I wrote last week that dealing with international waste (IW) at the Sydney Marine Terminal will involve more than simply getting in a stash of orange garbage bags. You can read the details here, but the gist is that international waste coming off vessels must be segregated from domestic wasteRead More

What to do this week If there is one thing that is true about gardeners, it is that we are always thinking ahead. You might think we would all be busy enjoying what we have grown, or perhaps be scattered in multiple directions picking and processing everything that is comingRead More

What to do this week Gardens may have to be watered mid-summer, and maybe even fed, but not quite as much as you might expect. We have been having a rather dry spell, so the current rain is very welcome on my farm. I have drip irrigation in certain delicateRead More

What to do this week I don’t know about you, but this time of year I think a lot about garden pests. I do like to put science in this column once in a while, so maybe it is time for a little biology lesson. This is prime breeding seasonRead More

This year my farm has seen a succession of middle to top predators with catastrophic consequences for the chicken population and, by extension, my livelihood. A raucous crowd of ravens was first, flying boldly into the barn and coming out with whole eggs in their beaks. I was sure they wereRead More

What to do this week Let’s talk a little about summer pruning. Most things get pruned in the spring or the fall, but then again, there is the tomato. You can’t get serious about tomatoes without getting involved with the tomato pruning controversy. People always ask me where I standRead More

What to do this week It’s time to pick those garlic scapes, so let’s talk about that, and other timely harvesting tips this week. Garlic puts up a flower stalk, something that is very expensive for a plant. If you pick that stalk before it develops, the plant will putRead More

What to do this week I’m putting my squash in and you should too. The weather is settled and warm, and they will be happy. They are heavy feeders, such big plants after all. Plant them in your richest soil or add lots of compost. They could grow in pureRead More

What to do this week Cover crops are garden plants that you don’t plant to eat. They cover up garden space that doesn’t have an immediate planned use. Why, you ask? They are planted as a way of stabilizing soil and building organic matter, are useful for weed control andRead More

King Corn, like most monarchs, is demanding of land and resources, requiring high inputs like fertilizer, water and pest control. True, it rewards the effort with impressive yields; so much so that in an age when we thought oil was forever, with the agrichemicals it provided, corn became the dominantRead More