Tractor Man Speaks
So… now that I’ve earned a little carbon credibility by passing up the opportunity to fly to North America for a book tour, it’s time for a confession – we have a tractor and a mini digger on our holding.
Food & Water
The American food system creates chronic diseases; the medical system ‘manages’ them
“Metabolical”, a book by a medical researcher and physician, tell us that the relationship between our diet (heavy on processed foods) and chronic disease is far more profound than we’ve been told.
The long culinary history of pumpkins – from ancient Mexican soups to modern spiced lattes
Despite being harvested until December, for many, Halloween will mark the end of pumpkin season with the decorations unceremoniously binned. Studies show that just over half of the pumpkins bought in the UK each year (18,000 tonnes of them) go to waste uneaten.
Farm to Table Goes International in Rural New York
While the Catskills have always produced juicy burgers and classic American fare, today there are restaurants serving up everything from Korean to French to Albanian cuisines, making these rural parts an unlikely nexus for urban foodies, farm-to-table enthusiasts, diner denizens and craft beer aficionados.
The Southwest Offers Blueprints for the Future of Wastewater Reuse
What’s clear is that the Colorado River can no longer be relied upon to meet the water needs of an increasing population. If we continue asking so much of it, we have to start easing those pressures. Water reuse is imperative if the driest parts of the world continue growing without destroying the environment that relies as much on water as we do.
Growing Guatemala’s future – on contour!
Contour Lines Corp’s approach is to work with the community to plant diverse agroforestry sites on contour, thereby transitioning the land use from chemical, slash-and-burn corn monocultures to organic, perennial food forests.
All Hallows Eve
All Hallow’s Eve is the mid-point between the autumn equinox and the winter solstice. In many ways it marks the end of the farmers year as well as the beginning of the next.
Smallholders: striving for autonomy
Having other income streams than farming is not only because you can’t live on small scale farming (you can’t) but also a way to allow you to run the farm according to your ideals rather than to the dictates of the market, banks or the government. A “day job” can in that way strengthen the autonomy or at least the feeling of autonomy
Fungi and forest gardens: 2 book reviews by Tomas Remiarz
There are plenty of books and websites telling you how forest gardens should work. I am more interested in how they do (and sometimes don’t) work, and in the people who are working in and with them.
Bird flu, infected cows and playwright Henrik Ibsen
Is the next pandemic on its way? The dramatic spread of bird flu in American cattle is very concerning.
The social life of a peasant
It didn’t take long before I realized that the social component of being a smallholder was more important to understand their situation than various economic theories, and that the way they farmed often was quite rational if one considered their total situation and not looked at farming as an isolated commercial enterprise.
Whatever Works (There are no rules)
Farming is a science but it is also an art. There is no one book, one philosophy, one six-week course which can teach that.