“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...]
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...]
Best of Canada, volume 1
An Urban Developer Goes for the Green, Joe Van Belleghem Claiming the Commons — Food for All on Haultain Boulevard, Rainey Hopewell & Margot Johnston Awakening the Village Heart and Mind, Brandy Gallagher An Eco-Sense House — Natural Building, Natural Living, Ann and … [Read more...]
Vertical Gardening for Small Spaces (303)
"There are wonderful ideas for what people are doing, working with small spaces. There's lots to get you excited about growing — anywhere." Stephen Hindrichs shows three approaches to growing vertically in limited space in his backyard garden. One is a south-facing wall made … [Read more...]
Visit McCaskill Street — Forging Community through Resource Sharing (297)
It all started with neighbors meeting to save money and share information around energy, water, food and more. It has grown into shared projects, shared tools and deepened friendships. Residents joined brushes to paint a wall mural with unique neighborhood themes, … [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...]
Grow Your Food in a Nook and Cranny Garden, part 1 (289)
"Chickens are naturally forest birds." A tour of Gord and Ann Baird's edible landscape starts at the off-grid chicken house and yard, containing fruit trees that provide a protective canopy against flying predators. Roof rainwater becomes drinking water for the chickens, … [Read more...]
Seattle Community Farm — Growing Veggies for the Neighborhood (283)
"The veggies all go to people who have a hard time affording fresh vegetables. Last week we harvested 400 pounds of vegetables [for the Rainier Valley Food bank]…. It will last them about two hours. That's the demand." Farm coordinator Scott Behmer gives us a tour of a … [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...]