∞interwoven∞

∞interwoven∞ nursery, plant library, food forest
southern ɪʟ | zone 𝟩a | ᴇꜱᴛ 𝟤𝟢𝟣𝟦

Dreaming of Zone 7 Sweet CitrusCitrus is made up of a collection of species and their hybrids. The holy grail of the las...
12/19/2025

Dreaming of Zone 7 Sweet Citrus

Citrus is made up of a collection of species and their hybrids. The holy grail of the last 100 years of citrus breeding is a cold-hardy sweet citrus that can be eaten fresh out of hand. The most palatable species are not very cold-hardy. Luckily, two species are quite hardy: Citrus trifoliata and Citrus cavaleriei. Citrus can easily hybridize between species. The goal is to balance cold hardiness with flavor through interspecific hybridization.

The most cold-hardy sweet citrus I'm aware of is 10 Degree Tangerine. It is a Clementine Yuzu cross, and is hardy to 8°F. Yuzu is a C. cavaleriei hybrid. 10 Degree Tangerine has a good balance of sweet and sour flavor and is easy to peel. For a citrus to be hardy to our farm's location (zone 7a) it needs to be at least hardy to 0°F.

Depending on the citrus cultivar, they produce some percentage of zygotic and nucellar seedlings. Nucellar seedlings are genetic clones of the maternal parent. Which is great for propagation, but lacks the genetic variation necessary for breeding. Zygotic seedlings are genetically unique, and their traits are determined by their pollen and seed parents. When we are looking for a maternal parent in a citrus cross, they ideally make a large percentage of zygotic seeds.

10 Degree Tangerine is a great seed parent because it only makes seeds when cross-pollinated. It has a unique leaf shape, so it's easy to screen for uniform nucellar seedlings. Citrus trifoliata has 3-lobed leaves, so when seedlings have 3-lobed leaves, we know the 10 degree tangerine was crossed with a C. trifoliata hybrid. While there is information available on what percentage of zygotic seedlings many cultivars make, I could find no references for 10 Degree Tangerine. I was delighted to discover that it appears to make 10-20% zygotic seedlings. The nucellar seedlings were sold and the zygotic seedlings will be grown out and evaluated for cold hardiness and flavor.

I purchased 10 Degree Tangerine fruits from Stan of McKenzie Farms in 2024, and germinated the seeds in 2025. I was ecstatic to discover I had a nice collection of zygotic seedlings. Later, Stan informed me of the trees growing near his 10 Degree Tangerine: Dunstan citrumelo, Sacaton citrumelo and US-852 (Changsha mandarin x C. trifoliata), all trifoliata hybrids. Serendipitously, my plan was to cross 10 Degree Tangerine with US-852! Some seedlings resemble citrumelo, and others resemble US-852. It appears very likely I have both crosses.

PICTURED
1) 10 Degree Tangerine seedling with resemblance to citrumelo
2) 10 Degree Tangerine seedling with resemblance to US-852
3) Nucellar 10 Degree Tangerine seedling
4) The whole gang

For more about our citrus breeding program: https://interwovenpermaculture.com/cold-hardy-citrus-project/

After patiently awaiting the first fruit to ripen, the mystery was revealed: what happens when a black and yellow goji h...
09/12/2025

After patiently awaiting the first fruit to ripen, the mystery was revealed: what happens when a black and yellow goji hybrid is crossed with a red goji? This time around the helix, swirls of translucent purple and maroon.

My friend Taylor of SelectionPressure.substack.com crossed the interspecies hybrid goji ‘Stardust' with a third species, Lycium chinense. In the fall of 2024, he generously sent me a young seedling. Stardust is a cross of a yellow fruited Lycium barbarum with the black goji, Lycium ruthenicum. Lycium chinenese, known as edible-leaf goji, with cultivars selected for larger leaves, has red fruit and tolerates humidity. Their child is Triple Goji.

Inter-specific hybrids create increased variation in seedlings and opportunities to select new and improved cultivars. In the words of biologist James A. Shapiro, "hybrid organisms have a markedly elevated potential for generating novel DNA sequence configurations not present in either parent species genome, an added impact of biological agency on evolutionary innovation."

Stardust has small, beautiful fruit with a notable quality of being tasty when eaten fresh, whereas gojis are typically dried, which improves their flavor. Triple Goji has incredible vigor, and remained green and lush in the hot, humid summer when my 6 other cultivars suffered.

The only downside is that Stardust and Triple Goji have smaller sized fruits than commercial cultivars of Lycium barbarum. The next step was to cross them with the largest goji I could find, Gigantic Ningxia (GN). This summer, I made two crosses, one with Stardust and GN, and another with Triple Goji and GN. I'm now growing the next generation of seedlings. An amazing quality of Goji is its precocity, and the seed does not require cold stratification. Seed can be started following fruit harvest, and the seedlings can produce fruit the following year.

I have two separate lines of seedlings, each with a different seed parent, Triple Goji and Stardust, both sharing the pollen parent, Gigantic Ningxia. In 2026, I'll evaluate the fruit size and quality, with an eye for interesting pigments, vigor, and tolerance to our hot and humid southern IL summers.

SUMMER PRUNING, NEWNESS, AND BECOMINGAs the lush green spring growth declines, leaves lose their luster, photosynthesis ...
07/11/2025

SUMMER PRUNING, NEWNESS, AND BECOMING

As the lush green spring growth declines, leaves lose their luster, photosynthesis reduces, and trees focus on reproduction. This is the yearly cycle of growth and senescence. As a human animal intimately involved in an ecosystem, we can intervene and prune senescencing trees in early summer. This triggers vigorous regrowth and renewed photosynthetic prowess, creating a 'second spring'.

Our primary goal in accelerating ecosystem health and regeneration is the maximization of photosynthesis- sunlight energy spinning through the system. The more available energy propels the macro-organism to grow in complexity and order. It develops to meet the opportunity of the high-energy state. The photosynthetic equation is carbon dioxide and water, transformed by light to create sugar and oxygen. Sugar builds biomass. Below ground, via root exudates, and above ground, sugar is the foundation of all plant tissue. The pruned plant material is organized along the tree line on the soil surface, which holds moisture, nourishes soil life, and builds organic matter. With an ever-increasing amount of organic matter, biomass, and life, each time we prune, the system renews from an enriched state. It is no longer the same macro-organism. In its new context, it emerges in newness. We are accelerating its becoming. We are participating in ecosystem evolution.

Natural systems thrive on the stimulation of well timed disturbance. Think of herds of buffalo cyclically grazing grasslands, over time creating the deep prairie soils. This stimulation enhances life processes. Too frequent of disturbances switch from a stimulation to a stress and degrade the life process, creating disorder. Think of overgrazing goats destroying all vegetation and eroding hillsides.

By growing our favorite crops among an interconnected family of plants, we have more chlorophyll- the bio solar panel that harnesses light energy. We can include plants that respond well to pruning, and when combined with our will, labor, and sharp tools, can turn up the energy dial. Instead of having an orchard that stagnates unless we haul in compost and woodchips, we have a self-regenerating system that grows in order with time.

PLANTING THROUGH TIME1. Drone photo at dusk 20252. Drone 20203. Rooftop shot 2015Gratitude to the land for embracing our...
06/05/2025

PLANTING THROUGH TIME

1. Drone photo at dusk 2025
2. Drone 2020
3. Rooftop shot 2015

Gratitude to the land for embracing our participation in the canvas of life. Time flies, plant trees.

Special shoutout to Daniel for generously sharing his aerial photography, aligning nicely with a 5-year cycle.

FERTILITY: Figs awaken nestled between mounds of their winter pruned branches. In the space beneath their summer canopy ...
05/08/2025

FERTILITY: Figs awaken nestled between mounds of their winter pruned branches. In the space beneath their summer canopy is a crop of beets, cilantro, and dill. Volunteer pokeweed is welcomed for spring biomass and root exudates. As the first round of grass begins to flower, it's mown, raked, and wheeled down the rows while there is still room to maneuver. The grass covered branches lock in moisture, encouraging their decomposition. This combination of woody stems, grass, and dense living tissue has transformed compacted clay into a nest that births nourishment.

I was delighted to chat with Dr. Shane Simonsen of Zero Input Agriculture, a podcast that explores the intersection of e...
04/26/2025

I was delighted to chat with Dr. Shane Simonsen of Zero Input Agriculture, a podcast that explores the intersection of evolution, ecology, and civilization. Recorded in October of 2024, all projects discussed have since progressed. I look forward to sharing their updates and development in future posts.

If you are new to Shane's work, I highly recommend his book 'Taming the Apocalypse'.

Matsumoto Wase Fuyu persimmon at different stages of ripeness. I adore this fruit.
09/27/2024

Matsumoto Wase Fuyu persimmon at different stages of ripeness. I adore this fruit.

BREEDING PLANTS VS BREEDING ENVIRONMENTSThere is a dynamic tension between focusing on adapting plants to meet local con...
08/13/2024

BREEDING PLANTS VS BREEDING ENVIRONMENTS

There is a dynamic tension between focusing on adapting plants to meet local conditions or adapting your conditions to meet the demands of plants. Both paths work with powerful natural forces. On one hand, the evolutionary process of the organism, and on the other, the successional process of the environment. Both share a key insight, nothing is static, life is going somewhere, and we can participate in that process.

Until recently horticulturalists did not prioritize pure (aka in**ed) heirloom seeds, but a population of genetically diverse plants. Seeds were saved from a collection of the best-performing parents, maintaining an evolving collection of diverse plants that could meet the demands of the local conditions and cycles of environmental pressures. The modern switch to a handful of heirlooms has led to expensive inefficiencies by propping up plants with fertilizer, pesticides, labor, and inputs. With our degrading environment, soil conditions, and other constraints, more than ever we need to bring back regional adaptability into seed by performing intra-species and even inter-species crosses, creating massive variability of plants to select from. We are adapting the plants to our environment, instead of forcing them to live where they do not want to.

This method reaches limits when it buts up against another powerful natural force: ecosystem succession. Ecosystems develop from simple to more complex. Like a pasture turning to a forest, as life accumulates it evolves more complex structure. Certain species thrive best at different stages of that developmental process. They will arise when their time is ready, and by doing so they help create the conditions for the next stage of succession, returning to the soil when their process is complete, making way for other species. The cursed autumn olive takes over a pasture instead of an oak because it thrives in that successional stage. As it alters the soil biology to that of a forest a squirrel plants an acorn. The future generation is nursed in the protection of the shrub, eventually the oak shades out the autumn olive and it phases out of the system.

Breeding plants that thrive in our degraded soil conditions with little inputs is not only creating regionally adapted plants, but plants that are adapted to the landscape's current stage of ecological succession. How much effort would be required to breed a climax species into a lower succession weedy species, and would it even be the same organism? In my worldview, the organism is an extension of its environment. Like a cuddly house cat compared to a skittish feral, the qualities of a being's expression are determined by its environment.

We have two major levers for altering the qualities of an organism, by breeding plants and by breeding environments. Depending on the context one may be pushing a boulder up or downhill. The synthesis of these two paths is where things really get interesting. We can breed plants to meet the current stage of succession, occupying the space while we build the conditions for the next stage of complexity. In life, nothing is static, and nor should be our gardens.

Permaculture is not just something you do, it's a destination. My go-to academic definition of permaculture is a design ...
05/24/2024

Permaculture is not just something you do, it's a destination. My go-to academic definition of permaculture is a design science with ethics based on harmonizing with natural processes. My heartfelt definition of permaculture is a vision of an abundant and ecological future where the needs of all people are met by harmonizing with life, where the rivers run clean and everyone has fresh drinking water, plenty of food, and healthy homes. In other words, permaculture is a post-scarcity ecotopia. I know that can seem grandiose and unattainable, but permaculture is visionary and intended to expand our imagination of what is possible. I don’t think we should give up on the big goals that we hold in our hearts like world peace, thriving biomes, egalitarian communities, and universally nourished bellies. That is our North Star which guides our development.

pictured: A row of thornless honey locust and pawpaw, sandwiched between two rows of chestnuts.

Diospyros kaki cultivar Korea
05/20/2024

Diospyros kaki cultivar Korea

GRAFTING KIT: list of contents...~toolbox~-Felco no.2 pruners-Victorinox single bevel floral knife: my primary grafting ...
05/18/2024

GRAFTING KIT: list of contents...

~toolbox~
-Felco no.2 pruners
-Victorinox single bevel floral knife: my primary grafting knife
-parafilm grafting tape
-Tagkrafters thermal plastic labels
-Artline garden marker
-Listo grease pencil white & Black
-Spray bottle of alcohol
-Clean rag
-Emers glue
-Clear washer: protects fingers during more dangerous cuts.
-Electrical tape
-Threaded tape
-Razor blade

~bottom drawer~
-extra markers and pencils
-extra grafting knife
-bandaids

~cooler~
-ice pack
-bagged scionwood
-Cooler also doubles as a chair when field grafting.

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369 Raum Road
Golconda, IL
62938

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