The United Kingdom charity “Send a Cow” offers training and support for family farmers in Africa to adopt sustainable farming practices. In return, the organization also shares good ideas about water conservation in Africa with us.
From June 10-14, the BBC Gardeners World Live will showcase these water-saving techniques on display at the “Send a Cow” […]

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The video shows how much the vegetable plants inside my hoophouse are exploding. Greens, potatoes, squash, tomatoes, peppers, onions, cabbage. The only plants that are lagging a little are the peas, because the hoophouse is keeping them a bit too warm.
This is our first full year with our new 26 by 36 passive solar greenhouse. […]

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Swine flu virus (CDC)
 
The Associated Press, as published in the LA Times, looks at the possible connection between swine flu and the corporate pig farm called La Gloria in Veracruz, Mexico. This thoughtful article does a good job of explaining how difficult it can be to trace the origin of this new flu strain. However, […]

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Milk jugs nestled among the tomato plants

SUNDAY, MAY 17 UPDATE: Everything in the hoophouse came through last night in great shape. But, then again, so did the warm-weather cucumbers and melons planted outside, with no protection. So I am still not sure how well the milk jugs worked as protection against frost. But I can […]

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A chilling article in the New York Times called “Food Companies Are Placing the Onus for Safety on Consumers” says that food companies and the government have pretty much given up on figuring out where food-borne illnesses come from. In 2007, an estimated 15,000 people nationwide were sickened by salmonella from Banquet frozen pies, but […]

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The last two nights, there were frost warnings, which made me worry that my recently transplanted hot-weather seedlings - tomatoes, squash, watermelon - might not make it through the night, hoophouse or no. But I am pleased to report that they came through unscathed.
I have already learned that the solar rays on sunny days dramatically […]

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