Posts Tagged ‘fruit cultivation’
Blossoms, Berries, and Bygone Days: Calvin Fletcher’s Garden Diary
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. June 2, 1859 On this day, dear fellow gardeners, let us take a delightful journey back to the mid-19th century, where we shall bask in the horticultural observations of one Calvin Fletcher. This…
Read MoreCranberries Take Center Stage: The 1843 Fruit Craze That Surprised America
The Pleasant Fruit November 18, 1843 Back in 1843, cranberries were causing a sensation in towns and cities around the country. The New England Farmer shared a charming update on the demand for the seasonal fruit, saying: “Cranberries. This pleasant fruit is now received in large quantities from the West. The crops in the East…
Read MoreMichael Keens and the Birth of the Modern Strawberry
The Complete Strawberry On this day, Michael Keens, a market gardener from Isleworth, exhibited the first large-scale cultivated strawberry at the Royal Horticultural Society. Now when it came to strawberries, Michael combined two important variables: flavor and appearance. It’s hard to imagine, but large garden strawberries as we know them today didn’t exist before the…
Read MoreJean-Baptiste Van Mons: Master of Pear Breeding and the Father of Selective Fruiting
Birth of Selective Breeding Today is the birthday of Jean-Baptiste Van Mons, who was born on this day in 1765. The name of the game for Van Mons was selective breeding for pears. Selective breeding happens when humans breed plants to develop particular characteristics by choosing the parent plants to make the offspring. Check out…
Read MoreThe Faith of the Dormant Buds: Remembering Pomologist William Henry Chapman
Symbolism of Trees Today is the anniversary of the death of the botanist William Henry Chapman who died on this day in 1970. Chapman was an American botanist, and his area of specialty was pomology or fruit. As a professor, Chapman taught at Cornell and later at UC Berkeley and UC Davis, where he was…
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