#704 Lettuce <> Tomato Error

:)

On 7/26/07, Michael Bindner <bindner_space@...> wrote:
>
> The question is whether to grow wheat for bread, pigs for bacon, chickens
> for mayo - lettuce is a given.
>
> Terry Wilson <aftercolumbia@...> wrote:          On 7/22/07,
> jaber_1934 <jaber@...> wrote:
> >
> > Starting Tomato Seeds
>
> Hmm...tomatoes...our areonauts will love you for it.
>
> If we are ready to start our seeds, you should already have prepared
> > your soil. The pH should be from 6 to 6.5, and you should have worked
> > in your compost by now, and added all of the necessary vitamins and
> > minerals that the plant your going to seed will be needing.
>
> It should be (I hope) possible to prepare the soil on the ground into
> things
> like "Package A" and "Package B" (similar to the way my friend who does
> smoothies...most ingredients need to be frozen, some "merely
> refrigerated",
> so he has something that comes out of the cooler (a single ingredient
> usually, like milk or orange juice...never both, I can tell you why) and a
> main package that comes out of the freezer...he'll make a few dozen of
> those
> the Friday before a weekend. Finally, there's ice, the ubiquitous smoothie
> bar item.)
>
> To start with it's really important to have some good adjustable
> > fluorescent lights that you can move up and down over your seedbed. If
> > your fluorescent lights have a total wattage of 120 W you should have
> > a minimum of 40 W of incandescent bulbs to go with that.
>
> How big an area? I'm hoping that for a Mars greenhouse requiring
> Earth-level solar constant, it should be possible to get a big linear
> Fresnel magnifier to concentrate a square metre of light onto a six square
> foot area (approximating Earth-level sunlight). Hopefully, there's enough
> UV for effective rigidizing of thermoplastic inflatables (i.e. blow it up,
> let it sit in the sun, and it'll keep its shape after you let the air out)
> so that they'll rigidize within a reasonable period of time. This would
> allow the crew to enter such an inflatable greenhouse and set up the
> seedbeds. If the flexible panels between each concentrator (they would be
> short) were designed to absorb heat during the day and hold it at night
> (tough without making some sort of adjustment at dawn and dusk), it should
> be able to get pretty toasty in there...as long as we don't have the sort
> of
> storm we got right now.
>
> The reason
> > for that is that your fluorescent lights are short on light in the red
> > spectrum. Now it is true that you can buy fluorescent lights that will
> > cover that entire spectrum including those red and far red. I think
> > you'll find those much more expensive though. It may be necessary to
> > move your lights either up or down in order to adjust the temperature
> > of the air or over the seeds. If you add a small fan, it can be very
> > beneficial in that it continues to circulate fresh air over your seeds.
>
> "Small Fan" = standard life support item, no biggie. For temperature, say,
> if we have one greenhouse with plants that like a bunch of different
> temperatures, it should be possible to hang some nichrome wires for the
> stuff that wants to be warmer (especially at night.) For space, this isn't
> as elegant, even as incandescent bulbs, but with concentrated sunlight,
> we'll probably have the right amount of red light already.
>
> For tomato seeds, I like to Pre-sprout them. I soak them in water
> > for from eight to 10 hours and then drain off the water. I then place
> > them on damp paper towels, though not too wet. I then placed them in
> > an unsealed plastic bag and put in a warm spot, preferably 70° F is
> > optimum. They will sprout in a few days to a week saving much time
> > for growing. Be sure and check the bags daily!
>
> Ever use those disgusting little peat pellets? I have, and they worked
> fine
> for sprouting the seeds, but they never took root in the garden for some
> reason (frost...I live in Calgary, where snow in May is common, and snow
> in
> June is not unprecedented...It might not be possible to reliably grow
> tomatoes in this city without a greenhouse.
>
> You must handle the little sproutlings very carefully when you put
> > them in pots. I either use tweezers or forceps when handling them. If
> > you use a method other than pre-sprouting you need to use a sterile
> > planting mix that has no fertilizer in it as fertilizer sometimes
> > hinders the sprouting process. You can buy a quality ProMix for
> > commercial planting in containers that has lots of peat moss, perlite,
> > and vermiculite and it will do a better job.
>
> I haven't heard that specific name, but I know Revy (Rona, now, but at the
> time I last tried growing tomatoes...) has several specially designed
> potting mixes. They also have the individual ingredients, so you can make
> your own mix. I remember the white stuff, rusty colored stuff and the
> smelly stuff (being vermiculite, perlite, and moss...or did they call it
> "organic sumthin-oruther"?) In retrospect, I should have greenhoused them,
> then used a lot more of that stuff.
>
> As soon as they sprout,
> > you can add about one third strength of fish or kelp/fish emulsion.
>
> I missed that completely. Is there a specific one for plants? I know they
> have fish foods made of those ingredients.
>
> You should never ever use your own garden soil or reuse any of your
> > soil from the previous season as this may have plant diseases, fungi
> > or insect problems.
>
> Now he tells me... That leads me to the question, how do we recycle/reuse
> soil from one season to the next on Mars? It isn't too likely that we'll
> be
> able to bring that much from Earth, and even if we can, the sydonic period
> and growing season aren't exactly the same. Will mixes last if they arrive
> 16 months before we can use them? (I'm exagerating...let's start colonies
> in both hemispheres at the same time :)
>
> One other thing that is important is never water
> > seedlings from the top or mist them from the top, always from the
> > bottom.
>
> Good...it is easier to do it that way in microgravity and low gravity
> environments.
>
> Terry
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Michael Bindner
>
> International Space Consortium
> www.geocities.com/bindner_space/index.html
>
> Yahoo Group
> http://groups.yahoo.com/internationalspace/
>
> Personal Web Directory
> www.geocities.com/mikeybdc/index.html
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
> WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO GET TO MARS IN THIS LIFE TIME.
> The nine life support systems (as defined by NASA) are:
> Air Supply - Food production and delivery - Waste management, - Water
> supply - Temperature control - Electricity - Transportation -Communications
> - Recreation
> I include: Radiation Protection. - Information
> storage/retrieval/processing - Ability to construct necessary additions
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

The question is whether to grow wheat for bread, pigs for bacon, chickens for
mayo - lettuce is a given.

Terry Wilson <aftercolumbia@...> wrote:          On 7/22/07, jaber_1934
<jaber@...> wrote:
>
> Starting Tomato Seeds

Hmm...tomatoes...our areonauts will love you for it.

If we are ready to start our seeds, you should already have prepared
> your soil. The pH should be from 6 to 6.5, and you should have worked
> in your compost by now, and added all of the necessary vitamins and
> minerals that the plant your going to seed will be needing.

It should be (I hope) possible to prepare the soil on the ground into things
like "Package A" and "Package B" (similar to the way my friend who does
smoothies...most ingredients need to be frozen, some "merely refrigerated",
so he has something that comes out of the cooler (a single ingredient
usually, like milk or orange juice...never both, I can tell you why) and a
main package that comes out of the freezer...he'll make a few dozen of those
the Friday before a weekend. Finally, there's ice, the ubiquitous smoothie
bar item.)

To start with it's really important to have some good adjustable
> fluorescent lights that you can move up and down over your seedbed. If
> your fluorescent lights have a total wattage of 120 W you should have
> a minimum of 40 W of incandescent bulbs to go with that.

How big an area? I'm hoping that for a Mars greenhouse requiring
Earth-level solar constant, it should be possible to get a big linear
Fresnel magnifier to concentrate a square metre of light onto a six square
foot area (approximating Earth-level sunlight). Hopefully, there's enough
UV for effective rigidizing of thermoplastic inflatables (i.e. blow it up,
let it sit in the sun, and it'll keep its shape after you let the air out)
so that they'll rigidize within a reasonable period of time. This would
allow the crew to enter such an inflatable greenhouse and set up the
seedbeds. If the flexible panels between each concentrator (they would be
short) were designed to absorb heat during the day and hold it at night
(tough without making some sort of adjustment at dawn and dusk), it should
be able to get pretty toasty in there...as long as we don't have the sort of
storm we got right now.

The reason
> for that is that your fluorescent lights are short on light in the red
> spectrum. Now it is true that you can buy fluorescent lights that will
> cover that entire spectrum including those red and far red. I think
> you'll find those much more expensive though. It may be necessary to
> move your lights either up or down in order to adjust the temperature
> of the air or over the seeds. If you add a small fan, it can be very
> beneficial in that it continues to circulate fresh air over your seeds.

"Small Fan" = standard life support item, no biggie. For temperature, say,
if we have one greenhouse with plants that like a bunch of different
temperatures, it should be possible to hang some nichrome wires for the
stuff that wants to be warmer (especially at night.) For space, this isn't
as elegant, even as incandescent bulbs, but with concentrated sunlight,
we'll probably have the right amount of red light already.

For tomato seeds, I like to Pre-sprout them. I soak them in water
> for from eight to 10 hours and then drain off the water. I then place
> them on damp paper towels, though not too wet. I then placed them in
> an unsealed plastic bag and put in a warm spot, preferably 70° F is
> optimum. They will sprout in a few days to a week saving much time
> for growing. Be sure and check the bags daily!

Ever use those disgusting little peat pellets? I have, and they worked fine
for sprouting the seeds, but they never took root in the garden for some
reason (frost...I live in Calgary, where snow in May is common, and snow in
June is not unprecedented...It might not be possible to reliably grow
tomatoes in this city without a greenhouse.

You must handle the little sproutlings very carefully when you put
> them in pots. I either use tweezers or forceps when handling them. If
> you use a method other than pre-sprouting you need to use a sterile
> planting mix that has no fertilizer in it as fertilizer sometimes
> hinders the sprouting process. You can buy a quality ProMix for
> commercial planting in containers that has lots of peat moss, perlite,
> and vermiculite and it will do a better job.

I haven't heard that specific name, but I know Revy (Rona, now, but at the
time I last tried growing tomatoes...) has several specially designed
potting mixes. They also have the individual ingredients, so you can make
your own mix. I remember the white stuff, rusty colored stuff and the
smelly stuff (being vermiculite, perlite, and moss...or did they call it
"organic sumthin-oruther"?) In retrospect, I should have greenhoused them,
then used a lot more of that stuff.

As soon as they sprout,
> you can add about one third strength of fish or kelp/fish emulsion.

I missed that completely. Is there a specific one for plants? I know they
have fish foods made of those ingredients.

You should never ever use your own garden soil or reuse any of your
> soil from the previous season as this may have plant diseases, fungi
> or insect problems.

Now he tells me... That leads me to the question, how do we recycle/reuse
soil from one season to the next on Mars? It isn't too likely that we'll be
able to bring that much from Earth, and even if we can, the sydonic period
and growing season aren't exactly the same. Will mixes last if they arrive
16 months before we can use them? (I'm exagerating...let's start colonies
in both hemispheres at the same time :)

One other thing that is important is never water
> seedlings from the top or mist them from the top, always from the
> bottom.

Good...it is easier to do it that way in microgravity and low gravity
environments.

Terry

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]






Michael Bindner

International Space Consortium
www.geocities.com/bindner_space/index.html

Yahoo Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/internationalspace/

Personal Web Directory
www.geocities.com/mikeybdc/index.html



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi Terry,



I look forward to your future comments and will try to answer as best
I can.

--- In MarsLivingNow-@yahoogroups.com, "Terry Wilson"
<aftercolumbia@...> wrote:
> Hmm...tomatoes...our areonauts will love you for it.

<It should be (I hope) possible to prepare the soil on the ground into
things
like "Package A" and "Package B" (similar to the way my friend who does
smoothies...most ingredients need to be frozen, some "merely
refrigerated",
so he has something that comes out of the cooler (a single ingredient
usually, like milk or orange juice...never both, I can tell you why) and a
main package that comes out of the freezer...he'll make a few dozen of
those
the Friday before a weekend. Finally, there's ice, the ubiquitous smoothie
bar item.)

There is an article on the web called 'Red Mars, Green Mars' put out
by NASA scientists.  If I am interpreting their soil samples
correctly, which I may not be, it looks like we can make sufficient
modifications to the existing soil or regolith, so that we will not
have to transport soil all the way from earth.  That being said, we
will be growing vegetables hydroponically from the time we leave Earth
to the time we reach Mars. We will continue to grow vegetables in the
habitats and pods hydroponically.


>
> On 7/22/07, jaber_1934 <jaber@...> wrote:
> >
> >                         Starting Tomato Seeds
>
>

>        To start with it's really important to have some good adjustable
> > fluorescent lights that you can move up and down over your seedbed. If
> > your fluorescent lights have a total wattage of 120 W you should have
> > a minimum of 40 W of incandescent bulbs to go with that.
>
>
> How big an area?  I'm hoping that for a Mars greenhouse requiring
> Earth-level solar constant, it should be possible to get a big linear
> Fresnel magnifier to concentrate a square metre of light onto a six
square
> foot area (approximating Earth-level sunlight).  Hopefully, there's
enough
> UV for effective rigidizing of thermoplastic inflatables (i.e. blow
it up,
> let it sit in the sun, and it'll keep its shape after you let the
air out)
> so that they'll rigidize within a reasonable period of time.  This would
> allow the crew to enter such an inflatable greenhouse and set up the
> seedbeds.  If the flexible panels between each concentrator (they
would be
> short) were designed to absorb heat during the day and hold it at night
> (tough without making some sort of adjustment at dawn and dusk), it
should
> be able to get pretty toasty in there...as long as we don't have the
sort of
> storm we got right now.

I had thought about a Fresnel lens, but I'm going to leave that to
those who are going to be setting up the habitats and growing areas as
they probably have taken that into consideration. From the looks of
the design, the growing areas will be approximately 5 acres each. That
which is set aside for fruits and vegetables will be compartmentalized
so the sunlight may be lengthened or shortened to the best advantage
of the crop that is in that area.  Some crops grow better when they
have 24 consecutive hours of daylight, such as wheat.  Some vegetables
produced more if the day is extended by two or three hours beyond the
normal Earth day.  Thus the lighting will be regulated individually in
each area for a particular crop.  And each individual area will be
temperature controlled.

> The reason
> > for that is that your fluorescent lights are short on light in the red
> > spectrum. Now it is true that you can buy fluorescent lights that will
> > cover that entire spectrum including those red and far red. I think
> > you'll find those much more expensive though. It may be necessary to
> > move your lights either up or down in order to adjust the temperature
> > of the air or over the seeds.  If you add a small fan, it can be very
> > beneficial in that it continues to circulate fresh air over your
seeds.
>
>
> "Small Fan" = standard life support item, no biggie.  For
temperature, say,
> if we have one greenhouse with plants that like a bunch of different
> temperatures, it should be possible to hang some nichrome wires for the
> stuff that wants to be warmer (especially at night.)  For space,
this isn't
> as elegant, even as incandescent bulbs, but with concentrated sunlight,
> we'll probably have the right amount of red light already.
>
>        For tomato seeds, I like to Pre-sprout them.  I soak them in
water
> > for from eight to 10 hours and then drain off the water.  I then place
> > them on damp paper towels, though not too wet.  I then placed them in
> > an unsealed plastic bag and put in a warm spot, preferably 70° F is
> > optimum.  They will sprout in a few days to a week saving much time
> > for growing.  Be sure and check the bags daily!
>
>
> Ever use those disgusting little peat pellets?  I have, and they
worked fine
> for sprouting the seeds, but they never took root in the garden for some
> reason (frost...I live in Calgary, where snow in May is common, and
snow in
> June is not unprecedented...It might not be possible to reliably grow
> tomatoes in this city without a greenhouse.

Those little peat pots work well, if they are handled properly, but
I think you will find they have a small amount of fertilizer in each one.

>        You must handle the little sproutlings very carefully when
you put
> > them in pots. I either use tweezers or forceps when handling them.  If
> > you use a method other than pre-sprouting you need to use a sterile
> > planting mix that has no fertilizer in it as fertilizer sometimes
> > hinders the sprouting process.  You can buy a quality ProMix for
> > commercial planting in containers that has lots of peat moss, perlite,
> > and vermiculite and it will do a better job.
>
>
> I haven't heard that specific name, but I know Revy (Rona, now, but
at the
> time I last tried growing tomatoes...) has several specially designed
> potting mixes.  They also have the individual ingredients, so you
can make
> your own mix.  I remember the white stuff, rusty colored stuff and the
> smelly stuff (being vermiculite, perlite, and moss...or did they call it
> "organic sumthin-oruther"?)  In retrospect, I should have
greenhoused them,
> then used a lot more of that stuff.
>
>  As soon as they sprout,
> > you can add about one third strength of fish or kelp/fish emulsion.
>
>
> I missed that completely.  Is there a specific one for plants?  I
know they
> have fish foods made of those ingredients.

I know there are several on the market, and if you check with a
nursery or a mail order seed house, they can probably recommend a fish
fertilizer.  You might want to check some of the following seed
companies like Territorial, Lilly Miller, or Newdimensionseed.
>
> You should never ever use your own garden soil or reuse any of your
> > soil from the previous season as this may have plant diseases, fungi
> > or insect problems.
>
>
> Now he tells me...  That leads me to the question, how do we
recycle/reuse
> soil from one season to the next on Mars?  It isn't too likely that
we'll be
> able to bring that much from Earth, and even if we can, the sydonic
period
> and growing season aren't exactly the same.  Will mixes last if they
arrive
> 16 months before we can use them?  (I'm exagerating...let's start
colonies
> in both hemispheres at the same time :)


Okay, that is something that I neglected to mention, but I was going
to bring it up in the next article. (No more than three consecutive
years for the same or related crop in the same area.) You should
always rotate your crops on a minimum of three year basis.  This means
that if you grow tomatoes, peppers, or potatoes, they should not be
planted again for three years after a three year planting. By the way
those are all members of the nightshade family. No more than two years
or a max of three years for the same or related crop.

Thank you for your comments and questions. Hope I was thorough enough.
Jay

>   One other thing that is important is never water
> > seedlings from the top or mist them from the top, always from the
> > bottom.
>
>
> Good...it is easier to do it that way in microgravity and low gravity
> environments.
>
> Terry
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>

On 7/22/07, jaber_1934 <jaber@...> wrote:
>
>                         Starting Tomato Seeds


Hmm...tomatoes...our areonauts will love you for it.

        If we are ready to start our seeds, you should already have prepared
> your soil.  The pH should be from 6 to 6.5, and you should have worked
> in your compost by now, and added all of the necessary vitamins and
> minerals that the plant your going to seed will be needing.


It should be (I hope) possible to prepare the soil on the ground into things
like "Package A" and "Package B" (similar to the way my friend who does
smoothies...most ingredients need to be frozen, some "merely refrigerated",
so he has something that comes out of the cooler (a single ingredient
usually, like milk or orange juice...never both, I can tell you why) and a
main package that comes out of the freezer...he'll make a few dozen of those
the Friday before a weekend.  Finally, there's ice, the ubiquitous smoothie
bar item.)

        To start with it's really important to have some good adjustable
> fluorescent lights that you can move up and down over your seedbed. If
> your fluorescent lights have a total wattage of 120 W you should have
> a minimum of 40 W of incandescent bulbs to go with that.


How big an area?  I'm hoping that for a Mars greenhouse requiring
Earth-level solar constant, it should be possible to get a big linear
Fresnel magnifier to concentrate a square metre of light onto a six square
foot area (approximating Earth-level sunlight).  Hopefully, there's enough
UV for effective rigidizing of thermoplastic inflatables (i.e. blow it up,
let it sit in the sun, and it'll keep its shape after you let the air out)
so that they'll rigidize within a reasonable period of time.  This would
allow the crew to enter such an inflatable greenhouse and set up the
seedbeds.  If the flexible panels between each concentrator (they would be
short) were designed to absorb heat during the day and hold it at night
(tough without making some sort of adjustment at dawn and dusk), it should
be able to get pretty toasty in there...as long as we don't have the sort of
storm we got right now.

The reason
> for that is that your fluorescent lights are short on light in the red
> spectrum. Now it is true that you can buy fluorescent lights that will
> cover that entire spectrum including those red and far red. I think
> you'll find those much more expensive though. It may be necessary to
> move your lights either up or down in order to adjust the temperature
> of the air or over the seeds.  If you add a small fan, it can be very
> beneficial in that it continues to circulate fresh air over your seeds.


"Small Fan" = standard life support item, no biggie.  For temperature, say,
if we have one greenhouse with plants that like a bunch of different
temperatures, it should be possible to hang some nichrome wires for the
stuff that wants to be warmer (especially at night.)  For space, this isn't
as elegant, even as incandescent bulbs, but with concentrated sunlight,
we'll probably have the right amount of red light already.

        For tomato seeds, I like to Pre-sprout them.  I soak them in water
> for from eight to 10 hours and then drain off the water.  I then place
> them on damp paper towels, though not too wet.  I then placed them in
> an unsealed plastic bag and put in a warm spot, preferably 70° F is
> optimum.  They will sprout in a few days to a week saving much time
> for growing.  Be sure and check the bags daily!


Ever use those disgusting little peat pellets?  I have, and they worked fine
for sprouting the seeds, but they never took root in the garden for some
reason (frost...I live in Calgary, where snow in May is common, and snow in
June is not unprecedented...It might not be possible to reliably grow
tomatoes in this city without a greenhouse.

        You must handle the little sproutlings very carefully when you put
> them in pots. I either use tweezers or forceps when handling them.  If
> you use a method other than pre-sprouting you need to use a sterile
> planting mix that has no fertilizer in it as fertilizer sometimes
> hinders the sprouting process.  You can buy a quality ProMix for
> commercial planting in containers that has lots of peat moss, perlite,
> and vermiculite and it will do a better job.


I haven't heard that specific name, but I know Revy (Rona, now, but at the
time I last tried growing tomatoes...) has several specially designed
potting mixes.  They also have the individual ingredients, so you can make
your own mix.  I remember the white stuff, rusty colored stuff and the
smelly stuff (being vermiculite, perlite, and moss...or did they call it
"organic sumthin-oruther"?)  In retrospect, I should have greenhoused them,
then used a lot more of that stuff.

  As soon as they sprout,
> you can add about one third strength of fish or kelp/fish emulsion.


I missed that completely.  Is there a specific one for plants?  I know they
have fish foods made of those ingredients.

You should never ever use your own garden soil or reuse any of your
> soil from the previous season as this may have plant diseases, fungi
> or insect problems.


Now he tells me...  That leads me to the question, how do we recycle/reuse
soil from one season to the next on Mars?  It isn't too likely that we'll be
able to bring that much from Earth, and even if we can, the sydonic period
and growing season aren't exactly the same.  Will mixes last if they arrive
16 months before we can use them?  (I'm exagerating...let's start colonies
in both hemispheres at the same time :)

   One other thing that is important is never water
> seedlings from the top or mist them from the top, always from the
> bottom.


Good...it is easier to do it that way in microgravity and low gravity
environments.

Terry


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Thank you John,

It is always good to be appreciated. I will continue to put forth all
of my time as it can best be used.

Again, thank you,
Jay

--- In MarsLivingNow-@yahoogroups.com, jwsmith42000@... wrote:
>
> Jay, thank you for the continued good work. As Terry says this is
important.
> While there are many thousands of "rocket scientist" on Earth there
are few
> people who are taking the time to look at the other things that are
required to
> live on Mars or other non Earth places.
>
> Good work, Keep it up.
>
> John Wayne

> **************************************
>  Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL at
> http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>

Starting Tomato Seeds

	 If we are ready to start our seeds, you should already have prepared
your soil.  The pH should be from 6 to 6.5, and you should have worked
in your compost by now, and added all of the necessary vitamins and
minerals that the plant your going to seed will be needing.
	 To start with it's really important to have some good adjustable
fluorescent lights that you can move up and down over your seedbed. If
your fluorescent lights have a total wattage of 120 W you should have
a minimum of 40 W of incandescent bulbs to go with that. The reason
for that is that your fluorescent lights are short on light in the red
spectrum. Now it is true that you can buy fluorescent lights that will
cover that entire spectrum including those red and far red. I think
you'll find those much more expensive though. It may be necessary to
move your lights either up or down in order to adjust the temperature
of the air or over the seeds.  If you add a small fan, it can be very
beneficial in that it continues to circulate fresh air over your seeds.

	 For tomato seeds, I like to Pre-sprout them.  I soak them in water
for from eight to 10 hours and then drain off the water.  I then place
them on damp paper towels, though not too wet.  I then placed them in
an unsealed plastic bag and put in a warm spot, preferably 70° F is
optimum.  They will sprout in a few days to a week saving much time
for growing.  Be sure and check the bags daily!

	 You must handle the little sproutlings very carefully when you put
them in pots. I either use tweezers or forceps when handling them.  If
you use a method other than pre-sprouting you need to use a sterile
planting mix that has no fertilizer in it as fertilizer sometimes
hinders the sprouting process.  You can buy a quality ProMix for
commercial planting in containers that has lots of peat moss, perlite,
and vermiculite and it will do a better job. As soon as they sprout,
you can add about one third strength of fish or kelp/fish emulsion.
You should never ever use your own garden soil or reuse any of your
soil from the previous season as this may have plant diseases, fungi
or insect problems.  One other thing that is important is never water
seedlings from the top or mist them from the top, always from the
bottom. Seven to 10 days before you plant them outside they should be
hardened off.  This is done by allowing them to be placed in indirect
sunlight for about an hour the first day and working your way up to
full sunlight over the period of seven to 10 days.  You should bring
them in at night to prevent them being nipped by a late frost.

	 After all danger of frost is passed, it's time to plant them out.
Make sure your ground is well worked.  If your tomato plants are
leggy, by that I mean, tall and spindly, it may be necessary to do
what is considered trenching.  You dig a trench and lay the plant down
in the trench with only the upper leaves showing.  They will grow
roots along the entire length that is underground. It also may be a
good idea to plant your tomatoes with broken eggshells, as this adds
calcium to the ground and helps to alleviate blossom end rot.  You may
want to use a drip irrigation system to water your plants.  This can
be placed underneath of your agriculture  row covers sometimes called
Remay, for frost and insect protection. There is another item on the
market called wall 'o' waters that you can put around your plant which
will protect it from frost in the early spring to some extent, and in
the fall it helps to extend your season a bit.  It is also recommended
that red plastic mulch will increase the yield, in some instances of
eggplant's, tomatoes and peppers.  It may be ugly, but sometimes your
harvest will be 20 to 30% greater.

	 If your climate is warm, you may need to heavily mulch them to keep
them from drying out.  Try a folier feeding, fish/seaweed extract/kelp
emulsion  sprayed on the leaves, it stinks, but the plants love it.

	 Tomatillios and ground cherries are easy to raise.  You can start
them indoors as tomatoes the first year.  But after that, they seem to
do a good job of seeding themselves.  To get them started you should
soak the entire husk for 10 to 12 hours and be careful when you
separate the seeds as they are very tiny.

           That will be all for this issue of growing tomatoes.
         The next issue will be on pruning and selection of seeds.


As always, if you have questions, no mater how ridiculous they may be
        to you, just ask and I shall do my best to answer them.

> **************************************
>  Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL at
> http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>

Jay, thank you for the continued good work. As Terry says this is important.
While there are many thousands of "rocket scientist" on Earth there are few
people who are taking the time to look at the other things that are required to
live on Mars or other non Earth places.

Good work, Keep it up.

John Wayne

In a message dated 7/3/2007 12:36:26 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
aftercolumbia@... writes:


> It looks here that we may have a staple crop for Mars, one that can easily
> be bred to adapt to Mars partial pressure/natural sunlight gardening.  I'm
> going to crosspost this anywhere I can think of to find out.  I'm a "rocket
> scientist" not a gardener or someone with a botanic/agricultural fibber.
> Hopefully, I can find someone who is.
>
> On 7/2/07, jaber_1934 <jaber@...> wrote:
> >> Well, after much research and not very much time I have the following
>> information on Green manures, Cover crops, and other information on
>> them. If you have further questions please ask and make them as
>> specific as possible. I will gladly spend more research time to find
>> as much information as necessary.
>>
>> Thank you,
>> Jay
>> Clover varieties and vetch and rye




**************************************
  Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL at
http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

We'll have to use Buckley's then :)

On 7/19/07, jaber_1934 <jaber@...> wrote:
>
> Hi Terry,
>
> Yes, that does make the 'soil' more acid, its just there aren't very
> many conifers already growing there. I do think we will be taking some
> small ones with us but we won't have any ready pine needles unless the
> trees die. We don't want that to happen as we need a balanced ecology.
>
> Jay
>
> --- In MarsLivingNow-@yahoogroups.com, "Terry Wilson"
> <aftercolumbia@...> wrote:
> >
> > >
> > > Lime will make the soil more alkaline, while making the soil more acid
> > > is more difficult.
> >
> >
> > Pick up a trowel of dropped needles from underneath the nearest
> conifer.  If
> > you have to go a ways, bring along a bucket.  Most conifers have a
> halo of
> > "dead zone" around them because of the acidity these droppings cause.
> >
> >
> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> >
>
>
>
>
> WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO GET TO MARS IN THIS LIFE TIME.
> The nine life support systems (as defined by NASA) are:
> Air Supply - Food production and delivery - Waste management, - Water
> supply - Temperature control - Electricity - Transportation -Communications
> - Recreation
> I include: Radiation Protection. - Information
> storage/retrieval/processing - Ability to construct necessary additions
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi Terry,

Yes, that does make the 'soil' more acid, its just there aren't very
many conifers already growing there. I do think we will be taking some
small ones with us but we won't have any ready pine needles unless the
trees die. We don't want that to happen as we need a balanced ecology.

Jay

--- In MarsLivingNow-@yahoogroups.com, "Terry Wilson"
<aftercolumbia@...> wrote:
>
> >
> > Lime will make the soil more alkaline, while making the soil more acid
> > is more difficult.
>
>
> Pick up a trowel of dropped needles from underneath the nearest
conifer.  If
> you have to go a ways, bring along a bucket.  Most conifers have a
halo of
> "dead zone" around them because of the acidity these droppings cause.
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>

>
> Lime will make the soil more alkaline, while making the soil more acid
> is more difficult.


Pick up a trowel of dropped needles from underneath the nearest conifer.  If
you have to go a ways, bring along a bucket.  Most conifers have a halo of
"dead zone" around them because of the acidity these droppings cause.


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

The growing of tomatoes

First of all you need a soil pH of 6.0 to 6.5.  The soil should be
just a little on the acid side.  At 6.0 pH, you receive a maximum of
each of the following: nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sulfur,
calcium, magnesium, iron, manganese, boron, copper and zinc.  At 5.5
you start to lose the absorption of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium,
sulfur, calcium and magnesium.  When the pH goes in the other
direction to 7.0, you start to lose the availability of the iron,
manganese, boron, copper and zinc.

To address the pH of your soil, either up or down, you may do the
following:
Lime will make the soil more alkaline, while making the soil more acid
is more difficult.  Usually sulfate-based fertilizers will solve this
problem.  Therefore sulfate of ammonia and acidic organic matter will
help.

To raise the soil pH by one increment, therefore from five to six
apply 120 grams or 4 ounces per square meter to a sandy soil and up to
380 grams or 13 ounces per square meter to a heavy clay soil.

To lower your soil pH you'd need to add agricultural sulfur.  Sandy
soil use 25 g per square meter, loamy soil 50 to 70 g per square
meter, clay soil 100 g per square meter.  These amounts will lower
your pH of the top 10 cm by about one pH unit.

We need to address the working in of mulches if you use green manure.
  It should be turned in to the ground, no less than three weeks prior
to planting.  This will give the fibers a chance to break down  a
small amount. If you used a red clover for mulch you probably will not
need to add any nitrogen as  red clover puts as much as 300 pounds of
nitrogen back into the soil per acre. (Trifolium alexandrinum
Berseem, Egyptian clover)

Nitrogen is probably the most important of all of the fertilizers.
Nitrogen is necessary for complete plant growth.  A deficiency of
nitrogen will turn the leaves, slightly yellow.  This will show up in
the bottom leaves first and will progress upward.  If not treated
plants grow slowly, new leaves are small, thin and may have purple
veins. Stems are hard and thick and eventually turn brown and die off.
  Flower buds turn yellow and drop and the fruit is reduced in size and
number and may be pale green instead of dark green before ripening. An
excess of nitrogen is much more common than a lack of nitrogen. The
plants become quite bushy with many bright green leaves, not many
flowers form, and consequently little fruit.  Those fruit that do set
are of poor quality, soft and very prone to diseases.

Phosphorus deficiencies:

Deficiencies are sometimes caused by the soil being too cold.  Usually
when the soil warms up, the problem corrects itself.

Potassium deficiencies:

Potassium is used in large amounts when plants are fruiting and is
necessary for color and disease resistance, root and crop maturity and
for regulating the plant's water use.  A lack of potassium is
indicated when plants have dark green older leaves, which become
curled and crinkled. These start to die and tissue between the veins
breaks down.  The fruit ripens unevenly and tend to be blotchy in
color with little fleshy tissue in them.  The stems and sepals on the
fruit yellow and become necrotic and the fruit drops off as soon as it
is mature.

Calcium:

Calcium is one of the most critical elements in the growth of
tomatoes. It's important for fruit quality, shelf life and disease
resistance. It is one of the most difficult elements for plants to
take up.  A lack of calcium causes thick woody stems of slow growth,
yellow upper leaves and weak flabby plants.  Young leaves which
develop symptoms first exhibit tip burn, which develops into a
narcosis of the leaf margins.  Blossom end rot is one of the fruit
symptoms.

Magnesium:

It is the only element required by the plant that is actually involved
in the structure of chlorophyll.  It shows up on the older leaves
first as inter-venal yellowing.  These deficiencies, often occur in
the vegetative growth stage.

Zinc:

Worldwide, zinc is probably one of the shortest elements available in
many soils.  It is essential for growth hormones in the plant to
function normally. It is also necessary for photosynthesis process and
is involved in pollen tube formation.  Deficiencies in this element
are likely to show up when it is cool and wet out.

There are a number of other micro nutrients that are necessary for
tomatoes to grow properly.

Jaber

Wind River Carrier-Grade Linux Goes To Space
by Staff Writers
Alameda CA (SPX) Jun 19, 2007

The Dependable Multiprocessor will allow the spacecraft to process and
analyze its own data to make instant decisions about what is observed without
having
to send the information to Earth and wait for a reply.

Wind River Systems has been selected by Honeywell Aerospace to support the
development of NASA''s New Millennium Program Space Technology 8 (ST8)
Dependable Multiprocessor. The contract marks the first time a Linux platform
has been
selected by Honeywell for a space mission. Honeywell Aerospace is the prime
contractor for NASA''s ST8 Dependable Multiprocessor project.

Wind River Platform for Network Equipment, Linux Edition, will be the
underlying operating system to support the processing of science and experiment
data
onboard the ST8 spacecraft.


More at:
http://www.spacemart.com/reports/Wind_River_Grade_Linux_Goes_To_Space_999.html




**************************************
  Get a sneak peak of the all-new AOL at
http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Terrasol 056-Cap-24 15:30, or Marsdate_71515 @_19:20_MTC, or
4/July/2007/Thursday @_0:10_UTC .
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Happy Winter/Summer!! 
Thank you.

jwsmith42000@... wrote:                                  Subj:   Mars
Society Newsletter: New format and distribution of the Mars
  Society Newsletter
  Date:   6/20/2007 8:17:21 PM Eastern Daylight Time
  From:   noreply@...
  Sent from the Internet (Details)



  New format and distribution of the Mars Society Newsletter

  The Mars Society is tentatively rehosting the email newsletter that was so
  far sent from Yahoo Groups on its own web server. This newsletter provides an
  example of the new format and distribution, as well as instructions on how to
  choose the delivery format that you prefer or entirely opt out. The newsletter
  is sent at non-regular intervals, as events warrant, to announce Society
  achievements, future plans, etc., in all aspects of our work (Education and
public
  outreach, Mars analogues, other technical projects, political action, etc.). On
  average, in the order of six newsletters are sent per month (although more
  than six can be sent in any given month).

  Initial subscribers

  We found out that there was quite a disconnect between the list of
  subscribers of the Yahoo Groups newsletter and our list of members. A
significant
  portion of our members (even current paid members) apparently were never
subscribed
  to the Yahoo Group. Until they choose to opt out, this new-format newsletter
  is being sent to:

  All Yahoo Group subscribers for which Yahoo did not indicate an email
  "bounce" condition.
  All of our members with a valid email address, past or present. We included
  all past members because we know that many persons who do not renew regularly
  or have not for a long time are still interested in the Mars Society. We
  however have no way to know all who fall in this category, and so this
newsletter is
  our way to find out. Whether you are a past or current member, if you are not
  interested in receiving this newsletter, you can opt out as described below.
  (If you see this newsletter on the web site but have not received it in your
  email, you might want to verify if you use a spam filter, and if so, you may
  need to add noreply@... to your "white list")

  Your subscription account and options

  The newsletter account is the same web site account that many of you are
  already using. Getting a web account is free (so you are welcome to let your
  friends, coworkers, etc. know that they can subscribe to the newsletter; we'll
  describe how below), but if you are a paid member of the Society your account
  allows you to see and do more on the web site, such as full access to our
  Marspapers library , the ability to see non-published content, and a folder of
your
  own in which you can create your own content and submit some for publication.

  An individual email will be sent to those of you who have not already logged
  in to the web site, immediately after we send this newsletter. It will provide
  your username and how to set your password, which can be done by following
  the instructions at http://www.marssociety.org/portal/mail_password_form .

  Once you have your account user name and password, you can log in to our site
  at http://www.marssociety.org , by using the login box near the top in the
  left side column. In order to select your delivery preference or opt out, you
  must go to your account preferences.

  The direct link to your preferences is
  http://www.marssociety.org/portal/personalize_form (but you will need to log
in, of course). Once in your
  preferences, the image below shows where you can opt-out or select your
delivery format
  preference.

  That image also shows a setting related to the receipt of emails from our web
  site. We never reveal your email address publicly, but we do allow emails to
  be sent to members of our web site through a web form. By default, only other
  members of the web site can do this ("Site Members"), but you can select who
  you want to allow to send you email, or disallow it entirely.

  If you have any questions, feel free to ask the webmaster

  On to Mars!

  This newsletter was sent because you subcribed at the Mars Society web site,
  or were subscribed as a Mars Society member, or had previously subscribed at
  the Yahoo Group. You can opt out or change your delivery format in your
  preferences at http://www.marssociety.org/portal/personalize_form (once you've
logged
  in). This and other news can be found at The Mars Society Web site at
  http://www.marssociety.org/portal/news.

  **************************************
   See what's free at http://www.aol.com.

  [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]






---------------------------------
Fussy? Opinionated? Impossible to please? Perfect.  Join Yahoo!'s user panel and
lay it on us.

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Terrasol 056-Cap-24 @16:00  , or Mars_Date_71515 @_19:54_MTC , or
4/July/2007/Thursday @_0:40_UTC . Sorry for the Redo. Happy Winter/Summer!!!!
Also I had figured out that Viking I landed on Mars on Mars_Date_55209 . The
16th anniversary!! or The 31st anniversary!! Thank you.

jwsmith42000@... wrote:                                  Subj:   Mars
Society Newsletter: New format and distribution of the Mars
  Society Newsletter
  Date:   6/20/2007 8:17:21 PM Eastern Daylight Time
  From:   noreply@...
  Sent from the Internet (Details)



  New format and distribution of the Mars Society Newsletter

  The Mars Society is tentatively rehosting the email newsletter that was so
  far sent from Yahoo Groups on its own web server. This newsletter provides an
  example of the new format and distribution, as well as instructions on how to
  choose the delivery format that you prefer or entirely opt out. The newsletter
  is sent at non-regular intervals, as events warrant, to announce Society
  achievements, future plans, etc., in all aspects of our work (Education and
public
  outreach, Mars analogues, other technical projects, political action, etc.). On
  average, in the order of six newsletters are sent per month (although more
  than six can be sent in any given month).

  Initial subscribers

  We found out that there was quite a disconnect between the list of
  subscribers of the Yahoo Groups newsletter and our list of members. A
significant
  portion of our members (even current paid members) apparently were never
subscribed
  to the Yahoo Group. Until they choose to opt out, this new-format newsletter
  is being sent to:

  All Yahoo Group subscribers for which Yahoo did not indicate an email
  "bounce" condition.
  All of our members with a valid email address, past or present. We included
  all past members because we know that many persons who do not renew regularly
  or have not for a long time are still interested in the Mars Society. We
  however have no way to know all who fall in this category, and so this
newsletter is
  our way to find out. Whether you are a past or current member, if you are not
  interested in receiving this newsletter, you can opt out as described below.
  (If you see this newsletter on the web site but have not received it in your
  email, you might want to verify if you use a spam filter, and if so, you may
  need to add noreply@... to your "white list")

  Your subscription account and options

  The newsletter account is the same web site account that many of you are
  already using. Getting a web account is free (so you are welcome to let your
  friends, coworkers, etc. know that they can subscribe to the newsletter; we'll
  describe how below), but if you are a paid member of the Society your account
  allows you to see and do more on the web site, such as full access to our
  Marspapers library , the ability to see non-published content, and a folder of
your
  own in which you can create your own content and submit some for publication.

  An individual email will be sent to those of you who have not already logged
  in to the web site, immediately after we send this newsletter. It will provide
  your username and how to set your password, which can be done by following
  the instructions at http://www.marssociety.org/portal/mail_password_form .

  Once you have your account user name and password, you can log in to our site
  at http://www.marssociety.org , by using the login box near the top in the
  left side column. In order to select your delivery preference or opt out, you
  must go to your account preferences.

  The direct link to your preferences is
  http://www.marssociety.org/portal/personalize_form (but you will need to log
in, of course). Once in your
  preferences, the image below shows where you can opt-out or select your
delivery format
  preference.

  That image also shows a setting related to the receipt of emails from our web
  site. We never reveal your email address publicly, but we do allow emails to
  be sent to members of our web site through a web form. By default, only other
  members of the web site can do this ("Site Members"), but you can select who
  you want to allow to send you email, or disallow it entirely.

  If you have any questions, feel free to ask the webmaster

  On to Mars!

  This newsletter was sent because you subcribed at the Mars Society web site,
  or were subscribed as a Mars Society member, or had previously subscribed at
  the Yahoo Group. You can opt out or change your delivery format in your
  preferences at http://www.marssociety.org/portal/personalize_form (once you've
logged
  in). This and other news can be found at The Mars Society Web site at
  http://www.marssociety.org/portal/news.

  **************************************
   See what's free at http://www.aol.com.

  [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]






---------------------------------
Need a vacation? Get great deals to amazing places on Yahoo! Travel.

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

It looks here that we may have a staple crop for Mars, one that can easily
be bred to adapt to Mars partial pressure/natural sunlight gardening.  I'm
going to crosspost this anywhere I can think of to find out.  I'm a "rocket
scientist" not a gardener or someone with an botanic/agricultural fibre.
Hopefully, I can find someone who is.

On 7/2/07, jaber_1934 <jaber@...> wrote:
>
> Well, after much research and not very much time I have the following
> information on Green manures, Cover crops, and other information on
> them.If you have further questions please ask and make them as
> specific as possible. I will gladly spend more research time to find
> as much information as necessary.
>
> Thank you,
> Jay
> Clover varieties and vetch and rye
>
> `Bigbeeż berseem clover (Trifolium alexandrinum)
>
> Trifolium alexandrinum
> Berseem, Egyptian clover
>
> A vigorous true clovers resistant to alkaline soils, usually
> cultivated under irrigation for pasture, green fodder and silage.
> One of the most important legumes of the Near East and the
> Mediterranean. Very palatable. May be cut several times a season
> and produces heavy yields under favourable conditions. The
> succulent stems are, however, difficult to dry because of their
> high water content, and the leaves drop off very easily in the dry
> state. The highest yield of protein with a relatively low yield of
> fibre obtained by cutting the plant at a height of about 40 cm.
> Valued for its rapid growth in the cooler winter season in the
> subtropics and for its good recovery after cutting. Up to six
> cuttings can be taken from the Miscari variety under irrigation;
> one or two cuttings can be taken from the Fahl variety on dry land.
> The herbage quality is good, and cultivation improves the soil
> nitrogen status. Tolerant of soil alkalinity and salinity.
>
> `Paradanaż balansa clover (T. balansae)
>
>    Home > Publications > ASA > 2001 > Trigonella balansae – a new
> pasture legume for the alkaline soils of southern Australia?
> Previous PageTable Of ContentsNext Page
> Trigonella balansae – a new pasture legume for the alkaline soils
> of southern Australia?
>
> J. H. Howie1, R. A Ballard1, C. de Koning1, G. Sandral2 and N.
> Charman1
> 1South Australian Research and Development Institute, GPO Box 397,
> Adelaide SA.
> 2NSW Agriculture, Agricultural Institute, PMB Wagga Wagga, NSW.
>
> ABSTRACT
> Dry matter production of Trigonella balansae was shown to be
> comparable to a number of annual medics (Medicago spp.) at Bute,
> South Australia. The average seed yield of T. balansae across three
> locations in South Australia was 429 kg/ha. In a grazing experiment
> in which sheep were allowed to ingest seed from a mature standing
> pasture of T. balansae, the rate of seed depletion declined after 3
> days, with 39% (257 kg/ha) of the seed reserve still remaining
> after 14 days grazing. Plant density in the regenerating pasture
> was 800 plants/m2 indicating the species should tolerate moderate
> grazing pressure after seed set. An examination of the symbiotic
> performance of T. balansae found that the plant was nodulated by
> the rhizobia in 23 of the 27 soils surveyed. The symbiosis was
> generally effective in nitrogen fixation, with the soil rhizobia
> (RRI128) of Rhizobium meliloti. A herbicide study indicated that T.
> balansae may be less tolerant than Herald medic to several commonly
> used herbicides.
>
> KEY WORDS
> Trigonella balansae, pasture, nitrogen fixation, Rhizobium
> meliloti, herbicide tolerance, grazing.
>
> INTRODUCTION
>
> Soils of alkaline reaction in temperate Australia, receiving
> between 250 and 400mm annual rainfall, are used for both cereal and
> livestock production. Traditionally, both naturalised and sown
> species of annual medics (Medicago spp.) have been the most
> important, and dominant, pasture legume in this zone. Medics are
> typically used in one to two year rotations with cereal crops,
> where they are valued for their ability to fix nitrogen which
> becomes available to following cereal crops, their role in reducing
> the impact of cereal root diseases, and the provision of high
> quality livestock feed.
>
> However, in recent times the merit of relying solely on annual
> medics as the pasture base has been questioned. This has occurred
> due to the perceived poor performance of the medic pastures in some
> regions and has been exacerbated by the high cost of medic seed,
> particularly the newer aphid resistant cultivars. There has also
> been the recognition that increased pasture diversity is
> ecologically desirable.
>
> As a result, Australian pasture evaluation programs have been
> examining a wide range of pasture genera for their ability to
> complement and add diversity to the medic pasture base. Halloran
> and Pennell (2) identified the genus Trigonella as having potential
> in Australian farming systems. Trigonella balansae Boiss. and
> Reuter, (1,4) an annual legume of Eurasian origins, has shown
> promise in more recent trials. It is both productive and able to
> regenerate on alkaline soils receiving <400mm annual rainfall.
> Importantly, its upright growth habit and proliferation of seedpods
> at the top of the canopy make it amenable to low cost seed
> production (3). This should aid its adoption by farmers, relative
> to the more expensive seed of annual medics.
>
> This paper examines some key agronomic attributes which are likely
> to have a bearing on the success of T. balansae in alkaline soil
> farming systems.
>
> RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
>
> Dry matter production and seed yield
> The field performance of a range of T. balansae accessions was
> compared with selected annual medic cultivars. At three locations
> in South Australia mean flowering time for the T. balansae
> accessions was on average 1 to 2 weeks later than the medics. As a
> group, the early dry matter production (to September) and seed
> yields of T. balansae were comparable to those of the annual medics
> (Table 1). At each of the sites there were T. balansae accessions
> that were more productive than the annual medic cultivars.
>
> Table 1. Mean dry matter (DM, kg/ha) and seed yield (SY, kg/ha) of
> T. balansae accessions (range shown in parentheses) and selected
> annual medic cultivars at three sites in South Australia.
>
>
>
> Species
>
> Identity
>
> 1Bute (375mm, pHw 7.6, sandy loam)
>
> 1Mallala (380mm, pHw 7.8, loam)
>
> 1Mannum (310mm, pHw 8.1, sandy loam)
>
>
> DM
> SY
> SY
> SY
>
> T. balansae
>
> Various
> 1095
> (297-1563)
> 300
> (79-472)
> 528
> (325-879)
> 460
> (246-702)
>
> M. littoralis
>
> Herald
>        528
>        164
>        436
>        591
>
> M. polymorpha
>
> Santiago
>        388
>        299
>        480
>        513
>
> M. truncatula
>
> Caliph
>        -
>        -
>        441
>        560
>
> M. truncatula
>
> Mogul
>        924
>        313
>        -
>        -
>
> 1 T. balansae means based on 15 accessions at Bute and 12
> accessions at Mallala and Mannum
> Although the early growth of T. balansae appears promising relative
> to the annual medics, this was is in the absence of grazing. Given
> the upright growth habit of T. balansae, particularly at the
> seedling stage, there are concerns it may be less tolerant of
> winter grazing than the annual medics. There are also concerns that
> the T. balansae germplasm available for evaluation may not flower
> early enough. This could be a significant disadvantage in the lower
> and more erratic rainfall areas of the cereal-livestock zone. Both
> of these issues are currently under investigation.
> Regeneration after summer grazing
>
> The effect of summer grazing by sheep on the seed reserves of three
> pasture legume species (Table 2) was assessed. Plots (15 x 13m) of
> mature standing herbage of each of the pasture species were grazed
> with 3 sheep in each plot in January 2000 for 14 days at
> Turretfield Research Centre (470mm, pHw 7.0, red-brown earth).
>
> Subsequent regeneration (March 2000) and winter herbage production
> (July 2000) were measured.
> Before grazing, the seed reserves exceeded 550 kg/ha for each
> legume species (Table 2). Although more than 50% of the seed
> reserve of all 3 pasture species were ingested during the 14 days
> grazing, for T. balansae and Trifolium michelianum, most of the
> seed was eaten during the first 3 days of grazing (310 and 325
> kg/ha available seed at Day 3, respectively). Presumably this
> occurred because the small seed (<1.5mg/seed) of these two species
> is difficult for the sheep to access once it has fallen from the
> legume pod. Trifolium michelianum seed was better able to survive
> ingestion (65 kg/ha seed recovered from faeces) by the sheep than
> the seed of T. balansae and Medicago truncatula (<12 kg/ha
> recovered from faeces).
>
> Table 2. Effect of grazing by sheep on the seed reserves (kg/ha),
> regeneration (no. plants/m2) and dry matter production (kg DM/ha)
> of three annual pasture legumes.
>
> Legume identity  T. balansae  M. truncatula  T. michelianum
>                 Line SA5045  cv. Mogul        cv. Paradana
>
>
> Available seed       663          631           589
> before grazing
>
>
> Seed ingested        406          335           323
> during grazing
>
>
> Seed escaping        257          296           266
> ingestion
>
>
> Viable seed          11            10            65
> recovered from
> sheep faeces
>
>
> Dry matter           2990         2960         2030
> production
>
>
> Pasture regeneration after grazing
>
> Despite the inferior survival of T. balansae in sheep faeces, there
> were still sufficient reserves of germinable seed on the ground to
> produce 800 plants/m2 in the regenerating pasture, following early
> rain (20-21 February 2000). Subsequent winter herbage production
> 2990 kg/ha) of the regenerating T. balansae pasture was similar to
> that of M. truncatula. Trigonella balansae should persist following
> moderate grazing of dry residues over summer.
>
> Symbiotic performance
>
> Four-day-old seedlings of T. balansae (three accessions), growing
> in a nitrogen free potting media were inoculated with extracts from
> 27 soils. There were also four controls (two pure strains of
> Rhizobium meliloti, uninoculated and mineral nitrogen treatments).
> Shoot weight was assessed after 5 weeks and used as an index of the
> nitrogen fixation capacity of the symbiosis. The number of rhizobia
> able to nodulate T. balansae was estimated in each soil (5) using
> T. balansae (SA 5045) as the trap plant.
>
> Both strains of rhizobia (SU277 and RRI128) resulted in significant
> and large increases in shoot growth compared to the uninoculated
> treatment (Table 3). Strain RRI128 (AL commercial inoculant in
> 2000) performed consistently well with all three T. balansae
> accessions and overall resulted in greater shoot growth (98mg) than
> the traditional Trigonella inoculant, SU277 (72mg).
>
> Twenty-three of the 27 soils contained more than 100 rhizobia/gram,
> which is probably sufficient for the prompt nodulation of T.
> balansae in the field. Number of rhizobia in the soil was
> correlated (r=0.51, P=0.006) with soil pHCa. The four soils (1×SA
> and 1×VIC and 2×WA) which had <100 rhizobia/gram had a pHCa of less
> than 6.5, indicating that rhizobial inoculation should be
> encouraged where T. balansae is to be sown on soils below this pH
> threshold.
>
> When soils containing >100 rhizobia/gram are considered (Table 3),
> the naturalised soil rhizobia were generally effective at nitrogen
> fixation. On average, these soil treatments resulted in 63% (61mg)
> of the shoot weight of strain RRI128 (98mg). Only 2 soil treatments
> (1×VIC and 1×WA) resulted in <50% of the shoot weight of strain
> RRI128, but still produced 3-fold the shoot weight of the
> uninoculated treatment. All three accessions of T. balansae formed
> an effective symbiosis across the range of soil rhizobia.
> `AU Sunriseż and `Dixież crimson clover (T. incarnatum),
>
> SUMMARY
>
> Systems in vitro developed for Trifolium pratense were evaluated
> for use with seveno ther important Trifolium species.C alli were
> successfully initiated
> from seedling explants of T. alpestre, T. campestre, T. incarnatum,
> T. medium, T. pratense, T. repens, T. rubens and T. subterraneum.
> Suspensionc ultures of all speciese xcept T. campestre and T
> subterraneum were initiated from callus and colonies were successfully
> recovered from replates of all species examined. Successful plant
> regeneration was obtainedfrom both callus and suspension-derivedcu
> ltures of T. rubens by so~atic embryogenesis.
> Shoots from all species except T. campestre were clonally propagated
> using meristem-tip culture methods. These shoots were successfully
> rooted,except for those of T. incarnatum. These results indicate that
> the manipulation in vitro of severalT rifolium speciesis possible with
> availables systems.
>
> INTRODUCTION
>
> Methods for culturing species in the genus Trifolium in vitro have
> been developed in recent years. Callus cultures of T. hybridum L.
> (alsike clover)
> [1] and T. subterraneum L. (subterranean clover) [2] have been reported.
> Additionally, callus cultures have been established and plants
> regenerated
> from T. repens L. (white clover) [3-5], T. incamatu:-n L. (crimson
> clover)
> [6], T. alexandrinum L. (berseem clover) [7] and T. pratense L.
> (red clover)
> [6,8]. Plants have also been obtained from meristem-tip cultures of
> T. pratense[9] and T. repens[ 10]. Cell suspensionc ultures of T.
> subterraneum have been established [2] and plants have been
> regenerated from cell suspen-
>
>
>
> `Cherokeeż red clover (T. pratense), T.repens (White clover)
> The dry matter (DM) production of Trifolium repens, T. ambiguum and
> the backcross 1 (BC1) and backcross 2 (BC2) hybrids with T. repens
> as the recurrent parent were compared in mixtures with an
> intermediate heading variety of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne
> L.) under a cutting-only management over 3 harvest years. Plots of
> parental legume species and backcross hybrids were established from
> small plantlets and oversown with the companion grass. In the first
> harvest year, the DM yield of clover in T. repens plots was greater
> than that in the BC2 plots and both greater than in the BC1 plots,
> whilst in the second and third harvest years differences between
> the DM yield of clover in the T. repens and the BC1 and BC2 hybrid
> plots were small. Similar results were obtained for the DM yield of
> total herbage. There were also differences in seasonal growth in
> the first harvest year, when yield of clover in T. repens plots was
> greater than in the BC1 and BC2 hybrid plots at early cuts but not
> at later cuts. Few differences in seasonal growth were observed
> between parental species and hybrids in subsequent harvest years.
>
> Comparison of above- and below-ground biomass showed more DM in
> roots and rhizome of clover in the backcrosses than in the T.
> repens plots in the second harvest year but differences were less
> evident in the third harvest year. The clover in the backcross
> hybrid plots also had fewer stolon growing points per quadrat than
> the T. repens plots, but the BC2 had more than the BC1 plots. The
> exploitation of these hybrids in breeding programmes as a strategy
> to improve the persistence and drought tolerance of white clover is
> discussed and implications for forage production considered.
> common hairy vetch and `AU Early Coverż hairy vetch (Vicia villosa)
> Web site with detailed information
> http://www.fao.org/ag/Agp/agpc/doc/Gbase/DATA/Pf000506.HTM
>
>
> Vicia villosa Roth.
> Home
> Photo1.jpg (1333 bytes)
>
> Synonyms
>
>    * Vicia villosa Roth subsp. varia (Host) Corb.
>    * Vicia villosa Roth subsp. dasycarpa (Ten.) Cavill.
>
>        Author: John Frame
>
>
> Common names
>
> Hairy vetch, winter vetch, fodder vetch, woollypod vetch.
>
> Description
>
> Hairy annual or biennial with scrambling and climbing habit up to 2
> m. Whole plant has a white-woolly appearance because of the long
> soft hairs. Shallow taproot system with strong lateral branches.
> Leaves compound pinnate with 4-12 pairs of opposite leaflets
> tapering towards the apex and 2-3 branched terminal tendrils.
> Leaflets narrowly ovate, stipules small and narrow. Racemose
> inflorescences with 10-20 flowers borne on long stalks arising at
> the base of the leaves; self-fertilized flowers mainly purple to
> blue in colour but sometimes white. Elongated flattened pods
> contain 2-8 rounded seeds ranging from dark brown to greyish black
> in colour.
>
> Distribution
>
> Native to southern Europe. Utilized there mainly in vetch/cereal
> mixtures but much less than common vetch (Caballero, 1993) while it
> is much more important than common vetch in the USA (Miller and
> Hoveland, 1995). Introduced to continental, west and central Asia
> and other temperate areas. Can be autumn-sown to provide green
> manure in rotations with conventional and no-till planted rows
> through mechanically or chemically killing the vetch in spring 2-3
> weeks before planting the new crop or else it can be sprayed at
> planting (PLANTS database 2000).
>
> Characteristics
>
> Adapted to a range of soils from fine- to coarse-textured but not
> acidic or saline soils. Rapid growth rate. Intolerant of shade.
> Sprawling growth form but grows upright when sown with a companion
> cereal, e.g. with oats and to a much lesser extent with barley or
> wheat in the Mediterranean area (Caballero, 1993).
>
> Season of growth
>
> Mainly spring to summer whether spring- or autumn-sown.
>
> Frost tolerance
>
> Fairly cold hardy and more so than common vetch.
>
> Drought tolerance
>
> Intolerant at early stage of establishment but medium tolerance
> thereafter.
>
> Soil requirements
>
> Prefers well-drained, moderately fertile soils, pH 6.0-7.5 (PLANTS
> database 2000). Responds to P fertilization. More tolerant of
> poorly-drained soils than common vetch (Hoveland and Donnelly
> 1966). In general vetches (Vicia spp.) are more tolerant to soil
> acidity than many forage legumes.
>
> Rhizobial relationships
>
> Rhizobial inoculation of seed advisable if grown on land where
> species not grown before.
>
> Land preparation for establishment
>
> Well-cultivated, uniform and firm seed bed required for good
> results.
>
> Sowing methods
>
> Normally drilled whether sown pure or in combination with cereals
> but can also be broadcast. It is sometimes sown with Bermuda grass
> (Cynodon dactylon). Can be direct drilled (sod seeded) into
> warm-season grass swards to extend grazing season (Blanchet et al.
> 1995), e.g. into switchgrass (Panicum virgatum).
>
> Sowing depth and cover
>
> Sown at 2-4 cm with a good soil cover.
>
> Sowing time and rate
>
> Spring or autumn depending on farming system and severity of winter
> conditions, but mainly autumn in the USA, for example. Seed rates
> 25-50 kg/ha in monocultures and 15-25 kg/ha when in combination
> with 50-80 kg/ha of a cereal such as rye.
>
> Number of seeds per kg
>
> 35 000 to 45 000.
>
> Nutrient requirements
>
> The main requirement is for phosphate, at an application rate
> dependent on the soil P status.
>
> Seedling vigour
>
> Strong.
>
> Vigour of growth
>
> Vigorous growth once well established.
>
> Nitrogen-fixing ability
>
> High (PLANTS database 2000). LaRue and Patterson (1981) report
> fixation of 184 kg/ha N.
>
> Dry matter yields
>
> At nil N fertilization Moreira (1989) obtained 5.81-6.56 t/ha in
> northern Portugal from autumn-sown vetch and 5.12-8.34 t/ha with
> applied N at rates up to 100 kg/ha; vetch/oat mixtures and oat
> monocultures generally outyielded vetch monocultures substantially
> when fertilizer N was applied but not at nil N application. For
> central Spain, Haj Ayed et al. (1995) reported 6.51 t/ha from hairy
> vetch with nil N application, a higher yield than that obtained
> (5.82 t/ha) from oat/vetch mixtures, though an oat monoculture
> yielded 11.00 t/ha. In Alaska, pure-sown vetch yielded 4.04-4.75
> t/ha on a neutral soil and N application increased yields but on an
> acid soil the yield was lower (3.46 t/ha) and was reduced by N
> fertilization (Panciero and Sparrow, 1995).
>
> Suitability for hay and silage
>
> Can be used for hay or silage. When grown for hay it is normally
> cut when the first pods are set.
>
> Feeding value
>
> Valuable source of protein and minerals. Panciero and Sparrow
> (1995) reported CP contents of 16.4-17.9% on neutral soil and
> 13.6-14.7% on acid soil. On a DM basis average values in spring of
> autumn-sown V. villosa and V. sativa in north-west Spain were 25.1%
> in April and 17.3% in May; correspondingly, acid detergent fibre
> (ADF) values were 28.2% and 32.6% (Iglesias and Lloveras, 1998). At
> growth stages 30% and 60% DM in pod seeds, mean whole plant CP
> content was 17.3% and 14.6%, respectively and digestible dry matter
> (DDM) 60.4% and 56.2% (Caballero et al., 1995c). Plant part
> composition is shown in the Table.
>
> Table: Mean fibre (ADF), protein (CP) and digestible dry matter
>
> (DDM) values of plant parts at two growth stages (30% and 60% DM in
>
> pod seeds) of hairy vetch (Caballero et al. 1995c)
>
> Plant part Leaves  Stems  Pods
>
>
> ADF (%)    32.5    36.8   26.1
>
>
>
> CP (%)     17.9    7.9    16.3
>
>
> DDM (%)    75.1    55.3   68.6
>
>
> Acceptability
>
> Highly acceptable as grazed or conserved forage.
>
> Grazing
>
> Can be grazed by a range of livestock, including zero grazing
> (green fodder cut and carried). Lax grazing necessary in order to
> leave the basal axillary buds which are the regrowth sites.
>
> Seed yields
>
> 400-1500 kg/ha in the USA (Miller and Hoveland, 1995).
>
> Cultivars
>
> USA cultivars include Madison, Americus, AU Early Cover and Lana;
>
> Glabrescens is a Spanish cultivar (Caballero et al., 1995c).
>
> Pests
>
> Several pests which can sometimes cause plant damage in the USA are
> listed by Miller and Hoveland (1995): pea aphid (Acyrthosiphon
> pisum), corn earworm (Heliothis zea), fall armyworm (Spodoptera
> frugiperda) and spider mite (Tetranychus spp.). The seed of hairy
> vetch, but not common vetch, is susceptible to damage by the vetch
> bruchid (Bruchus brachialis) and so natural reseeding in pastures
> is poor.
>
> Main attributes
>
> Short-term catch crop. High nutritive value. Protein-rich, highly
> acceptable feed for different classes of stock. Valuable
> constituent of vetch/cereal mixtures.
>
> Main shortcomings
>
> Moderate yield and quality. Ideally requires companion cereal
> species to avoid lodging and harvesting difficulties which occur
> with monocultures.
>
> Links
>
>    * Purdue Forage Information: description and photographs on
>
> Vicia villosa Roth
>    * Vicia villosa Roth.: good photograph
>    * FAO Animal Feed Resources Information System: nutritional
>
> information about Vicia villosa
>    * Vetch (Vicia villosa): description, pollination and reference
>
> list
>    * University of Nebraska Lincoln: general information on V.
>
> villosa and photographs
>    * University of Wisconsin and Minnesota: field crops manual
>
> (detailed information on V. villosa)
>    * UC SAREP, Cover Crop Database: very detailed description on
>
> V. villosa (cultivar, seed, temperature,soil, seed, uses,
> management)
>    * Legumes for the Subtropics: Vetch, woolly pod
>    * International Legume Database & Information Service
>
> Main reference
>
> Miller D.A. and Hoveland C.S. (1995) .
>
>
> `Cahaba Whiteż vetch (V. sativa)
>
>
> Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
>
> Vetch \Vetch\, n. [Also fitch; OE. ficche, feche, for veche, OF.
>   veche, vecce, vesche, vesce, F. vesce, fr. L. vicia.] (Bot.)
>   Any leguminous plant of the genus Vicia, some species of
>   which are valuable for fodder. The common species is V.
>   sativa.
>
>   Note: The name is also applied to many other leguminous
>         plants of different genera; as the chichling vetch, of
>         the genus Lathyrus; the horse vetch, of the genus
>         Hippocrepis; the kidney vetch (Anthyllis
>         vulneraria); the milk vetch, of the genus
>         Astragalus; the licorice vetch, or wild licorice
>         (Abrus precatorius).
>
> Tare \Tare\, n. [Cf. Prov. E. tare brisk, eager, OE. tarefitch
>   the wild vetch.]
>   1. A weed that grows among wheat and other grain; -- alleged
>      by modern naturalists to be the Lolium temulentum, or
>      darnel.
>
>            Didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? From
>            whence then hath it tares?            --Matt. xiii.
>                                                  27.
>
>            The ``darnel'' is said to be the tares of Scripture,
>            and is the only deleterious species belonging to the
>            whole order.                          --Baird.
>
>   2. (Bot.) A name of several climbing or diffuse leguminous
>      herbs of the genus Vicia; especially, the V. sativa,
>      sometimes grown for fodder.
>
> `Wrens Abruzziż rye
>
>
> Best STM Information Product
>
>
>    * Content Types
>          o All
>          o Publications
>          o Journals
>          o Book Series
>          o Books
>          o Reference Works
>    * Subject Collections
>          o Architecture and Design
>          o Behavioral Science
>          o Biomedical and Life Sciences
>          o Business and Economics
>          o Chemistry and Materials Science
>          o Computer Science
>          o Earth and Environmental Science
>          o Engineering
>          o Humanities, Social Sciences and Law
>          o Mathematics and Statistics
>          o Medicine
>          o Physics and Astronomy
>          o Professional Computing and Web Design
>
>
> Journal Article         Printable view
> Euphytica
>
> Recurrent phenotypic selection for forage yield in rye
> Journal Euphytica
> Publisher       Springer Netherlands
> ISSN    0014-2336 (Print) 1573-5060 (Online)
> Issue   Volume 54, Number 1 / April, 1991
> DOI     10.1007/BF00145625
> Pages   11-17
> Subject Collection      Biomedical and Life Sciences
> SpringerLink Date       Thursday, November 04, 2004
>
> Add to marked items
> Add to shopping cart
> Add to saved items
> Request Permissions
> Recommend this article
>
> Recurrent phenotypic selection for forage yield in rye
>
> P. L. Bruckner1, P. L. Raymer1 and G. W. Burton1
> (1)     Department of Agronomy, University of Georgia & USDA-ARS,
> Coastal Plain Experiment Station, 31793 Tifton, Georgia, USA
>
> Received: 22 October 1990  Accepted: 15 January 1991
> Summary  Little progress has been made in the past 20 years in
> improvement of rye (Secale cereale L.) forage yields. In 1985, a
> recurrent phenotypic selection procedure was initiated to improve
> forage yield of lsquoWrens Abruzzirsquo (WAL-Cycle 0) rye. The
> selection procedure included visual selection of spaced plants,
> grid selection, maintenance of a relatively large population size,
> bi-parental selection, a one-year cycle interval, and intermating
> of selected plants in isolation. Cycle four of selection in the WAL
> population was completed in 1989. Experiments were conducted from
> 1987 to 1990 to evaluate progress from selection over the first
> four selection cycles and quantify the association between visual
> forage potential ratings and fresh plant weight. Wrens Abruzzi rye
> and Cycle 1, 2, 3, and 4 populations were evaluated over a 2 year
> period in space-plant population progress trials at Tifton, GA.
>
> Wrens Abruzzi was evaluated in comparison to WAL-C1 (9
> environments). WAL-C2 (18 env.), WAL-C3 (16 env.), WAL-C4 (5 env.)
> and rye check cultivars in small-plot clipping trials in a set of
> 36 southern U.S. environments. Spaced-plant evaluation indicated
> forage yield gains of 6 to 7% per cycle with little change in
> population variation. In seeded small-plot clipping evaluations
> WAL-C1, WAL-C2, and WAL-C3 produced similar or slightly higher
> forage yields as WAL-C0, but WAL-C4 produced 9 to 12% higher forage
> yields than WAL-C0. Available data from WAL-Cycles 1 to 4 indicates
> that forage yield gains in small-plot evaluation are 2 to 3% per
> cycle. High positive correlations between visual plant potential
> ratings and plant fresh weights indicate that visual selection is
> effective in identifying high-yielding rye phenotypes.
>
> Key words   Secale cereale  - rye - grid selection - forage yield
>
>
>
>
>
> WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO GET TO MARS IN THIS LIFE TIME.
> The nine life support systems (as defined by NASA) are:
> Air Supply - Food production and delivery - Waste management, - Water
> supply - Temperature control - Electricity - Transportation -Communications
> - Recreation
> I include: Radiation Protection. - Information
> storage/retrieval/processing - Ability to construct necessary additions
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

--- In MarsLivingNow-@yahoogroups.com, "jaber_1934" <jaber@...> wrote:

I would like to add to the previous post the following information:

It looks like I may have been premature in a recommending wheat as a
cover crop.  There is an open pollened clover that is called Berseem
clover. (Trifolium Alexandrinum) This clover is open pollinated, and
will fix as much as 200 to 300 pounds of nitrogen per acre.  As with
most clovers, and other cover crops, it is necessary to inoculate to
seed prior to planting to ensure a maximum crop.  Inoculants contain
live rhizobial bacteria.  Your seed must be dampened and inoculated
immediately prior to planting.  This clover is excellent as forage as
well as green manure.  It needs to be sowen a half inch deep and grows
to a height of 18 to 30 inches.  Recommended seeding rate of 1 pound
per 1000 ft.˛ or 15 to 20 pounds per acre.  It will tolerate a wide
range of soils and temperatures down to 15°F.

I still recommend raising wheat, as we need something to make flour
out of.  Flour can also be made out of rice and potatoes, and a few
other vegetables.  This will necessitate some method of grinding.  It
should not be necessary to have more than one grinder per habitat, and
the means for repairing it.

You will find some of this information in the first description of
clover, but this is added. One of the recommendations is the seed
should be open pollinated. Another is it should be one of the best at
building nitrogen in the soil. Also it needs to produce large
quantities of forage both for feeding livestock and for green manure.

OK I think that will do it on the legumes.

Jay

Well, after much research and not very much time I have the following
information on Green manures, Cover crops, and other information on
them.If you have further questions please ask and make them as
specific as possible. I will gladly spend more research time to find
as much information as necessary.

Thank you,
Jay
Clover varieties and vetch and rye

`Bigbeeż berseem clover (Trifolium alexandrinum)

Trifolium alexandrinum
Berseem, Egyptian clover

A vigorous true clovers resistant to alkaline soils, usually
cultivated under irrigation for pasture, green fodder and silage.
One of the most important legumes of the Near East and the
Mediterranean. Very palatable. May be cut several times a season
and produces heavy yields under favourable conditions. The
succulent stems are, however, difficult to dry because of their
high water content, and the leaves drop off very easily in the dry
state. The highest yield of protein with a relatively low yield of
fibre obtained by cutting the plant at a height of about 40 cm.
Valued for its rapid growth in the cooler winter season in the
subtropics and for its good recovery after cutting. Up to six
cuttings can be taken from the Miscari variety under irrigation;
one or two cuttings can be taken from the Fahl variety on dry land.
The herbage quality is good, and cultivation improves the soil
nitrogen status. Tolerant of soil alkalinity and salinity.

`Paradanaż balansa clover (T. balansae)

     Home > Publications > ASA > 2001 > Trigonella balansae – a new
pasture legume for the alkaline soils of southern Australia?
Previous PageTable Of ContentsNext Page
Trigonella balansae – a new pasture legume for the alkaline soils
of southern Australia?

J. H. Howie1, R. A Ballard1, C. de Koning1, G. Sandral2 and N.
Charman1
1South Australian Research and Development Institute, GPO Box 397,
Adelaide SA.
2NSW Agriculture, Agricultural Institute, PMB Wagga Wagga, NSW.

ABSTRACT
Dry matter production of Trigonella balansae was shown to be
comparable to a number of annual medics (Medicago spp.) at Bute,
South Australia. The average seed yield of T. balansae across three
locations in South Australia was 429 kg/ha. In a grazing experiment
in which sheep were allowed to ingest seed from a mature standing
pasture of T. balansae, the rate of seed depletion declined after 3
days, with 39% (257 kg/ha) of the seed reserve still remaining
after 14 days grazing. Plant density in the regenerating pasture
was 800 plants/m2 indicating the species should tolerate moderate
grazing pressure after seed set. An examination of the symbiotic
performance of T. balansae found that the plant was nodulated by
the rhizobia in 23 of the 27 soils surveyed. The symbiosis was
generally effective in nitrogen fixation, with the soil rhizobia
(RRI128) of Rhizobium meliloti. A herbicide study indicated that T.
balansae may be less tolerant than Herald medic to several commonly
used herbicides.

KEY WORDS
Trigonella balansae, pasture, nitrogen fixation, Rhizobium
meliloti, herbicide tolerance, grazing.

INTRODUCTION

Soils of alkaline reaction in temperate Australia, receiving
between 250 and 400mm annual rainfall, are used for both cereal and
livestock production. Traditionally, both naturalised and sown
species of annual medics (Medicago spp.) have been the most
important, and dominant, pasture legume in this zone. Medics are
typically used in one to two year rotations with cereal crops,
where they are valued for their ability to fix nitrogen which
becomes available to following cereal crops, their role in reducing
the impact of cereal root diseases, and the provision of high
quality livestock feed.

However, in recent times the merit of relying solely on annual
medics as the pasture base has been questioned. This has occurred
due to the perceived poor performance of the medic pastures in some
regions and has been exacerbated by the high cost of medic seed,
particularly the newer aphid resistant cultivars. There has also
been the recognition that increased pasture diversity is
ecologically desirable.

As a result, Australian pasture evaluation programs have been
examining a wide range of pasture genera for their ability to
complement and add diversity to the medic pasture base. Halloran
and Pennell (2) identified the genus Trigonella as having potential
in Australian farming systems. Trigonella balansae Boiss. and
Reuter, (1,4) an annual legume of Eurasian origins, has shown
promise in more recent trials. It is both productive and able to
regenerate on alkaline soils receiving <400mm annual rainfall.
Importantly, its upright growth habit and proliferation of seedpods
at the top of the canopy make it amenable to low cost seed
production (3). This should aid its adoption by farmers, relative
to the more expensive seed of annual medics.

This paper examines some key agronomic attributes which are likely
to have a bearing on the success of T. balansae in alkaline soil
farming systems.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Dry matter production and seed yield
The field performance of a range of T. balansae accessions was
compared with selected annual medic cultivars. At three locations
in South Australia mean flowering time for the T. balansae
accessions was on average 1 to 2 weeks later than the medics. As a
group, the early dry matter production (to September) and seed
yields of T. balansae were comparable to those of the annual medics
(Table 1). At each of the sites there were T. balansae accessions
that were more productive than the annual medic cultivars.

Table 1. Mean dry matter (DM, kg/ha) and seed yield (SY, kg/ha) of
T. balansae accessions (range shown in parentheses) and selected
annual medic cultivars at three sites in South Australia.



Species

Identity

1Bute (375mm, pHw 7.6, sandy loam)

1Mallala (380mm, pHw 7.8, loam)

1Mannum (310mm, pHw 8.1, sandy loam)


DM
SY
SY
SY

T. balansae

Various
1095
(297-1563)
300
(79-472)
528
(325-879)
460
(246-702)

M. littoralis

Herald
	 528
	 164
	 436
	 591

M. polymorpha

Santiago
	 388
	 299
	 480
	 513

M. truncatula

Caliph
	 -
	 -
	 441
	 560

M. truncatula

Mogul
	 924
	 313
	 -
	 -

1 T. balansae means based on 15 accessions at Bute and 12
accessions at Mallala and Mannum
Although the early growth of T. balansae appears promising relative
to the annual medics, this was is in the absence of grazing. Given
the upright growth habit of T. balansae, particularly at the
seedling stage, there are concerns it may be less tolerant of
winter grazing than the annual medics. There are also concerns that
the T. balansae germplasm available for evaluation may not flower
early enough. This could be a significant disadvantage in the lower
and more erratic rainfall areas of the cereal-livestock zone. Both
of these issues are currently under investigation.
Regeneration after summer grazing

The effect of summer grazing by sheep on the seed reserves of three
pasture legume species (Table 2) was assessed. Plots (15 x 13m) of
mature standing herbage of each of the pasture species were grazed
with 3 sheep in each plot in January 2000 for 14 days at
Turretfield Research Centre (470mm, pHw 7.0, red-brown earth).

Subsequent regeneration (March 2000) and winter herbage production
(July 2000) were measured.
Before grazing, the seed reserves exceeded 550 kg/ha for each
legume species (Table 2). Although more than 50% of the seed
reserve of all 3 pasture species were ingested during the 14 days
grazing, for T. balansae and Trifolium michelianum, most of the
seed was eaten during the first 3 days of grazing (310 and 325
kg/ha available seed at Day 3, respectively). Presumably this
occurred because the small seed (<1.5mg/seed) of these two species
is difficult for the sheep to access once it has fallen from the
legume pod. Trifolium michelianum seed was better able to survive
ingestion (65 kg/ha seed recovered from faeces) by the sheep than
the seed of T. balansae and Medicago truncatula (<12 kg/ha
recovered from faeces).

Table 2. Effect of grazing by sheep on the seed reserves (kg/ha),
regeneration (no. plants/m2) and dry matter production (kg DM/ha)
of three annual pasture legumes.

Legume identity  T. balansae  M. truncatula  T. michelianum
                  Line SA5045  cv. Mogul        cv. Paradana


Available seed       663          631           589
before grazing


Seed ingested        406          335           323
during grazing


Seed escaping        257          296           266
ingestion


Viable seed          11            10            65
recovered from
sheep faeces


Dry matter           2990         2960         2030
production


Pasture regeneration after grazing

  Despite the inferior survival of T. balansae in sheep faeces, there
were still sufficient reserves of germinable seed on the ground to
produce 800 plants/m2 in the regenerating pasture, following early
rain (20-21 February 2000). Subsequent winter herbage production
2990 kg/ha) of the regenerating T. balansae pasture was similar to
that of M. truncatula. Trigonella balansae should persist following
moderate grazing of dry residues over summer.

Symbiotic performance

Four-day-old seedlings of T. balansae (three accessions), growing
in a nitrogen free potting media were inoculated with extracts from
27 soils. There were also four controls (two pure strains of
Rhizobium meliloti, uninoculated and mineral nitrogen treatments).
Shoot weight was assessed after 5 weeks and used as an index of the
nitrogen fixation capacity of the symbiosis. The number of rhizobia
able to nodulate T. balansae was estimated in each soil (5) using
T. balansae (SA 5045) as the trap plant.

Both strains of rhizobia (SU277 and RRI128) resulted in significant
and large increases in shoot growth compared to the uninoculated
treatment (Table 3). Strain RRI128 (AL commercial inoculant in
2000) performed consistently well with all three T. balansae
accessions and overall resulted in greater shoot growth (98mg) than
the traditional Trigonella inoculant, SU277 (72mg).

Twenty-three of the 27 soils contained more than 100 rhizobia/gram,
which is probably sufficient for the prompt nodulation of T.
balansae in the field. Number of rhizobia in the soil was
correlated (r=0.51, P=0.006) with soil pHCa. The four soils (1×SA
and 1×VIC and 2×WA) which had <100 rhizobia/gram had a pHCa of less
than 6.5, indicating that rhizobial inoculation should be
encouraged where T. balansae is to be sown on soils below this pH
threshold.

When soils containing >100 rhizobia/gram are considered (Table 3),
the naturalised soil rhizobia were generally effective at nitrogen
fixation. On average, these soil treatments resulted in 63% (61mg)
of the shoot weight of strain RRI128 (98mg). Only 2 soil treatments
(1×VIC and 1×WA) resulted in <50% of the shoot weight of strain
RRI128, but still produced 3-fold the shoot weight of the
uninoculated treatment. All three accessions of T. balansae formed
an effective symbiosis across the range of soil rhizobia.
`AU Sunriseż and `Dixież crimson clover (T. incarnatum),

SUMMARY

Systems in vitro developed for Trifolium pratense were evaluated
for use with seveno ther important Trifolium species.C alli were
successfully initiated
from seedling explants of T. alpestre, T. campestre, T. incarnatum,
T. medium, T. pratense, T. repens, T. rubens and T. subterraneum.
Suspensionc ultures of all speciese xcept T. campestre and T
subterraneum were initiated from callus and colonies were successfully
recovered from replates of all species examined. Successful plant
regeneration was obtainedfrom both callus and suspension-derivedcu
ltures of T. rubens by so~atic embryogenesis.
Shoots from all species except T. campestre were clonally propagated
using meristem-tip culture methods. These shoots were successfully
rooted,except for those of T. incarnatum. These results indicate that
the manipulation in vitro of severalT rifolium speciesis possible with
availables systems.

INTRODUCTION

Methods for culturing species in the genus Trifolium in vitro have
been developed in recent years. Callus cultures of T. hybridum L.
(alsike clover)
[1] and T. subterraneum L. (subterranean clover) [2] have been reported.
Additionally, callus cultures have been established and plants
regenerated
from T. repens L. (white clover) [3-5], T. incamatu:-n L. (crimson
clover)
[6], T. alexandrinum L. (berseem clover) [7] and T. pratense L.
(red clover)
[6,8]. Plants have also been obtained from meristem-tip cultures of
T. pratense[9] and T. repens[ 10]. Cell suspensionc ultures of T.
subterraneum have been established [2] and plants have been
regenerated from cell suspen-



`Cherokeeż red clover (T. pratense), T.repens (White clover)
The dry matter (DM) production of Trifolium repens, T. ambiguum and
the backcross 1 (BC1) and backcross 2 (BC2) hybrids with T. repens
as the recurrent parent were compared in mixtures with an
intermediate heading variety of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne
L.) under a cutting-only management over 3 harvest years. Plots of
parental legume species and backcross hybrids were established from
small plantlets and oversown with the companion grass. In the first
harvest year, the DM yield of clover in T. repens plots was greater
than that in the BC2 plots and both greater than in the BC1 plots,
whilst in the second and third harvest years differences between
the DM yield of clover in the T. repens and the BC1 and BC2 hybrid
plots were small. Similar results were obtained for the DM yield of
total herbage. There were also differences in seasonal growth in
the first harvest year, when yield of clover in T. repens plots was
greater than in the BC1 and BC2 hybrid plots at early cuts but not
at later cuts. Few differences in seasonal growth were observed
between parental species and hybrids in subsequent harvest years.

Comparison of above- and below-ground biomass showed more DM in
roots and rhizome of clover in the backcrosses than in the T.
repens plots in the second harvest year but differences were less
evident in the third harvest year. The clover in the backcross
hybrid plots also had fewer stolon growing points per quadrat than
the T. repens plots, but the BC2 had more than the BC1 plots. The
exploitation of these hybrids in breeding programmes as a strategy
to improve the persistence and drought tolerance of white clover is
discussed and implications for forage production considered.
common hairy vetch and `AU Early Coverż hairy vetch (Vicia villosa)
Web site with detailed information
http://www.fao.org/ag/Agp/agpc/doc/Gbase/DATA/Pf000506.HTM


Vicia villosa Roth.
Home
Photo1.jpg (1333 bytes)

Synonyms

     * Vicia villosa Roth subsp. varia (Host) Corb.
     * Vicia villosa Roth subsp. dasycarpa (Ten.) Cavill.

	 Author: John Frame


Common names

Hairy vetch, winter vetch, fodder vetch, woollypod vetch.

Description

Hairy annual or biennial with scrambling and climbing habit up to 2
m. Whole plant has a white-woolly appearance because of the long
soft hairs. Shallow taproot system with strong lateral branches.
Leaves compound pinnate with 4-12 pairs of opposite leaflets
tapering towards the apex and 2-3 branched terminal tendrils.
Leaflets narrowly ovate, stipules small and narrow. Racemose
inflorescences with 10-20 flowers borne on long stalks arising at
the base of the leaves; self-fertilized flowers mainly purple to
blue in colour but sometimes white. Elongated flattened pods
contain 2-8 rounded seeds ranging from dark brown to greyish black
in colour.

Distribution

Native to southern Europe. Utilized there mainly in vetch/cereal
mixtures but much less than common vetch (Caballero, 1993) while it
is much more important than common vetch in the USA (Miller and
Hoveland, 1995). Introduced to continental, west and central Asia
and other temperate areas. Can be autumn-sown to provide green
manure in rotations with conventional and no-till planted rows
through mechanically or chemically killing the vetch in spring 2-3
weeks before planting the new crop or else it can be sprayed at
planting (PLANTS database 2000).

Characteristics

Adapted to a range of soils from fine- to coarse-textured but not
acidic or saline soils. Rapid growth rate. Intolerant of shade.
Sprawling growth form but grows upright when sown with a companion
cereal, e.g. with oats and to a much lesser extent with barley or
wheat in the Mediterranean area (Caballero, 1993).

Season of growth

Mainly spring to summer whether spring- or autumn-sown.

Frost tolerance

Fairly cold hardy and more so than common vetch.

Drought tolerance

Intolerant at early stage of establishment but medium tolerance
thereafter.

Soil requirements

Prefers well-drained, moderately fertile soils, pH 6.0-7.5 (PLANTS
database 2000). Responds to P fertilization. More tolerant of
poorly-drained soils than common vetch (Hoveland and Donnelly
1966). In general vetches (Vicia spp.) are more tolerant to soil
acidity than many forage legumes.

Rhizobial relationships

Rhizobial inoculation of seed advisable if grown on land where
species not grown before.

Land preparation for establishment

Well-cultivated, uniform and firm seed bed required for good
results.

Sowing methods

Normally drilled whether sown pure or in combination with cereals
but can also be broadcast. It is sometimes sown with Bermuda grass
(Cynodon dactylon). Can be direct drilled (sod seeded) into
warm-season grass swards to extend grazing season (Blanchet et al.
1995), e.g. into switchgrass (Panicum virgatum).

Sowing depth and cover

Sown at 2-4 cm with a good soil cover.

Sowing time and rate

Spring or autumn depending on farming system and severity of winter
conditions, but mainly autumn in the USA, for example. Seed rates
25-50 kg/ha in monocultures and 15-25 kg/ha when in combination
with 50-80 kg/ha of a cereal such as rye.

Number of seeds per kg

35 000 to 45 000.

Nutrient requirements

The main requirement is for phosphate, at an application rate
dependent on the soil P status.

Seedling vigour

Strong.

Vigour of growth

Vigorous growth once well established.

Nitrogen-fixing ability

High (PLANTS database 2000). LaRue and Patterson (1981) report
fixation of 184 kg/ha N.

Dry matter yields

At nil N fertilization Moreira (1989) obtained 5.81-6.56 t/ha in
northern Portugal from autumn-sown vetch and 5.12-8.34 t/ha with
applied N at rates up to 100 kg/ha; vetch/oat mixtures and oat
monocultures generally outyielded vetch monocultures substantially
when fertilizer N was applied but not at nil N application. For
central Spain, Haj Ayed et al. (1995) reported 6.51 t/ha from hairy
vetch with nil N application, a higher yield than that obtained
(5.82 t/ha) from oat/vetch mixtures, though an oat monoculture
yielded 11.00 t/ha. In Alaska, pure-sown vetch yielded 4.04-4.75
t/ha on a neutral soil and N application increased yields but on an
acid soil the yield was lower (3.46 t/ha) and was reduced by N
fertilization (Panciero and Sparrow, 1995).

Suitability for hay and silage

Can be used for hay or silage. When grown for hay it is normally
cut when the first pods are set.

Feeding value

Valuable source of protein and minerals. Panciero and Sparrow
(1995) reported CP contents of 16.4-17.9% on neutral soil and
13.6-14.7% on acid soil. On a DM basis average values in spring of
autumn-sown V. villosa and V. sativa in north-west Spain were 25.1%
in April and 17.3% in May; correspondingly, acid detergent fibre
(ADF) values were 28.2% and 32.6% (Iglesias and Lloveras, 1998). At
growth stages 30% and 60% DM in pod seeds, mean whole plant CP
content was 17.3% and 14.6%, respectively and digestible dry matter
(DDM) 60.4% and 56.2% (Caballero et al., 1995c). Plant part
composition is shown in the Table.

Table: Mean fibre (ADF), protein (CP) and digestible dry matter

(DDM) values of plant parts at two growth stages (30% and 60% DM in

pod seeds) of hairy vetch (Caballero et al. 1995c)

Plant part Leaves  Stems  Pods


ADF (%)    32.5    36.8   26.1



CP (%)     17.9    7.9    16.3


DDM (%)    75.1    55.3   68.6


Acceptability

Highly acceptable as grazed or conserved forage.

Grazing

Can be grazed by a range of livestock, including zero grazing
(green fodder cut and carried). Lax grazing necessary in order to
leave the basal axillary buds which are the regrowth sites.

Seed yields

400-1500 kg/ha in the USA (Miller and Hoveland, 1995).

Cultivars

USA cultivars include Madison, Americus, AU Early Cover and Lana;

Glabrescens is a Spanish cultivar (Caballero et al., 1995c).

Pests

Several pests which can sometimes cause plant damage in the USA are
listed by Miller and Hoveland (1995): pea aphid (Acyrthosiphon
pisum), corn earworm (Heliothis zea), fall armyworm (Spodoptera
frugiperda) and spider mite (Tetranychus spp.). The seed of hairy
vetch, but not common vetch, is susceptible to damage by the vetch
bruchid (Bruchus brachialis) and so natural reseeding in pastures
is poor.

Main attributes

Short-term catch crop. High nutritive value. Protein-rich, highly
acceptable feed for different classes of stock. Valuable
constituent of vetch/cereal mixtures.

Main shortcomings

Moderate yield and quality. Ideally requires companion cereal
species to avoid lodging and harvesting difficulties which occur
with monocultures.

Links

     * Purdue Forage Information: description and photographs on

Vicia villosa Roth
     * Vicia villosa Roth.: good photograph
     * FAO Animal Feed Resources Information System: nutritional

information about Vicia villosa
     * Vetch (Vicia villosa): description, pollination and reference

list
     * University of Nebraska Lincoln: general information on V.

villosa and photographs
     * University of Wisconsin and Minnesota: field crops manual

(detailed information on V. villosa)
     * UC SAREP, Cover Crop Database: very detailed description on

V. villosa (cultivar, seed, temperature,soil, seed, uses,
management)
     * Legumes for the Subtropics: Vetch, woolly pod
     * International Legume Database & Information Service

Main reference

Miller D.A. and Hoveland C.S. (1995) .


`Cahaba Whiteż vetch (V. sativa)


Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Vetch \Vetch\, n. [Also fitch; OE. ficche, feche, for veche, OF.
    veche, vecce, vesche, vesce, F. vesce, fr. L. vicia.] (Bot.)
    Any leguminous plant of the genus Vicia, some species of
    which are valuable for fodder. The common species is V.
    sativa.

    Note: The name is also applied to many other leguminous
          plants of different genera; as the chichling vetch, of
          the genus Lathyrus; the horse vetch, of the genus
          Hippocrepis; the kidney vetch (Anthyllis
          vulneraria); the milk vetch, of the genus
          Astragalus; the licorice vetch, or wild licorice
          (Abrus precatorius).

Tare \Tare\, n. [Cf. Prov. E. tare brisk, eager, OE. tarefitch
    the wild vetch.]
    1. A weed that grows among wheat and other grain; -- alleged
       by modern naturalists to be the Lolium temulentum, or
       darnel.

             Didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? From
             whence then hath it tares?            --Matt. xiii.
                                                   27.

             The ``darnel'' is said to be the tares of Scripture,
             and is the only deleterious species belonging to the
             whole order.                          --Baird.

    2. (Bot.) A name of several climbing or diffuse leguminous
       herbs of the genus Vicia; especially, the V. sativa,
       sometimes grown for fodder.

`Wrens Abruzziż rye


Best STM Information Product


     * Content Types
           o All
           o Publications
           o Journals
           o Book Series
           o Books
           o Reference Works
     * Subject Collections
           o Architecture and Design
           o Behavioral Science
           o Biomedical and Life Sciences
           o Business and Economics
           o Chemistry and Materials Science
           o Computer Science
           o Earth and Environmental Science
           o Engineering
           o Humanities, Social Sciences and Law
           o Mathematics and Statistics
           o Medicine
           o Physics and Astronomy
           o Professional Computing and Web Design


Journal Article  Printable view
Euphytica

Recurrent phenotypic selection for forage yield in rye
Journal Euphytica
Publisher Springer Netherlands
ISSN 0014-2336 (Print) 1573-5060 (Online)
Issue Volume 54, Number 1 / April, 1991
DOI 10.1007/BF00145625
Pages 11-17
Subject Collection Biomedical and Life Sciences
SpringerLink Date Thursday, November 04, 2004

Add to marked items
Add to shopping cart
Add to saved items
Request Permissions
Recommend this article

Recurrent phenotypic selection for forage yield in rye

P. L. Bruckner1, P. L. Raymer1 and G. W. Burton1
(1)  Department of Agronomy, University of Georgia & USDA-ARS,
Coastal Plain Experiment Station, 31793 Tifton, Georgia, USA

Received: 22 October 1990  Accepted: 15 January 1991
Summary  Little progress has been made in the past 20 years in
improvement of rye (Secale cereale L.) forage yields. In 1985, a
recurrent phenotypic selection procedure was initiated to improve
forage yield of lsquoWrens Abruzzirsquo (WAL-Cycle 0) rye. The
selection procedure included visual selection of spaced plants,
grid selection, maintenance of a relatively large population size,
bi-parental selection, a one-year cycle interval, and intermating
of selected plants in isolation. Cycle four of selection in the WAL
population was completed in 1989. Experiments were conducted from
1987 to 1990 to evaluate progress from selection over the first
four selection cycles and quantify the association between visual
forage potential ratings and fresh plant weight. Wrens Abruzzi rye
and Cycle 1, 2, 3, and 4 populations were evaluated over a 2 year
period in space-plant population progress trials at Tifton, GA.

Wrens Abruzzi was evaluated in comparison to WAL-C1 (9
environments). WAL-C2 (18 env.), WAL-C3 (16 env.), WAL-C4 (5 env.)
and rye check cultivars in small-plot clipping trials in a set of
36 southern U.S. environments. Spaced-plant evaluation indicated
forage yield gains of 6 to 7% per cycle with little change in
population variation. In seeded small-plot clipping evaluations
WAL-C1, WAL-C2, and WAL-C3 produced similar or slightly higher
forage yields as WAL-C0, but WAL-C4 produced 9 to 12% higher forage
yields than WAL-C0. Available data from WAL-Cycles 1 to 4 indicates
that forage yield gains in small-plot evaluation are 2 to 3% per
cycle. High positive correlations between visual plant potential
ratings and plant fresh weights indicate that visual selection is
effective in identifying high-yielding rye phenotypes.

Key words   Secale cereale  - rye - grid selection - forage yield

Subj:   Mars Society Newsletter: New format and distribution of the Mars
Society Newsletter
Date:   6/20/2007 8:17:21 PM Eastern Daylight Time
From:   noreply@...
Sent from the Internet (Details)



New format and distribution of the Mars Society Newsletter

The Mars Society is tentatively rehosting the email newsletter that was so
far sent from Yahoo Groups on its own web server. This newsletter provides an
example of the new format and distribution, as well as instructions on how to
choose the delivery format that you prefer or entirely opt out. The newsletter
is sent at non-regular intervals, as events warrant, to announce Society
achievements, future plans, etc., in all aspects of our work (Education and
public
outreach, Mars analogues, other technical projects, political action, etc.). On
average, in the order of six newsletters are sent per month (although more
than six can be sent in any given month).

Initial subscribers

We found out that there was quite a disconnect between the list of
subscribers of the Yahoo Groups newsletter and our list of members. A
significant
portion of our members (even current paid members) apparently were never
subscribed
to the Yahoo Group. Until they choose to opt out, this new-format newsletter
is being sent to:


All Yahoo Group subscribers for which Yahoo did not indicate an email
"bounce" condition.
All of our members with a valid email address, past or present. We included
all past members because we know that many persons who do not renew regularly
or have not for a long time are still interested in the Mars Society. We
however have no way to know all who fall in this category, and so this
newsletter is
our way to find out. Whether you are a past or current member, if you are not
interested in receiving this newsletter, you can opt out as described below.
(If you see this newsletter on the web site but have not received it in your
email, you might want to verify if you use a spam filter, and if so, you may
need to add noreply@... to your "white list")


Your subscription account and options

The newsletter account is the same web site account that many of you are
already using. Getting a web account is free (so you are welcome to let your
friends, coworkers, etc. know that they can subscribe to the newsletter; we'll
describe how below), but if you are a paid member of the Society your account
allows you to see and do more on the web site, such as full access to our
Marspapers library , the ability to see non-published content, and a folder of
your
own in which you can create your own content and submit some for publication.

An individual email will be sent to those of you who have not already logged
in to the web site, immediately after we send this newsletter. It will provide
your username and how to set your password, which can be done by following
the instructions at http://www.marssociety.org/portal/mail_password_form .

Once you have your account user name and password, you can log in to our site
at http://www.marssociety.org , by using the login box near the top in the
left side column. In order to select your delivery preference or opt out, you
must go to your account preferences.


The direct link to your preferences is
http://www.marssociety.org/portal/personalize_form (but you will need to log in,
of course). Once in your
preferences, the image below shows where you can opt-out or select your delivery
format
preference.


That image also shows a setting related to the receipt of emails from our web
site. We never reveal your email address publicly, but we do allow emails to
be sent to members of our web site through a web form. By default, only other
members of the web site can do this ("Site Members"), but you can select who
you want to allow to send you email, or disallow it entirely.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask the webmaster

On to Mars!

This newsletter was sent because you subcribed at the Mars Society web site,
or were subscribed as a Mars Society member, or had previously subscribed at
the Yahoo Group. You can opt out or change your delivery format in your
preferences at http://www.marssociety.org/portal/personalize_form (once you've
logged
in). This and other news can be found at The Mars Society Web site at
http://www.marssociety.org/portal/news.





**************************************
  See what's free at http://www.aol.com.



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

So much to learn, so little time.


1.  The Seventh International Conference on Mars,  July 9-13, 2007
California Institute of Technology (CalTech), Pasadena, California

The Seventh International Conference on Mars will be held at the California
Institute of Technology (CalTech), July 9–13, 2007.
At that time we will have completed an unparalleled ten years of concentrated
exploration of the Red Planet. This period includes six missions (1996 Mars
Global Surveyor, 1996 Mars Pathfinder, 2001 Mars Odyssey, 2003 Mars Exploration
Rover, 2003 Mars Express, and 2005 Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter), as well as
telescopic observations from Earth, studies of martian meteorites, and a
variety of numerical and laboratory modeling activities. The conference will
emphasize the synthesis of findings from these studies into new paradigms for
Mars.
As is the tradition of the International Conference on Mars, new data will also
be emphasized.

For further information, please refer to the first announcement at: http://
www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/7thmars2007/home.shtml

Latest news and information about the conference: http://mepag.jpl.nasa.gov/
Mars_Community/MEPAG171stcircular.pdf

More at: http://mepag.jpl.nasa.gov/Mars_Community/

2. NOT TONIGHT

Any day now one of my dearest friends – perhaps even two of them – will die,
leaving a huge hole in my world. Even though I've imagined and rehearsed it
in my mind countless times I don't know how I'll react when I hear the news,
which I've known is coming for a couple of years now; all I know is that when
the awful day comes, and I read the announcement, I'll feel like a part of me
has died too.

More at:
http://journals.aol.com/stuartatk/Cumbrian-Sky/entries/2007/05/17/not-tonight...\
/2626

3. Is Terraforming Mars A Bad Idea?

Of all the worlds ever graced by science fiction, Mars is second to only
Earth in honorable mentions. Previously imagined in the past to harbor advanced
civilizations, many space enthusiasts today now seek to not only visit Mars, but
to transform this rusty world into a second Earth.

More at:
http://www.colonyworlds.com/2007/05/is-terraforming-mars-bad-idea.html

4. Dark Caverns Discovered on Mars

May 25th, 2007 by Fraser Cain

When I first saw this image, I thought it was some kind of joke, or Photoshop
trick. But nope, this is real. NASA's Mars Reconnaissance orbiter has
returned images of strange cavern entrances on Mars.

More at: http://www.universetoday.com/category/mars/

5 Mars Arctic 4-month Mission files first Monthly Report May 31, 2007
For further information about the Mars Society, visit our website at
www.marssociety.com

6. European Meeting In Athens Fuels Future Space Exploration Missions To Mars
And Moon

by Staff Writers, Athens, Greece (SPX) Jun 01, 2007

A European Science Foundation (ESF)-led workshop sponsored by the European
Space Agency (ESA) has enabled 88 scientists from 11 European countries to agree
on science goals for future Europe's planetary exploration programme;
providing the continent with an ambitious roadmap to examine Mars and the Moon.

More at: www.spacedaily.com/European_Meeting_
In_Athens_Fuels_Future_Space_Exploration_Missions_To_Mars_And_Moon_999.html

7. Lab study indicates Mars has a molten core

31 May 2007 NewScientist.com news service
David Shiga

The long-dead magnetic field of Mars could eventually come back to life if
the results of a new experiment are correct. The study, which suggests that
Mars' core is mostly or completely liquid, may also help scientists unravel the
mystery of why the planet's magnetic field shut off billions of years ago.

More at:
http://space.newscientist.com/article/dn11962-lab-study-indicates-mars-has-a-mol\
ten-core.html

8. Space-inspired garden takes top prize at UK's Chelsea Garden Show

31 May 2007

Sarah Eberle, designer of "600 Days with Bradstone," consulted with ESA human
spaceflight experts to perfect her award-winning garden.

Her garden, intended to realistically model what might be used in a future
human habitation on Mars, won a Gold Medal last week at the Chelsea Flower Show,
operated by the UK's Royal Horticultural Society.
"600 Days with Bradstone" was also named 'Best Show Garden' at the show, one
of the UK's most prestigious gardening events.

More at: http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEM70N9RR1F_index_0.html

9. China and Russia join hands to explore Mars

China recently announced its first international cooperative project of a
joint Chinese-Russian exploration of Mars that has received attention from the
governments of both countries. On March 26, 2007, with the Chinese and Russian
heads of state as witnesses, the director of the China National Space
Administration, Sun Laiyan, and the head of the Russian Space Agency, Anatoly
Perminov,
both signed the "Cooperative Agreement between the China National Space
Administration and the Russian Space Agency on joint Chinese-Russian exploration
of
Mars."

More at: http://english.people.com.cn/200705/30/eng20070530_379330.html

10.The next generation Mars rover

May. 30, 2007 | 10:07 PDT | 17:07 UTC

Go to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory website and check out the newest video
showing the Mars Science Laboratory mission, and you'll see the latest and
greatest design for a roving mission to Mars. I've clipped and posted a few
screen
caps below.

More at: http://www.planetary.org/blog/article/00000988/

11.  HiRISE Releases Thouands Of New Images Of Mars Via New Website Viewer

Tucson AZ (SPX) Jun 05, 2007 - Anyone connected by Internet can now see
planet Mars better than at any time in history, through the eye of HiRISE, the
most
powerful camera ever to orbit another planet. A University of Arizona-based
team that runs the High Resolution Imaging Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has just released more than 1,200 Mars images to
the Planetary Data System.

More at:
http://www.marsdaily.com/HiRISE_Releases_Thouands_Of_New_Images_Of_Mars_Via_New_\
Website_Viewer_999.html

John Wayne Smith


**************************************
  See what's free at
http://www.aol.com.


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Deimosol 056-Aql-28 24:30 or Mars_Date_71492 @_3:45_MTC (Autumn/Spring) or
9/June/2007/Saturnday (Spring/Autumn) @_17:21_UTC or 6/Gad/71/Marsday
@_3:45_MTC. In reality I only use the "Mars_Date" system. Like I posted before I
went to http://pweb.jps.net/~tgangale/mars/mst/VernalEquinox.htm where I found
out when the Spring/Autumn Equinoxes occur from 25/May/1874 to 7/June/2126 .
They even supplied the "Martian Time" with each date. E.G. for their "Year 71"
The Spring/Autumn Equinox occured 21/January/2006/Saturnday @_16:24_UTC or
Mars_Date_71001 @_14:46_MTC . This "system" is practically self made. But how do
I figure out the date and time from this? First I "zero out" the "Martian Time"
by subtracting the original "Martian Time" from the original Universal Time.
E.G.- 16:24-14:46=1:38 and 1:38_UTC=0:00_MTC . I then figure out how many Earth
days have passed since the Spring/Autumn Equinox. Today was 505 Earth days.
505x86400/88775.244=491 Martian days with a remainder of
  12:02:35.192508 which becomes Mars_Date_71492 @_12:02:35_MTC or
10/June/2007/Sunday @_1:38_UTC . The rest is just for fun. Imagine... a "nine
day week". Solday, Earthday, Marsday, Mercuryday, Jupiterday, Venusday,
Saturnday, Uranusday, & Neptuneday. I did shorten the days of the months to 27
Martian days for for 24 of the months followed by a 25th month of 21 days.
................................................................................\
............................ I did figure out when the seasons occur.
Spring/Autumn Sol 001 duration 193 sols, Summer/Winter sol 194 duration 178
sols, Autumn/Spring sol 372 duration 143 sols, Perihelion sol 486, &
Winter/Summer sol 515 duration 154 sols. Thank you.

jwsmith42000@... wrote:                                  In a message dated
5/17/2007 8:22:07 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
  saavikkuum@... writes:

  > P.S. Why am I the only one using "Martian Time"??
  > Mercusol_211_Leo_25 @_1:40

  That is a very good question.
  It is a good idea to start using the Utopian version of the Areosynchronous
  Calendar. A clock based on this calendar can be found on the 1000Planets web
  site.
  You can have the clock to put on your computer or web site for the asking and
  by giving credit to the person who created it. It was created by Shaun Moss
  of Australia.

  Mercusol, 211 - Leo  -  25 120:50

  > or Mars_Date_71470_10_Naptali_71_Solday @_1:15_MTC

  I do not understand this calendar even I think that you tried to explain it
  to me once.

  >  or 18_May_2007_Friday @_0:20_UTC

  John Wayne Smith

  **************************************
   See what's free at http://www.aol.com.

  [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]






---------------------------------
Fussy? Opinionated? Impossible to please? Perfect.  Join Yahoo!'s user panel and
lay it on us.

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

In a message dated 6/1/2007 6:07:57 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
dan_ust@... writes:


>   "Andrew Stewart, a planetary geochemist at the Swiss Federal Institute of
> Technology, said Mars' cooling core might restore magnetism to the red
> planet. "If liquid metal moves around a solid core, it could create a natural
> dynamo like the one found in Earth's core," said Stewart, who co-authored the
> study detailed in today's online edition of the journal Science.
>

Dan, Thank You for this. I did not see it but will study it closely.
It has only been about 6 years since we learned that Mars has a simi liquid
core and still not much is known about it.

While I am quite interested in Mr. Stewart's theory, I contend that the
opposite will have to occur. While I could be wrong I believe that the core of
Mars
will have to be reheated to unify the shattered magnetic fields.

I suggest finding a large asteroid or minor planet to be moved to Mars to do
this. Ceres would be my first choice.

John Wayne


**************************************
  See what's free at
http://www.aol.com.


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

In a message dated 6/4/2007 11:12:49 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
saavikkuum@... writes:


> Hallo! Let me see if I can explain this.

Thank you!
Mars date: (Days name) Deimosol - (year) 211 - (month) Corvus (day) 14
Using The Areosynchronous Calendar Developed by Shaun Moss and crew.

John Wayne


**************************************
  See what's free at
http://www.aol.com.


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hallo! Let me see if I can explain this. I can remember when I wanted to live on
Mars. I always thought that the gravity on Earth was too high. Then I found out
that Mars had about 1/3 Earth Gravity! (0.37 E.g.). From then on I wished I was
on Mars. Remember that from a Martian point of view Earth has 2.7 Martian
Gravities!! Like a lot of people I wanted to know how old I was and when was my
birthday. At first I stuck to the standard unit of time measurement;
60_seconds=1_minute, 60_minutes=1_hour, 24_hours=1_day, 7_days=1_week,&
4_weeks=1_month (15_months=1_universal_year). There is something we should
remember though and that is that the international scientific community has
decided that the second is the international unit of time measurement. The
second is "...defined as the duration of 9,192,631,770 cycles of radiation
corresponding to the transition between two hyperfine levels of the ground state
of cesium133." which means of course that there can;t be a "Martian
  second". In my first calender I had 24 months of 28 days of 24 hours or 86400
seconds and a 25th month of 15 days of 24 hours or 86400 seconds.
Nevayot,_Kedar,_Adve-El, Mivsam,_Mishma,_Dumah, Massa,_Hadad,_Tema,
Yetur,_Napish,_Kedemah, Reuven,_Simeon,_Lewi, Yudah,_Dan,_Naptali,
Gad,_Asher,_Yissachar, Zevulun,_Dinah,_Yosep, & Ven-Yamin. I no longer use this
calender. Then I went to the webpage
http://pweb.jps.net/~tgangale/mars/mst/VernalEquinox.htm and found out that they
had listed every Spring/Autumn Equinox from 1874 may 25 to 2126 June 07 . A lot
of people say that the Martian year should begin on the Spring/Autumn Equinox.
This would be their "year 71". But what day (or "sol") is it?? And they have
listed the "Martian Time" as well. So what I did was to figure out how many
Earth days have passed since the Spring/Autumn Equinox.
(500x86400)/88775.244=486sols 15:20:31.4115 on 5/June/2007/Tuesday @1:38_UTC. I
zero out the "Martian Time" so that 16:24-14:46=1:38_UTC . And
  that how I get Mars_Date_71487 @_4:54_MTC . Thank you.

jwsmith42000@... wrote:                                  In a message dated
5/17/2007 8:22:07 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
  saavikkuum@... writes:

  > P.S. Why am I the only one using "Martian Time"??
  > Mercusol_211_Leo_25 @_1:40

  That is a very good question.
  It is a good idea to start using the Utopian version of the Areosynchronous
  Calendar. A clock based on this calendar can be found on the 1000Planets web
  site.
  You can have the clock to put on your computer or web site for the asking and
  by giving credit to the person who created it. It was created by Shaun Moss
  of Australia.

  Mercusol, 211 - Leo  -  25 120:50

  > or Mars_Date_71470_10_Naptali_71_Solday @_1:15_MTC

  I do not understand this calendar even I think that you tried to explain it
  to me once.

  >  or 18_May_2007_Friday @_0:20_UTC

  John Wayne Smith

  **************************************
   See what's free at http://www.aol.com.

  [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]






---------------------------------
TV dinner still cooling?
Check out "Tonight's Picks" on Yahoo! TV.

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

1. Opportunity Turns Up The Amps

By MARSDAILY Staff Writers
Pasadena CA (SPX) May 28, 2007
Opportunity's electrical supply returned to levels not seen since the rover
first arrived on Mars. Peak electrical current from the rover's solar arrays
climbed above 4.0 amps and remained there for most of the week as a result of
three recent dust-cleaning events. The last time electrical current reached
similar levels was on sol 18 (Feb. 10, 2004)!

more at: http://www.marsdaily.com/reports/Opportunity_Turns_The_Amps_999.html

2. New method helps safeguard astronauts by forecasting space radiation
hazards with up to
one hour advance warnings

San Antonio -- May 25, 2007 -- One of the greatest threats to human space
exploration is
the sudden, unpredictable occurrence of radiation outbursts from the Sun.

More at: http://www.swri.org/9what/releases/2007/spawea.htm

3. Mars drama takes new turns

Posted: Sunday, May 27, 2007 11:15 PM by Alan Boyle

More than three years into its mission on Mars, NASA's Opportunity rover is
gearing up for what could be the journey's climax: a descent into 230-foot-deep
Victoria Crater to read the pages of what the mission's top scientist calls
"a geologic history book." The update from Cornell University astronomer Steven
Squyres, principal investigator for NASA's Mars rover missions, was just one
of several new turns in the saga of Red Planet exploration.

More at: http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/05/27/205298.aspx

4. `The Hazards of Space Travel: A Tourist's Guide'
By Neil F. Comins
Villard, 253 pages, $19.95 hardcover
Published: May 27, 2007

The astrophysicist Neil F. Comins sounds confident that the age of space
tourism is on the
horizon. "Voyages to Mars, asteroids, comets, and the Jovian system — Jupiter
and the
bodies orbiting it — will all be feasible destinations in the coming
half-century," he writes.

article by: By RICHARD B. WOODWARD

More at: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/27/travel/27armchair.html?
_r=1&ref=travel&oref=slogin

5. NASA's Road to Moon, Mars Paved With Budget Woes

By Leonard David
Special Correspondent, SPACE.com
posted: 25 May 2007

DALLAS, Texas - NASA's road back to the Moon and onward to Mars is not only
technologically challenging but it may also be a proposition that could fall
short due to lack of needed funding.

More at: http://www.space.com/adastra/070525_isdc_coats.html

5. Days ahead crucial for Mars rover

By Paul Rincon, Science reporter, BBC News

Talks to resolve the design of Europe's rover mission to Mars are converging
on a "best solution for science", a senior space official has told the BBC.

More at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6693879.stm

6. Fungi Thrive on Dangerous Radiation
By Charles Q. Choi
Special to LiveScience
posted: 29 May 2007

Fungi could eat dangerous radiation to survive, an unexpected finding that
could one day help feed astronauts in space. Or at least astronauts willing to
eat a crawling fungus.

The research began with the discovery of black fungus growing on the walls of
Chernobyl's damaged, highly radioactive nuclear reactor and collected by
robots. The fungus was rich with melanin, the same pigment that gives human skin
its color, protecting the skin from solar and ultraviolet radiation. Melanin is
found in many, if not most, fungal species.

More at: Http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/070729_fungus_radiation.html


7. New Space Companies Should Stress Competence Over Coolness

By Bart Leahy Special to SPACE.com
posted: 29 May 2007

DALLAS, Texas - As the International Space Development Conference (ISDC)
wound down Sunday, business practices were on the mind of many speakers.
"There's
too much reliance on the 'coolness factor'," said Tom Olsen, a partner in
Exodus Consulting, a firm that specializes in performing due diligence
investigations for venture capitalists. Instead, he said entrepreneurs need to
concentrate on knowing what they are trying to do and solve specific problems,
from
providing lunar oxygen to future exploration missions to building solar power
satellites to approaching venture capitalists.

http://www.space.com/adastra/070529_isdc_business.html



**************************************
  See what's free at http://www.aol.com.


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

from http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/070531_mars_core.html

   "Above ground, Mars is mostly a bone-chilling desert pocked with craters.
Hundreds of miles below, however, a molten sea of iron, nickel and sulfur
churns. And new research suggests the gooey core will eventually solidify-either
from the outside-in, forming an iron-nickel core, or from the inside out,
forming a core of a fool's-gold-like minerals.

   "Andrew Stewart, a planetary geochemist at the Swiss Federal Institute of
Technology, said Mars' cooling core might restore magnetism to the red planet.
"If liquid metal moves around a solid core, it could create a natural dynamo
like the one found in Earth's core," said Stewart, who co-authored the study
detailed in today's online edition of the journal Science.

   "Liquids turn solid at different temperatures when pressure or purity are
changed-dry ice, for example, is carbon dioxide gas squeezed under immense
pressure. Add impurities to ice, and its freezing point is lowered (which is why
roads are salted). Likewise, explained Stewart, sulfur mixes things up under
Mars' crushing pressure of 5.8 million pounds per square inch."

   I'm surprised John didn't mention this.

   Regards,

   Dan


---------------------------------
Bored stiff? Loosen up...
Download and play hundreds of games for free on Yahoo! Games.

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Mars date using the Areosynchronous Utopian Calendar.
(Day of week) Jovisol - (Year) 211 - (month) Corvus - (day) 05

1. SPIRIT UPDATE: Spirit Continues Studies of Interesting Material
        Near 'Home Plate' - sol 1186-1192, May 14, 2007:

Spirit is healthy and has finished investigating a patch of churned-up,
     white-toned, silica-rich material known as "Gertrude Weise."

More at: http://marsrovers.nasa.gov/mission/status.html

2: Tales of von Braun vision: Space Center kicks off new event with book
discussion

Tuesday, May 15, 2007 By KENNETH KESNER
Times Staff Writer kenneth.kesner@...

What was Wernher thinking?: In the late 1940s, not long after coming to the
United States and not long after working on rocket weapons amid the horrors of
World War II Germany, Dr. Wernher von Braun wrote  "Project Mars: A Technical
Tale" about astronauts exploring the Red Planet.

More at: http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/news/
117922059591290.xml&coll=1

3. Mars experiment might help Earthling insomniacs

Mon May 14, 2007 6:14PM EDT
By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An experiment aimed at finding ways to help astronauts
adapt to life on Mars could end up helping insomniacs on Earth, researchers
said on Monday. They found that two 45-minute exposures to bright light in the
evening could help people adjust to a longer, Martian-style day.

More at: http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSN1425204020070514

4. Martian sands shift slowly but surely

15 May 2007

Physicists may have solved a long-standing mystery about sand dunes on Mars.
The dunes looks as if they should have been created by the action of wind, but
the Martian atmosphere is so still and thin that it was thought impossible
for wind to have played a part. New computer simulations suggest that the wind
can indeed drive the sand dunes on Mars -- it's just that the dunes are formed
far more slowly than back on Earth (Phys. Rev. Lett. 98 198001).

More at: http://physicsweb.org/articles/news/11/5/14/1

Ancient Microbes Living in Frozen Antarctic Soil May Be Model for Life on
Mars, According to the Journal Astrobiology

PRESS RELEASE
Date Released: Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Source: Mary Ann Liebert Inc.

New Rochelle, May 15, 2007 - Researchers exploring the possibility of finding
life forms on Mars can look to diverse populations of microorganisms found to
be living in a similar environment underneath the Antarctic polar ice cap, as
described in the April issue (Volume 7, Number 2) of Astrobiology, a
peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

More at: The paper is available free online at www.liebertpub.com/ast.

5, Mars Madness: A Multimedia Adventure!

Take a journey to the Red Planet with this new multimedia adventure!

More at: http://www.space.com/php/multimedia/marsmadness/

6. Please pass this message along to any interested students you know...

This message from Bruce Runnegar has been sent via the NASA Astrobiology
Institute email service to all NAI members. Replies to this message should be
sent
to runnegar@....

NAI is offering ten full-funded scholarships for students who wish to attend
the 2007 International Summer School in Astrobiology, Santander, Spain, July
2-6. The topic for this year's school is "Mars Exploration: The next ten
years". The summer schools are co-sponsored by the Spanish Centro de
Astrobiología
and the NASA Astrobiology Institute. The attached flier explains how to apply
for a scholarship. The application deadline is May 31.

Replies to this message  should be sent to: runnegar@....

7. Cliffbot Shines in Arctic Rehearsal for Mars

- March 21, 2007

In the summer of 2006, a group of engineers from JPL were invited on the
ultimate field trip. In this digital story, Ashley Stroupe and Mike Garrett
discuss the journey and how their small but mighty Cliffbot braved the daunting
geology of the Norwegian arctic in the hopes that the training might prepare the
robot for unforgiving martian terrain.

More at: http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/video/index.html#Cliffbot

8. The Uncomfortable Reality of Sex in Space

05.18.07 | 2:00 AM

I picture NASA shifting uncomfortably in its chair, running its fingers under
its collar and wondering if it's the only one feeling warm now that sex is in
the air.

Or beyond the air, as the case may be.

You see, the space agency is almost 50 years old, and while it likes to think
it's a leader in exploring new frontiers, it has yet to shake off the fetters
of its childhood when it comes to sex, romance and relationships.

Yet it is starting to talk more publicly about the special considerations
associated with long space flights, such as how to deal with illness and even
death when you can't just turn around and come home. And sex is on the list for
future discussions.

More at:
http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/commentary/sexdrive/2007/05/sexdrive_0518

9. NASA's Phoenix to Seek Organics in Mars' Ice to Unravel Red Planet's
Mysteries

"What I hope we find is organic material in the ice," said McKay. "We know
from Viking that
there's very little, maybe no organic materials in the soils. We're hoping
that the ice in the polar
regions could preserve organics." NASA sent two Viking landers to Mars in
1976, which landed in
non-icy zones, but neither found any organics in those areas.

more at: http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.nl.html?pid=22678

10: Mars for everyone

by Frank Stratford
Monday, May 21, 2007

Many people today dream of a future where people can travel easily to places
like the Moon and Mars for vacations or even on a permanent basis. Over the
last decade or two several groups have appeared on the scene in an attempt to
start out on what will be a very complex and long road to Mars. Inspired by the
potential of "what could be" and the blank canvas that Mars seems to represent
many average citizens have also started to join some of these Mars-related
groups in support of efforts to one day establish a permanent and growing human
presence on Mars and on other worlds.

More at: http://www.thespacereview.com/article/872/1


11. Breathtaking views of Deuteronilus Mensae on Mars

21 May 2007

The High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on board ESA's Mars Express has
captured breathtaking images of the Deuteronilus Mensae region on Mars.

The images were taken on 14 March 2005 during orbit number 1483 of the Mars
Express spacecraft with a ground resolution of approximately 29 metres per
pixel.

More at: http://www.esa.int/esaSC/SEMBS5V681F_index_0.html

12. Keeping It Clean

Interview with Cassie Conley, Part I

Dr. Cassie Conley is NASA's acting Planetary Protection Officer, responsible
for ensuring that NASA missions to other worlds do not contaminate those
worlds with terrestrial microbes. Astrobiology Magazine's field research editor
Henry Bortman spoke recently with Conley. In this, the first of a three-part
interview, she explains what her job entails and describes the hoops that NASA
jumps through to make certain its spacecraft are "clean."

More at: http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.php?
op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2338&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0

13: -- Space technology creates investment opportunities

"The first ESA Investment Forum took place last month at the European Space
Research and Technology Centre in the Netherlands. This new event attracted
more than 100 participants from all over Europe, including representatives from
the finance and investment communities, the European Special Applications Fund
and 20 start-up companies."

More at: http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.nl.html?pid=22689

14: -- LSU to Host International Symposium on Risk and Exploration

"Louisiana State University announced today that it will serve as the host
for a symposium devoted to examining how risk factors into the exploration of -
and beyond - our home planet.
Titled "Risk and Exploration: Earth As A Classroom," this event will be held
on the LSU campus from Oct. 28-30 with the financial sponsorship of the
Northrop Grumman Corp. This three-day event is modeled after a previous
symposium,
Risk and Exploration: Earth, Sea, and the Stars," held in Monterey, Calif., in
September 2004."

More at: http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.nl.html?pid=22687"

15: With a Russian hitch-hike, China heading to Mars

By Rui C. Barbosa and Sergi Manstov, 5/21/2007 11:34:24 PM

China is preparing its own Mars probe - Yinghuo-1 - that will hitch-hike a
ride to the Red Planet with the Russian Phobus-Grunt probe.

More at: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/content/?cid=5107

16: Europe's mission to Mars hangs in balance - Key meeting tomorrow

By Lucy Sherriff ? More by this author
Published Monday 21st May 2007 15:46 GMT

Top boffins from the European Space Agency (ESA) are to meet in Paris this
week to vote on plans for a European mission to Mars.

More at: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/05/21/exo_mars_vote/

17: Hints of past hot springs found on Mars

Tue May 22, 2007 6:31PM EDT
By Will Dunham

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A little NASA Mars rover has come across soil that
scientists said on Tuesday suggests hot springs may have percolated long ago on
the Martian surface, providing an environment conducive to life.

More at: http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSN2223316820070522

18: Mars a giant step, but 'doable'

Wednesday, May 23, 2007
By WAYNE SMITH, Times Business Editor Wayne.smith@...

NASA pioneer tells Intergraph users of opportunities

NASHVILLE - The first man to walk on the moon told an audience of nearly
3,000
Intergraph customers and employees Tuesday that although a mission to Mars
would be difficult, it can be done.

More at: http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/news/
117991182735420.xml&coll=1

19: Moon, Mars trips will pose physical, mental health risks

By MARK CARREAU
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle

As the Earth fades into the rearview mirror, the astronauts who set out on
the missions that NASA proposes to the moon and Mars will face new challenges to
stay mentally and physically fit.

Confinement on spacecraft and isolation from friends and family create
psychological stress. Bones weaken without gravity and there is solar and cosmic
radiation exposure.

"The risks to human health on long-duration missions beyond Earth orbit, if
not solved, represent the greatest challenge to human exploration of deep
space," concludes Safe Passage: Astronaut Care for Exploration Missions, a study
for the space agency by the National Academy of Sciences in 2001.

More at: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nation/4720762.html

20: Will Work for Spaceflight: A Personal Account on How to Reach Space
By V.A. Zabala-Aliberto


posted: 24 May 2007, 4:45 am ET

Do you want the opportunity to work in the space sector? Don't we all! Many
space enthusiasts say human and robotic space exploration is an addiction. Once
you start going to the International Space Development Conferences (ISDCs),
visit a spaceport or two or religiously visit as many space-related websites
you can without getting caught by your boss while you're on the clock...you just
can't stop

More at: http://www.space.com/adastra/070524_adastra_space.html

21. Space Venture Symposium Highlights Industry Diversity
By Bart Leahy

Special to SPACE.com
posted: 25 May 2007 07:34 am ET

DALLAS, Texas - The Space Venture Finance Symposium held here Thursday
provided non-millionaire space entrepreneurs a full-day primer on how to woo
investors.

More at: http://www.space.com/adastra/070525_spaceventuurefinance.html














**************************************
  See what's free at http://www.aol.com.



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

In a message dated 5/23/2007 1:52:11 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
no_reply@yahoogroups.com writes:

>  I only meant to reiterate what you had said, I assumed it meant that
> it would be 3 years before full production that could feed the colony
> without stored foods supplementing diet, if you only mean that's how
> long before crops will be productive 'in' Martian soil then I
> misunderstood.

Point taken. Yes, it would be three years before food production could take
place in the Martian soil. That being so, not much expansion could be planned
until we have had several crops successfully grown in the "Martian soil."
The way I see it, it would be at least seven years of setting up and settling
in before much progress is made. We just have to survive those 7 years. Once
the first colony is past this period then the rest that come will not have to
go through this process.
While we would expect the second community to land within 24 to 28 months
after the first we would not want to think that they will not have to go through
much the same routine.

It would only be after there are several (maybe 10) such communities are
established would we be comfortable in thinking that we could establish more
with
any surety.
All of the planing we do here on Earth will be just to make sure that we can
think logically about the problems we will face there. Much of what we plan
here may go out the window when we actually get to Mars.
We will just have to know much more than we will actually have to use and not
to be stuck on one idea as the ultimate answer.

> > > There are so many things that seem so monumentally difficult to
> > > achieve in your plan I really don't know where to start.
> >
> > Start at the first thing that you come to. I cannot see anything
> > that is anywhere near difficult but that is why I am here.
> > I am here trying to find holes in our plans.  If you can actually
> > show me some I would be grateful.
>
> OK, I will try to be concise.  I see several areas for improvement.
> And I will mention potential solutions below each.
>
> 1. Structure:  I do not know of any organization that successfully
> achieved massive industrial or financial efforts, which this will be,
> without being a government or corporation with structure (paid staff
> with hierarchal structure)
>
>   (Design a structure that when money arrives is designed like current
> businesses, CEO, management, workers, payroll, etc.)

This is true. There are no plans that I have seen, including the 1000 Planets
plan that is much past the embryo stage.
I do not see how any plan will get past that stage until it has a more mature
idea of what it wants to do and how to do it.
You will notice that almost no where in the 1000 Planets plan really
addresses money or delivery systems (rockets).

That is part of the reason why we are here. In my opinion we are here to try
to make such a plan into something that can be a reasonable base that will be
turned into such a group as you mention.
While we plan what we do, there are others that are planing the other parts
of such an effort. At some point we must join forces.
One such group is "The Colony Fund"  <http://www.colonyfund.com>. There are
others in different fields.

Once the 1000 Planets plan gets to certain stage it will be presented to
people in the different fields for possible partnership.
You cannot present an incomplete or dumb plan and expect others to even look
at it.



> 2. Management: I have not heard that the management has experience in
> handling large sums of money and capital expenditures in previous
> successful projects or business ventures.
>
>   (When money arrives hire experienced management to run the operations.)

That is addressed above. We are specifically avoiding this area because it is
such a specialized area of endeavor that it would just muddy the waters in
what we are planing.
We do have some general and unique ideas that we will present when the time
comes.

> 3. Money: There does not seem to be any significant funds currently
> raised or likely coming in the short term.
>
>    (When a solid plan that can be sold is put together, start raising
> funds, either through donations, loans, investors, etc.)

Understood and agree.

> 4. Launch format: Launching all 8 pieces, constructing in LEO and
> deconstructing LMO and relanding all 8 pieces will increase costs and
> time for the program.
>
>    (Launch unmanned modules stocked with food, equipment, In Situ
> production, etc., ahead of people directly to the surface, later
> modules with humans also sent directly to the surface.)

  That is addressed above. We are specifically avoiding this area because it
is such a specialized area of endeavor that it would just muddy the waters in
what we are planing.
We do have some general and unique ideas that we will present when the time
comes.

> 5. Permaculture: The knowledge base needed to have the extremely
> diverse farming base proposed, and the other needs of the Martian
> colony with only 100 colonists seems too limited to be possible.
> Starting this exact diverse agricultural community on Earth would be
> very difficult much less on Mars.
>
>    (Start with a minimum agricultural base, the lowest necessary
> plants and protein sources that will sustain humans for an extended
> period of time.)

I agree that this is what we have to do. I am seriously trying to find the
right people.
Don't try to talk with me about Rocketships or Money. There are 70 million
people who will be glad to talk about that when the time comes.

What we want to do is to make sure that we will survive once we do get the
rocketships and money.

> I am open to discussion of any of the items above and hope none of it
> is taken the wrong way.

Only when a person has a closed mind can any rational discussion be taken the
wrong way. If you say something that I disagree with, I have to rationally
defend my position. Like wise with you.
Nothing is too hard to do. We just have to learn the easiest and best way to
do it. The sooner we start learning how to make it easier the better off we
will be and the longer we will survive.

There may come a day when one person can go off by themselves and live in
space. They may know enough to make everything work.
However, what they know is what we learn and decide today, just like what we
know is based on what we have learned from the people who have learned it
before us.

But for now it will take a lot of people, knowing a lot of different things
working together to get this job done.
I intend to keep on working on getting enough people, who know enough to make
a decent start, together.


> Brooks
>
John Wayne



**************************************
  See what's free at http://www.aol.com.


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

In a message dated 5/25/2007 10:40:51 PM Eastern Daylight Time, jaber@...
writes:


> OK ALL.  I'm now back on the air after my hard drive died and managed
> to take all my research and data with it.

That is why I always back up mine each time I make major entries. It is rough
to try to go back and rebuild information.

> Was looking at the Dexter cows before my crash and they sound good. As
> the next phase of Bovine I feel Beefalo would be a good choice as they
> cut a higher percentage of usable meat and it is higher protein than
> other cattle produce. These animals tend to finish out in 10 months at
> roughly 1000 pounds and if fed grain to hasten their growth they
> scour. They grow best on rough grass and when its time to finish them
> off a small amount of grain is OK. Also they can be milked and their
> milk does not effect those who are lactose sensitive.

That is good information to have. It is not good to continue to rely on one
strain of any animal or plant and we should have backup choices. Maintenance is
always a real determining factor. From what I already know about Beefalo they
are a good choice because they do not require much maintenance.

One criteria we used was the size/age an animal had to be before being able
to reproduce. Since you have some direct knowledge in this area maybe you can
shed some light on the subject.

And this brings up another subject, ground cover. What kind of grass and
other plants would be good to build up the soil when it is laying fallow.

Eventually we will have a number of choices but the ones we start with must
be the best choice for the best bang for the buck.


  > By the way, I am predigest as I raised them for a few years.

Knowledge makes one that way.
When searching, I am always very open minded, but as I learn more and prove
it I become more and more set in my opinion (predigest).

> Jay
>
John Wayne


**************************************
  See what's free at
http://www.aol.com.


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

--- In MarsLivingNow-@yahoogroups.com, "jaber_1934" <jaber@...> wrote:
>
> --- In MarsLivingNow-@yahoogroups.com
>
> OK ALL.  I'm now back on the air after my hard drive died and managed
> to take all my research and data with it.
>
> Was looking at the Dexter cows before my crash and they sound good. As
> the next phase of Bovine I feel Beefalo would be a good choice as they
> cut a higher percentage of usable meat and it is higher protein than
> other cattle produce. These animals tend to finish out in 10 months at
> roughly 1000 pounds and if fed grain to hasten their growth they
> scour. They grow best on rough grass and when its time to finish them
> off a small amount of grain is OK. Also they can be milked and their
> milk does not effect those who are lactose sensitive. By the way, I am
> prodigious as I raised them for a few years.
>
> Jay
>
The Word above should be 'predigest'. Spell checker not working very well.

--- In MarsLivingNow-@yahoogroups.com

OK ALL.  I'm now back on the air after my hard drive died and managed
to take all my research and data with it.

Was looking at the Dexter cows before my crash and they sound good. As
the next phase of Bovine I feel Beefalo would be a good choice as they
cut a higher percentage of usable meat and it is higher protein than
other cattle produce. These animals tend to finish out in 10 months at
roughly 1000 pounds and if fed grain to hasten their growth they
scour. They grow best on rough grass and when its time to finish them
off a small amount of grain is OK. Also they can be milked and their
milk does not effect those who are lactose sensitive. By the way, I am
prodigious as I raised them for a few years.

Jay