06/01/2026
new conditions, new opportunity
A hedge of american black currant and thornless honey locust was planted in sun beaten sod. As they gained a footing in their new home, they made it their own. Birds came and planted "w**d" trees. The roots, shoots, shade, and leaf litter altered the conditions that the thick grass previously preferred. Now, beneath the bushes, there are few w**ds, and they are easily removed, revealing fungal soil with chocolate cake texture. Plants and land are in conversation, participating in each other's development. What once was, is now anew, opening doors for the natural practitioner to walk through.
I saved hybrid persimmon seed when visiting Cliff England's orchard. It's full of some of the most diverse Diospyros fruit and pollen in the country. Now to plant these precious seedlings. When nurturing juvenile breeding material, it's important to give them the most enriched environment to encourage the expression of domestic qualities like large fruit. They may struggle as they settle into an open field until they build a community and craft their preferred world, for they are a species of the forest. Instead, I gently prune space between each pair of currants. As the persimmons push through, they will rest happily in the dappled shade of the honey locust, and the shade loving currants will be happier for it.
