Hello,

I recently bought two small bamboo plants and put them in two pots on my balcony. They're both doing well and have grown several new stalks that are already growing a lot. But I noticed that the existing stalks were not growing at all, and today I found out why: a lot of them are missing their tips.

To my understanding this means those stalks won't grow anymore. Should I cut the "broken" stalks off to make room for new ones? I'm worried that the plant won't have enough leaves to do photosynthesis, because I would have to cut away quite a bunch.

As to why the plants are missing the tips: I don't know. I assume the store I got them from did it to prevent them from outgrowing the tiny pots they came in

cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/21477992

What did you harvest recently? Post photos if you like, and brag about what you grew or foraged.

My bird loves a good cucumber, one that has a really goopy center. The problem I'm having is the store bought cucumbers in my area are pathetic even when they are in season. They consist of mostly the white firm flesh with very little goop or seed in the center. Additionally, at 22yo, My friend is running out of summers and I always promised him we would try to grow a good cucumber one day.

I'm not exactly a gardener but this seems easy enough. My grandfather gardened and I remember him going out of his way to get certain breeds of seeds to get the precise genes he wanted. I'm trying to do that with cucumbers, and I'm looking for that goop.

Any cucumber enthusiasts able to recommend a brand? Planting and growing tips are welcome as well, but I'm not trying to turn this into a large project either.

I'm in the Pittsburgh, PA area. I have several areas to plant for adjusting sunlight duration. Soil is poor and a bit swampy. I could probably use a container. Unsure what's best yet.

With some warm weather in the Pacific Northwest, my garden finally picked up and started producing! I was able to get some good greens for a soup and salad, along with the first bunches of herbs! Pictured in the basket:

• Russian Kale
• Chard
• Oak fire mustard greens
• Red leaf lettuce
• Mesclun mix
• Little gem lettuce
• Wild Arugula
• Mizuna
• Parsley, Oregano, Sage, and Thyme

They were delicious! What sort of greens are you harvesting?

Our desire to preserve is strongly linked to a narrative of loss, both for biodiversity writ large and for rare heirloom seeds. But we recognize the need for biodiversity and destroy it in the same breath. What if we protected the Amazon instead of just the genetics within it? What if we supported small-scale diversified agriculture instead of industrialized monoculture?

Seed preservation has a place, but it’s not the thing that will save us. Heirloom seed keepers attempt to preserve the past, while plant breeders control genetic resources to commodify the seed. Neither camp is particularly focused on how to expand biodiversity into the future, as if biodiversity and seed varieties are fixed and finite things.

Compounding this problem is the climate crisis, which is dramatically affecting our ability to grow food. Diversity is a core component of resilience, so we need rapid, ongoing and diverse adaptation of our regional food systems – everywhere, all the time. If we’ve be