Farming

Globe artichoke. (Photo by Madeline Yakimchuk)

Gardening Tips: Time to Prune

March 15, 2023 at 10:30 am

Editor’s Note: This column last appeared on 14 March 2018.   What to do this week This week, we have a success report from Madeline about her globe artichoke overwintering experiment, and some encouragement to think about the early spring pruning of your trees and bushes. Let’s start with pruning.Read More

Soil blocks. (Photo by Madeline Yakimchuk)

Gardening Tips: Playing in the Mud

March 8, 2023 at 12:45 pm

Editor’s Note: Today’s column first appeared on 7 March 2018.   What to do this week I’m back after a short break. Thank you all for your patience. I hope your onion seedlings are started! If they are not, you can do them in soil blocks. If you have themRead More

Source: Save Sinjajevina website gallery https://sinjajevina.com/en/gallery

For Love of a Mountain in Montenegro

March 1, 2023 at 1:51 pm

The whole frame of geopolitics…seeks to manage tensions and power struggles among those who rule, while the vast majority of people—as well as plants, animals, land, and water—are controlled, confined, or killed to serve those interests.—Ray Acheson, ‘Abolishing Geopolitics and Building a World Without State Violence,’ Metapolis, September 2022  Read More

Gardening Tips: Down with Lawns!

Gardening Tips: Down with Lawns!

March 1, 2023 at 1:45 pm

Editor’s Note: This column last appeared on 3 March 2021   What to do this week I really think people shouldn’t have lawns. Lawns are for grazing sheep. So that is my rule of thumb: your lawn should be either big enough to graze sheep, or small enough to cutRead More

Tomato seedlings. (Photo by Priit Tammets, CC by 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Gardening Tips: Caring for Seedlings

February 22, 2023 at 11:45 am

Editor’s Note: This column last appeared on 21 February 2018. I’ve removed an author’s note from that year, because it doesn’t really apply to this year’s weather.   What to do this week I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that it is very important for recently planted seeds toRead More

Onion seedlings planted in toilet paper rolls. (Photo by Madeline Yakimchuk.)

Gardening Tips: Windowsill Planning

February 15, 2023 at 2:30 pm

Editor’s Note: This column last appeared on 14 February 2018.   What to do this week: So now that the seeds are ordered, let’s plan those windowsills. Onions get the first rotation on the best windowsill. Best means warmth and light. You can plant onions by mid-February. You can alsoRead More

Gardening Tips: Dishing the Dirt

Gardening Tips: Dishing the Dirt

February 8, 2023 at 10:45 am

Editor’s Note: This column first appeared on 1 February 2017.   What to do this week: When you think about what seeds need to germinate, the main thing is soil, obviously. You want your soil to hold water, but not too much. Roots need air too, just like us. SoRead More

By J.M. Perkins (Firm); Henry G. Gilbert Nursery and Seed Trade Catalog Collection [No restrictions], via Wikimedia Commons

Gardening Tips: All About Onions

January 25, 2023 at 3:35 pm

Editor’s Note: This column last appeared on 24 January 2018.   What to do this week: It’s almost time to plant onions. Yes, already. This is seed catalog season, as you may have noticed by the previous few columns, but I must admit it is not actually necessary to placeRead More

Gardening Tips: Fun with Seed Catalogs

Gardening Tips: Fun with Seed Catalogs

January 18, 2023 at 11:45 am

Editor’s Note: This column last appeared on 17 January 2018.   What to do this week: It is still winter, and we are still holed up with our seed catalogs. In case you haven’t noticed, some catalogs are better than others. Some are pretty, and inspirational for that reason. OthersRead More

Farmer spreading grasshopper bait in his field. Year unknown. (Dorothea Lange, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothea_Lange, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

Bean There: Footsteps of the Farmer

December 14, 2022 at 11:47 am

Editor’s Note: We’re re-running another of Michelle Smith’s timeless farming columns, this one originally published on 24 January 2018.   There is a country proverb that the best fertilizer is the footsteps of the farmer. Anyone who follows me through an average day could be forgiven for taking this literally,Read More