Farming or bare-land-culture doesn’t last. Our western culture is killing and losing topsoil fast. One day that stops. Perma-culture at its roots is a food that builds soil. Civilizations thrive on soil.
Agroecology is fully rooted in science, seeks to work with nature, and draws nutrients from the land to grow crops without using costly chemical fertilizers or pesticides, which often serve to push farmers into debt. It posits that getting to know the land and crops with which you work intimately is empowering in more ways…
Horticulture celebrates diversity and the thousands of plants and species that provide us food and medicine. In farming communities, there is a connection to the land. The food system is far more resilient, and labour yields better results with less effort. In fact, if you include externalized costs, it is even more profitable than agriculture…
Agriculture is an inherently destructive practice. It began in modern-day Syria and Iraq and is based on bare soil and aggressive growing practices in order to maximize yield and profit. But the problems associated with it are endless. Soil is eroded, fertility is lost and the ability to produce crops is deeply unsustainable. Much of…
Mismanagement of water and soil are the two biggest mistakes gardeners make. Both are so basic to life that the best gardeners know this, and put a lot of effort into getting better. How often have I heard from gardeners and farmers, “I have so much work to do”? They shun projects because they feel…
I had fun making my first video from start to finish. The ducks don’t follow direction well, and the dogs started eating my set, but we got the footage we needed! It’s amazing how much food and cardboard we have diverted from the dump. Not only did we divert it, but we get the best…
Adding restaurant food scrapes to the worm composting piles. Always nice to see lots of worms. I try not to create to much attention or else the chickens come and eat them all up quickly!!
An edge of a pasture left to its own devices for 2 seasons has started its own nursery of aspen trees. These trees are now big enough to move to other parts of the farm, and all I have to do is transport them. I put two things together to figure out this strategy. Firstly,…
A cool part of building an ecological farm is that you get to learn the stories of so many interesting plants. This past month I have been watch the gourds and pumpkins with great curiosity. Tied to taking in all the observations throughout the season to make sense things is also reading up and understanding…
This week was exciting for me because we scored an Allis Chalmers 72 Harvestall combine! A combine is used to harvest grains and seeds from the field, and the Allis is a classic machine that can be pulled behind the tractor. Besides the challenge of finding good equipment, the real battle is getting it…