anything wrong on quizzes or exams about that root tip model!

Maybe I should tell them "this is all I kept of my ex-husband"

hmmmmmmm, maybe not.

Raised beds

I would take a picture of the new raised beds..........but

they are not built yet AND most of the wood is at my son's house because he took it out of my van so we could take the grands out riding.

lol!

Supposedly, he is to come over this Saturday (I will try to sneak some pictures of him working hard) and finish up my fence....it is slowly getting done...just ONE more piece and a gate! yay!!!

I have a couple lilac bushes I want to plant in the front yard and a Japanese maple and I will have to hope no one decides to dig them up and steal them. yeah that happens around here.

Got about half the seeds in I've ordered. I'm going to try Stevia and ginseng this year. And I will be making an asparagus bed! :) Will be growing that from seed.

Some day I may just get organized. But I doubt it will be soon. hahaha!

my "freebie" red cabbage is still growing and I now have "freebie" potatoes growing. My thyme has not died either and somehow my cauliflower plants that got ate up TWICE is now on their THIRD try at thriving. SAME two plants. lol! I sure hope they give something to eat after all that struggle.

A couple of my favorite blogs

If you haven't already checked out these blogs, you should.

Sally's Country Home is a nice blog where she has posted storage ideas and recipes and has them in a weekly schedule...and she writes great stories!!!! She just finished one up on Zombie Squad that I'm hoping she will get into print like her other book "An Unexpected Life".

And I know I've mentioned Frippery Farms on one of my blogs, even have a button you can push to go there but if you like to see pictures of adorable baby goats and strange chickens and other fowl, check it out.