WILL
NOT BLOOM BELOW 3000 FEET
This was the printed admonition given
to Shane Rohan when he purchased the dwarf pear tree of this
picture. This was the apprehension entertained by Kevin Sue Rohan
when she was asked to be the chief organic gardener for the untried
coldwater 'organic' garden of the Common Heritage Corp. Her
apprehension was justified for her new born, Tory, was still 'at
the breast' and her two sons Justin and Landon were still
pre-schoolers. The family income did not permit day care nor did
Kevin Sue's concept of family nurture and rearing admit of long
periods of separation of the family during these critical formative
years. The very concept of ColdAg Ocean Agriculture was uncertain
and the plant physiology unknown. But there was an analogy between
trickle irrigation and coldwater condensate on un- perforated
irrigation pipes through which deep ocean water was surging. Both
techniques produced water at the root level and there was hope that
the ColdAg technique might perform as trickle irrigation would.
There was evidence that such a garden located in the center of a
desert wilderness could be organic, free from the diseases that
were endemic to the upper slope and free from the insects of that
same region.
With this hope and determination the Rohan family
started the CHC garden; Kevin Sue and the three children virtually
lived in the vegetable and fruit garden and Shane planted the fruit
tree. The produce was unbelievable in quality, quantity, and
variety. More than eighty different fruits and vegetables graced
the Rohan table and the primary nutrition of the Rohan 'three' was
derived from the garden. What magnificent healthy young creatures
they are. Trained to live a play in a garden without destruction of
the fruits and vegetables designated for maturity but with the
knowledge and freedom to reap the daily harvest of the thinning
process or the overly ripe fruits which would otherwise perish on
the vine.
This first organic experiment was not without its
problems and three times the cold water which surrounded the roots
of the fruit tree was interrupted. As a consequence NATURE REVEALED
A MIRACLE. Each time the cold was interrupted the trees went
dormant, the leaves fell from the tree and only the unripe fruit
remained. As soon as the cold was restored the tree blossomed forth
as spring. New flowers new fruits. Soon there were two fruitings on
the one tree, then three, then the harvest of that first sweet
pear, then another bloom and today three sets of fruit are
flourishing on the tree.
What a miracle four fruitings on the
same tree in one year at sea level on a costal desert. Three
beautiful children and a family that lives and works together are
flourishing at sea level on a coastal desert. Is this not a true
garden of Eden and is this not the model for environmentally
sustainable development for the peoples of this earth who are
forced by circumstance and population pressure to flee to the
uninhabited coastal deserts and convert them into promised
land.
For a more complete understanding of the
sociology and plant physiology of ColdAg,
Click here For a fuller understanding of the Common Heritage of
Humanity and its relationship to Ocean
resources, Click here