permaculture

[Mikal Jakubal <mjakubal@asis.com>]

Hi Ava,
No, I'd never patent anything living. It's just profoundly evil to do so,
IMO. The best way to save useful varieties is to use them. If it's a good
enough plant, someone will want to keep it around. On the other hand, the
Germplasm Repository decided a while back that cannabis would never again
be legal, so they dumped their stocks of industrial seeds that had been
entrusted to them for safekeeping. They now have none. 

I found out that Burbank's selections were a cross of Opuntia ficus-indica
and O. tuna, the Mexican nopal. Anyone know where Opuntia "indian-fig" is
from originally?

By the way, the (patented) purple carrots that I planted are starting to
bloom. Think about this: to select the best of the next generation, I'll
have to plant all the seeds. Then, when the roots are eating size, I'll
have to pull up and view and taste-test every one. Then the best of them
can be replanted to continue growing and setting seed. Imagine
taste-testing 1000 carrots! Good thing I like them. (Whose silly idea was
this anyway?)

Mikal 

At 12:48 PM 5/2/00 +0000, you wrote:
>Way to go, Mikal!  Do you know that there is no germplasm for ANY prickly 
>pear cactus (even the hybrids) left in the National Germplasm 
>repositories?
>
>I would appreciate it if you could keep me posted on your trials and 
>progress with the cultivation and cross-pollination of your new nopal 
>variety.  Maybe you should consider having a patent put on it so that some 
>of the germplasm will get into the repository.  I'm afraid that soon, 
>without everyone's help, ALL nopal will eventually be on the endangered 
>list.  Progress and all, you know.
>
>Blessings,
>Ava
>
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