Participants work with SHI Field Trainers to find alternatives to harmful and expensive chemical pesticides. Farmers have found that by mixing such natural ingredients as hot peppers, cow urine, garlic and soap – they are able to create powerful, yet... (Continue reading)
by Bhaskar Save 1) Chemical farming fragments the web of life; organic farming nurtures its wholeness. 2) Chemical farming depends on fossil oil; organic farming on living soil. 3) Chemical farmers see their land as a dead medium; organic farmers... (Continue reading)
By Vicki Tate If you are going to store food, make sure that the food you store is adequate for the need you and your family anticipate. This may not be as easy as to achieve as many people think,... (Continue reading)
I have a few tips for papaya production. First of all, it’s best to have a variety that you consider tasty. Why waste your time planting something whose taste you do not like? One way to do this is when... (Continue reading)
“Natural farming is not simply a way of growing crops; it is the cultivation and perfection of human beings.” Masanobu Fukuoka The One Straw Revolution: An Introduction to Natural Farming, by Masanobu Fukuoka, is available once again. First published in... (Continue reading)
As anyone who has fruit trees knows, a lot of fruit goes to waste. Woodpecker holes, worm holes, bug damage and bruises occur on a considerable portion of the harvest. Imperfect fruit will not last in storage and can ruin... (Continue reading)
For home gardening it means: less work, less irrigation, improved soil, higher yields and no poisons. There are unlimited opportunities in market gardening, mini-farming and mini-ranching. People can have a comfortable income, a high quality lifestyle, provide a great service... (Continue reading)
Organic Gardening I started organic gardening in the mid-seventies, when French bio-dynamic intensive methods were the fad. For years I grew most of my own food and medicine in a small garden on an organic farm north of Santa Barbara,... (Continue reading)
Plant a garlic clove beside the plant you want to protect. Pests of all kinds will stay away. Do not plant garlic near peas. Basil near tomatoes will repel worms and flies. Plant onions near carrots and beets. Onions and... (Continue reading)
Living mulches Cover crops are usually killed or incorporated before establishing the vegetable crop. Recently, however, there has been interest in living mulch systems where the cover crop and vegetable grow together in the field for all or part of... (Continue reading)