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  • From: <redherring@tnaccess.com>
  • To: <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [NAFEX] comments on clover
  • Date: Sat, 10 Aug 2002 08:54:00 -0500

I threw clover seed around in our garden some years back. I threw clover
seed or alfalfa seed under my apple trees most winters to find out when I
had enough calcium to support clover under them. They make a good test
plant for calcium. It took several years before the calcium got really
happy in the garden, now it is thick in places. Only after establishing it,
did I realize that as a member of Seed Savers Exchange, that I have created
a problem that I don't know how to get rid of. White clover carries bean
mosaic virus over the winter. Beans, so far as I know, evolved in the new
world, am I correct on that? There was no white clover, it's an old world
import. So I have this virus problem in my beans that the local Indians
didn't have to worry about. I had a mixed culture of beans from the eastern
Cherokee, and they just got riddled with virus. I really can't deal with
the virus, just hope that the more resistant bean strains will do okay.
Doesn't seem to be much hope of getting rid of the clover. Donna
P.S. Have you seen that stuff about the French scientist who has deciphered
which musical tones can encourage plants to grow, and inhibit virus?
Imagine how that could change the world. Virus is a major cause of decline
in potato and fruit tree strains. Cleaning the virus out of Meyer lemon was
a huge project, since unlike most citrus, it doesn't make cny clones in it's
seeds. It was so popular, it had become riddled with virus over the
centuries. Imagine just being able to grow a virus infected plant with
continuous virus-inhibiting music, and then graft from the new healthy
growth. It's an expensive process the way they clean up viruses in
Beltsville, by growing the trees at such high temps the viruses can't
reproduce.




  • [NAFEX] comments on clover, redherring, 08/10/2002

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