The phrase “As American as apple pie” has a lot of meaning to the farmers of Central Pennsylvania. Each fall, local orchards burst with apples of many colors and tastes: 72 different apple varieties grow in this region! One family has made the art of growing and selling apples their business for the last 63 years. On a 500-acre farm in Biglerville, Penn., four generations of the Hollabaugh family tend the land to produce enough apples for their own market as well as for wholesalers who buy half of the 100,000 bushels they harvest each year.
If food is your passion, treat your taste buds to a trip to Sevierville, Tennessee. You’ll find tastings that range from savory to sweet, behind-the-scenes learning opportunities, plus places to stock up on all the tools needed to recreate the flavors of the Smoky Mountains at home. These stops belong on every foodie’s itinerary.
Just a mile from downtown Detroit, Michigan, one of the oldest and largest year-round markets in the nation brims with foods and merchandise in five sheds ringed by restaurants, shops and food purveyors to form a district encompassing 24 acres. The market serves wholesale and retail customers and hosts a farmers market every Saturday, as well as Tuesdays and Sundays in summer. In 2018, it added a night market on the third Thursday each month from June through September. Saturdays remain the busiest with as many as 45,000 customers and up to 250 vendors.


Floriculture crops include bedding plants, flowering plants, foliage plants or houseplants, cut cultivated greens, and cut flowers. As distinguished from nursery crops, floriculture crops are generally herbaceous. Bedding and garden plants consist of young flowering plants (annuals and perennials) and vegetable plants.
Flowers are mainly for export. This business is growing in the world at around 6-10 per cent per annum. In 2007 the size of the industry was $80 billion.
Karnataka is the leader in floriculture, accounting for 75% of India’s total flower production. The state has the highest area under modern cut flowers, and 40 flower growing and exporting units. The country’s first and only flower auction centre is located in Karnataka.
Karuturi Networks, a little known Bangalore company, is close to acquiring the Netherlands-based Sher, the world’s largest producer and supplier of roses, for about $50 million (Rs 220 crore) to emerge as the global leader in roses. Sher’s greenhouses in the Netherlands, Kenya and Ethiopia produce 600 million roses annually.
- University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore
- Indian Institute of Horticultural Research , Bangalore
- AP Agricultural University
- Haryana Agricultural University
- Punjab Agricultural University
- College of Agriculture, Maharashtra
The high-value crops grown in green houses are cultivated under controlled conditions, protected from pests, diseases, wind and humidity. Popular flowers used in the modern floriculture that are in demand are roses, anthurium, gerbera, gladioli, orchids, carnations and bird of paradise grown in poly houses.
Flowers are also used for extracts for perfumes and natural dyes. Dry flowers are used for decoration. One can earn Rs 1 lakh per hectare per year from dry flowers. Nursery business – growing plants in pots and in production of seeds are also popular.
Floriculture offers careers in production, marketing, export and research. Jobs range from cultivation or growing flowers, to seed production, dry seed production, seed prodcution, marketing, decoration. National Horticulture Board helps one to establish a flori business. Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) helps entrepreneurs with cold storage facilities and freight subsidies.
|Area and Production of Horticulture Crops in Karnataka – 2003-04|
|Sl. No.||Name of the Crop||Area in hectares||Production in tons.||Yield in Tons / hectare||Value in lakh Rupees|
|COMMERCIAL FLOWER CROPS|
|8||Rose (lakh flowers)||1530||3628||2||3041|
|9||Bird of Paradise (lakh flowers)||27||21||1||92|
|10||Golden Rod (lakh flowers)||27||85||3||39|
|11||Calla Lilly (lakh flowers)||9||14||2||3|
|(For Sl. No. 12 to 16 Area in units)|
|12||Orchids (lakh spikes)||2002||12||0.01||12|
|13||Carnation (lakh cut flowers)||38||186||5||1376|
|14||Anthurium (lakh cut flowers)||40||96||106||15|
|15||Gerbera (lakh cut flowers)||33||77||2||56|
|a)||Free Flowering Variety (lakh cut flowers)||81||122||2||12|
|b)||Seasonal Variety (lakh cut flowers)||45||58||1||5|
|TOTAL – COMMERCIAL FLOWER CROPS||18182||143306||8||24681|
To view State-Wise Area and Production of Flowers click here


Article | Open Access
SDG Implementation through Technology? Governing Food-Water-Technology Nexus Challenges in Urban Agriculture
Abstract: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development emphasizes the importance of technology as a pillar for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Technology innovation promises benefits especially for the implementation of SDG 2 to end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture. Contributing to current debates on SDG implementation, technology innovation, and cross-sectoral governance, we argue that technology innovation carries both the potential to contribute to global goal implementation and the risk of posing new governance challenges. Applying a food-water-technology nexus (FWTN) perspective, we conduct a case study on an emerging technology in urban agricultural production in Germany. The technology connects the wastewater treatment system and the agricultural production system and projects the transformation of a conventional sewage treatment plant into a ‘NEWtrient®-Center,’ which draws the essential resources for urban hydroponic plant cultivation from municipal wastewater. Building on qualitative and participatory research methods, the study provides deeper insights into the governance implications of FWTN issues stemming from the emerging technology. The analysis shows that this technology has the potential to facilitate SDG implementation, but simultaneously fuels new sector interlinkages between water and food and policy demands that substantiate the need for more integrated policymaking to ensure the smart use of technology to reach the SDGs.
Keywords: cross-sectoral governance; food-water-technology nexus; Germany; participatory research method; SDG implementation; technology innovation; urban agriculture; wastewater treatment
Issue: Vol 9, No 1 (2021): The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: Transformative Change through Sustainable Development Goals?
© Sandra Schwindenhammer, Denise Gonglach. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits any use, distribution, and reproduction of the work without further permission provided the original author(s) and source are credited.


Wood and food in Garden of Plenty in Bloom (click to see brochure here)
Irish timber processors in the Wood Marketing Federation and food producers combined this year at Bloom to create a unique garden. Designed by Eugene Boyle, The Garden of Plenty – Sustainable Living which won the Silver Gilt medal. It was the first time that this combination – food and wood – was attempted at an Irish exhibition, which is surprising as both are compatible in many ways.
The Garden of Plenty – Sustainable Living, is a small interpretative and productive garden that began life at 8th Festival Internacional de Jardins de Ponte de Lima in Portugal last summer. The visitors to the Ponte de Lima festival would certainly appreciate the wood and drink connection as it just north of Douro Valley where the famous port wine is stored in oak barrels. The garden was voted best design by an overwhelming majority of the 100,000 visitors.
Bloom is a collaboration between the Wood Marketing Federation and Woodcollective. It features over 50 varieties of vegetables, fruit and herbs supported and enclosed by timber and timber products, sourced from sustainably managed forests in Ireland.
Both organisations are known for their work in promoting wood. WMF works with timber processors, research agencies, timber treaters and State companies to promote timber as a renewable, sustainable and versatile natural material.
But why Bloom which is essentially a horticulture and food festival? “The combination of food and wood is an ideal mix according,” to Paul Harvey, chairman, Wood Marketing Federation. “The Garden of Plenty is essentially about sustainable living and wood, the greatest renewable resource, is a key element of the exhibition,” he says.
Eugene Boyle made a number of changes to the Portuguese garden, to cater for an Irish environment and audience. “The ideas underlying the garden are layered like the soil that feeds it and the sustainable wood that supports and encloses it,” he maintains. “It links the forest and the garden by drawing on cyclical themes and natural systems on which both depend for growth and regeneration.”
The Garden of Plenty was located close to the Victorian walled kitchen in the Phoenix Park It contrasts with the walled garden, which is a permanent space, but there are many similarities. Both inspire and educate the public about sustainable living and the growing of garden plants.
Eugene began the project over a year ago when he completed the first phase for the Portugal project. His company – Woodcollective – and WMF combined to organise the Irish exhibition in co-operation with 20 different organisations involved in horticulture, wood processing, woodworking and craft to create a garden for an Irish environment and audience.
Padraig and Louise O’Shaughnessy of Aqua Landscapes began growing the vegetables and herbs for the exhibition earlier this year in tunnels before moving them outdoors. “As a result of the prolonged cold spring, all plants are over two weeks late so we are fighting against the clock this year,” Padraig said. However all plants comprising fruit, herbs and vegetables were successfully established.
Timber was sourced mainly in Coillte’s sustainably managed forests and was processed and shaped into a wide range of sizes and products to facilitate the unique design of the garden. It provides a temporary enclosure as well as supporting the raised beds and other features.
There was a strong collaboration element to the project. The Murray Timber Group provided the home grown timber structure from its sawmill in Ballygar. The eased edged planed all over looked magnificent in the Phoenix Park setting.
Coillte Panel Products provided the oriented strandboard (OSB) which enclosed two sides of the Garden of Plenty. Laois Sawmills were responsible for supplying bark mulch. The structure was built by the Wicklow company John Staunton (Glenealy) Ltd. Minister Simon Coveney opened the Garden of Plenty and the project was supported by his Department.


You may have regarded indulging yourself with a major upgrade if you’re on the market for a brand new garden mower. Probably your mind has been made by the MTD model of serious garden and garden equipment.
Is my garden large enough for a cycling tractor, or do I recently stay glued to the conventional walk-behind mower?
The typical principle is that if your garden meets 100 ft. sq., then it might be worthwhile to take into account the full time preserving investment of a cycling tractor. A cycling mower might become more than you’ll need if your garden is any smaller, but there’s no legislation against opting for the simple chair if the thought of shaded, derby-style mowing is just too tempting.
MTD cycling tractors can be found in two versions: “garden tractors” and “garden tractors,” but what’s the big difference?
The biggest big difference between garden and garden tractors is size: Visit: wooden tractor model products: https://ugearsmodels.us/catalog/tractor/
Lawn tractors were created for smaller acreage and lighter-duty mowing wants that don’t need extra power or heavy-duty mower construction.
Backyard tractors, on another hand, are larger all around, with larger wheels, more power, heavier frames and signals, and are created for big acreage careers and large torque applications.
The more unique differences between MTD garden tractors and MTD garden tractors have to do with attachment options.
- Lawn tractors can use perform devices that do perhaps not interact the earth, like dozer knives, lawn catchers, mulch products, snowblowers, and tow-behind assemblies.
- Backyard tractors can use most of the devices that garden tractors may, plus devices that interact the soil. The reason being devices like tillers, plows, harrows, and cultivators require the excess power that garden tractors offer.
Therefore actually, the option between garden tractors and garden tractors comes down seriously to what kind of perform you’ll need the machine to do.
As it pertains to devices however, the versions that MTD presents don’t end at these we’ve mentioned here by any means. Different components contain such things as:
- tire chains
- lawn selection methods
- tow-behind carts
- and more
Some patented MTD cycling tractor alternatives actually influence the compatibility of some forms of attachments. Several models of MTD tractors contain their unique AutoDrive process that produces driving a tractor similar to driving a car.


By means of this service, the investor may go into the agricultural business in a reliable way, apart from his
knowledge on the matter and without the need of having either time or organization.
Investments may be in farming or in lands.
IN FARMING (Grain production )
The investor-supplied funds are used to sow (soybean, corn and wheat ) on household lands in the
Argentinian nucleus area. ( see sowing area ) .
There are no limits to the amounts of money to be invested, but there are time limits due to the crop cycle. (
at least 6 months ).
The agricultural business is quite a very good choice both to protect capital and to get a reasonable return
at the same time; because, going into this business implies to position oneself when putting the goods
(soybean or corn) in a market with international prices; that is, the investor is protected against inflation in
Argentina and in the USA as well.
As far as productive and climatic risks, they are reduced by means of the running of the crops and the
geographic diversification respectively.
IN LANDS (Land Purchase)
This service is composed of two independent parts. The first part includes all that is related to the research
and the advice about investment based on the requirements and objectives of the investor.
The second part is related to the management of the land with the aim of maximizing the obtainable return
by giving the land on lease to a producer, by contributing with it to a productive society or by running the
The annual return of the land tenancy is comparable to that of any other financial asset. The return is
composed of two parts. The first one is related to the productive farming of the land, either as a result of the
production or as that of the tenancy if the field is given on lease to a producer. The second one represents
the increase in the value of the land in the ordinary course of time.
This part of the return may be very important if the estate operations are duly carried out according to the
Investment in lands is very safe. The investor is not only protected against the global and domestic
economic changes, but also against every type of contingency that might arise ( for instance, terrorism,
wars ) and that might affect the economy and its subsequent repercussions on the price of shares, bonds
and any other asset of that type.
Lands are a liquid asset. They can be sold quickly at any time of the year, without changes in the property
market value. The time for the buying-selling depends basically on the market conditions.
|Marcos Ciani 2300 - Venado Tuerto, Santa Fe - Argentina Phone: +54.3462-420380 / +54.3462-420842


Excellent Free State production farms
Option 1: Senekal Farms
This auction sale consists of seven grazing farms with the extent of ± 1 639 ha.The farmland is situated between Senekal & Ventersburg, about 20 km from Senekal in the Free State, South Africa.
Farms 1–2: Vaalbank & Erfstuk form one unit measuring ± 674 ha. The farmland offers Good Sweet grazing which is ideal to establish a game farm. The subject farm is situated ± 4 km from the Allemanskraal Dam East Gate and the local Sand River is running through the farm.
Farms 3-7: These portions form one unit of ± 965 ha with Good Sweet grazing and include a Milking parlour as well as a Homestead.
Option 2: Kroonstad Farms
Farm 8: Smaldeel – This farm is situated 24 km outside of Kroonstad towards Ventersburg and consist of ± 108 ha grazing and ± 350 ha arable land.
Farm 9: Kleinhansrust ± 326 ha
This farm enjoys ± 200 ha excellent arable land and the balance red grass grazing . The farm is located 20 km From Kroonstad towards Ventersburg.
The above farms have a total size of 2457.5773 ha and the advantage of an abundance of natural water supply.
All of the above Farms will be for sale by public auction and can be purchased jointly and separately.


Annuals are easy-to-grow bounties of beauty and enjoyment. Requiring less commitment than perennials, annuals are fun and fulfilling because they're relatively inexpensive, low maintenance, and can easily be plopped into your garden beds or into containers to bring life and color to any part of your home. As you dream up your summer’s flower garden and all its beautiful colors, scents, and designs, take a little time to map out what exactly you want to plant this year. A little planning goes a long way!
All About Annuals
Annuals, unlike perennials, go through their entire life cycle in one season, meaning, they do not come back again next year. Perennials, on the other hand, if planted in the appropriate climate or zone, will come back year after year.
As annuals are not permanent plantings, they are a great way to fill entire garden beds or to add to your permanent perennial gardens without too much commitment.
Also, if you are a vegetable gardener, certain annuals can be a great way to bring added color to your veggie patch while also warding away certain garden pests.
Regardless of what style of gardener you are or what your gardening space is like, pull up a chair to learn about some of the best summer annuals and how to plant them.
Playful, delicate, colorful, and magically fairy-like, cosmos are any flower gardener’s favorite. These adorable and feathery flowers grow even taller and faster the more you cut them, making them perfect for the garden and to bring inside, too.
Requiring full sun, Cosmos are a burst of shades of pink, purple, and white that will grace your garden beds all summer.
Larkspurs are the annual version of delphiniums. Tall, stunning spears of purple and blue flowers make a dazzling and alluring addition to any flowerbed.
These crisply cool beauties enjoy full sun to partial shade and are especially resilient in colder climates. Plant seeds in the fall (they will survive winter freezes) to enjoy beautiful flowers from spring through early summer.
Just because marigolds are common does not mean they are any less desirable. These vibrant explosions of oranges and yellows will add warmth and sunshine to your garden.
Fast growing, hardy, and extremely abundant, marigolds produce a generous amount of blooms each summer. Plant in a veggie patch to repel pests and bring some added color.
Add height, texture, and boldness to your flowerbeds with snapdragons. These longtime favorites are easy to grow and come in a multitude of color explosions that will bring a vividly striking dimension to the garden.
They love full sun and will bloom boldly through the summer. Fragrant and frost tolerant, these beauties make a vivacious addition to your garden.
Nothing brings bounties of sunshine and delight to a garden like sunflowers. Ranging from medium to over-your-head height, these bundles of joy come in a variety of sunny hues such as gold, orange, yellow, white, red, and even pink.
Depending on how tall your sunflowers grow, be prepared to stake them to give them the support they need to flourish. Like big, bright, smiling faces, sunflowers bring unparalleled happiness to your flowerbed and make excellent cuttings. Plant in full sun and enjoy blooms from summer into the fall.
There are two ways to plant annual flowers. You can either start from seed or purchase container planted annuals, also known as “starts.” Each option has its benefits, and most gardeners have a preference depending on their needs.
Starting From Seed
Purchasing seeds is often more economical as you get more for your money. You can choose to either directly seed into the garden (be sure to check the best time to do this as each flower has different requirements), or you can seed annuals indoors in small containers and then transplant outdoors later when the appropriate weather conditions arrive.
Planting annuals purchased in pots or trays from your local garden center is easier for many gardeners, as it cuts out much of the work. This is also a good option if you are not necessarily looking for an entire bed of one kind of annual flower (as seed packets typically have a larger quantity of seeds), but would prefer anywhere from a couple to a dozen of one kind of flower.
How to Grow a Healthy Garden
Probably the most important part of growing a healthy garden, annuals and all, is healthy soil. If your flowerbeds contain soil that is less than ideal, your flowers will reflect that.
When soil is depleted, it grows weaker plants, which are more susceptible to pests and diseases and will not fulfill their flowering potential. If you have doubts about the fertility of your soil, add organic matter to the soil like:
- peat moss
These additives will keep your soil fluffy and fertile, and it will better hold moisture and nutrients to ensure the more stunning annual flowers all summer.
Keep your flowerbeds mulched to keep in moisture and keep out weeds! Be sure to check on the individual growing and sun needs of each flower, too, to ensure great growing all summer long.
Annuals offer beautiful and easy-to-grow flowerbeds, are filled with color and fragrance, and are just around the corner. Take the time in the spring to plan your summer annual flowerbeds for the best results and most brilliant blooms. Summer is here, so enjoy the fruits of your labor.


You won’t believe this, but corn is on right now in Florida. I am talking full grown high-as-the-sky corn. And that is not all. Avocados, Broccoli, Cabbage, Carrots, Cauliflower, Celery, Cucumbers, Eggplant, Grapefruit, Mushrooms, Okra, Onions, Oranges, Potatoes, Radishes, Squash, Strawberries, and Tomatoes are also in season this month. In my local grocery store, they have these cute little signs or stickers that say “Grown in Florida.”
One of the best things about living in Florida is being able to have fresh produce a full six months before my in-laws who live in the exact diagonal opposite part of the US. We are so lucky to have such an awesome growing season! If ever I am at a loss with what to do with all of the bounty, I head over to Fresh from Florida for great seasonal recipes.
Although it has actually been too cold to use the gas grill this month, I didn’t let that stop me from roasting my corn for these great quesadillas. I simply cut the kernels off the ears and roasted them in a pan on my stove. They still got great color and were delicious. The tomatoes I used tasted so fresh, almost like they were just picked.
Seeings there is a major football game coming up, I decided the best way to serve this gorgeous produce was in a quesadilla. I used corn tortillas for a gluten free snack. You could use a flour tortilla, instead, if you prefer. Also, I used a poblano pepper because I am a bit of a spice wimp. If you want to kick up the flavor even more, use a serano or jalapeno pepper instead.
1. Info for Corn, Tomato & Avocado Quesadillas
- Cook Time: unavailable
- Total Time: unavailable
- Servings: unavailable
- Calories: unavailable
2. Ingredients for Corn, Tomato & Avocado Quesadillas
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 ears corn, peeled and kernels cut from the cob
- 1 avocado, sliced
- 1 poblano pepper, roasted, peeled and chopped
- 1 cup shredded Pepper Jack cheese
- 6 corn tortillas
- In a large non-stick skillet, heat the olive oil.
- Add the corn kernels and cook and stir until it starts to get some brown color and smells roasted.
- Transfer the corn it to a bowl.
- Stir in the tomato, pepper, cheeses and salt.
- Wipe out the skillet and spray it with vegetable oil cooking spray.
- Place one corn tortilla in the skillet.
- Place ⅓ of the corn-tomato mixture onto the tortilla.
- Put ⅓ of the avocado slices on top of the corn mixture.
- Top with another corn tortilla.
- Heat over medium heat until the cheese on the bottom starts to melt.
- Very carefully flip the quesadilla over and continue to cook until all of the cheese is melted.
- Repeat two more times with the remaining mixture, tortillas and avocados.
- Cut each quesadilla into 4 triangles. Makes 12 portions for appetizers or 3 quesadillas for a meal


Gardenscape ushers in spring in Saskatoon
Prairieland is happy to announce that the 33rd annual Saskatchewan Blue Cross Gardenscape Backyard Living Show will take place March 24-26, 2023, kick-starting spring in Saskatoon and putting an end to winter.
For three days at the end of March, the World Trade Center Saskatoon at Prairieland will transform into a paradise bursting with vibrant blooms, and deliver a program comprised of diverse learning opportunities, family-friendly entertainment, delicious food and beverages, and a trade show with something for backyard and garden enthusiasts of every level.
This year, all “how-to” and practical advice presentations happen on a central stage in the Main Trade Hall. Patrons will find information on how to extend their growing season, properly start seeds, and grow plants that survive in Saskatchewan’s harsh climate. They can also learn about urban agriculture, what makes the ideal soil biology, gas and electrical backyard safety, and how to grow cut flowers, just to name a few. Don’t miss the University of Saskatchewan Plant Sciences department informational displays!
Shop local, shop green is the motto for the Gardenscape Trade Show & Market Place where green thumb shoppers can hunt for décor, plants, products, equipment, furnishings, backyard services, and more! Almost 90% of all new vendors to the show are from Saskatchewan! Besides learning and shopping, patrons can also take in the popular GardenScapes Art Show & Sale, now in its 25th year, or catch one of many daily appearances by the SuperDogs™ in Rock & Roll Over sponsored by Global Saskatoon, both located inside the Main Trade Hall.
The Prairie Berry Cafe will be serving up delicious homemade berry goodness and feature desserts or patrons can visit the new Backyard Patio Bar. The Saskatchewan Blue Cross Gardenscape is a “sip and stroll” event so you can take your beverage with you as you browse.
Over 7,000 bulbs planted last fall will be in full bloom to decorate the show and display gardens and inspire your creativity! These plant materials will be up for sale or auction starting at 6:00 pm on Sunday, March 26 in the Main Trade Hall. This a fantastic opportunity for growers to begin their gardening season with hearty shrubs, bulbs, and indoor plants!


Marabú slowly devours Ciego de Avila’s farmland
A glance at the above false-color satellite mosaic of central Cuba shows croplands in a checkerboard, textured pattern of green and red hues corresponding largely with sugarcane fields, citrus orchards (around Ceballos) and other crops to the north, east and southwest corner of the picture.
There’s also a large homogenous green patch extending from the west and northwest part of the image to engulf the city of Ciego de Avila. This likely corresponds to pasturelands that are partially infested with marabú, an invasive thorny bush that forms impenetrable thickets and renders farmland unusable in a matter of a few years.
The detail above shows how the plant invades grazing land and makes it disappear under an thorny blanket, impenetrable to people and cattle alike.
Marabú infestation is one of the most urgent problems facing agriculture in Cuba. Estimates of the infested area range from 850,000 to 2 million hectares (2.1 4.9 million acres). That’s equivalent to 13% to 30% of Cuba’s total agricultural land.
Marabú (Dichrostachys cinerea) is an African plant, imported in the late 19th century as an ornamental. It was soon spread by cattle to all farmland.
The weed was kept at bay by private farmers using patience and hard work, but as most lands passed to state rule, machinery, fuel and chemicals did the bulk of the eradication job.
Things got much worse after the onset of the Special Period in 1990, when heavy machinery, fuel and chemicals to keep marabú under control vanished overnight. And after the sugar industry was downsized in 2002, the government abandoned one million hectares of sugarcane that were rapidly claimed by bushes.
Today marabú spreads at a rate of 43,000 hectares (106,000 acres) per year — way beyond what can be cleared under current conditions. Pasturelands are preferred by this nightmarish plant as cattle spread the seeds in their feces and germination occurs in a matter of weeks or months.
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Fertigation is a process in which fertilizer is dissolved and distributed along with water in your drip or spray irrigation system on the plant’s leaves as well as roots There is abundant research available that supports the superiority of fertigation as compared to traditional fertilizing techniques.
Smart-Spray is an innovative fertigation product that works base on Venturi Law and automatically spray and dispense water-soluble and non-hazardous liquid of fertilizer, pest Control, weed killer, outdoor sanitizer and disinfectant on yard & lawn using existing irrigation system. Smart-Spray hooks up to your existing Sprinkler System to automatically dispense any type of liquid needed for lawn and yard as you water.Smart-Spray feeds your lawn slowly, at the right and controlled rate, so you can spend less time working in your yard and garden. Once Smart-Spray is installed, simply connect a liquid container to suction hoes and then Smart-Spray will do the rest automatically.
Where to Use?
Anywhere that irrigation system is already excised.
Such as :
The Benefits of Smart-Spray
1-Smart-Spray Controls ants, gnats, mosquitoes, snails, slugs, and other yard insects.
2-The Smart-Spray is able to dispense non-hazardous Outdoor sanitizer or disinfectant on yard and lawn through existing irrigation system to keep yard clean against germs.
3-Smart-Spray efficiently eliminates waste of chemical and water.
4-Smart-Spray eliminates monthly labor cost of fertilizing or pest control over yard and lawn.
5-With Smart-Spray takes minutes instead of hours to spray or hand feeding yard and lawn.
6-With Smart-Spray no need to spend hours in hot weather or carry heavy bags to add fertilizer, weed killer, pest control and just enjoy your yard and keep your lawn and landscape lookng beautiful all season long.
Features of The Smart-Spray
1-Smart-Spray is hidden inside valve box below ground level so it is safe for rain, kids and mower.
2-You can easily adjust Smart-Spray to dispense more or less formula depending upon the season or how often you want to refill the container.
3-Smart-Spray is a low battery consumption product (One 9VDC Battery for 2 Years) .
4-You just need to check the liquids once or twice a month and refill container when empty.
5-Smart-Spray is designed for safety.It is purposely designed to slightly decrease sprinkler nozzle’s pressure to safely dispense formula over lawn and yard when Smart-Spray is ON, to reduce hazard risk. But when Smart-Spray is OFF, irrigation system has a normal pressure.
Product Models and Price Chart
Smart-Spray is available in four box sizes and four venturi Injectors sizes. Models 14″ and 36″ are available with permanent Plastic Container. Customer could order any of them depending upon yard and lawn area.


The National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS) has, since the refocusing of its mandate to supporting farmers with the provision of agricultural inputs for wealth Creation, focused on value chain development with emphasis on the upper end of the chain among other interventions.
NAADS interventions in this area are aimed at adopting improved and efficient production technologies, enhancement of timeliness and profitability of farm operations and intensified farm production systems; as well as provision water for production to address adverse effects of climate.
In line with National Development Plan (NDP) II and the Agriculture Sector Strategic Plan (ASSP), NAADS purchases specialized agro machinery & equipment for production and processing along the agricultural value chains for agro industrialization.
Under Purchase of specialized agro machinery & equipment, focus is on the following areas;
- Appropriate household irrigation systems for water for production
- Tractors and matching implements for agricultural mechanization
- Value addition- fruit processing equipment (small scale and medium scale) for Mango, Citrus and Pineapples
- Grain Milling equipment,
- Milk coolers & matching generators.


1 (Cricket) the area of the field near the pitch
a the area of the playing field enclosed by the base lines and extending beyond them towards the outfield
b the positions of the first baseman, second baseman, shortstop, third baseman, and sometimes the pitcher, collectively
a the part of a farm nearest to the farm buildings
b land from which crops are regularly taken
Diccionario de inglés definición
Añada su entrada en el Diccionario colaborativo.


Urea is used mainly in the agricultural sector as an inexpensive source of nitrogen. It is one of the most important industrial raw materials, and is also used for producing urea-formaldehyde resins and plasticizers, adhesives, and leather tanning.
Urea is a widely used fertilizer, which is produced by direct synthesis of urea and ammonium carbonate.
Supplies a continuous source of nitrogen for plant nutrition during the whole growing period. It’s widely used in agriculture to fertilize various crops such as wheat, corn, barley, fruit trees, greenhouses rice and melon crops.
Urea is a urea based fertilizer product, which is 100% water soluble and is relatively safe to handle.
Yenisehir, 14. Sk. No:7
Merkezefendi / Denizli / TURKEY


Journal of Unmanned Vehicles Systems
National UAS Project Office Manager
United States Geological Survey
United States Army Research Institute
Idaho Grain Producers Association
Director UAS Services
The integration of unmanned aerial systems into the airspace can create 12,000 California jobs in its first three years. UAS testers are actively experimenting with UAS to harness wind and solar energy off the coast of California, which could produce a major boost to the renewable energy market.
Another major factor in this job growth is the potential for UAS in agriculture. Crop monitoring can change how farmers’ plan their fields, when they plant for the season, and determine what harvesting methods are most effective. Panelists will showcase how UAS technology has been tested in the United States and how it can drastically alter how we harvest food and energy.


Over the years fog misting system been advocated for its use in the greenhouse systems and there is need to ensure that the farmers take full advantage of the fog misting systems that are available in the market today. Companies identified to produce the fog misting system defined to be capable of ensuring they provide specified systems that can be used in specific greenhouses with ease. The producers identified to be keen to ensure they provide the system based on the plants that are in the greenhouses, different plants identified to require different humidity and the system are customized.
The fog misting system identified to be one of the most straightforward methods that can be used in a scheme to sprinkle the water with ease, given the outdoor misting systems can be computerized it makes it easy to operate. There is need to highlight that the owners of the farms can get the best systems in place and use the latest technology with ease which identified to be important to the individual as they get the opportunity to get the best-upgraded systems with ease and in the best condition all the time. When a farm uses the fog and misting system the farmer does not have to have a lot of personnel as the system one or two personal gets the option to use the system with ease, this identified to be beneficial to the farmer as he does not have to spend much on personnel salaries.
The fog misting systems that are established in the market today are noted to be important especially to the farmers who are identified to have vast tracks of lands. Hence the farm owner saves a lot of time in the huge tracks of lands as the systems ensure they can easily irrigate without any issues encountered. The use of the fog misting system identified to be keen as it ensures that the whole farm can be irrigated with ease and also the best system is assured with ease, especially with the best technology put in place it becomes easy for the farmer to ensure the system is well settled in area and the individual can get the best operation with ease. Get into some more facts about fog misting, go to http://www.dictionary.com/browse/fog-light.
Serving the residential pool misting system identified to be one of the most efficient systems that can be used in a greenhouse. Additionally, the service providers of the methods noted to be able to offer the needed serving with ease which noted to be important for the users as given the high insurance is done on the systems it becomes easy for the farmers to do the operations with ease. Research notes that the misting systems that are available in the market can be paid on affordable and flexible systems with ease.


Some plants need pollination to reproduce. This is actually the techniques wherein pollen grain, stated in flowers’ stamens, include carried to a pistil in which the pollen cereals will then fertilize the rose. This leads to seed and fruit manufacturing.
As genetic range is very important for healthier communities, blossoms have actually developed in lot of tactics to make certain that pollen spreads between various plants of the same variety. Pollen can be introduced to the wind and transported to other blossoms, plus some plant life will launch pollen into streaming water. But the vast majority of flowering flowers utilize pollinators: animals that bring pollen from 1 flower to another.
Pollinators may consume pollen and nectar offered by the herbs and, in the act, added pollen accidentally gets caught from the hairs from the pet’s human anatomy. Whenever the pollinator visits another flower, this pollen can be transported, thus fertilizing the 2nd rose. Additional pollen is actually utilized in the pollinator, together with processes goes on. By providing payoff to the customers, plants have actually molded and continue to contour the development of the pollinators.
You iliar aided by the pollinating habits of bees and butterflies, but the majority of some other bacteria can be pollinators. Specific flies check out flowers, because do a bit of beetles, moths, and wasps. Hummingbirds are recognized to pollinate and, in some parts of the world, lizards, bats, and lemurs may spreading pollen between plants.
Bees are among the most crucial groups of pollinators on the planet, and are generally accountable for the vast majority of insect-driven pollination. Bees are covered in good hairs that gather pollen, leading them to efficient at fertilizing the flowers they see.
When contemplating bees, your first head is likely to be of honey bees. These industrious animals were genuinely important in supplying us with vegetables & fruits (and honey as well, definitely). Honey bees are home-based or wild. In the united states, honey bees happened to be in fact brought to the united states together with the colonists. Honey bees, but are not the only kind of bees we must thank in regards to our food and blooms in Connecticut.
Connecticut houses more 300 different species of bees! Squash bees are essential and effective pollinators of squashes and linked herbs, such as cucumbers and pumpkins. Carpenter bees include one common picture in summer, appearing like huge bumble bees with shiny black abdomens. Mason bees, particularly orchard mason bees, are important pollinators of several fruiting trees.
Understanding travel function on bumble
Bumble bees become another selection of bees frequently observed. Ready quickly twitching their particular airline muscle, bumble bees engage in a behavior called buzz pollination. The vibration dislodge pollen from plants that would not be revealed normally. Some crops, such as tomatoes and eggplants, significantly reap the benefits of buzz pollination to the point that bumble bees are used as industrial pollinators. Bumble-bee kinds are now and again released into greenhouses to pollinate the harvest within. This is how we obtain a€?hothouse tomatoesa€? into the cold weather period. In the wild, bumble bees develop tiny colonies with a queen and just a couple of workers. These colonies are way too smaller to generate honey like honey bee territories. (A honey bee nest can contains tens of thousands of individuals able to producing an excess of honey that people can harvest without diminishing the bees’ ingredients supply.) Bumble bee colonies are usually found underground in an abandoned rodent tunnel or comparable excavation.
While some bees become social beings, like honey bees and bumble bees, most of the 300 Connecticut bee types become lonely, and therefore they just don’t means territories. Female solitary bees put eggs in cavities in the ground or perhaps in material, and line those cavities with foliage and mud. Mining bees, digger bees, oil-collecting bees are common solitary, crushed nesting bees.


William Bee's Wonderful World of Tractors and Farm Machines
Written and Illustrated by William Bee
William Bee is showing us his amazing collection of farm machines and tractors! There’s his teeny tiny tractor for picking fruit, the widest tractor in the world that can cover acre after acre, tractors for pulling ploughs or for pushing smelly loads of manure, his combine harvester and not forgetting his animals, including cows, Daisy and Buttercup, plus Brian the horse.
Perfect for every child fascinated by farms, tractors and amazing vehicles.


K-Obiol EC25 is a modern pyrethroid formulation containing Deltamethrin, synergised with piperonyl butoxide for the control of all stored product insects known to infest grain and pulses. This pyrethroid formulation is an ideal alternative to organo-phosphorus formulations.
K-Obiol EC25 is a liquid grain protectant for the control of stored product pests including crawling insects such as grain weevils, flour beetles, grain borers, sawtoothed grain beetles, bean weevils and flying insects such as warehouse moths, rice moths, indian meal moths and grain moths.
No with-holding period on finished, manufactured product, flour and bread: no residues over the MRL are found as deltamethrin does not significantly penetrate the grain but remains on the bran. Within hard wheat manufactured products, semolina and pasta: no residues over the MRL of deltamethrin were detected. In malting: no residues over the MRL of deltamethrin is found in wort or beer, and therefore has no effect on beer.
Add 1 litre of K-Obiol EC25 to 99 litres of water and apply this to 100 tonnes of grain for protection up to 12 months.
Treatment of the building (pre-harvest) K-Obiol EC 25 can be applied to the fabric of the building – Add up to 60ml of K-Obiol EC25 to 5 litres of water.
Refer to the label for different porous and non-porous application rates. This fabric treatment provides 2 months protection.
Professional Use Only.


We introduce ourselves as the eminent and exporters of hygienically packed and pure tropical fruit juice concentrates, fruit pulps and herbal products.
The fruits are purchased from the farmers directly, which are washed, cleaned and cut into longitudinal slices and are sent to the Pulper to prepare pulp, juices, concentrate, squashes, jams, marmalade, etc. giving value addition to the fruits.
The Processed hot fruit pulp is packed into the tin cans when it is at 90 Degree C. This process keeps shelf life of the pulp two years from the date of processing.
After canning the tin cans are packed in cartons and sent for domestic and international markets. we are a leading manufacturer and exporter of fresh and nutritious fruit juice concentrates and fruit pulps for diversified use across the food industries like jams, jellies, fruit juices, etc. In addition, we manufacture superior quality and 100% natural herbal extracts.
We observe highest quality-inducing practices during the manufacturing and packing of our products.
Further, we have state-of-the-art packaging plant with skilled workers capable of handling bulk orders. Our strong packaging ensures that the products reach their destination without damage and pilferage.


|Ghoulish Glow: Microbes Inside Worms Kill Pests|
By Edward R. Winstead
Plant growers trying to reduce their dependence on chemical pesticides are increasingly using microscopic worms as a natural means of controlling insects. The worms have bacteria in their guts, and once a worm burrows into an insect larva, the bacteria release toxins that poison the insect but don't harm the worm.
Sold in organic gardening stores and available over the Internet, the worms have been used for many years and are presumed to be harmless to humans. They're most effective in certain environments, such as greenhouses and cranberry bogs in Wisconsin. Golf courses use worms because they go underground and eliminate insects that attack the roots of grasses.
Scientists have now sequenced the genome of the killer bacterium that lives inside the worm, a microbe found all over the world called Photorhabdus luminescens. It glows in the dark and lights up the cadaver of an insect victim.
The genome project uncovered many previously unknown genes for toxins that could potentially be inserted into plants to protect them against insect pests. Tests showed that some toxins are fatal to three mosquito species, including the main African malaria mosquito.
Funded by the French Ministry of Industry, the project was a team effort involving Institut Pasteur-CNRS, INRA-Université Montpellier and Bayer CropScience in Evry, France.
The goal of the Bayer CropScience team was to discover genes and proteins that might be used in commercial products. But everyone involved in the work is fascinated by Photorhabdus luminescens and motivated by intellectual curiosity. It's the only microbe known to be both a symbiont and a pathogen.
“The biology of this organism is incredible,” says Richard De Rose of Bayer CropScience. “Here you have a bacterium that kills insects but for some reason does not harm its worm host.”
The worm (Heterorhabditis bacteriophora) seems utterly dependent on the microbe. Inside the insect cadavers, the bacteria produce antibiotics and fungicides that keep other microbes from invading the nutrient-rich environment while the worm reproduces. These molecules may have potential applications in agriculture and medicine.
With the genome in hand, the next challenge is to identify genes involved in symbiosis that could be used to increase the production of the worms for the biological control of insects, says Noël Boemare of Université Montpellier, who studies insect-host interactions and has done pioneering work on Photorhabdus luminescens.
The bacterium's genome has a large amount extra DNA, including multiple copies of many genes. With 5.6 million units of DNA and some 4,800 genes, Photorhabdus luminescens has the largest genome of its class, which includes the stomach bug E. coli and the plague bacterium.
The bacterium came from a worm isolated on Trinidad and Tobago by Hervé Mauléon, and the study's findings have been published in Nature Biotechnology.
The same journal recently published a separate study in which researchers at Dow AgroSciences in Indianapolis, Indiana, took a gene from Photorhabdus luminescens and put it into a plant used in laboratory research, Arabidopsis thaliana. The plant produced a toxin that protected it against several insect pests, including the tobacco hornworm.
Whether the Photorhabdus luminescens toxin will prove effective in actual plants in nature remains to be seen, but it represents an alternative to “Bt” technology in which a toxin gene from another microbe (Bacillus thuringiensis) has been inserted into corn and cotton.
Some researchers fear that the widespread use of Bt technology could eventually lead to resistance among insects. The genome of Photorhabdus luminescens with its many insect toxins now provides some options.
“Sometimes its good to have toxins from two organisms, because if you get resistance with one you can try the other,” says Frank Kunst, who led the genome project at the Institut Pasteur in Paris.
But we are really at the beginning of this process, and we need to study all the toxins that seem interesting,” Kunst says. “A genome project is a starting point, not an end point.”
. . .


In any economy of the world, Entrepreneurs occupy an important position in a market. They serve as triggers in the economy’s engine by initiating and encouraging all economic actions by further becoming the driving force for more productivity in a nation’s economy. Hence, entrepreneurial businesses whether small, medium or large scales are to be encouraged as this will produce new and vibrant upcoming entrepreneurs in any industry.
The Palm Oil industry in Nigeria has the prospects of providing employment for millions of unskilled and semi-skilled people. Improvement in the production of Oil Palm can effectively mitigate the poverty level in Nigeria, especially in Cross River State. Improving the local capacity of Palm Oil production in Cross River will not only impact positively on food security and local economy but also provide huge prospects for future exports that will advance the Cross River economy. This in particular will help the State in achieving more economic success by further encouraging the entrepreneurial drive for the so many interested entrepreneurs willing to go into the Palm Oil industry.
From the vantage point of the Palm Oil industry in the Niger Delta area, Focus Hub in partnership with PIND (Partnership Initiative for the Niger Delta) is poised towards enhancing the processing and production of Palm Oil produce through a program which will serve as a tool for poverty reduction and higher productivity. This in particular, will benefit end users who want to buy in larger quantities, therefore, create more employment opportunities in the State and in the Niger Delta as a whole. The Purpose of the Program will:
• Provide market linkage for Palm Oil millers for more productivity
• Business training and consulting
• Access to affordable technology and
• Access to Finance
Article written by:Ushang Achu


We are very pleased to be associated with THE GREEN TRACTOR SCHEME providing sustainable solutions for plastic used across all sectors of agriculture in the UK. At Zeus we recognise that we have a responsibility to preserve, conserve and sustain the world we live in, both today and for future generations. This initiative supports our commitment to sustainability and we welcome the opportunity to support the recycling of all farm plastic by 2030.
Zeus Epicrop provides premium packaging solutions to the agricultural sector supporting farmers and contractors produce the highest quality fodder for their livestock.
We pride ourselves on providing Agricultural Packaging Solutions for farmers, contractors and agricultural businesses looking to produce the best quality fodder and bedding. Baler Twines, Round Bale Netwrap, High Performance Silage Stretchfims and Silage Sheeting.
Zeus are pleased to support this scheme along with other key schemes designed to promote the effective recycling of all farm plastics.


Here we go for the start of week 7 in the Greenhouse Quilt Along!
At this point we are experts at sewing these plant blocks so that’s all good but we may be losing some of our motivation so I am here to cheer you on today! We are getting very close to the end! Keep going! You can do it! (I am also talking to myself here as I have lagged a bit.)
If you need to check the schedule on the main Greenhouse Quilt Along Post click here.
Only three more rows after this one!


Bynemara is the Kannada word for the Fishtail Palm trees that grow abundantly on the estate. Legend has it, these trees harbour medicinal secrets that can cure most ails. They are fourth-generation family business specialising in making and exporting coffee. The rich history and commitment to quality has allowed them to develop and grow coffee that benefits from a wealth of knowledge and expertise.
Nestled in the Beranagodu hills in the Western Ghats, Bynemara Estate
boasts of fruit orchards, plentiful rainfall, salubrious temperatures and a variety of spices. This results in superior coffee that is a testament to the fertile land of its origin. A coffee that pays homage to the South Indian culture and traditions that paved the way for its existence.
Lush and verdant, Bynemara Estate is the ideal environment for multi-crop production. It comprises two farms, several micro-climates, different altitudes and topographies - all enabling the production of exceptional coffee.
Several species of trees enhance soil fertility and microclimates
3200 - 4000 ft above sea level
12° - 28°


We had been reading for some time about the benefits of multi-specie grazing and decided to try it on a limited basis. We decided on the Katahdin Hair Sheep breed for their docility and parasite resistance, not to mention the fact that we did not have to sheer them. Heifer Project International brought in the first flock of Katahdin sheep to Arkansas. One of the ladies working with that project, Mary Van Anrooy, of Clinton, Arkansas, had the largest flock of Katahdin sheep in Arkansas. We purchased two ewe lambs and a 7 year old ewe. We also selected the ram we wanted each of the three ewes to be bred to. This was the beginning of our flock. They really have benefited the land and cattle. We currently have a registered flock of about 60 and plan on increasing the flock to 100 ewes by 2019.
We have produced the 2015 and 2016 Grand Champion Ewe lamb and the 2016 Reserve Champion Ram lamb at the Arkansas State Fair.
We are currently selling Ram lambs for fall breeding and we will have about 70+ registered Ewes and Rams for sale beginning in 2019.
For more information about the breed go to the Katahdin Hair Sheep International web page. www.katahdins.org


yellow PP board,
double side glue coated with release paper.
effective , non toxic ,long lasting ,easy to use
Insect glue traps attract and kill insects on olive trees, fruit trees, such as citrus ,apple, apricot, fig trees etc. Vineyards,green, houses,gardens and vegetable crops, Yellow insect glue traps reflect light at a wavelength that insects cannot resist.
The glue traps are poison free and insecticide free.
Remove the protective paper from both side of insect glue traps and hang on plants or trees. Place traps approximately 50cm apart. Insect glue traps begin to deteriorate in about 6-8 weeks, depending on weather conditions. Insect glue traps are made of biodegradable materials and may be disposed of with ordinary household waste after use


The Culinary Herb Garden Preparedness Seeds provide a missing link within your food storage plan. Each bucket contains 10 popular culinary herb varieties that will produce enough herbs to spice up your food storage meals in hard times!
The Everlasting Garden Preparedness Seeds provide a missing link within your food storage plan. Each bucket contains 16 popular varieties that will plant nearly 3/4 of an acre in your garden!
This Package is designed to fill all of the preparedness needs of 4 individuals by providing emergency supplies for the home, car, and one other location. This package also includes a 60 Serving Grab ‘n Go Bucket of Wise Food Storage.
The Fruit Garden Preparedness Seeds provides a vital component for your food storage plan. Each bucket contains 9 fruit garden varieties designed to help you stay comfortable in hard times. While it is important to store the basics in preparation for true want, wheat and freeze dried foods can get old quickly, especially for children.
The Medicinal Garden Preparedness Garden has been designed to help people meet their health needs in hard times when the family garden may well become the only resource for home remedies. Each bucket contains 10 medicinal herb seed varieties which have been packaged for long-term storage.
This Package is designed to fill all of the preparedness needs of 2 individuals by providing emergency supplies for the home, car, and one other location.
This combined seed pack includes all the great non-hybrid long-term preparedness seeds into one discounted package. Includes our Culinary Herb Garden, Fruit Garden, Salsa Garden, Medicinal Garden, and our super-sized Everlasting Garden pack.
The Salsa Garden Preparedness Seeds plant a large salsa garden to spice up your food storage for years to come. These Seeds are Non-Hybrid, Non-GMO and are not chemically treated. Because they are non-hybrid, seeds may be harvested at the end of the growing season and then used for the next year’s planting. Each of our seed varieties comes with a Quick Start Growing Guide.
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Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,
In 1977, when we started the Green Belt Movement, I was partly responding to needs identified by rural women, namely lack of firewood, clean drinking water, balanced diets, shelter and income.
Throughout Africa, women are the primary caretakers, holding significant responsibility for tilling the land and feeding their families. As a result, they are often the first to become aware of environmental damage as resources become scarce and incapable of sustaining their families.
The women we worked with recounted that unlike in the past, they were unable to meet their basic needs. This was due to the degradation of their immediate environment as well as the introduction of commercial farming, which replaced the growing of household food crops. But international trade controlled the price of the exports from these small-scale farmers and a reasonable and just income could not be guaranteed. I came to understand that when the environment is destroyed, plundered or mismanaged, we undermine our quality of life and that of future generations.
Tree planting became a natural choice to address some of the initial basic needs identified by women. Also, tree planting is simple, attainable and guarantees quick, successful results within a reasonable amount time. This sustains interest and commitment.
So, together, we have planted over 30 million trees that provide fuel, food, shelter, and income to support their children’s education and household needs. The activity also creates employment and improves soils and watersheds. Through their involvement, women gain some degree of power over their lives, especially their social and economic position and relevance in the family. This work continues.
Initially, the work was difficult because historically our people have been persuaded to believe that because they are poor, they lack not only capital, but also knowledge and skills to address their challenges. Instead they are conditioned to believe that solutions to their problems must come from ‘outside’. Further, women did not realize that meeting their needs depended on their environment being healthy and well managed. They were also unaware that a degraded environment leads to a scramble for scarce resources and may culminate in poverty and even conflict. They were also unaware of the injustices of international economic arrangements.


National Gardening Week
Get those green fingers digging for National Garden Week! Organised by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) with the aim to raise awareness of gardening, the health benefits, productive outdoor activity and of course the results! Healthy, homegrown food! School gardens give you so many learning opportunities, from learning how to grow things, encouraging wildlife by planting certain flowers, to learning about where our food comes from and healthier eating and lifestyle choices. National Gardening Week runs from 27th April to the 5th of May.


April 15--Tax Day--except not this year. Deadlines, like most everything else this year of human device, have been postponed. Mother Nature's cycles have been a bit bumpy and unpredictable lately, but the natural world is pretty much running on schedule. Our maple operation put to bed, and the first new calf was born out in the pasture, yesterday. We're looking forward to a rainstorm of the little beasts in the next few weeks.
The family spent a chunk of time paging through garden porn seed catalogs this winter, choosing the specific varieties we wanted to buy, and placing our order. When five people are involved in deliberating the merits and demerits of vegetal varieties and spatial assignments, the order and the planting plotting become serious business!
As of today, the beds and raised beds have been prepared, and our seed packets have arrived and the first rows of peas have been planted. The starts have not arrived and will not until it's closer to the right time to plant them. Garlic bulbs have been--inserted?
I may not know the correct terms, but I do know that with a little luck and a lot of hard work, my family and I will be eating well through 2021.


Aloe Vera Plants are easy to grow and are known for their medicinal properties. They can be grown outside or indoors as an easy to care addition to your home or garden. Plants outside in a temperate and tropical climate can grow very large and live more than 20 years.
Water. The most important things about the plants are proper watering and light and well drained soil. Plants can die from over-watering. Aloe Vera is a succulent and like a cactus does not need much water. Outside, it almost never needs watering. Like the large nopal cactus that grows all over the Yucatan jungle, they grow better with no or very little care. Over-watering can cause root rot, turn a plant yellow, and kill it. Aloe Vera plants hold water in the leaves or branches that grow from the center.
Light. Outside the plants can grow from full sun to partial shade. Inside they grow well under artificial light. Many people, if they see their indoor plant turning yellow, think it is the lack of light, but more often it is the roots not having proper drainage or over-watering. Neglect will produce a healthier plant. If you want to move an indoor plant outside, slowly introduce it to the sun. Start out in a partially shaded area, then move to sun after it becomes acclimated to the change.
One plant will send out shoots and you will soon have a garden of plants. Outside they grow quickly.
Uses. Aloe Vera plants have many great medicinal properties. They are used in skin and hair products and drinks. You can just break off a branch and squeeze or peel it back to get the gel. Information on the many uses from putting on cuts to drinking is readily available on the internet. The first time you use it, just be sure you are not allergic by trying a little first.
Enjoy your easy to grow plant and add it to your outdoor garden and inside plant display for variation and a dramatic look.


Why Choose Us
AGnVET Rural operate eight agricultural retail branches located in rural communities across Northern New South Wales and Queensland, ranging as far north as Ayr (QLD) to Walgett and Wee Waa in Northern New South Wales. Our branches cater to a range of farm types and input supplies including cane growers and beef producers in the north, to cotton growers, and primary producers.
AGnVET Rural are committed to providing a reliable and valuable service to all customers. Our branches provide a one point of contact service for all your farming requirements, from crop management service and agronomy, agricultural chemical, seed and fertiliser to fencing merchandise, stock feed and animal health supplies.
AGnVET RURAL maintains strong working relationships with Australia’s leading agricultural goods suppliers so we can continue to bring our customers the highest quality goods and services. AGnVET Rural is also a member of the AgLink business group which consists of 23 member companies in private distribution across Australia. The AgLink Group, in its entirety, is one of the largest channels to market for recognised supplies of agricultural product in Australia. Meaning, AGnVET Rural supply our customers with the best product at competitive pricing.
AGnVET RURAL are focused on supporting rural communities in which their branches are located. With branches across Northern New South Wales and regional areas of Queensland, AGnVET RURAL are proud to support local community initiatives including district school and junior sporting clubs, community sporting events and more.


Bipartisan legislation introduced to address seasonal farm labor shortages
This past fall, many orchardists throughout Central and Eastern Washington nearly lost their apple crops due to a shortage of fruit pickers. Several Republican and Democratic state lawmakers are hoping to avert the same crisis in the future through legislation they introduced Thursday in the Washington State House of Representatives.
“Agriculture is one of the biggest driving forces in the economy of the state of Washington. We felt there is some real need for labor reform that would make it easier for young people in schools and colleges, and others who are unemployed, to have an opportunity to earn a paycheck and get hands-on working experience during seasonal agricultural harvests,” said Rep. Norm Johnson, R-Yakima, the prime sponsor of House Bill 2408.
The measure would authorize the State Board of Education to grant waivers from the 180-day school year to school districts for a flexible calendar to accommodate participation for young people of working age to be employed in agricultural activities. It also specifies that nothing precludes school districts, institutions of higher education, and community and technical colleges from adopting a calendar that includes breaks “to accommodate participation in agricultural activities, including the harvesting of farm or nursery products and related activities.” It also would expand higher education work-study to include provisions to encourage job placement in agricultural activities.
“I was very happy to work with Representative Johnson on this bill. I grew up in a farming community and know the importance of moving quickly on harvest,” said Rep. Deb Eddy, D-Kirkland, co-sponsor of the bill. “Fruit harvests aren’t important just to the growers, but to the entire community, the entire state.”
“Historically, it has not been unusual for school districts to adjust their schedules to accommodate seasonal agricultural work. When I was a kid, it happened frequently that schools in Central Washington would close for a week or so during the harvest, and afterward, they would pick back up,” added Johnson, a former school principal and teacher. “It didn’t detract from their 180-day requirement. It was just re-adjusting the schedule to allow for the harvest. That’s what this bill would encourage again.”
Co-sponsor Rep. Ann Rivers, R-La Center, noted seasonal worker shortages have not only been experienced in the apple industry, but also with harvesting of berries and reforesting of public lands, all which require hand labor.
“This bipartisan legislation is an outside-of-the-box approach to give our agriculture industry more options when it comes to harvest. The goal is to ensure that we don’t repeat the shortage of labor we experienced in the fall of 2011,” said Rivers. “While it would appear to benefit certain regions of the state, it’s good for all of Washington. Agriculture is a vital, export-based industry for our state – one that employs around 160,000 Washingtonians. We should always be looking at ways to strengthen our economy and improve our business climate.”
The measure also specifies that employment services provided by the Employment Security Department include recruitment, screening and referral of refugees and asylum seekers to agriculture-related work. Plus, it would set aside 10 percent of money previously appropriated through the state’s Rural Mobility Grant Program to provide enhanced transit opportunities for farm workers through vanpools and other programs. The bill would also temporarily prevent the Department of Health from raising fees related to regulation and inspection of farm worker housing.
“If jobs are available, we need to put people to work. These kinds of jobs, however, are seasonal, so it can be more challenging to fill them at the time workers are needed. These industries are too important to our economy to ignore, so that’s why I believe this legislation will help to open new opportunities for both farm employers and new workers, and avert the labor shortages that have threatened seasonal harvests,” said Johnson.
The measure has been referred to the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee.
# # #
John Sattgast, Senior Information Officer/Broadcast Coordinator – (360) 786-7257 (For Rep. Norm Johnson)
John Handy, Republican Deputy Communications Director – (360) 786-5758 (For Rep. Ann Rivers)
Gregory Roberts, Communications Specialist – (360) 786-7631 (For Rep. Deb Eddy)
###Washington State House Republican Communications


The Trinidad Scorpion Moruga Blend , endemic to the district of Moruga in Trinidad and Tobago, is one of the World’s hottest Chilli Peppers. The golf ball-sized chili pepper scored the highest among a handful of chili cultivars reputed to be among the hottest in the world. Its mean heat topped more than 1.2 million units on the Scoville heat scale, while fruits from an individual plant reached 2 million heat units.
Aside from the heat, the Trinidad Scorpion Moruga Blend has a tender fruit-like flavor, which makes it a sweet-hot combination. These chillies are extremely hot and the use of gloves is strongly advised.


Several of our hives are set aside from honey production and developed for pollinaton. Whether the crop is melons, pumpkins, cucumbers, apples, blueberries or almonds, the sucess of our nationwide food supply depends on the honeybee's ability to pollinate our crops. Many of these hives are used to divide into other hives and are sent along to increase their numbers.
The management techniques and tools of pollination hives vary greatly over honey production. Our hives are transported on pallets with "U" Clips containing four hives to a pallet for easy relocation at the client site. In addition, we continually monitor and medicate the hives for tracheal mites; varroa; and Small Hive Beetle. We are the only Apiary in Virginia that annually undergoes a 100 percent hive inspection by the Virginia Department of Agriculture (VDAC)to ensure we do not spread disease or pests to your fields. We provide a properly executed and numbered Certificate of Apiary Inspection that can be verified by the Commonwealth Apiarists office.
The next time you are considering an apiary for pollination services, ask them to provide you with a certificate of inspection prior to using their services. It is your insurance that your Beekeeper is doing his part to protect you and our nations food supply.


We are a proud grower of fresh Watermelon, Tomatoes and Cantaloupe. Our experience in farming goes back three generations of the Hanshaw family totaling nearly 50 years of growing quality fruits and vegetables for our customers.
We are currently designing a website that will be the most interactive and informative tool for our customers. We will continue to expand and update the website on a regular basis.
Our goal is to deliver the freshest, best quality produce possible and give the most up to date information to our customers throughout the growing season.


Nicaragua San Juan del Río Coco
Sustainably cultivated and harvested from the undulating hills of the San Juan del Rio Coco area, our specialty beans have been wet processed and sun-dried at altitudes in excess of 1,200 meters. It's pronounced sweetness, bright acidity and crisp finish make this specialty coffee a taste to savour.
Region: San Juan de Río Coco, Nicaragua
Harvest: December – March
Altitude: 1,200 meters above sea level
Processing Method: Washed and sun dried
Roast Profile: Origin® City Roast
Cupping Notes: Creamy, nutty, cocoa, caramel
Aroma: Sweet, nutty, spicy
Certifications: Fair Trade Certified, USDA Organic, Canadian organic
Tasting Note: Creamy Cocoa & Caramel
This 100% Arabica bean offers a balanced nutty, cocoa and caramel flavor. It has a mild lemon acidity which is levelled by a medium body with notes of caramel, milk chocolate and almond.


Hydroponic Lettuce Types
While any type of lettuce can be grown hydroponically or without soil, there are three more popular varieties as listed below. Because hydroponic lettuce is grown under controlled conditions, these lettuce types are all typically available year round.
Hydroponic Butter Lettuce
Butter lettuce is known for tasty texture and flavor. Butter lettuce is characterized by broad wavy outer leave that are green and tightly bound yellowish inner leaves. When eaten in combination a sweet and mild crispy taste is achieved. Also known as Bibb.
Hydroponic Romaine Lettuce
Romaine lettuce is the commonly used lettuce type in Caesar salad and provides a fine-bitter herb taste. It is characterized by tall sturdy leaves with a center rib and is tolerant to heat. It is also very popular in Middle Eastern cuisine and has a heritage in Egyptian ritual use.
Hydroponic Iceberg Lettuce
Iceberg lettuce is actually called Crisphead and is the most popular lettuce type in the United States. It is a very heat-sensitive lettuce type. Although Iceberg is transported easily, it has little flavor and nutritional content due to being composed mostly of water.


Amid excitement at the news of imminent completion of the Dangote Fertilizer plant, management of the company has assured farmers cooperatives associations of the company’s readiness to do business with them.
In the same vein, the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has commended the contributions of Dangote Industries to the growth and development of the Nigerian economy.
These were the highlights at the Dangote Day at the ongoing Lagos International Trade Fair in Lagos yesterday where top management members of the pan-African Conglomerate, Dangote Group reeled out efforts being made to get the much touted Dangote Refinery and Dangote Fertilizer completed in record time.
President of the LCCI, Babatunde Paul Ruwase, said the Dangote Group had added a lot of value to the growth of the Nigerian economy pointing out that if Nigeria would have fared better if the country could have two Dangote group.
He specifically commended the company’s investment in Refinery, Fertilizer, Cement, Flour and every sector and still expanding and going strong.
He described the Dangote brand as a critical enabler to provide locally made goods for Nigerians and the African Continent. “The Dangote Group is a Nigerian company managed by Aliko Dangote. We are very proud of this company, which is people oriented.”
Ruwase said that the activities of the Dangote Group show high degree of vision, creative thinking, research, innovation, hard work and industry, which he added, have culminated into what one can describe as the Dangote business and industrial empire today.
Giving his remarks at the event, the Group Managing Director, Olakunle Alake, who spoke through the company’s Director, Supply Chain, Dangote Cement, Knut Ulvmoen, said that the group would continue to invest in the Nigeria’s economy.
Alake, said that the company’s investment drive is being made manifest by the construction of the 650,000 barrels per day Dangote refinery, a fertilizer plant, rice, and cement noting that the refinery would be Africa’s biggest and the world’s biggest single-train facility, upon completion.
He said the refinery has been designed to process a variety of light and medium grades of crude to produce Euro-V quality clean fuels including gasoline and diesel as well as jet fuel and polypropylene.
Alake described the Dangote fertilizer project as the largest granulated Urea fertilizer complex to emerge in the entire fertilizer industry history in the world, with its three million tons per annum capacity. On the Group’s cement business, he puts the total capacity of cement production from the company’s plant across Africa at about 46 million tonnes per annum.
He noted that the group is determined to move Nigeria from an import dependent country to export dependent country adding that the company is seriously investing in rice industry. “We acquired farmlands in Jigawa, Kano, Kebbi, Nasarawa, Niger, Sokoto, and Zamfara states totalling 150,000 hectares.
He stated: “We acquired farmlands in Jigawa, Kano, Kebbi, Nasarawa, Niger, Sokoto, and Zamfara states totalling 150,000 hectares. We will establish large-scale rice mills each with a capacity to mill 120,000 metric tonnes of rice paddy, bringing total capacity to 240,000 metric tonnes.


collection of pines and research station
Arboretum Sofronka in Plzeň – Bolevec was founded
like a working site of FGMRI (Forestry and Game Management Research
Institute), which is a state-sponsored organization with headquarters in
Prague – Zbraslav established by the Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech
The arboretum was founded in 1956 by Dipl. Ing. Karel Kaňák, Csc., following the approval by the Czechoslovak Academy of Agricultural Sciences of a research projekt entitled “Improvement of the Scots Pine”. As the available research plots and facilities were not sufficient for proper solution of the above project, Mr. Kaňák determined to establish a collection of worldwide assortment of Genus Pinus species within the Sofronka area in Plzeň – Bolevec.
The FGMRI canceled this working site in the autumn of 2009 and it was brought over under the Management public estate city Plzen to the section woods, town green and water economy as department for work with public and silvicultural research.
Dipl. Ing. Kaňák Jan
Fax : +420


What's the buzz on organic wine?
Updated: Nov 24, 2019
Who doesn't appreciate a good glass of wine? Seemingly no one. Wine is great! When you ask that same question and add the word 'organic', does that answer change?
There is a lot of confusion around organic wines and what they are, and somehow perceived as lesser quality, which couldn't be less true. We all ask what organic means for the finished product. Is it any good? The answer to that is, yes, of course! Organic wine doesn't have to be confusing either.
Everything down to labeling or the nomenclature used by a producer can be a bit intimidating, whether it's just the word 'Organic Wine' or 'Made with Organic Grapes', and which country and with a certifying organic body accredited the producer, it all boils down to the same thing. Organic wines have no synthetic or chemical fertilizers or pesticides, are kinder to the environment, and do not add sulphites in their finished product.
Organic wine producers farm organically and have mastered the art of winemaking without the use of chemicals.
Many organic wine producers are more in tune with their vines than non organic producers, because they have had to really delve deep into the understanding of their vineyards cycle, micro-climate and what challenges those pose to their product. Because they can't use chemicals, they have had to master preventing most issues in their vineyards, like preventing a pest outbreak before it happens. Whatever can't be prevented, they get creative with work around solutions. This really lends to creating master quality wine that one can really feel good about.
Instead of using herbicides, they often employ sheep in their vineyards to eat the unwanted weeds and plants. Sheep add beneficial fertilizer to the soil while they graze.
Chickens are released in the vineyards and eat the weeds and insects that harm the vines, all while their pecking aerates the soil.
Cover crops are used in between vines to create competition for water in vines (which is a good thing when ripening grapes!), and to add valuable nutrients in the soil. Flowering cover crops are especially important to attract pollinators to the vineyard.
One of my favourite wine brands, Bonterra Organic Vineyards, is the world leader in organic wine viniculture and winemaking. Based out of Mendocino California, they are making California wine with a fresh fruit style to stay true to their grapes. They make a succulent Cabernet Sauvignon that pairs perfectly with sliders and a gorgeous Chardonnay which is a grilled cheese's best friend. While their wines are tasty and their vineyards beautiful, it is their commitment to the environment that is really at their core.
Bonterra is also playing a huge role in protecting native bee species in their vineyards. By not spraying their vines with chemicals, it is creating an environment friendly for bees safe from harm. Bumble bees are in decline, largely due to use of chemical pesticides. They are key pollinators in any vineyard to support the micro-environment, and Bonterra strives to protect them and improve the biodiversity of their own vineyard.
Bonterra recently celebrated Earth Day in Toronto at the Cambria Gallery. It was a beautiful event full of organic food and wine that I was so privileged to host. We were able to share with key influencers in the community the importance of choosing organic. In Canada, Bonterra is working with Wildlife Preservation Canada to plant wildflowers to help reverse the decline of our very own native bees. The truth is over one third of all our food can be attributed to bees, and without them our vineyards would fail and there wouldn't be any wine.
So why drink organic?
Because what is good for the earth is good for the grape, and great for bees too!


蔬菜基地 澳门钻石娱乐网址 Vegetable Base
Nine Masters has vegetable production base in places such as Shouguang of Shandong, which is known as “the hometown of Chinese vegetables”. With world-standard production lines such as quick-frozen vegetable production lines, vegetable cleaning lines, dehydrated vegetable production lines, and fruit and vegetable juice production lines as well as with tens of thousands of mu (a unit of area, equal to 0.0667 hectares) of land for greenhouse vegetable production, which are dedicated to the cultivation and processing of vegetables, including organic vegetables. The use of state-of-the-art equipment from other countries such as Japan and Germany and the adoption of the latest cold storage technology and the cutting-edge fresh food cold chain logistics system help to truly improve food quality.
肉品基地澳门钻石娱乐网址 Meat Base
The base is located in Linyi of Shandong Province. All the meat products are in compliance with standard processes. The base makes full use of advanced meat processing technologies and incorporates modern meat consumption concepts that emphasize health and good taste to cater to modern people’s pursuit of a healthy and eco-friendly lifestyle.
海鲜基地 Seafood Base
Our seafood breeding and production base is located in Xiangshan of Zhejiang Province, known as the place that produces seafood of the best quality in China. It ensures that we can provide seafood products of high quality.
河鲜基地澳门钻石娱乐网址 Freshwater Food Base
Our base is situated by the world-famous Hongze Lake and Yangcheng Lake, thus ensuring supplies of high-quality freshwater foods to meet Chinese consumers’ needs for freshwater foods of reliable quality.
粮食基地 Rice Base
Heilongjiang in the northeast of China and Yancheng of Jiangsu Province have become Nine Masters’ strategic partners.
In terms of sourcing raw materials such as meat, eggs, poultry, rice, flour, vegetables, edible oil and spices, we have been able to consistently control quality.


About our Farm
We are on a mission to improve human health and the health of the planet by changing the way food is grown & raised through regenerative agriculture. We produce low PUFA pasture-raised eggs and grass-fed lamb that is better for you and for the planet.
At our farm, there are no toxic chemicals or added hormones. We are farming as nature intended.
It all started with health.
Our names are Ashley and Sarah - two sisters who have been through a lot of health challenges.
Along our health journey, we realized that the way your food is grown and raised impacts your health.
Industrial agriculture and the current food system focus on maximizing yield with toxic chemicals at the expense of nutrients, human health and soil health.
This system is degrading our soil at unsustainable rates, which will result in the reliance on chemically-dependent lab made food, further disconnecting us from nature and hindering human health.
We decided to pursue regenerative ag as first generation farmers to do our part in fixing the food system and improving human health.
Insert our farm - Angel Acres.
Regenerative agriculture refers to a set of farming practices (including holistic planned grazing, biodynamic farming, permaculture, silvopasture, & diverse cover cropping) with the main goal of improving soil health, which is directly related to human health.
Rather than relying on external inputs (like fertilizers, fungicides, herbicides, etc.) in industrial agriculture, regenerative land management strategies focus on soil biology & work with nature.
In proper functioning soil, plants intake carbon from the atmosphere, convert it into sugars, & then pump some of the sugars through their roots to feed microorganisms that use the carbon to build soil.
These microorganisms have access to water & a wide array of nutrients deeper in the soil, which they send to the plant in exchange for liquid carbon “food” - a beautiful symbiotic relationship which produces more nutrient-dense food.
Regenerative Agriculture results in...
💧Soil that has greater water-holding capacity, making it more resilient to droughts & flooding.
🦟Crops that are more pest resistant.
🌎More carbon cycled into the soil & less in the atmosphere.
💰Less expensive fossil-fuel based inputs to grow food & more $ in the farmer’s pockets (which yes will come at a cost of large agrochemical companies profits, sorry Bayer).
🌱The restoration of ecosystems.
🚰An improved water cycle & cleaner water.
🥭And soil that can grow more nutrient dense food to feed a healthy population.
In addition to producing nutrient-dense food, our goal is to create an educational and experiential hub where people can come visit, stay, and learn about and experience regenerative agriculture. Expanding the reach of regenerative agriculture is crucially important, as our agriculture system is broken. Industrial agriculture focuses on maximizing yield at the expense of nutrients and soil health. This system is degrading our soil at unsustainable rates, which will inevitably result in humans having to eventually rely on lab made food, further hindering human health. To produce more nutrient-dense food (and thus improve human health), our soil needs regenerative agriculture, and we need to #MakeSoilSexyAgain.


Urban agriculture, a meeting point between urban and rural worlds
Nowadays, around these cities, we still notice those little pieces of green areas that have known a sharp increase these past few years. As surprising as it seems, it is not unusual to see, tomatoes, salads or zucchinis growing on balconies in Paris, Lyon, Toulouse or Nantes.
- Source: French Ministry of Agriculture - Pascal Xicluna
Urban agriculture is the development of farming practices in and around the cities. It is a kind of agriculture integrated in the urban economy and ecosystems. It can be driven by professional farmers or by urban people in search of nature; on private, shared or public areas; market-oriented or for self-consumption. Historically, fruits and vegetables are the main crops grown around French cities, but you can also see, while wandering in Paris, the famous vineyard of Montmartre or some bee hives on Parisian roofs.
A real strategic plan needs to drive this kind of agriculture: as little space as possible has to be used, especially in cities like Paris where space is so rare. Systems all more ingenious than the others were born to address these issues. Beyond gardens and allotments, roofs, balconies and window sills are involved. Many tomato plants are grown in bags on balconies with organic waste as compost and wastewater for irrigation.
Urban agriculture is a key component to maintaining a strong link between rural and urban people. Today, urban people feel strongly about the importance of lands, seasonality, quality and traceability. Urban agriculture responds to all of these concerns. Whether people have their own kitchen garden or rely on a farmer located near their city, they can know how their food is produced. The link is direct between the city-dweller and his products or his producer. Most of the time, an urban or peri-urban farmer uses direct ways of sales: the delivery of vegetables and fruit baskets, by the AMAP (Association to Maintain Peasant Agriculture) for example… Behind this strong link are hidden various concepts.
- Source: French Ministry of Agriculture
Urban agriculture has above all a social and educational role. Shared gardens are a real opportunity for urban people to do something together, to meet regularly and often to teach children or just people who want to learn about agriculture but don’t know anything about it. How does a vegetable grow, why does it need water, why it is better to plant a certain kind of vegetable in a certain period of the year … These are the questions answered with urban agriculture.
Urban agriculture is a great way to eat/buy to local food, that is to say, food produced at lower cost, with fewer greenhouse gases emissions and energy use. This kind of agriculture is also a way to fight urban pressure, by maintaining a ‘green break.’ Urban agriculture is often seen as a new form of sustainable agriculture.
Many French local authorities support this kind of agriculture, by providing space to create, for instance, a shared garden, or by buying tools needed for gardening. For example, since 2009, the municipality of Toulouse has supported about ten projects of common gardens by providing public space to implement them. These gardens have to meet a charter of which main objectives are: the gardens must be the result of a participatory approach and be respectful of the environment.
- Source: French Ministry of Agriculture - Michel Lavoix
For the past few years, urban agriculture has become a major trend in French cities. The city-dwellers show a real interest to become more involved in their food, or at least to know more about it, about the way of production or about the producer himself. Moreover, it is linked to the important consumer concern about environment, climate change, and the desire to eat better.
On May 24th and 25th 2010, one of Paris’s main thoroughfares, the Champs-Elysées, was covered with dirt and turned into a huge green space in an event named ‘Nature Capitale’ organized by young French farmers. Plants, trees, flowers and cattle were brought in by lorry overnight to transform the avenue into a long green strip. Some 150,000 plants were installed — including 650 fully grown trees — representing agricultural produce from the marshes of the Camargue to the plains of Picardy. More than two million urban visitors were able to share agriculture and landscape management with farmers in Paris.
You might also be interested in these articles:
The Hidden World of Parisian Wines (Video)


Fonds consists of minutes of meetings, correspondence, reports, printed material, and publications pertaining to Watson's professional activities and affiliations. Fonds includes materials pertaining to the Engineering Science Leads Committee of the B.C. Agricultural Sciences Co-ordinating Committee (BCSCC) on which Watson sat for the period 1967-1978. Composed of representatives of the Provincial Ministry of Agriculture, Agriculture Canada, and the UBC Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, the Committee advised the Minister of Agriculture and allotted research funds for research projects within the province.
Watson, Ernest L., 1917-


Sun, 03 Oct|
Cultivation Fun Day - 3rd Oct 2021
Ploughing and Cultivating
Time & Location
03 Oct 2021, 09:00 – 15:00
Monktonhill Farm, Monktonhill Rd, Troon, UK
About the Event
You will have the opportunity to plough a match plot which will not be judged. You can have a go with plenty of advice and encouragement on hand. In addition to the ploughing, we will also have an area of turned ground available to allow anyone who doesn’t have a plough to bring along any cultivation implements that you would like to try out. Even if you don’t want to take part, please feel free just to come along with your tractor and put it on display. It would also be great to catch up with any members who would just like to come for the chat.


A thousand-year-old vineyard
The vineyard of the Abbey of Valmagna dates back to 1139.
When the Cistercian monks were looking for a location to install a new abbey, they relied on three criteria: access to water, absolute calm and great terroir.
Their knowledge of the land had proven its worth in Burgundy: Chambolle-Musigny, Clos Vougeot, Romanée-Conti came from the work and talent of the monks in the 12th century.
It is therefore with patience and knowledge that the place known as the Tourtourière, between the freshness of the sea and the calm of the Garrigues, would host the abbey of Valmagne and its mythical vineyard.
The cultivation of vines is one of the main activities of the monks and they carefully choose each plot taking advantage of the diversity of terroirs offered by Valmagne.
The wine is growing and the many luxury guests who are passing by recognize the abbey’s wines as the largest in the region.
The revolution saw the monks flee and the new buyer transformed the church into a winery by installing these famous russian oak bolts that could house up to 435 hectolitres.
The Abbey’s winery represents a hundred hectares and wine still occupies a prominent place in the activities of the estate.
In 1838, our ancestor the Count of Turenne, bought the Abbey and continued the work of his predecessors just as we continue his.
Today the vineyard represents 35 hectares of organic farming, with bio-dynamic inspirations since 1999.
Thanks to the diversity of the terroirs around the Abbey, we produce wine from the Languedoc and Languedoc Grés de Montpellier.
the land our legacy
True to the work and knowledge of the monks, the domain of the Abbey of Valmagna derives its legitimacy from 900 years ago.
At the beginning of the 12th century, Robert de Molesme created the Cistercian order. He believes that the precedent, the Order of St. Benedict, is no longer properly respected and that the monks must concentrate on two activities: prayer and work. From now on, monks will have to increase prayer time and work much more rigorously and conscientiously. Thus, by working hard, the monks develop a great knowledge of geology and winemaking. By observing, feeling and tasting the earth they are able to award the quality of a soil. Many geologists today are unanimous about the monks’ knowledge in this field. It is no coincidence that none of the great Burgundy climates have been called into question, per cm2, for more than 900 years.
Valmagne is one of these Cistercian vineyards. By installing the Abbey at this precise location, the monks had detected the high quality of the soils, still planted in vines today.
This is how we inherit this magnificent vineyard thanks to the skills of the Cistercians.
In order to preserve it as much as possible, organic farming has been practiced there for more than 20 years. The work of the soil is light and we are constantly careful to respect the balances of nature. The presence of many living organisms in our soils is a guarantee of success for us and the use of chemicals is absolutely forbidden for any treatment.
By conviction, the field is inspired by the practices of bio-dynamics and the implementation of these cultural methods seems obvious to us.
We also refine our research in the writings of the monks to apply their methods in geology and thus produce the purest fruit possible, for the pleasure of all.


Grass Sod Sales
For Grass Sod Sales & Delivery, Think Grasschopper
Grasschopper Landscaping has earned a reputation as a leading provider of commercial grounds maintenance and landscaping services in the Edmonton area, but did you know we also offer grass sod sales to both residential and commercial customers throughout Alberta? Our premium Kentucky Blue Grass sod, grown locally on sod farms near Fort Saskatchewan, comes with a green grass guarantee.
How Much Does Sod Cost?
Grass sod prices are quite standard in the Edmonton area and usually vary only by pennies. We know, because we check often to keep our sod prices competitive. At Grasschopper, our minimum order is 700 sq. ft. and our price for sod, is currently $0.45/sq ft. Use our request a quote form to get started; simply let us know where you are and how much grass sod you need.
Installing Grass Sod? Here are a Few Tips to Get You Started
Grass sod should be installed on 10-15cm depth good quality class B topsoil/loam. Before laying sod, ensure all soil is graded properly to allow for drainage, and compacted by rolling with a sod roller. For best results, a starter fertilizer should be mixed in with the top 1-2cm of topsoil.
Sod should be laid as soon as possible after delivery. Waiting more than 2 days will put your grass sod at risk of dying. Grass sod should then be laid so all pieces fit tightly together, and rolled with a sod roller once again. The newly laid sod should be watered immediately so the soil underneath the sod is completely saturated with water (1-2 hours with a sprinkler).
Watering/maintenance of grass sod:
Watering schedules vary depending on temperature, but a general guideline is as follows:
- Daily watering for the first week, every second day for the next 1-2 weeks, and 2-3 times per week until the sod is established.
- Allow the grass to grow for 4-6 weeks before cutting, cutting a maximum of 1/3 the total length on the first mowing. Continue to mow and water as needed.
Good luck with your grass sod planting!