Urban agriculture. I can’t imagine many people used that phrase 20 years ago but it is certainly a phrase that is growing in prominence. And I think its awesome! The more ways we connect ourselves to the production of food — both in the city and the countryside — the more we will appreciate the effort it takes to produce… Read More
T is for Tillage — Understanding “When tillage begins, other arts will follow.”
Tillage is something that while it may not be well-understood by everyone, it has a romantic quality. We’ve seen some of the earliest photos taken in the United States were of people behind a mule and plow, parting the ground, turning it over in an effort to make the ground conducive to growing plants. That image is the heart of what… Read More
S is for Seed — It All Starts with a Seed
My part of agriculture is crops even if I’ve been learning more about livestock in the past few years. And crops tend to start with the seed (I say tend because there are a few like olives that work off cuttings). Seed is probably the most critical decision a farmer or gardener makes in a season because the potential for… Read More
R is for Reading — Must Reads for the Farm, Agricultural Magazines & Books
I know this is not expected and I had several other words that I was going to use, but then I went to Amazon and realized that every one the suggestions for me was an agriculture-related book or movie. Growing up city, I had no clue about how much studying there was to do and how many incredible books and magazines… Read More
P is for Prairie & Growing Pinto Beans on the North Dakota Prairie
Since I was traveling again this week, I got behind again…. so I am going to catch up somewhat quickly. P is for prairie today, because I was traveling through a bit of prairie over the last few days. A lot of us have heard of prairies and may even get a photo in mind. We see beautiful grasses, growing for… Read More
O is for Olive — Insight on California Olive Production VIDEO
Last fall I had the chance to learn a lot about olive production in northern California thanks to farmer Irv Leen of Gold Rush Farms. Although I had seen quite a few olive trees while traveling in Turkey and Israel, visiting Irv’s was the first time for me to be able to visit with an olive farmer on their farm…. Read More