Category: farming

Whole Farm Management: Growing A Sustainable Business

As you probably already know, the GROW BIOINTENSIVE (GB) Sustainable Mini-Farming method I developed with Ecology Action over the past 48 years of research and fieldwork is designed primarily to grow a complete diet, along with soil-building compost crops for sustainability. But it also… Continue Reading “Whole Farm Management: Growing A Sustainable Business”

Small is Beautiful: Compact Farms

Compact Farms - post header

Have I mentioned that I think small farms are the best farms? Well, I’m not alone, and I have the perfect book to prove it. According to Josh Volk, author of Compact Farms: 15 Proven Plans for Market Farms on 5 Acres or Less… Continue Reading “Small is Beautiful: Compact Farms”

Exotic Additions: Perennial Vegetables

Perennial Vegetables by Eric Toensmeier

With winter setting in and visions of lush spring gardens already dancing in our heads, here is something to intrigue and inspire you or your favorite gardener: a book/DVD combination on how to grow 100+ perennial vegetables. From asparagus, rhubarb, and ramps to taro,… Continue Reading “Exotic Additions: Perennial Vegetables”

Miraculous Abundance: 1/4 Acre, Two French Farmers, and Enough Food to Feed the World

Miraculous Abundance Book Cover

For years, scientists and practitioners of sustainable agriculture have been aware that our food chain is vulnerable. Soil depletion, resource scarcity, population growth, and the many and varied impacts of global climate disruption can and do impact our ability to grow and source food.… Continue Reading “Miraculous Abundance: 1/4 Acre, Two French Farmers, and Enough Food to Feed the World”

What to Read Now: Warm Climate Gardening

Warm Climate Gardening Book Cover

It’s winter here in the northern hemisphere, and farmers and gardeners everywhere are dreaming and planning about what to plant in the spring and summer! While all gardens have their challenges, those who grow food and flowers in warm and/or arid climates need a… Continue Reading “What to Read Now: Warm Climate Gardening”

The Book of Barley

In 1981, while Ecology Action was preparing to relocate its GROW BIOINTENSIVE farming program to from Palo Alto to Willits, CA in 1982, I received a letter from Lorenz Schaller, an amazing grainsman, noting that the Kusa Seed Society—”a voice for the precious edible… Continue Reading “The Book of Barley”

“What I Stand On”: Sustainable Inspiration from Wendell Berry

What I Stand On box set cover, cropped

According to Wikipedia, Wendell Erdman Berry (born August 5, 1934) is an American novelist, poet, essayist, environmental activist, cultural critic, and farmer. He is an elected member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers, a recipient of The National Humanities Medal, and the Jefferson Lecturer for 2012. He is also a 2013 Fellow… Continue Reading ““What I Stand On”: Sustainable Inspiration from Wendell Berry”

Gardening Without Poisons: A Constructive Answer to the Pesticide Problem

According to Wikipedia, human agriculture arose independently in at least eleven regions of the old and new world dating back to at least 20,000 BCE. Use of irrigation, crop rotation, and fertilizers began in the Neolithic age, but were greatly refined and expanded over… Continue Reading “Gardening Without Poisons: A Constructive Answer to the Pesticide Problem”

Diversity is Delicious: Uncommon Fruits for Every Garden

I know that Summer just got here, but part of being a farmer is planning for the seasons ahead… With the sun at its apex for the year, the apples are hanging thick and green on the boughs and the bees are buzzing among… Continue Reading “Diversity is Delicious: Uncommon Fruits for Every Garden”