“We’ve had 50 years of unusually stable weather… What do we need to do now, to garden in times that are less predictable?” Plant breeder Carol Deppe, author of The Resilient Gardener: Food Production and Self-Reliance in Uncertain Times, suggests growing a wider variety of … [Read more...]
Milking “Buttercup” the Cow (327)
“The faster you go in the beginning, the more milk you get. Beginning milkers have a rough time because of this.” Alexandra King, co-owner of Inspiration Farm shows how she milks the family cow, Buttercup. A stall holds the Jersey cow in place while being milked. Alexandra … [Read more...]
The Open Source Seed Initiative — Protecting Our Food Commons (323)
Plant breeder Carol Deppe is passionate about making seeds available for all growers, rather than being in the control of a handful of corporations. “If we want to control the kind of food available and the kind of agricultural system that we want, we have to do our own … [Read more...]
Seeds for Our Future — How Shall We Feed Ourselves? (310)
"We've alienated ourselves so much from nature that our whole way of producing food is by trying to dominate nature. We're not really connected." Dan Jason, owner of Salt Spring Seeds (B.C.), points out how corporations now control most of the seeds and food products … [Read more...]
The Animals are Allies at Inspiration Farm (294)
"My worms are my hardest working critters…along with all my other critters." Brian Kerkvliet shows the mobile chicken house area where chickens scratch, eat bugs and plant seeds, spread the compost pile, and fertilize the soil. As they clear one region, they're moved to … [Read more...]
Farmer George — Growing Animals Like Grandpa Did, part 1 (286)
"Our animals live in the pasture - birds, pigs and cows. Everybody gets to roam free in fresh air and sunlight…not only are they getting the food at its best, but they're also leaving behind the waste products that rejuvenate that grass and keep the system going." Farmer … [Read more...]
Join the “Eat-All Greens” Garden Revolution (282)
"I spent five minutes spreading the compost on the driveway, two minutes sprinkling the seed, and maybe five minutes to harvest the whole patch. And I had maybe twenty pounds of nutritious leafy greens." From this spur-of-the-moment idea, plant breeder Carol Deppe spent … [Read more...]
A Resilient Gardener Breeds Plants for These Times
Freelance plant breeder Carol Deppe sifted handfuls of golden, ruby and coppery corn from the huge pile. "Remember the Scrooge McDuck comics, where he goes into the vault and runs his hands through all the metal coins, gloating about how wealthy he is?" she asked. "I … [Read more...]
The Squash is In!
We popped out into the Corvallis countryside to photograph Oregon plant breeder Carol Deppe and friends as they harvested the last of the season's squash. These butternuts were laid on tarps in the shade alongside the already-harvested big "Sweet Meat - Oregon Homestead" and … [Read more...]
Handmade Tools Make Simple Work at Inspiration Farm (269)
Watch Brian Kerkvliet cut thick grasses easily and quickly with his hand-built scythe — a far cry from a noisy weed whacker! He demonstrates three tools whose design he has honed over the years: the scythe, grass rake and U- bar or broadfork. "It took a few years to get the … [Read more...]