@jblue@mastodon.world

· 20h ago

Bees still need food in the fall. Wild asters bloom prolifically and support pollinators when most flowering plants are going to seed.

Symphyotrichum racemosum, small white aster; Bombus impatiens, eastern bumblebee

#nativeplants #gardening #jardin #garten #garden #bloomscrolling #fleuristonfil

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J blue @jblue@mastodon.world

· 20h ago

#solarpunksunday #gardening #garten #garden #jardin

Fruit and veg today 😊

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J blue @jblue@mastodon.world

· 23h ago

#solarpunksunday #photovoltaik #GreenEnergy #solar #Agrivoltaics

New agrivoltaic startup in Amance, France has reported 20% increase in maize yield when grown under solar panels due to decrease in water evaporation.

https://www.tse.energy/en/projects/amance

This follows reports of another agrivoltaic startup in France reporting better yields with grapes, Austrian reporting better yields with wheat and endangered wildflowers thriving and proliferating under solar panels in California.

tse.energy

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J blue @jblue@mastodon.world

· 1w ago

#solarpunksunday #gardening #garden #jardin #garten #peppers

So it’s this week peppers are showing stress from the Nor’easter 8-10 days ago. A lot of pepper and leaf drop.

“Royal burgundy” beans? More like black. 😄

In other news, I ordered 16 new varieties of pepper for next year and another grower wants to trade seeds with me. Someone needs to save me from myself. 😭🤣

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J blue @jblue@mastodon.world

· 1w ago

#solarpunksunday #GreenEnergy #photovoltaik #solar

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2026/09/30/cubas-pv-capacity-tops-1-4-gw/

Solar generates over a fifth of Cuba’s energy, much of it going to necessary infrastructure such as hospitals, clinics, radio, etc.

“Cuba has installed 1.42 GW of solar capacity across 144 photovoltaic plants and expects to exceed 1.5 GW by the end of 2026. Renewables now account for 21.4% of electricity generation, while the country is also expanding energy storage and solar-powered water pumping.”

pv-magazine.com

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J blue @jblue@mastodon.world

· 1w ago

#gardening #garden #garten #jardin #bloomscrolling #FleurisTonFil #butterfly #mariposas #papillon #schmetterling

Skipper on sweet potato flower 😊

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J blue @jblue@mastodon.world

· 4w ago

#solarpunksunday #solarpunk #plastic #plasticpollution #fossilfuels Teen in Ireland invents “Eco Purge, a plant-based, biodegradable plastic. Once disposed of, the plastic takes up to two weeks to degrade and release enzymes into the environment that break down existing microplastics in the surrounding soil and water.” https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/this-high-schooler-invented-a-plant-based-plastic-that-removes-microplastics-from-the-environment-as-it-biodegrades-180989254/

Smithsonian Magazine

This High Schooler Invented a Plant-Based Plastic That Removes Microplastics From the Environment as It Biodegrades

Eighteen-year-old Arya Satheesh created her award-winning Eco Purge to help address the global problem of plastic pollution

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J blue @jblue@mastodon.world

· 2w ago

#solarpunksunday #solarpunk #GreenEnergy #photovoltaik #solar Austrian agrivoltaics provider EWS has reported a 14% increase in winter wheat yield at its Sonnenfeld research site in Bruck an der Leitha compared with a control area without PV modules. Earlier this year, Sun’Agri in France reported an increase in yield for grapes and in California, increase in endangered native wildflowers. Agrivoltaics for the win! 🏆💚💛☀️ https://www.pv-magazine.com/2026/09/25/ews-reports-14-higher-winter-wheat-yield-at-austrian-agrivoltaic-site/

pv magazine Global

EWS reports 14% higher winter wheat yield at Austrian agrivoltaic site - pv magazine Global

Austrian agrivoltaics provider EWS has reported a 14% increase in winter wheat yield at its Sonnenfeld research site in Bruck an der Leitha compared with a control area without PV modules. The company attributes the result partly to shading and changes in the microclimate beneath its tracking PV arrays.

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J blue @jblue@mastodon.world

· 3mo ago

#solarpunk #solarpunksunday #cleanenergy #solar MIT scientist created a new type of solar panel that is transparent. It picks up only infrared and ultraviolet light. These can be used on windows or any clear pane (like cell phone screens) as well as flexible surfaces. “They estimate that using coated windows in a skyscraper could provide more than a quarter of the building’s energy needs without changing its look.” https://energy.mit.edu/news/transparent-solar-cells/

energy.mit.edu

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J blue @jblue@mastodon.world

· 1w ago

#gardening #cornell #CornellUniversity #garten #jardin #garden

If there are any ladies out there who would like to know easy self-defense with plants, feel free to DM me.

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J blue @jblue@mastodon.world

· 3w ago

#solarpunksunday #gardening #jardin #garten #garden #peppers #ClimateChangeGardening Fruit, peppers and other veg today 😊 This week is harvesting sweet potato leaves for drying. Wish me luck. It’s a 43ft long planting bed, the vines are 15-20ft and climbing all over the place. Deep breath.

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J blue @jblue@mastodon.world

· 2w ago

Replying to

3/3 I probably should have mentioned that in order to save space and mason jars, I crush the leaves. They would just get crumbled and crushed anyway before throwing into soups, curries ans pilafs.

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J blue @jblue@mastodon.world

· 1mo ago

#solarpunksunday #solarpunk #gardening #jardin #garten #peppers #garden Peppers and fruit today. I think a katydid is chomping my madhatters. Most of this week’s were half-eaten. They’re eating the leaves too.

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J blue @jblue@mastodon.world

· 2w ago

Replying to

@johntimaeus@infosec.exchange sounds good. I was thinking of just crumbling it into soups and curries, rice and bulgar pilafs, chickpea salads, savory pancakes and trying it out into mixed seasonings like the crushed white poppy mix that goes in aloo poshto.

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J blue @jblue@mastodon.world

· 1w ago

#books #bookstodon #audiobooks

Curious

Does anyone else image search the narrator of the audiobooks they’re listening to? Just to place a face with the voice?

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J blue @jblue@mastodon.world

· 1w ago

#Halloween #movie #movies #film

Seasonal reminder that the true monster of Jaws was the kid who asked his mom for coffee-flavored icecream. Depraved.

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J blue @jblue@mastodon.world

· 3w ago

#solarpunksunday #solar #photovoltaik #GreenEnergy 6 papers came out this spring and summer about breakthroughs in perovskite-silicon tandem solar cell technology. Perovskite can catch higher energy light than silicon and so improves energy capture/efficiency. Key to the improvements shown in the papers is durability with thousands of hours of field testing in ambient environments as opposed to glove box tests. Papers listed below: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-76713-y https://www.nature.com/articles/s41566-026-01972-6 1/2 ⬇️

Nature

Healing intervention for improving the efficiency and stability of tandem devices on industrial textured silicon - Nature Communications

Perovskite–silicon tandem solar cells offer efficient, low-cost energy, but forming high-quality perovskite films on textured silicon remains challenging. Kong et al. applied a healing treatment that improved crystal growth, efficiency, and long-term stability.

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J blue @jblue@mastodon.world

· 2w ago

Replying to

@johntimaeus@infosec.exchange yes, I don’t want all that mass of leaves to go to waste. It’s just too much to eat fresh and I don’t have the freezer space for it either. I’ll figure it out. Dried they taste like grilled zucchini and are a little tea-like so there should be lots of cooking possibilities.

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J blue @jblue@mastodon.world

· 3mo ago

#solarpunksunday #solarpunk #green #renewable #renewableenergy #fossilfuels Sustainable solar-powered desalination! “Desalination has always been an energy-hungry way of turning salt water into fresh water, making it largely the preserve of wealthy countries with abundant fossil fuel reserves. Yet, an outdoor demonstration prototype in China has managed to exhibit year-long stability with zero utility energy costs, thanks to a new type of photothermal material.” https://thewaterdigest.com/chinese-tech-makes-desalinating-seawater-cheaper-than-producing-bottled-water/

Water Digest

Chinese Tech Makes Desalinating Seawater Cheaper than Producing Bottled Water - Water Digest

Solar-powered innovation has shown year-long stability with zero utility energy costs, thanks to a new type of photothermal material Desalination has always been an energy-hungry way of turning salt water into fresh water, making it largely the preserve of wealthy countries with abundant fossil fuel reserves. Yet, an outdoor demonstration prototype in China has managed … Continue reading Chinese Tech Makes Desalinating Seawater Cheaper than Producing Bottled Water

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J blue @jblue@mastodon.world

· 3w ago

Replying to

@Engelsbaeckerei@norden.social @callunavulgaris@mastodon.scot cucumbery spinach. It’s mild though. They don’t have a strong flavor.

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J blue @jblue@mastodon.world

· 3mo ago

#solarpunksunday #garden #gardening #garten #jardin #regenerativeagriculture French study shows that regenerative farming has a protective effect during times of drought. Regenerative farms produce a higher yield than crops industrially managed when there is water scarcity. https://www.thecooldown.com/green-tech/regenerative-farming-france-drought-yield-stability/

French regenerative farms lose far less in drought, study finds, enough for 130 million baguettes

The Cool Down

French regenerative farms lose far less in drought, study finds, enough for 130 million baguettes

The practice could deliver enough drought-saved wheat to make roughly 130 million baguettes.

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J blue @jblue@mastodon.world

· 3mo ago

#solarpunksunday #gardening #garden #jardin #garten #ClimateChangeGardening Gardening for heat, substitutions. Huazontle, komo and evening primrose. They grow large, produce loads, have a very long growing season with cut and come again method and thrive in heat. I get more out of these plants in the space they grow than broccoli, cauliflower and gailan. Even better? The cabbage whites don’t destroy them and they’re not water hogs!

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J blue @jblue@mastodon.world

· 3mo ago

Peppers and fruit the rats/squirrels did not eat (or tried once and rejected)

Ají cacho de cabra
Ají chinchi amarillo
Grenada seasoning
Peppapeach stripey

Physalis grisea and wild tomato

Ones they did eat were ají habanero, ají dulce orange and thunder mountain longhorn. The first two are heatless but the last one is 70k SHU.

#gardening #garden #jardin #garten #solarpunksunday

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J blue @jblue@mastodon.world

· 3mo ago

#solarpunksunday #gardening #garten #jardin #garden Beans this week. Romano purpiat, edamame and Celine. The edamame are supposed to be tankuro. I saved the seeds from last year. As a mature shelled bean, they were black. When they were ripe for eating, they were mottled black and green but this year the beans inside are totally green. Has this happened to anyone?

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J blue @jblue@mastodon.world

· 3mo ago

#solarpunksunday #garden #gardening #jardin #garten #peppers Peppers and beans this week. Update on rat situation: I caged and netted my pepper plants but now they are digging underneath the cages! They even managed to move the bricks I placed around the fencing. So I bit the bullet and ordered solar-powered electric fencing. Won’t arrive until Friday. So far, their favorite pepper seems to be ají habanero, also my favorite for drying bc it tastes like sweet saffron. 😭

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J blue @jblue@mastodon.world

· 3mo ago

#solarpunksunday #solarpunk #energy #fossilfuels #war #politics #Pakistan https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2026/4/7/how-pakistans-solar-boom-is-shielding-it-from-worst-of-iran-war-crisis A quarter (!) of Pakistani households now use solar panels. This seems like a major win for the climate and Pakistan’s energy independence but if you read the whole article, it puts lower income households at a bigger disadvantage.

Al Jazeera

How Pakistan’s solar boom is shielding it from worst of Iran war crisis

A quarter of Pakistani households are now using solar panels. This insulates millions of families from the energy crisis

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J blue @jblue@mastodon.world

· 3mo ago

#solarpunksunday #climatechange #ClimateCrisis

Former employees at NOAA created a nonprofit independent website for trusted climate information after Musk/Trump dismantled climate.gov.

“The website features Climate.gov's 15-year collection of climate news and stories, expert blogs, visual status reports on key climate indicators, maps and data pathways, climate literacy resources, classroom materials, and restored access to the Fifth National Climate Assessment.”

https://www.climate.us/

Climate.us

Climate.us Home

independent, nonprofit, and immune to politics

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J blue @jblue@mastodon.world

· 3mo ago

Replying to

@DoomsdaysCW@kolektiva.social yeah, it’s super annoying that US oligarchs are building water guzzling data centers in areas where there are water crises while in China they’re building solar-powered desalination plants to irrigate crops.

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J blue @jblue@mastodon.world

· 5mo ago

What to do with all the new spring weeds, wildflowers and herbs?

Low effort recipe: leaf fritters. Chop fine and combine with eggs, salt, flour and oil and then fry up like a pancake.

Add any and all additional ingredients you like: garlic/onions, spices, peppers, powdered leaves, mushrooms, nuts, etc.

#solarpunksunday #gardening #garden #jardin #garten

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J blue @jblue@mastodon.world

· 5mo ago

Replying to

2/2 Be free Sonique, be free! #nature #wildlife #gardening #jardin #garten #lizard

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J blue @jblue@mastodon.world

· 6mo ago

Chickasaw plum, Prunus angustifolia

#gardening #garden #garten #jardin #NativePlants #SolarpunkSunday

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J blue @jblue@mastodon.world

· 2mo ago

#solarpunksunday #solarpunk Engineers in Chile develop a living wall air-purifier that traps wood smoke from stoves. You can grow fruits and veg on it too. https://www.thecooldown.com/green-tech/biofilter-green-wall-improves-air-quality/

Two men create living plant wall that captures over 90% of wood smoke pollution — and it can grow vegetables

The Cool Down

Two men create living plant wall that captures over 90% of wood smoke pollution — and it can grow vegetables

The invention is already being used in homes, industrial sites, and public buildings across Chile, and the two founders are finalists for the European Inventor Award.

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J blue @jblue@mastodon.world

· 5mo ago

#gardening #garden #jardin #garten

In case someone finds it useful, rooted cuttings of baby kiwis (issai) can take ages to finally flower/fruit. I think I planted this 3 years ago and it’s just fruiting now.

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J blue @jblue@mastodon.world

· 3mo ago

#solarpunk #solarpunksunday #energy #fossilfuels Switzerland is densely cloudy in winter when energy is needed the most. So engineers installed solar panels above the clouds on the sides of mountains. It’s so effective that they’re expanding the project to other mountains. https://www.ecoportal.net/en/switzerland-5000-alpine-solar-muttsee-dam-winter-power/28487/

Switzerland bolted 5,000 solar panels onto a dam wall 8,000 feet up in the freezing Alps where everyone said solar made no sense, and the plant now makes three times more winter power than any farm down in the valleys

ecoportal.net

Switzerland bolted 5,000 solar panels onto a dam wall 8,000 feet up in the freezing Alps where everyone said solar made no sense, and the plant now makes three times more winter power than any farm down in the valleys

High in the Swiss Alps, on a concrete dam wall more than 8,000 feet above the sea, someone bolted thousands of solar panels to a place almost no one thought

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J blue @jblue@mastodon.world

· 6mo ago

#NativePlants #gardening #garten #jardin #bloomscrolling #FleurisTonFil #blumen #flores

Stylophorum diphyllum, wood poppy
Erythronium americanum, trout lily
Aronia melanocarpa, aronia berry flowers

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J blue @jblue@mastodon.world

· 6mo ago

#SolarpunkSunday #ClimateChangeGardening #gardening #jardin #garten #fossilfuels #climatechange #Polycrisis

Jujube thread 🧵 1/

TL;DR
-thrives in heat, zones 6-9
-tastes like apple
-flowers late, beating unexpected frosts
-can produce in areas with only 400mm (15”) of rainfall
-doesn’t like water-logged soil
-different cultivars for fresh eating, multipurpose or drying
-produces more cross-pollinating with another cultivar
-intercropping increases productivity
-links for more info

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J blue @jblue@mastodon.world

· 6mo ago

RE: https://mastodon.world/@jblue/116353589159536939

Boosting this again bc of #FoodInsecurity #foodsecurity crisis.

All the major commercial staple crops will be more expensive this year. If you live in a warm/hot climate, there is still time to plant sweet potatoes. They are more pest resistant than regular potatoes. And they will grow in the free mulch below.

You can grow sweet potatoes from the ones in the grocery store. Choose organic if possible in case they’ve been sprayed for root inhibitors. #solarpunksunday

Mastodon

J blue (@jblue@mastodon.world)

Attached: 2 images #solarpunksunday #gardening #garden #jardin #garten If you are concerned about rising food costs, please consider getting rid of your lawn. Cheapest way to do it thread 🧵 1/ (TLDR) -connect with arborist for free wood chips -obtain “green” compost from local businesses -height/fencing -bokashi and sealed water bucket method of producing fertilizer -leftover water from washing rice and lentils -will be ready to plant next year, otherwise add soil if planting this year

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J blue @jblue@mastodon.world

· 3mo ago

Advice please

Rats or squirrels in one night ripped off, ate and vomited out at least 30 peppers. I’m finding separate little piles of puked up peppers in different places.

This is really devastating. My first harvest has been wiped out.

Did they learn their lesson or do I need to cage all my pepper plants?

#gardening #jardin #garten

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J blue @jblue@mastodon.world

· 6mo ago

#gardening #garden #garten #jardin #solarpunksunday

All the baccatum peppers made it through the winter in the greenhouse where temps dipped to 31F/ -.6C. All the baccatums also have flower buds on them now but this one wins the race for first to bloom: ají chinchi amarillo

None of the chinense peppers that survived are blooming yet so something to keep in mind for convenience and backyard #foodsecurity

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J blue @jblue@mastodon.world

· 6mo ago

Replying to

6/ Bokashi method of composting allows to you use alternative types of waste that are not typical “greens” but you have to buy bokashi bran. https://www.almanac.com/bokashi-composting Another fertilizer method is to add weeds, trimmings and other greens to water in a sealed bucket set in the sun for 6 weeks to ferment. Don’t forget the leftover water from washing rice and lentils makes great fertilizer. You can even grind up raw lentils to a powder, mix with water and fertilize you plants that way.

Bokashi Composting: The Step By Step Beginner's Guide

Almanac.com

Bokashi Composting: The Step By Step Beginner's Guide

Learn all about bokashi composting, a fast method of reducing food waste and creating nutrient-rich compost, with minimal odor.

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J blue @jblue@mastodon.world

· 3mo ago

Replying to

@cassolotl@toot.wales good question. If nothing has been done, why not?

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J blue @jblue@mastodon.world

· 6mo ago

Replying to

@deepmud yeah I heard about it but haven’t tried it. Last year I brutally experimented with them so didn’t mess with the leaves until harvest just to see what I would get. I’m going to be nicer to them this year. https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/26/7/1820 It appears that 3rd week of Sept is the best time to harvest leaves for the most nutrients and then to preserve the most nutrients: freeze dry or dry at low temp. For cooking, steaming conserved the most nutrients. Would the Korean ones work for you?

mdpi.com

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J blue @jblue@mastodon.world

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@3janeTA wow, that looks really good and much better than mine. I’ll have to try baking it. Thanks!

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