(Wild Colour on an Ancient Burial Mound, Orkney, UK) This perennial wild colour on a burial mound (possibly 4,000 years old) seems fitting as a memorial to the elite dead buried there. Regular people were just buried or cremated –
Have you ever wondered where seeds that your grandparents planted have disappeared to? The assault on heritage farm crops has been going on for some time, as the multinational seed and pesticide giants gobble up smaller seed companies and trash the seeds that have no ‘commercial’ value for them. In this month’s article Mary Brittain not only describes the severe loss of heritage and other open-pollinated food plants but also shares with us some gems that can still be saved from extinction. Read about them and what you can do to save endangered seeds in her article here.
There are many purported benefits of using cover crops: preventing erosion, improving soil organic matter, reducing compaction, managing nutrients, suppressing weeds, controlling pests and disease, all leading to more resilient crops and increased crop yields.
Text and Photos by Rob Danforth Looks can be deceiving. A little research beforehand and a trial where possible can save headaches and disappointment. Thinking long term and having the patience to wait for nature to catch up to your
It’s not uncommon for people to believe that Biodynamic (BD) farming is somewhat ‘voodoo’ or, alternatively, a kind of mystical method that will magically produce food of the highest quality. That is not what drew me to BD. Simply put,
Garden Inspirations Series (Part 2) Text and Photos by Rob Danforth Diversity in our gardens is a style that can add variety in structures and textures as well as plant protection. My shaded salad greens and cilantro grow better in
Text and Photos by Rob Danforth As a winter series of gardening inspiration, I would like to present now a sequence of “commented” photos of gardens, and gardening in general, from various locations that my wife and I have visited.
Note: It’s extremely important to be sure about identification before eating any mushrooms. At the beginning of 2023, while still in a winter-imposed gardening hiatus, I was reading in The Gardener magazine an article about growing edible mushrooms outdoors. The
