An article in The Scientist argues that disease may well wipe out bananas unless new genetically modified varieties can be invented before the fruit disappears altogether. Feel backed into a corner?
The article notes that the fusarium wilt called Panama disease wiped out the Gros Michel variety by 1960, and that a new strain of the […]

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The first glitch was figuring out that we had two different sets of instructions, one for the house we actually have and one for another design. (Where is part 162877? We should have 10 of them. 162877? They aren’t on my list. WTF?)
Once we got that issue sorted out, the next realization was that this […]

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Late one night, I saw a pitchman hawk these contraptions on cable TV (the guy was not as good the ShamWOW! spokesman, but then, who is?). Bleary-eyed though I was, the idea made sense. Growing tomatoes means investing in something — a cage or stakes - to keep those heavy vines supported enough so the […]

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In a triumph of optimism over experience, I planted some grapevines, as well as a few blueberry and raspberry bushes. What was I thinking? That the deer had taken a holiday? By the next morning, one blueberry bush was gone, and there were deer tracks all around the other plants. If the deer didn’t […]

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My neighbor Dave (who is helping with the hoophouse) has been gently reminding me that it’s time to start composting. (My soil is basically beach sand.) He also offered me some free pallets, since he accumulates so many as part of his roofing business.
I then found a great PDF handout from “Green Man” that […]

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Pennsylvania fruit and vegetable grower Lisa Kerschner wrote movingly about why she’s a farmer in her Newsweek “My Turn” column:
“People are discovering what we small farmers have to offer. We can provide varieties of fruit and veggies with amazing flavors and colors, most of which will never be found at the grocery store. Customers quickly […]

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There is a lively discussion on a listserv I belong to about whether buying locally may not always result in a lower carbon footprint. A provocative article in the New York Times last December called
“If it’s fresh and local, is it always greener?” raises good some good questions. As one listmate noted, it […]

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According to the British newspaper The Telegraph, the ‘reactive nitrogen’ spewed into the atmosphere by industrial agriculture, as well as transportation and power generation, is poisoning the earth’s oceans. (Naturally occurring nitrogen is an inert gas that does not impact the environment, but the ‘reactive nitrogen’ in anhydrous ammonia fertilizer acts as a toxin […]

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BBC “Kitchen Nightmare” Chef Gordon Ramsay has touched off a fierce debate by proposing a legal ban on all out-of-season food in all British restaurants. Chefs would therefore be forced to offer menus limited to locally grown foods in season.
Europeans are much more concerned about climate change than most Americans. However, even in England, the […]

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