The same kind of 10-liter buckets that make up the potato container farm also make nice capillary watering containers. Two buckets and a small terracotta pot are all the materials that go into a capillary waterer. How to:
1. Fill the terracotta pot with potting soil.
2. Set the pot in the middle of one of the buckets.
4. Cut a hole, a couple of centimeters smaller than the circumference of the terracotta pot, in the bottom of the other bucket.
5. Set the bucket into the other, resting on top of the terracotta pot, so the soil is directly under the hole.
6. Fill the top bucket with soil and plant in it.
7. Water around the plant.
8. Fill the water reservoir below the top bucket by watering between the two buckets.
The soil in the terracotta pot will act as a wick, drawing water up to the soil above as needed.
I use them for everything that goes in the greenhouse and thus only have to water once or twice a week, depending on the weather. The tomatoes look happy and fruiting. 🙂


Farming for our island and its people.
We are a small organic family run farm based on the east coast of the island. Situated above Anne Port bay with a stunning view over to France. We have produced a diverse number of crops for both local supply and export over the years, Maintaining diversity in our rotation remains important to us even more so as our land gains years being under organic management.
Organic makes sense! We are working in a complex natural system so it make sense to work with it not against it. In supporting a healthy natural system we hope to produce healthy food which is grown with as little impact on the environmental as possible.
WHo do we supply
We have been supplying both the hospitality sector and independent retailers since the early 1960’s whilst exporting for numerous markets in the UK and even to Europe for a short time. We currently supply local independent retailers and some of the islands best restaurants, coffee shops and cafes. You can also buy our produce from the farm gate at our honesty box.
A visual taste of some of our produce
We grow a diverse range of produce over the year some in bulk and others in only small amount, below is just a taste!
If you would like to contact us please us the or below and we will get back to you as soon as we can.
WHERE TO FIND US!
© annevillefarmltd. All rights reserved.
Thank you for your message we will get back to you as soon as we can.


7:28 AM Derek , 1 Comment
The story of Kozlowski Farms' (Forestville, CA) origin is pretty remarkable. Their love of food and family grew Kozlowski farms from a simple apple orchard to a premier source for hundreds of gourmet products. 60 years ago the Kozlowski family purchased land in the Russian River Valley of Sonoma County and planted a variety of apple trees. Since it takes seven years for the trees to mature and produce good fruit, the family planted berries in the orchard as well to yield a quicker return.
Thus sprung the idea for producing gourmet food for the public, not just family. With so many fresh resources on the farm, the Kozlowki's began producing baked and canned goods as well as gourmet grilling sauces. Ahead of their time, the Kozlowki's were some of the first food producers in Sonoma County to go organic in the early 80s. Today, Kozlowski farms has a catalog ranging from homemade pastries to fine wines. Everything with a Kozlowski label on it comes right from their farm.
When I found Kozlowski Farms online, I was intrigued by their "California Style" BBQ sauce. However, when the samples arrived at my door, I was happy to see that the good people at Kozlowski Farms had also included four varieties of their chipotle grilling sauces.
The first sauce that I sampled was Kozlowski Farm's Apricot & Mango Roasted Chipotle sauce. According to the accompanying literature, the sauce was great for grilling or dipping. When I first cracked the seal, I was surprised by how smokey the aroma was. The liquid smoke scent really stood out. I poured a bit of the sauce into a bowl for sampling. The sauce is very thick, nearly as thick as fruit preserves. The initial taste is also reminiscent of preserves. It's sweet and fruity. However, it's followed by the smokey chipotle heat that helps balance the sweetness.
I first used the sauce as a dip for fried chicken strips. It made a fine dip. The flavors blended well with the salty batter of the chicken. I used the remainder of the bottle for some homemade meatballs last night. I simmered the sauce for a couple of minutes which thinned it out a bit. I then poured it over the meatballs. I thought the sauce was excellent with the meatballs (half turkey / half beef). It was similar to sweet and sour meatballs, but with smokey finish.
The fruity sauce may be a bit too sweet for some (like my wife), but I'm a sucker for sweet sauce. Kozlowski Farm's Apricot & Mango Roasted Chipotle sauces make an excellent dip or sauce for meaty h'orderves. I only hope the remaining Kozlowski Farm's products are as good as this one was.
To learn more about Kozlowski Farms, click the title of this article. You can also find them on Facebook. Be sure to check the "Product Reviews" page to see how the Apricot & Mango Roasted Chipotle sauce stands up against other sauces.
|Turkey / Beef Meatballs with Kozlowski Farm's Apricot & Mango Roasted Chipotle Sauce|


We’ve raised $5,531! We are 30% of the way there!
The Hell’s Kitchen Farm Project is unique in its emphasis on ensuring all members of the community have access to fresh produce. The CSA is designed to enable low-income families and individuals to participate and receive the nutritious produce everyone needs. Community organizations, such as Clinton Housing Development Company and Rauschenbusch Metro Ministries, and community members partner to subsidize shares as well as donate shares to a local food pantry.
Wondering how it works? It’s simple. Members pay in advance for a seasonal share of the farmer’s products and in turn receive a weekly share of products directly from the farm all season long. Unlike vegetables you get in the grocery store, this produce is always picked the same day it is delivered.
The CSA creates commUNITY by bringing together local farmers and NYC residents in a common goal of supporting healthy living and local agriculture. To support RMM’s effort to Create CommUNITY, consider helping us reach our goal of $18,000! Visit the link in our bio to donate. It costs $550 to sponsor one 22-week share for a family in need.
the missing part
it makes me disconnect
on the contrary
it makes me feel
like i burn
But in the missing
i get lost
The missing 1, mypunksnotdead.wordpress.com
Photographer: Franziska Turner @_missturner
Other model: @frances.na


shortlink here: http://wp.me/p38Pt0-ce
mnemonic here: http://urlet.com/yeah.unclear
update 5/31 Monsanto resumed US field testing of GMO wheat in 2011 in Hawaii and North Dakota http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-31/monsanto-resumed-field-trials-of-roundup-ready-wheat.html
update 5/31 from Reuters http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/31/usa-wheat-search-idUSL2N0EC0HB20130531
update 5/30 “Regional Industry Threatened” – contaminated field confirmed to be in eastern Oregon. via Corvallis Gazette- Times
update 5/30 via bloomberg
Japan Halts Some U.S. Wheat Imports on Gene-Altered Crops (1)
Japan halted imports of western-white wheat and feed wheat from the U.S., and canceled a plan to buy 24,926 metric tons of western-white wheat in an import tender today, said Hiromi Iwahama, director for grain trade and operation at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.”
google news http://urlet.com/exchange.rows
The discovery could have far-reaching implications for the U.S. wheat industry if the growth of the engineered product turns out to be far-flung. Many countries around the world will not accept imports of genetically modified foods, and the United States exports about half of its wheat crop.
Oregon Department of Agriculture Director Katy Coba said in a statement that the discovery is “a very serious development that could have major trade ramifications.” The state exports about 90 percent of its wheat.


KBR employees like Mary and Judit have been doing more grocery shopping for healthy produce and reorganizing their refrigerators to help ensure nutritious foods are readily available. One topic covered in the KBR Good Nutrition and Healthy lifestyle class is whether to buy organic foods or choose traditional farming methods.
Selection of pesticides with small ecological footprints is key in developing sustainable agricultural systems. Policy that guides the selection of pesticides often emphasizes natural products and organic-certified pesticides to increase sustainability. Some studies call into question the assumption that organic pesticides are more environmentally benign than synthetic ones.
Pesticides on Organic Crops
Organic farmers utilize:
- crop rotation to manage weeds,
- use beneficial insects and birds,
- use mating disruption or traps to reduce pests and disease,
- apply natural fertilizers, such as manure or compost, to feed soil and plants.
Organic farmers are allowed to use pesticides from an official list of substances approved by the USDA for organic farming (https://www.ams.usda.gov/rules-regulations/organic/national-list/petitioned). Critics of the list of pesticides approved for organic farming claim that the USDA is too lenient with the current guidelines. The amount and frequency of pesticides utilized vary from farm to farm. For consumers who desire tighter regulations, there are various organic agencies that provide additional certifications. Two such programs include SCS certified-pesticide-residue-free (https://www.scsglobalservices.com/certified-pesticide-residue-free) and Oregon Tilth. In 1997, Oregon Tilth helped form the Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI), which evaluates materials for use in organic farms and processors . Today, Oregon Tilth is the third largest USDA accredited organic certifier, serving over 1,450 processors and growers, restaurants and retailers that represent the entire food chain, from seed to fork. (https://tilth.org/find-organics/).
Consumers who are concerned about the use of pesticides on their produce can be assured about their food choices by visiting their local farmer’s market and talking to the growers to find out what standards they use for organic farming. The website http://eatlocalgrown.com will help you find a farmer’s market near you.
Are Organic Foods More Nutritious?
A 2012 Stanford University study found no significant difference in the nutrition component of organic over conventional foods. A larger 2014 meta-analysis study published in the British Journal of Nutrition, however, found substantially higher concentrations of a whole range of antioxidants and phytochemicals in many fruits and vegetables. The added nutritional value is theorized to occur in two ways. Less nitrogen administered from fertilizers to organic plants means they grow slower and have more time to develop chemicals that may offer health benefits. Additionally, organic plants tend to be exposed to more stress from insect attacks and that results in the development of more phytochemicals to protect the plant. Organic beef and milk contain about 50% more omega-3 fatty acids than the non-organic sources. Cows that are allowed to forage on grasses rich in omega-3 fatty acids pass this healthy polyunsaturated fat on to the consumer. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24968103).
Regardless of whether you buy organic or traditional farm products, all Americans would benefit from getting more fruits and vegetables, and our planet would benefit from greater scrutiny over the types of chemicals we put into our environment. (http://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/pesticides/)


In Guyana two major crops, sugar cane and rice are produced on a large monocultural scale. Demerara sugar derives its name from the Demerara region in Guyana where a lot of the sugar cane is grown to produce brown sugar. Mixed cropping is done on a smaller scale and involves alot of 'cash crops' often including the likes of tomato and lettuce. Most of the fruit are grown on large tracts of land behind villages, as well as in other areas. The main fruit crops include bananas, mangoes, citrus, watermelons, pineapples, genips and cherries. Coconuts grow in various parts, noteably in the Mahaica - Mahaicony region. Pineapples and peanuts are significant crops cultivated in fields of sandy soil away from the coastal region. Non traditional crops such as cashew nuts, cocoa and coffee are being encouraged in interior locations.
Rice is often cultivated by private farmers on a medium scale, (see plate 1) while most of the sugar is cultivated by the Guyana Sugar Cooperation (GUYSUCO). Other crops, mainly fruit and vegetables are cultivated on a relatively smaller scale by farmers in farms and plots of land throughout the country.
Apart from crop cultivation other activities include cattle and poultry rearing, as well as fish farming to a lesser extent. It should be noted that a significant amount of cattle rearing occurs in the Rupununi Region, on the other side of the country. Poultry industry is growing and is a significant part of the livestock sector in Guyana.
Many people in Guyana
are employed, or depend indirectly on the agricultural sector and therefore
it is major issue in considering the environmental situation
|Plate 1. Rice field in Essequibo|
Large scale conversion of lands for agricultural development such as the The Mahaica/Mahaicony/Abary-Agricultural Development Scheme which is aimed at providing drainage and irrigation services to the farmers in the area, which encompass three rivers and the areas in between. This particular project was developed in 1986 to service an area of 150,000 acres. The conservancy - a huge flooded area was created, wiping out the natural wildlife and disrupting the local ecosystem. This project, along with other significant agricultural land conversion schemes before 1996 are unlikely to have been subjected to an Environmental Impact Assessment, and may have untold impacts.


Sunday, May 05, 2013
Cinco de Mayo
Today we went down to the farm and had tacos for Cinco de Mayo. After our visit we returned home to put some of the tomatoes and peppers we picked up yesterday in the ground. I know the wet muddy earth isn't the best for planting right now but if we waited any long I think we wouldn't have anything left to plant. One of the plants had a rough ride home and was bent over when we arrived. Not long after letting it set in the back room to straighten out, I knocked the same tomato plant off into the floor. I don't think this plant isn't meant to make it. We will see.


Welcome to the first installment in our Summer Postcards series! We’re asking our students what they’re up to and how they’re making the most of this summer. Today, we’re checking in with rising third-year Blair Thornburgh, who’s been getting muddy on the fields of the Pennypack Farm & Education Center in Horsham, PA.
-Jessen O’Brien and Susie Allen
I’m going to go ahead and guess that for most UChicago students, an internship without sleeping in, air conditioning, or even indoor plumbing sounds less than ideal. To that I say: welcome to my summer! I’ve been working at Pennypack Farm & Education Center, an organic vegetable farm in Horsham, PA, as one of their farming interns since the beginning of the summer. It’s tough, sure, but also incredibly fun—and yes, so far I have managed to avoid the dreaded farmer’s tan.
Farming is a completely new world for me. Before I started my internship, I hadn’t grown anything bigger than a bean sprout in my third-grade science class. Pennypack’s internship program has given me a chance to learn and do things I’d never gotten the chance to do before. (My favorite chore? Gathering eggs from the chickens).
My days on the farm start early—there’s just no getting around it. On harvest days, I have to report for veggie-picking duty by 6:30 a.m. so that the produce will be ready for the afternoon pickup. Pennypack Farm follows a CSA (community-supported agriculture) model where families can buy a “share” of the farm’s produce for the season and collect an assortment of vegetables at the farm once a week.
After picking and bunching things like kale, cabbage, zucchini, and the strange-looking but delicious kohl rabi (kind of like a turnip), I sort, wash and pack the vegetables. Since we do a communal lunch at the farm, I help out cooking for everyone (five farmers, three other interns, plus other staff and volunteers) once a week. In the afternoons, I either beat the heat doing things like seeding or trimming seedlings in the shade, or I power through the 90-some degree weather as I trellis tomatoes, mulch plant beds, or weed crops.
Since Pennypack Farm is also an educational center, I get to help lead tours of inquisitive elementary-school campers and show them where their food actually comes from. (Best question so far: “Did the chicken come first, or the egg?”) The kids are always full of energy and never hesitate to get dirty as they plant seedlings or learn about composting.
Working at the farm is pretty wonderful. I really can’t imagine a better way to spend a summer than being outside, working hard, and getting to learn about (and cook!) loads of new foods. Plus, I’m doing something that really matters to me—working at a small, community-supported organic farm and helping people learn about the importance and the impact of buying local produce.
I’ve gained an appreciation for the value of fresh food, too: after seeing (and doing) all the work involved in planting, weeding, tending, harvesting, and distributing vegetables, I definitely think twice before letting food go to waste in my crisper. My internship is hard work, sure, but it’s good work, and I’d recommend it in a heartbeat to anyone who loves food and the outdoors (and doesn’t mind getting up pretty early). Just don’t forget the SPF 50.


i grew up to vegetables gardens and fruit trees and my dad making sure we had vegetables every night on our dinner table. he grew eggplants, chillies, tomatoes, green onions, lettuce, avocados, oranges, calamansi, bitter melon, bananas, string beans, mallungay, guavas, persimmons, strawberries.. you name it!!! i grew up on all these fresh organic vegetables and didn’t even realize how fortunate i was!
one of my goals this years is to start a small balcony garden. this past weekend when i went to visit my family, my dad gave me some tomato seeds (these seeds were actually dried from tomatoes from his garden) and green onion roots. i went ahead and bought a couple of starter pots and soil a couple of days ago and planted my green onions. they’ve already grew a couple of inches! after a couple of weeks i’m going to transfer them to a bigger pot. i can’t wait! in the spring, i’m going to go ahead and plant the tomato seeds.


With ORGANIC food we can;
1. Ban all harmful chemicals
2. Grow food with natural fertilizers
3. Build solar green houses in cold areas
4. Grow gardens on top of buildings
5. Reduce growing of red meats (this also reduces bio gases)
6. Worldwide regulations on fish quotas in oceans and fresh water bodies
7. Stop the massive urban takeover of farm land.
8. Increase world fish production in economical grow out facilities (fish produce 1 lbs meat to 1.75 lbs of feed, compared to cattle which takes 7.5 lbs of feed to produce 1lb of meat.


There are different types of soil that are meant to support different types of planting. For example, one of the primary topsoil uses is to “top off” your garden areas. Fill dirt (another soil) helps to fill in areas that need to be built up. Potting soil is another type of soil that serves a specific purpose.
A lot of people ask why using potting soil is important for their potted plants when other soil options are less expensive. Knowing when to use potting soil and understanding why it is the best option can help your plants to thrive.
Why Use Potting Soil?
There are several answers to the why use potting soil question. First and foremost, potting soil comes with the nutrients built-in that your plants need to thrive but that is not all it has to offer your container plants.
When you plant outdoors right in the ground there are natural things that occur that ensure your plants do well. Insects and worms naturally aerate the soil and deliver oxygen to the roots. There are nutrients that are naturally found in ground soil that plants can absorb. The roots of plants when planted outdoors are given the freedom to roam throughout the soil in search of moisture and nutrients.
Plants that are confined in containers do not have access to these naturally occurring benefits which is why you use potting soil. Here are a few sound reasons to the why use potting soil question:
- It helps prevent root rot.
- It helps ensure moisture is evenly distributed.
- It delivers nutrition to your plants.
A good quality Tampa potting soil will drain well and keep from becoming compacted around the root. Good drainage is important to help potted or container plantings from developing root rot from excess moisture.
Potting soil is lighter than other types of soils and it comes complete with all the nutrients build right in to give your container plants what they need to grow and thrive. Other soils cannot deliver what potting soil can.
When To Use Potting Soil
Now that you know why using potting soil, all that is left is to know when it is the right medium to use. Potting soil is perfect for containers, pots, starting seedlings, and even as a mix in with other soils. Give your container plants what they need and watch them grow and thrive. So why use potting soil? As you can see from above, it is the best option to allow your plantings to truly thrive.


Last week I suggested starting to try to grow your own herbs in your kitchen window!
To continue the topic of Herb-Health…
There are SO many benefits to growing your own fresh organic herbs at home!
You can pick them from your kitchen window at the peak of freshness to instantly enhance the flavor of your family’s home-cooked meals! While also adding beneficial antioxidant properties and minerals from the fresh herbs, giving your health a natural boost!
You also get a beautiful aromatic smell in your kitchen!
Read the following article for 8 common culinary herbs you can try to start growing at home to enhance the flavors in your home-cooked meals as well as, enhance your health!


Miss Lybbert's first grade class was treated to a visit from farmers, Matt and Candi McMullin ... They came and read the story "Apples, Apples Everywhere" to the class! They talked about growing up on farms and working with their families at farmers markets selling fresh fruit! They donated a box of gala apples and pluots to the class so each child could take one home! The book was donated to Miss Lybbert's class by the Farm Bureau. What a wonderful learning experience!


food is a social glue that holds together communities
New Communities is a land trust that has worked for more than 40 years to empower African American families in Southwest Georgia and fight for social justice.
What we love: these pecans are sweet and fresh, with a melt in your mouth quality
Deep Roots Milling
Deep Roots Mill is an employee-owned mill that produces high quality flours that help foster a strong, healthy equitable food system comprised of a diverse network of small growers. 100% of the grain that we use is responsibly sourced from family farms in our region.
What we love: Blue cornmeal and red grits with the fresh nutty flavors of the whole grain shining through.
Oreno Hellenic Ladi
Mission: Produce and bring to your table a true, traditional, honest, and authentic Extra Virgin Olive Oil
What we love: George lives here in Hendersonville and brings this very special olive oil from his groves in Greece to share with us. This oil tastes amazing is amazing for your health
Mission: To be good stewards of the land we farm and to give our animals the very best life they can live. The end product of these practices provide you a healthy, nutrient dense product.
What we love: Animals that are treated well throughout their lives, processed locally, and brought to us fresh. Those pork chops, y'all!
Dare Vegan Cheese
A plant-based cheese collection offers texture, flavor, and satisfaction for plant-based people and those who just love a really good cheese.
What we love: One word, queso. I mean we all agree it's better than cow's milk queso. Well, maybe we have a few more words, like the cream cheese is also excellent. And the brie...
Henderson County fish farm serving Henderson County through our local markets.
What we love: Hands down the most tender, delicious fish we've ever prepared.
Mountain Foods is committed to truly local sourcing; defining local as within 100 miles of Asheville. We believe that by putting our food dollars back into our local economy, we will strengthen our community, keeping us resilient amidst the various forces that affect the food system.
What we love: We can count on Meghan to be working with local farmers to bring us the best quality local food and thoughtful customer service.
What we love: A tender biscuit made from a whole grain pastry flour is totally possible with this flour. Not to mention some amazing breads.


SOWING: Direct seed (recommended): Direct seed anytime after the last spring frost or plant 6 weeks before the first frost in the fall. Sow shallowly, as seed requires some light to germinate, one seed per inch. Thin plants to 4-6" apart in rows 12-18" apart. Transplant: Can be sown in flats and transplanted outdoors at anytime. If you are growing for roots, it is best not to transplant, as transplanting disturbs the root shape.
DISEASE: Dandelion leaves are sometimes prone to mildew, which is exacerbated by humidity and any kind of plant stress. To reduce the likelihood of mildew, keep the soil moist, minimize overhead irrigation, and space plants at recommended distance to allow for good air circulation between the plants. Mildew on the leaves reduces root growth in proportion to the severity of the mildew.
LIGHT PREFERENCE: Sun. SOIL REQUIREMENTS: Adaptable to most soil types, but produces larger roots in a rich, deep, moist soil.
"As a child, I was guilty of propagating dandelions from seed by blowing the seeds off dandelion heads..." Who can resonate with that? I began my research on dandelions when I was looking at my brand logo one early morning on my way to work. It was an image that came out of my memory. It became more special because it connected with the tagline.
My hope for the community is for more people to spread and grow the passion for this work - just as how dandelions reproduce, via the wind; subtle and gentle. Looking at the characteristics of the plant (above), it only reaffirms what this means to me. YES.
Terra Firma, a representation of earth/ soil; signifies foundation, a community, a support system (rich in building up). Its logo, a dandelion that is ready to spread its seeds to reproduce, to spread the joy through a community. It has its therapeutic and healing uses that would serve the community. A community that learns and grows together, adapts to the environment where its seeds are blown towards (in the direction of the wind), and inspires growth and maturity in the next space.
There are always ups and downs, and there are reasons for them. I am truly grateful for the door that God closed, as His grace opened another that suited my objectives and goals better. I am also thankful for the community that believes in my cause and me, as a whole human being. Truly, you can meet different people, but there are only those genuine ones who would support you and truly care.
Know what you want, form your community. Be part of the community.
#terrafirmasg #pilatespassion #physiodynamics #iliessoma #passionforpilates #passionforeducation #itsaboutthejourney #enjoytheprocess #trustintheprocess #workinprogress #neverstoplearning #learn #adapt #inspire #community #weareone #arfitclub #bepartofthecommunity #journeyofapilatesteacher #kimberlytanpilates


CattleFeedingVerticalMixer.com understands the importance and viability of keeping your cattle feeding on schedule and on budget. Your soulution for cutom built cattle feeding equipment is Laird Manufacturing of California.
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For the best cattle feeding equipment on the market visit Laird Manufacturing today.


Thursday, March 24, 2011
Its almost Garden time!
I am loving this spring time weather and I cant wait until it is permanent!! I am thinking that this year I really want to start a vegetable garden! I really want to grow some squash and zucchini maybe some carrots and peppers. I am not a big fan of tomatoes but since I love salsa and my family loves tomatoes I think I will put in a bush or 2 (but if they don't turn out I wont be too sad). So wish me luck I will post some pictures of before and then hopefully some along the way! The area I have planned for this is in desperate need of help and I will be cutting down 2 trees so a lot of work but hopefully not too overwhelming!


The vast majority of fresh food distribution in the UK is undertaken in a chilled environment. And for good reason. Increased shelf life, improved quality, reduced risk of disease, less waste and less damage can all be partly or entirely attributed to the use of chill chains and the associated handling methods.
The driving force behind many of these developments has undoubtedly been the major supermarket chains. We didn’t see anything like the current level of chilled transport and chilled flow-through warehouses when we purchased our produce from the local greengrocer. So what set of circumstances enabled the supermarkets to develop their chill chains to the current levels?
To realise the real benefit of supplying produce at reduced temperatures it has to, as the name implies, be handled in a chill chain. The temperature of the products from the field at harvest needs to be reduced as soon as possible and maintained through washing, grading, packaging, distribution and retail. It was therefore the growth of the large supermarket chains, and their ability to control the entire supply chain back to the farmers and growers, that led this development. The increase in shelf life resulting from the use of chill chains has, in turn, provided the capability to import a wide variety of fruit and vegetables from anywhere in the world, in any growing season, and display this in retail outlets with a week’s shelf life remaining.
How then, did we manage previously? And how do they manage in other parts of the world where the chill infrastructure doesn’t exist and ambient temperatures are far higher?
Consider the fresh food supply chain in India. It’s extremely hot, distances are vast, roads are small and congested, infrastructure is poor in many areas, and chilled transport is virtually non-existent. A specialised vehicle to transport fresh food many have a tarpaulin to keep the sun off, yet fresh, high quality, low priced fruit and vegetables are available on the streets of the towns and cities. In a country that has a high proportion of vegetarians, this availability of low cost, fresh produce is essential.
The supply chains aren’t short. Produce passes from farmers to aggregators, to commission agents at wholesale markets, on to traders who sell at further wholesale markets to other traders, and small retailers who sell from carts and bicycles on the street.
Damage and waste is also interesting. The produce is handled roughly, it can be dropped from vehicles, walked on and thrown during grading, yet there isn’t a waste skip for produce anywhere. There is always a market for the less than perfect vegetable at the right price. And for severely damaged produce, there are always animals at the markets to consume what is left.
How then does high quality produce get to the consumption markets at a low price? Even though the chain has many links, it is fast. Most produce will reach the consumption markets about two days after harvest. Traders will sort and grade manually as they buy at the wholesale markets. The rail networks are used overnight to transport over greater distances, and small traders buy enough stock for their carts or small retail outlets to trade that day and return the next day for fresh produce. Transport time can also be used to allow some produce to ripen at harvest.
There are also many cultural differences. Fruit and vegetables aren’t imported and only seasonal foods are eaten. The market for frozen vegetables or processed fruit and vegetables is extremely small, further increasing dependence on fresh vegetables. There is some cold storage of potato, and dry ambient storage of onions, but virtually everything else is fresh and seasonal.
There are also the differences in shopping and consumption habits. If you buy enough fruit or vegetables to be used in the next day or two from a low price retailer on your way home, you don’t need produce with a week’s shelf life.
So has the development of the chill chains improved the quality and price of what we consume, and has it reduced waste? Well, yes, but not entirely. It has provided us with choices of the best quality produce from around the world and removed the limitations of seasonal fruit and vegetables. Increasing shelf life, of course, reduces some waste and as we are not about to change the shopping consumption habits of the public, the chill chain is extremely effective to satisfy our market requirements.
However, there are still some lessons to be learned, or I should probably say re-learned, on how a fresh food supply chain can be effective in our mostly temperate climate. Increasing consumption of local and seasonal produce, purchasing perishable products on a more regular basis from the rapidly growing convenience store formats, or using less frozen produce, are a few ways that we can reduce our reliance on the cold chain and see an increase in the quality and freshness of the fresh fruit and vegetables we consume.


While advances in technology have greatly affected nearly every aspect of modern farming, equivalent leaps in drugs and chemicals used with livestock and produce have led to higher yields, larger cattle producing more milk or meat, and greater resistance to disease, weather extremes, and nearly the entire range of problems that have decimated herds and frustrated farmers for millennia.
At the same time, the widespread and growing use of antibiotics, pesticides, and genetic engineering and bioengineering on or near what eventually will go on a consumer’s plate has raised concerns at state, federal, and international agencies, and with the general public.
The result has been a mixed bag of new regulations, potential international boycotts, both improvements in production and higher operating costs for farmers – and growing opportunities for the expansion of a new class of “niche” farms.
“In general, it’s clear that food and food-related issues are much more salient in the debate in Congress and across the country than even five years ago. Consumers are showing a lot more interest in how and where their food is being produced,” noted Pat Westhoff, Ph.D., an Iowa farm boy who served on the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee staff (1992 to 1996) and now is director of the University of Missouri-Columbia Food and Agriculture Policy Research Institute.
“There definitely is a market for products seen as being safe and healthy for consumers and good for the environment. So those once very niche, small markets have become a larger share of the overall farm economy and have enabled a lot more very small farms to provide a living where conventional crops and farming would not.”
The bulk of research and data collection on many drug-related farm issues falls not to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), but to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and FDA programs such as the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS).
NARMS was created in 1996 as a collaboration between the FDA, CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), and USDA. Data collected from humans, animals, and retail meat on antimicrobial resistance are tested for vulnerability to a battery of antimicrobial drugs and monitored for changes over time.
“The focus really is on foodborne pathogens, such as E. coli, and whether they are still susceptible to a variety of classes of antimicrobial drugs,” said Bill Flynn, D.V.M., Ph.D., a veterinarian who serves as the deputy director for science policy at the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine. “It provides information to us and the public, more generally, relating not only to human populations but also what we’re seeing in food-producing animals and retail meat products.
“Antibiotics have been used in animals for many decades and play an important role. We have data we collect and report out on the quantity of antibiotics sold for that use, but sales and distribution data don’t necessarily represent actual use at the farm level. We don’t have current data on that, but efforts are under way to gather better data on use practices over time.”
The concern about antibiotic use on livestock mirrors those surrounding their use in humans. If too much is given too often, the targets of such treatments may develop immunities. The result would be “superbugs” – microbes against which current science has no other defense. A similar result can develop with the improper or overuse of pesticides or other chemicals.
In large part thanks to Hollywood, there has been a growing public aversion to plants or animals that have been genetically engineered for size, disease and pest resistance, or the ability to thrive in previously too-harsh environments, including those with minimal food and water.
“Strong financial pressures have driven the industrialization of U.S. livestock farms,” states a 2009 USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) report titled “The Transformation of U.S. Livestock Agriculture.” “Larger operations are able to realize lower costs and higher returns, while tighter coordination among firms at different processing stages can reduce financial risks.
“But growing to a more efficient scale also concentrates livestock in a limited area – and excess concentrations of manure-based nutrients can lead to increased air and water pollution. Large operations are also more prone to use antibiotics intensively in order to preempt the spread of animal disease and to accelerate animal growth. Extensive antibiotic use in livestock raises concerns about increased pathogen resistance and related risks to human health.”
Changes related to larger farms, often with more pen-fed beef and dairy cattle, hogs, and chickens, has benefitted from economies of scale in applying new technologies, drugs, and chemicals, ultimately resulting in lower consumer prices. However, the researchers added, “structural change in livestock agriculture has had less felicitous effects, as well,” especially as animal wastes become more geographically concentrated in the United States.
“High concentrations of animal manure can lead to increased air and water pollution, with adverse health and environmental consequences. … A heavy reliance on antibiotics for growth promotion and for disease prevention may spawn antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria, with human health risks,” they wrote. “Changes in farm structure are intertwined with these concerns because larger operations concentrate manure more and rely more heavily on growth-promoting antibiotics than smaller operations.”
Growth-promoting antibiotics also are a feature of industrialized hog and poultry operations, where sub-therapeutic doses of antibiotics routinely go into their feed and water. However, many producers still reject the routine use of antibiotics, relying instead on alternative strategies, such as extensive testing and sanitary protocols, to prevent disease and promote growth. In some cases, such alternatives involve little or no additional cost, but in others, labor and resources may be both expensive and time consuming.
“Individual producers may have little incentive to take costly actions to mitigate the harmful effects of livestock industrialization. Livestock production is highly competitive and operations with high costs may jeopardize their own survival in policing themselves. However, steps can be taken, at modest cost, that preserve the benefits of industrialized livestock production while limiting its harmful effects,” the report concluded.
ERS researchers previously reported a number of high-profile cases of Salmonella and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) – aka, “mad-cow disease” – which brought heightened international attention to the use of antibiotics in food animals. That was further complicated by the limited scientific understanding – by the public, news media, and government officials – of the implications for human health. The U.K. cattle industry, in particular, was nearly destroyed by repeated BSE crises, each of which led to reduced beef consumption in the European Union (EU) and stricter import controls, both within the EU and by other nations, including the United States.
The negative impact of BSE was not limited to food, however. Because bovine byproducts are used in a wide range of industries, including cosmetics, medical, pharmaceutical, animal feed, and others, trade restrictions are felt across many sectors. That demonstrated not only the breadth of markets for agricultural products, but the widespread negative impact such increasingly common practices as antibiotic use can have on local, regional, and even global economies.
Members of the World Trade Organization are not bound by a common set of export controls on farm products, but can create their own – often quite different – regulations. The science and technology revolution in agriculture also comes into play there, where increasingly sensitive monitors have greatly improved the ability to detect pathogens. That has led some countries to adopt a zero tolerance standard. However, as some pathogens appear to be common in the global environment, precision detection tools may combine with efforts to achieve zero risk to result in some nations banning all imports.
Since the development of antibiotics decades ago, the U.S. Congress and lawmakers worldwide have debated the prohibition or severe restriction of their use in food animals.
“Resistance is a very complicated issue, with multiple ways in which bacteria can become resistant to various drugs. That can occur naturally, but using these products can drive resistance to emerge in bacteria,” Flynn said. “Bacteria can be shared between animals and humans, including disease-causing bacteria. Food products derived from animals could be exposed to those and so humans downstream could become sick as a result. That is further compounded if that bacteria also is resistant to a drug doctors typically use to fight it, which would affect the outcome of a patient’s treatment.
“Looking at it from an animal health perspective, these drugs have played an important role in treating and preventing disease, so having bacteria become resistant could be detrimental to managing disease in animal agriculture. We are looking at what options we have to gather additional information to get a better understanding of use practices at the farm level and hope to seek further public input this year.”
The pharmaceutical industry also is looking at new uses of their products as part of the drug approval process and Flynn expects good cooperation with the most recent FDA proposal regarding antibiotics.
“In December 2013, we published a three-year plan that asked the pharmaceutical companies marketing these products to work with the FDA in changing them from over-the-counter [OTC] status to requiring a veterinarian’s oversight. Once that is done, it becomes mandatory for users downstream to get prescriptions in order to acquire and use those drugs. Even though it is voluntary for the pharms, we expect a high rate of cooperation,” he said.
“We need to be judicious about how and when we use these important tools for treating disease in animals. Our proposal to take all medically important antibiotics currently being marketed OTC for food-producing animals and create a new labeling status requiring an authorized prescription would be a significant change in how these products have been available for decades – and in how animal producers work and consult with veterinarians.”
USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) also works with the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and NARMS on periodic surveys of various industry segments on related issues and supports studies into alternative approaches to animal husbandry.
At the ARS Jornada Experimental Range near Las Cruces, N.M., for example, research animal scientist Dean M. Anderson is studying range animal ecology – so-called “free range” livestock raised without the use of special feeds or drugs.
“Many people might think an animal scientist is focused on feedlot nutrition, but I look at animals that gain their nutrition foraging on native rangeland – and, where I’m at, [it’s] mostly arid land. There obviously are some exceptions, but every bovine starts its life tied to a foraging environment rather than a confinement situation,” he explained.
As has been true for more than a century, domestic cattle and sheep raised in 17 western states gain most of their nutrition from the sparse vegetation they find while walking across hundreds or even thousands of acres of barbed wire fence-enclosed rangeland.
“Our area at Jornada has been trying to improve the efficiency of the plant-animal interface, to use innate animal behaviors to improve efficiency of production, both in terms of how we harvest the forage and the labor requirements to manage free-ranging livestock,” he said. “My focus has been to use the best genetics adapted to this area.”
Anderson said he was not referring to genetic engineering, but in finding those animals best suited by natural selection or breeding to forage on wild grasses and native shrubs, normally growing without any chemicals or irrigation. The key is to achieve uniform use of all range land; in his case, by combining 21st century technology with natural behavior to move animals over the landscape to prevent both over- and underuse and, in so doing, produce healthy food animals free from drugs and chemicals.
“Before humans became involved, animals moved freely, according to the ‘green-up’ – when the temperature rises and plants start growing in the spring, compared to dormant forage, which is basically brown. Think of it like fresh bread versus bread that has been sitting on the shelf for a week or so. When animals were domesticated, herding became the art form used to place them in the right location for the right amount of time,” he explained.
“But when barbed wire fencing came along, we basically did away with the herding approach and stocked the enclosed area based on the relationship between what each cow needs and what the land can provide. But that’s what led to over- and underuse. Since 1926, there have been at least 68 different things tried to improve animal distribution – change the location of water or supplements, place shade or fertilizer in certain areas, burn other areas, and so on. Some have been beneficial, some not; some worked synergistically, some not.”
How and when antibiotics are used in food animals has become an international concern, leading researchers to look both forward to new ways to treat disease and increase production and back to the best practices of animal herders through the centuries.
“The steps we’re taking are not out of line with what other countries have done to address this issue. We also make an effort to collaborate as much as we can with other countries and learn what we can from their experiences and actions taken,” Flynn concluded. “Given the multi-factorial nature of this issue, which is very complicated – there is no one single problem that can be pointed to – and challenging to articulate, it is hard to ensure everyone is well informed. But it is important that we do a better job of informing the public.
“Obviously, based on the sheer scale of the U.S. agriculture industry, a lot of variables may play into driving the need for the use of antibiotics. This is a cost for producers, so there is some incentive for them to find ways that are more efficient, but that also will vary considerably among the different types of operations we have out there. And vets will play an increasingly important role in making sure these drugs are used properly.”


WE'RE ON WINTER BREAK!
After a busy and eventful 2017 season, Balm and Honey Farm is slowing down to enjoy a winter break. Our farm store is closed through January, but we will be announcing our spring opening dates soon!
Besides catching up with family (and maybe taking a nap or ten!), we're tackling some building projects and gearing up for a fast-paced spring honey flow and CSA season. So if you see us out building a larger chicken enclosure... or painting bee boxes... or planting onions, be sure to give us a wave!
Watch for our winter adventures on Facebook or Instagram, or watch your email for our latest newsletter. (Not signed up? Scroll down and subscribe below!) Happy holidays from all of us at Balm and Honey!
Beekeeping for InterBEEdiates Coming Soon!
Are you a beekeeper ready to take your hobby to the next level? We have the perfect class for you! Our Beekeeping for InterBEEdiates LIVE class is perfect for the beekeeper looking to improve or expand their honey bee operation. From splitting hives, to re-queening colonies, to how to make your own bee feed + feeder... and more!, this fun class will walk you through maintaining and expanding your bee yard for hobby or profit.
--> REGISTERING FOR WINTER CLASSES SOON!<--
FALL/WINTER CSA SIGN-UP COMING SOON!
If you miss your CSA Share - or are hoping to get in on our fresh farm food action - watch for our CSA sign-up for the 2018 Winter season in January!
Shannon Sawatsky, Texarkana
High standard and quality all the way! Plus with their produce I'm able to buy from a farmer who holds the same values as I do when it comes to heirloom produce and organic farming methods.
Michael Clubine, Texarkana
The cookies and granola are amazing! Thanks so much!
Erica Visser, Texarkana
I have been buying from (Balm+Honey) this entire farmers market season. Not once did I buy something that I didn't like or even love. Their cookies are heavenly, by the way!!!


Last week, the Canary Islands Parliament submitted a proposal to the EFSA (European Food Safety Authority) to recognize cochineal as a foodstuff.
In a podcast of the Spanish radio station Cope, Nayra Alemán, the PSOE representative of the Canary Islands Parliament, declares that it is indeed the intention for these insects to be on the menu in the near future.
What is cochineal?
The cochineal insect originally comes from South America and Mexico, where the Aztecs and the Mayans eagerly utilized the splendid reddish dye produced by this insect, better known as carmine. Carmine is a natural dye that, as number E120, provides color to many food items.
Think of glazed donuts, Campari, red lipstick, and strawberry yogurt. The pink color of your favorite yogurt has nothing to do with strawberries but is - if E120 is listed on the packaging - derived from finely ground cochineal insects.
Cochineal on the Canary Islands
In the second half of the 19th century, cochineal cultivation was introduced to the Canary Islands in an attempt to alleviate the prevailing agricultural crisis. This coincided with the rise of the textile industry in Europe, leading to a substantial demand for the dye carmine. Consequently, the value of dried cochineal increased to such an extent that it was occasionally used as currency.
Unfortunately, this goldmine came to an end with the invention of synthetic dye. From that moment on, bananas and tomatoes took over as the primary export products of the Canary Islands.
How should one imagine such a cultivation?
The cochineal mainly lives on the leaves of the prickly pear (Opuntia ficus-indica). The insects are scooped with a special spoon from the prickly pear and then sun-dried in designated containers. The remaining live cochineal is redistributed back into the plantation to serve as breeding stock.
The remaining cochineal is cleaned and sorted after drying using a sieve. Afterwards, it is processed into dye suitable for coloring beverages, food, cosmetics, and textiles.
Environmentally friendly source of income
The proposal from the Canary Islands Parliament will undoubtedly put cochineal back in the spotlight. Whether we'll actually be served a plate of mashed cactus lice seems unlikely, but it might not be a bad thing for cochineal cultivation to be revived.
The prickly pear cactus, where cochineal thrives, requires very little water. Additionally, the cactus absorbs CO2, and its dried leaves are excellent for use as biofuel. The prickly pear fruit is a beloved delicacy in the Canary Islands, being very juicy, sweet, and packed with vitamins. Furthermore, the leaves of this cactus can be eaten as vegetables. Combined with the cultivation of the highly demanded natural dye carmine, this presents interesting opportunities.
That's all for now about the local culture. Stay healthy and...
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Straw Bale Building in Australia, New Zealand and the rest of the World
People have been building homes using straw in many countries around the world for centuries. Reeds and straw have been used for roofing, thatching for walls and even for the ground. This material is used because it is reliable, inexpensive and easy to obtain.
There are straw bale houses in Europe and America that are now over 100 years old and in excellent condition. These were built after the first baling machines were invented in the late 1800s which enabled straw to be formed into compact, easily managed and stored bales. At this time prairie farmers in the sand hills of Nebraska, faced with a shortage of building timber, began an intriguing method of construction using baled meadow grasses which grew in abundance.
Straw panel houses in Australia date back to 1930's Victoria and South Australia, and 12 of those are still standing today. Read about this on Earth Garden.
In the 1980's straw bale construction was rediscovered by architect Jon Hammond who built himself a studio in northern California.
Most of the information has come from built examples (buildings over 100 years old) and by recent experimenting with different construction details. Since 1990 tests have been conducted on straw bale wall panels and individual straw bales; for flammability (fire testing), compressive strength (structural capacity) and, more recently, moisture (effects of humidity).
The first actual straw bale building built in Australia was built by Bill Mollison in 1993 at the Permaculture Research Institute at Tyalgum in Northern NSW. This was typical of the mind of Bill who could see its potential of the sustainable future of this technology. Bill made a video on the building of this cottage, which is a bale-in-fill structure using timber ladder plates for the columns to support the roof.
Straw Bale building has a reasonably short history in Australia and New Zealand. Leo Newport from Armidale, NSW wrote the first article on straw bale building in Australia and published in Grass Roots magazine in 1995.
At the Permaculture Research Institute Peter Wade was working with Bill and took up straw bale building. They built a straw bale building on the property and it is here that straw bale building really began taking root in the Eastern Sates of Australia. Peter ran a workshop on Jo and Kerry Armstrong's property building a straw bale studio at Wolffdene near Beenleigh. This was the first Straw Bale in Queensland in 1996.
Susan Swain built the first straw bale building in Western Australia: a studio for a lead-lighter in Kalgoorlie-Boulder in November 1996 after spending a year convincing the Council that the straw bale construction was a viable alternative material. In 1996 Gary Dorn also built a number of small straw bale buildings in the Margaret River, Cunderlin, Hilton and Dowerin areas of W.A.
In 1996-7 John Glassford conducted several structural load bearing, wind loading and creep tests on straw bale walls using rice straw bales. These were the first straw bale wall tests conducted in Australia. They were conducted at the Building Research Institute of the University of New South Wales under John Carrick.
Alan Gray wrote and travelled Australia in 2000 and documented over 40 homes in the "Strawbale Homebuilding" book.
In New Zealand around 1997 Karin and Alan Cameron started research into straw bale buildings with BRANZ and then formed a company building beautiful load bearing straw bale homes in Wanaka on the South Island. As well as the Camerons, Peter Kundyki from Wellington was also active in SB construction at this time. The Camerons built one of the first two storey straw bale buildings in the world.
In 2002 John Glassford set the wheels in motion to establish AUSBALE which was borne out of the 2002 International Straw Bale Building Conference at Wagga Wagga.
Many straw bale homes have been built throughout Australia and NZ, the word being spread quickly through workshops and sustainable living networks.
In this time we have learned a lot about the benefits and behaviour of straw bales in construction. Our practices have evolved as research has become available on load bearing, fire resistance and moisture movement through renders. Australian and NZ professional straw balers have become skilled in using earth, lime and cement/lime renders and are now passing these skills onto other professionals and owner-builders.


Jim Maxwell says he’s been gardening since he was a kid wandering around in his grandparents’ large garden, but he started taking it more seriously when he was out of work and wanted to expand a hobby garden to make a living off of it. He recently finished University of Idaho Master Gardener program and sat through six months of classes on pest management, composting, and organic pesticides while beginning to expand his own garden plots. He was able to do the work mostly online, just commuting to Clarkston for once-a-week lectures and occasional field trips. After reading about small farms in the Northwest, he says it didn’t make sense to not go organic. As part of completing his volunteer hours for the program, he helped establish a new community garden and plant clinic in Lapwai. He recently finished the program and became a certified Master Gardener.
Jim started with land in his backyard and then expanded to include the additional 2.5 acres he currently farms, which includes land he’s leased from the Nez Perce tribe; he already had a connection with the tribe as he was donating produce to the Lapwai Commodity Foods Program, the U.S.D.A. food and nutrition program for the reservation. He says about donating his extra food to the Lapwai Commodity Foods Program, “It just worked out.” He adds that it’s nice to keep the produce in the community. “It’s a way to give back to your community, folks that need it.” He expands by saying it’s not just about the food but the hope that the consumers of the produce will gain awareness about organic, sustainable farms. In exchange for using the tribe’s land, he continues to contribute 50 pounds of produce a month to the program and 50 pounds to Lapwai senior citizens.
Through keeping a farming journal and relying on memory, he keeps track of what he planted when so he can have a steady supply of most vegetables through the summer. Last year, he planted several varieties of cucumber, summer squash, corn, pumpkins, zucchini, melon, peppers, etc. For example, he planted nine varieties of tomatoes for a total of 2,000 plants. He says if anyone bought a tomato at the co-op last summer, there’s a good chance it was one of his.
In the first year, he set up a booth at the Moscow Farmer’s Market, installed a greenhouse, contributed to the Lapwai Commodity Foods Program, worked with Backyard Harvest to provide 3,269 pounds of fresh vegetables to low-income families, and sold from his roadside produce stand. “I pulled weeds, picked squash bugs,” he says of his first year, although he admits that friends and family in the area helped. Without the money to pay any employees, he tried to streamline the process as best he could. “There’s a lot of folks that just pitched in. They really want to see you succeed.”
He dealt with the squash bugs in a variety of ways, first, by picking them off the plants, and later through taking a flame thrower to the rows. “I burned every damn one of ‘em,” he says. Although the squash bugs have been his biggest challenge, he also experienced less anticipated challenges: “I was taking up melons that were 35 lb.” Although a triumph, nobody wants to take home a 35 lb. watermelon. He explains that the co-op started cutting them in half to make them sell. He relates how he ordered sweet potato seeds, but the company ran out before they could ship any to him. “It’s the little things that screw up your season,” he says. Days in the hundreds when he was out picking by himself he confessed he entertained the thought of giving up, but instead he’s brainstormed what this year might look like.
He has plans to increase his soil quality, get rid of the morning glory problem, and expand his chicken coop. “We’ve had to evolve,” he says, referring to his first couple of farmer’s markets where one person would walk by every half an hour. The Moscow Farmer’s Market has proven more profitable. He aspires to farm 15-20 acres, which he guesses might be easier as it will allow for more or better crop rotation and more mechanization. He plans to hire a couple of employees with hopes to expand the stand, continue to sell to the co-op, and offer community supported agriculture shares to 10 low-income individuals and families. This year, he’ll also be selling produce at the Lewiston Farmer’s Market. He also hopes to possibly expand to markets and restaurants in Coeur D’Alene or Bonner’s Ferry.
While Jim is slow to agree that he has a growing customer base, he relates there are people who drop by the stand and say, “I bought your stuff up in Moscow.” Alternatively, someone might choose his produce at the co-op and then come over to the market and see his booth. “A lot of people are unfamiliar with where we’re at. They want to know where you’re growing this stuff,” he says.
Jim has recently become Certified Naturally Grown, a label primarily meant for small farms that is an alternative to the USDA certified organic label. He says other local farmers visit the farm and assess crop rotation practices and other sustainability measurements, ultimately recommending if this is a place where they would purchase food. Jim says, “small farmers are harder on each other.”
He brings out one of his own creations, something too precious to sell: a cross between a Krenshaw and an Athena melon. He takes a knife, slices it in half and cuts out some of the fruit. Its flesh is orange and sweet smelling. This year he’ll begin growing enough for the following that will surely develop. Without a doubt, Jim says his biggest reward is “the ability to give to a family that wouldn’t normally get it.” He continues, “It’s not about the money. It’s about hungry folks.”
— Andrea Clark Mason
Originally appeared in The Ruralite, May2011


Agriculture is one of the most lucrative and untapped sectors of Nigeria’s economy. Albeit, some states of the federation, subtly, have been falling in this sector. Enugu State, however, took the initiative to partner with the Foreign Commonwealth and Development. This is aimed at providing technical assistance so as to further improve agricultural productivity and the state’s agro-allied sector in general.
Enugu State is one of the states endowed with natural resources in Nigeria. Over the years, it has mass produced crops like cashew, oil palm, and vegetables that are mostly grown in temperate regions outside Nigeria and in some parts of northern Nigeria like Plateau, Kano, Kaduna, Zaria, and so on.
The most pressing global issues of our day, such as mass migration, insecurity, violence, and poverty and disease, are addressed by FCDO. The sustainable agriculture initiatives of FCDO produce effective results that are sensitive to local conditions.
The Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has pledged to partner with the Enugu State government on food production and other agricultural developments. It began in 2023 and stretched to this year. The programme, which has been received from the executive governor of Lagos State and a host of others, will take the state one step ahead in agro-allied advancement. The organisation head further established that the programme is aimed at reducing conflict over natural resources.
By Chidimma NWAFOR


Do your kids love gardening? It’s tough to explain the drought to children, but we found some planet-friendly ways to garden with the kids. Being in Southern California, you have to be outside and take advantage of the good weather. These water-saving tips will let them continue to enjoy planting and caring for a garden. Get out the tools and gloves! We even show you the basic supplies you will need for a fun outdoor project in the dirt.
Here’s what you’ll need:
If you prefer to water on your own, make this up-cycled watering jug:
Easy gardening can save your time a lot it is also based on the preference to water on your own then you have to make up cycled watering jug by doing holes in jug. It is an easy way to watering plants and garden.
Consider your pots, when re-potting. Use glazed terra cotta or plastic pots that aren’t porous.
Grow what you need and know you will consume.
Plant accordingly. Place plants that need more water together and separate the plants needing less.(http://www.shtfpreparedness.com/the-complete-companion-planting-guide/)
Grow for the season. Only grow things that are in season to cut down on wasted water.
Test for water. Dig in the soil to see if the plants even need more water, before you water.
Collect the rain. Use pails or buckets to collect rain water to reuse for watering the garden.
Go native. Plant things that are native to your region and can survive on minimal water. Chances are, if it’s native, it will survive even in a drought. If droughts are common in your region, it is likely that your native plants are used to less water.
Do your part to save water and still have fun in the garden. Here is a great PDF that can help you find more ways to save water. http://emergencypreparedness.cce.cornell.edu/disasters/Documents/20%20ways%20to%20save%20water.pdf Stay mindful.


One of the things we all really like about this particular market is the variety and availability of local produce, dairy and meat products, along with organic seedlings, herbal blends, Himalayan salt, prepared cheese dips, and pies or meals to go. It makes it one we look forward to every season.
With the Kershaw County Farmers Market, the season is typically the first Saturday in April through the Saturday before Thanksgiving. Believe me, we all look forward to opening day each year, and our excitement mounts as the day draws near. Yes, we are THAT group of friends who loves the taste of locally grown fresh produce and products.
I've been supporting this market for several years now, and one HUGE benefit of supporting local on a regular basis is you get to meet all the farmers behind the products. You know, you want to go to a place where everybody knows your name, and this is that place for me!
It usually starts with "hi Kathy" from Old McCaskills Farm to "hey Craig" of Camden City Market and Bell Honey Company, to "hi Robin" from Wil-Moore Farms. And so it continues as we make our way around the market from vendor to vendor. Another plus ... guess who they're going to message or email when they have a special or reduced price? Yep, that's right, it's all about the relationship you build, and the more you go and support local farms, the more you build that relationship. I love it and have benefited more times than I can count because of it.
This year the market relocated to the Historic Camden Revolutionary War Site at 222 Broad Street, just 1.4 miles off I-20, then north on Hwy 521. The spot couldn't be better with a large grassy area for the vendors to set up and plenty of parking for customers. It is so convenient and easy to get to.
10 Reasons to Support Farmers Markets: (via Kershaw County Farmers Market)
From savoring produce at the peak of freshness to meeting the people who grow your food, there are countless reasons to support farmers markets. Here are just a few!
- Taste Real Flavors: The fruits and vegetables you buy at the farmers market are the freshest and tastiest available. Fruits are allowed to ripen fully in the field and are brought directly to you-no long-distance shipping, no gassing to simulate the ripening process, no sitting for weeks in storage. This food is as real as it gets-fresh from the farm.
- Enjoy the Season: The food you buy at the farmers market is seasonal. It is fresh and delicious and reflects the truest flavors. Shopping and cooking from the farmers market helps you to reconnect with the cycles of nature in our region. As you look forward to asparagus in spring, savor sweet corn in summer, or bake pumpkins in autumn, you reconnect with the earth, the weather, and the turning of the year.
- Support Family Farmers: Family farmers need your support, now that large agribusiness dominates food production in the U.S. Small family farms have a hard time competing in the food marketplace. Buying directly from farmers gives them a better return for their produce and gives them a fighting chance in today's globalized economy.
- Protect the Environment: Food in the U.S. travels an average of 1,500 miles to get to your plate. All this shipping uses large amounts of natural resources (especially fossil fuels), contributes to pollution, and creates trash with extra packaging. Conventional agriculture also uses many more resources than sustainable agriculture and pollutes water, land, and air with toxic agricultural by-products. Food at the farmers market is transported shorter distances and is generally grown using methods that minimize the impact on the earth.
- Nourish Yourself: Much food found in grocery stores is highly processed and grown using pesticides, hormones, antibiotics, and genetic modification. Some of it has been irradiated, waxed, or gassed in transit. These practices may have negative effects on human health. In contrast, most food found at the farmers market is minimally processed, and many of our farmers go to great lengths to grow the most nutritious produce possible by using sustainable techniques, picking produce right before the market, and growing heirloom varieties.
- Discover the Spice of Life Variety: At the farmers market you find an amazing array of produce that you don't see in your average supermarket: red carrots, a rainbow of heirloom tomatoes, purple cauliflower, stinging nettles, green garlic, watermelon radishes, quail eggs, mushrooms, and much, much more. It is a wonderful opportunity to savor the biodiversity of our planet.
- Promote Humane Treatment of Animals: At the farmers market, you can find meats, cheeses, and eggs from animals that have been raised without hormones or antibiotics, who have grazed on green grass and eaten natural diets, and who have been spared the cramped and unnatural living conditions of feedlots and cages that are typical of animal agriculture.
- Know Where Your Food Comes From: A regular trip to a farmers market is one of the best ways to connect with where your food comes from. Meeting and talking to farmers and food artisans is a great opportunity to learn more about how and where food is produced.
- Learn Cooking Tips, Recipes, and Meal Ideas: Few grocery store cashiers or produce stock persons will give you tips on how to cook the ingredients you buy, but farmers, ranchers, and artisans at the farmers market are often passionate cooks with plenty of free advice about how to cook the foods they are selling.
- Connect with Your Community: Wouldn't you rather stroll amid outdoor stalls of fresh produce on a sunny day than roll your cart around a grocery store with artificial lights and piped in music? Coming to the farmers market makes shopping a pleasure rather than a chore. The farmers market is a community hub-a place to meet up with your friends, bring your children, or just get a taste of small-town life in the midst of our wonderful city.
I encourage you to get out and support local farms and farmers markets in your area. Build a relationship with those farmers and the people behind the scenes. BEST OF ALL, enjoy fresh, local in-season products. I think you'll be happy you did!
Be sure to check here for What's in Season in South Carolina.
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Tip: Want to view our Tree Planting Calendar? Download the printer-friendly version here.
We at SEEDS have placed the following statement on every “How to Grow” page in this web site to encourage people to be aware of what they are planting and growing.
Please DO NOT use Genetically Modified Seeds (GM or GMO). Ask your seed provider and if they cannot give you written proof, do not buy the seed.
Try to save your own seed that you know is safe and you will get more money for your vegetables if they are organically grown, which means no pesticide use for the previous 5 years.
It is our goal at SEEDS to stop production of Genetically Modified foods, both animal and vegetable on our globe. It is our opinion that the key to feeding our global populations is through the combination of permaculture and organic farming through small local farms instead of large industrial farms. We need to nourish the soil, not modify genetic make up. So spread the word!
Using an agro-ecological approach, cities could produce vast quantities of food organically and without the use of heavy machinery (chemical inputs and machinery being the two major sources of Greenhouse Gas emissions – if we take livestock out of the equation).
Our SEEDS web site will continually be updated, but we have only included the “ How to Grow” trees we will be planting in the years 2014/2015 in Zambia Africa. I have purposely left the instructions for starting seeds indoors, as we have to do here in our cooler climates, so people in the cities of Africa may do the same and adjust the growing style accordingly.
The following is a Tree Planting Guide we will be using as our model courtesy of Ripple Africa.org, a charity in Malawi who “Give a hand up, not a hand out!”
A big thank you to you all at Ripple Africa!
Establishing the Tree Nursery
A suitable location for the tree nursery needs to be identified.
Water: A permanent supply of water close to the nursery is essential.
Area: The area required will depend on the number of seedlings to be planted.
Soil: There should be good quality soil available nearby, either from a dambo or forested area.
The ideal soil will be light and sandy, well drained, and free of weed seeds and stones. Avoid choosing heavy clay, waterlogged, or dimba soils.
Flat ground: The nursery needs to be located on flat ground which will not be exposed to flooding and running water. Nurseries can be located on slopes if the areas are terraced.
Sun: Avoid east-facing sites. Seedlings exposed to morning sun may suffer from heat shock which may lead to seedlings dying.
Equipment and Resources Required
Compost: Compost needs to be made in April by the club so that it is ready for tube filling in June (compost can be ready for use in six weeks). Typically, compost should be made in pits – a pit of 2 metres long by 1 metre wide and 1 metre deep will produce enough compost for up to 8,000 small polythene tubes.
Compost making process: The first layer in the bottom of the pit is 10cm (4 inches) of forest or dambo soil.
The second layer is 10cm (4 inches) of leaves or grass which should be compacted by walking on top of it. The third layer is 10cm (4 inches) of manure. Except for the first layer, each
layer should be watered with three watering cans of water before adding the next layer. These layers are then repeated in the same order until the pit is full. Normally, there will be three layers of each material in a 1 metre deep pit.
The compost pit should be completed with a final 10cm (4 inches) layer of soil which is compacted by walking on it, and the finished compost heap should be the same level as the surrounding ground.
Minimum basic equipment required: Two watering cans, two buckets, two metal basins, two hoes, two slashers, two phanga knives, one shovel and one rake.
Polythene tubes: Polythene tubes are supplied in quantities equal to the estimated number of trees required. These tubes can be used for two years and must be carefully saved after planting out.
Seeds: Seeds are supplied in plastic bags according to the calculated number of trees required.
Tree Nursery Site Preparation
Establish the size required: Typically, an area of 10 metres by 10 metres will provide sufficient space for 5,000 tree seedlings and a suitable area for tube filling, seed beds, piles of compost
manure, soil and sand, etc.
Clearing: The area for the tree nursery needs to be cleared, the size of which will relate to the number of trees to be raised.
Fence: A fence made from grass and poles should be constructed around the nursery site to the height of a person. There also needs to be an entrance with a door. The fence will keep out
animals and people, and will shield the seedlings from the wind.
Shade: Ideally, a structure of poles with thatching grass should be erected to provide shade for the delicate tree seedlings. This should be at a height so that people can comfortably walk underneath it. Some clubs establish their nurseries under the shade of trees. This can be done, but it is not as good as providing a structure with shade as this can be more easily controlled and can be removed four weeks before planting out to harden off the tree seedlings.
It is essential that careful, accurate records are maintained at all stages. These will include dates of compost making, tube filling and quantities filled, and seed sowing of various species together withquantities. A drawing of the nursery layout showing the groups of tubes, types of trees and dates planted, should be made. In addition to this, labels can be made from chibuku packets (as these are waterproof) using a ball point pen to show the tree species and quantities, and these should be placed by the respective groups of tubes.
Our Goal-Pictures courtesy of Ripple Africa.org


Friday, 9/8/23 – Apple Picking Volunteer Event
You are invited to join our staff for apple picking on Friday, September 8th. We will be donating all the fruit to a food pantry. We will be closing the office for the day.
-Meet us in our office parking lot at 8:15 AM for coffee and donuts.
-At 8:30 AM we will carpool to the orchard, (Beaverton or Hillsboro). Details to follow on the orchard location once you RSVP.
RSVP for apple picking and please let us know if you can drive.
Event registration is now closed.Back


MANICALAND Provincial Affairs minister Mandi Chimene on Thursday threatened to evict “rude and stingy” white farmers in the province, while at the same time blasting most new black farmers for being lazy.
BY KENNETH NYANGANI
The outspoken minister made the remarks at Zimbabwe Association of Dairy Farmers field day in Watsomba, Mutasa Central constituency, where successful small-scale dairy farmers were honoured.
“Undesirable elements in the province, dairy farmers or no dairy, I will eliminate you. The people doing dairy farming are your students [black people]. But l know some of them [whites] are very helpful, but some of them are rude and you should know l am equally rude and l can match you,” she said.
“Don’t think that there is anything special, let’s work together. But also, honestly, some of them are friendly and generous. Also on the other hand some of them are stingy, let us desist from being stingy, we are all in this together, the sanctions are affecting us all, the prices and cost of living is affecting all of us, so let’s work together.”
Chimene, who was the guest of honour at the event, made the remarks in the presence of a few white commercial farmers, who attended the field day alongside Agriculture deputy minister Paddy Zhanda.
She, however, conceded that white farmers were hard working, before blasting Zanu PF sympathisers, who benefitted from the land reform programme for not utilising their plots.
“If you are into farming and looking for another job then you are not a farmer. A farmer should employ workers. We should not have any problems of hunger in this country. You see we have farmers who wake up around 11 O’clock in the morning, this is laziness,” Chimene said.
“MDC does not have land. It is you people from Zanu PF who have land. At this moment you will find out that there are people who are waiting to be assisted by President Robert Mugabe. If he assists you, if there is no money tomorrow, you will say that money is being stolen.
“White commercial farmers don’t sleep, let us thank these people, what is good is good. These people work very hard.”
Responding to Chimene’s remarks, Zhanda said it was government policy that dairy farmers should be spared from acquisition.
‘’It is government policy that dairy farmers should be spared in the event that we are working together,” he said.
MDC-T Manicaland spokesperson and Mutasa central MP Trevor Saruwaka, who was part of the gathering was angered by Chimene’s remarks.
“It is regrettable that the provincial minister chose the platform to spew venom at the white community,” he said. “Why are we continuing to threaten the few remaining white farmers. We have a few farmers here and they have come to support us, do you think that they are going to be happy after all this?”


Humans have extensively shaped animals and plants through domestication. Although wine and table grapes have been important culturally for thousands of years, their origin has been difficult to pinpoint because of uneven sampling of modern cultivars. In new research, geneticists from Yunnan Agricultural University and elsewhere analyzed genetic data from 3,525 cultivated and wild grape varieties from around the world.
Dong et al. elucidate grapevine evolution and domestication histories with 3,525 cultivated and wild accessions worldwide: in the Pleistocene, harsh climate drove the separation of wild grape ecotypes caused by continuous habitat fragmentation; then, domestication occurred concurrently about 11,000 years ago in Western Asia and the Caucasus to yield table and wine grapevines; the Western Asia domesticates dispersed into Europe with early farmers, introgressed with ancient wild western ecotypes, and subsequently diversified along human migration trails into muscat and unique western wine grape ancestries by the Late Neolithic. Image credit: Dong et al., doi: 10.1126/science.add8655.
“Grapevine is among the world’s oldest crops,” said Professor Peter Nick, a researcher in the Joseph-Gottlieb Kölreuter Institut for Plant Sciences at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, and his colleagues.
“Wine was one of the oldest products traded all around the world. It pushed the exchange of cultures, ideas, and religions.”
“At the end of the Ice Age, grapevine originated from the European wild vine, of which only a few relic populations have survived to date.”
“One of these populations can be found on the Ketsch peninsula between Karlsruhe and Mannheim.”
So far, the traces of when and where exactly wild vines were domesticated, of whether grapes for wine production and table grapes have the same origin, and how thousands of vines developed have been hidden in the mist of the prehistoric era.
Still, it is clear that grapevine survived partly drastic climate changes and gathered a number of genes from Asia as a result of early human migration movements.
“For some years now, it has been known that today’s Silk Road once was a wine road,” Professor Nick said.
“The Chinese symbol for alcohol is derived from Georgian wine jugs, so-called Qevri.”
In their research, Professor Nick and co-authors analyzed DNA samples of 3,525 vines, including more than 1,000 wild species, from around the world.
They then generated the most detailed model of the evolution and domestication of grapevines so far.
“Now, the origin of winegrowing (viticulture) can be dated back to earlier than 11,000 BCE in the South Caucasus,” they said.
“This means that wine is older than bread. Winegrowing technology very quickly spread across the Mediterranean to the west.”
“Within shortest terms, cross-breeding with local wild vines produced a large variety of vines that were reproduced using cuttings.”
“About 7,000 years ago in the Middle East, large-berry species developed to table vines.”
“Domestication was accompanied by climatic changes, i.e. the end of the Ice Age, as well as by the warm and moist Atlantic, a climate period between 8000 and 4000 BCE.”
“The resulting human migration movements left their traces in the genome of the vines.”
“Medieval vines in Southwest Germany, for instance, contain genes of vines from Azerbaijan and Central Asia.”
The findings appear in the journal Science.
Yang Dong et al. 2023. Dual domestications and origin of traits in grapevine evolution. Science 379 (6635): 892-901; doi: 10.1126/science.add8655
Source : Breaking Science News


The Evening Garden Club of West Roxbury will be hosting a lecture Nov. 8 titled “The Sustainable-ENOUGH Garden,” with author, blogger and avid gardener Rebecca Warner.
Self-sustaining gardens mimic nature by requiring no inputs from the gardener: no water, no fertilizer, no compost and definitely no chemicals. The goal is to safeguard the environment for future generations while meeting the gardener’s present needs (e.g., for growing food) and wants (e.g., for creating beauty).
“However, going all the way to full-blown sustainability can be costly and time-consuming, causing some gardeners to hold back,” club President Ann Morgan cautioned.
Attendees at this illustrated talk will learn how one area resident overhauled her ornamental gardening practices “just enough,” using simple methods for conserving water, making compost, improving soil and making mulch from materials available close to home. Speaker Warner will also share time-saving tips for preparing beds for planting annuals and vegetables next spring.
Warner, a Newton resident, has been gardening for 30 years and is the author of the book “The Sustainable-ENOUGH Garden,” which she will be signing before and after the lecture.
This is the third and final talk in the garden club’s three-part fall lecture series “2018 Garden Thought-Starters.” All lectures are held at the Elks Lodge, 1 Morrell St., at the corner of Spring Street in West Roxbury.
Lecture starts at 6:45 p.m. and runs to about 8:30 p.m.
For nonmembers, a $12 donation is requested, benefitting work at the garden club’s three community beautification sites. Advance reservations are not required.
For information: http://gcfm.org/eveninggcwestroxbury; Ann Morgan, firstname.lastname@example.org.


Water Cycle Innovation gave significant inputs to other new and highly relevant publications on contemporary groundwater at a global to regional scale. A highly-cited Nature review paper by Scanlon et al. ‘Global water resources and the role of groundwater in a resilient water future’ critically unpacks the trends of water resources across the globe, to find that the interactions between climate, surface water and groundwater leave regions with certain characteristics, e.g. regions with trending depleting groundwater due to a coincidence of high exploitation and little or decreasing rainfall, while other regions have experienced increasing groundwater storages due to changing landuse, going from more water-demanding natural vegetation (typically trees) to crops (requiring less water), while yet other regions have faced stable or growing groundwater resources because of increased rainfall over decadal timescales or because of significant return flows from large-scale surface irrigation schemes. The lesson is that we need to understand water resources in a natural, climatic, and human landuse context. Water Cycle Innovation participated in a podcast series addressing specifically this surface water-groundwater-irrigation nexus in a Sustainable Development Goals context and with a particular perspective on sub-Saharan Africa.
Drilling into land use at a more refined scale, a study by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and partners ‘Land Cover Changes in the Upper Great Ruaha (Tanzania) and the Upper Awash (Ethiopia) River Basins and their Potential Implications for Groundwater Resources’ points to how sub-Saharan Africa may witness similar trends in landuse, e.g. urbanization and intensification of agriculture, including to more irrigation. However, how this plays out in particular regions may vary significantly. While Ethiopia’s upper Awash River Basin is heavily influenced by growing water demands from cities and expanding irrigated areas, the upper Great Ruaha River Basin in Tanzania sees relatively less intensive landuse, and still relatively unexplored groundwater resources. The tool developed is important for fingerprinting areas and basins in terms of their landuse intensity and links to (ground)water use.
Remaining in sub-Saharan Africa, a newly published Routledge book ‘Sustainable Groundwater Development for Improved Livelihoods in Sub-Saharan Africa’ edited by Paul Pavelic, Karen G. Villholth, and Shilp Verma gives an overview of groundwater for irrigated agriculture, livelihoods and food security in the region. Despite the large diversity across settings, it is clear that groundwater plays a relatively small role for smallholder farmers in a landscape of mostly rainfed agriculture, while this role is slowly increasing as barriers are overcome, e.g. in terms of access to drilling and pumping technology, energy, financial support, and policies, with critical positive implications for especially rural female-headed households.


Bangkok, Thailand, 7 June 2017 – Scheduled to take place from 7-9 September 2017 at Halls 5-6, IMPACT Exhibition and Convention Center and IMPACT Lakeside Muang Thong Thani, SIMA ASEAN Thailand 2017 is the most established international trade show for agricultural and food-processing suppliers in ASEAN. IMPACT Exhibition Management Co., Ltd. (“IMPACT”) has organised many local and international event preludes, gathering farmers and trade professionals, to discuss the challenges and opportunities in agriculture. The show receives tremendous support from leading industry associations, cementing its position as one of the most effective business platform for the industry.
Key players gathered to discuss boosting rice export quality from Myanmar
‘Advanced farming technology for sustainable development in ASEAN’ was the topic at the recent forum at Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry. Key industry players gathered on 25 May 2017 to discuss how to boost rice export quality from Myanmar.
Mr. U Aung Myint, member of Myanmar Rice Federation, said “The demand by consumers for better quality rice has increased and Myanmar is trying to become a major rice exporter. This has led to much pressure on producers and processors, to produce better quality rice.”
Mr. Sarit Yongsiri,Thai Rice Mills Association, said “There are three main requirements to produce good quality milled rice -good quality raw material: the starting quality of the paddy should be good, with the right moisture at around 14 percent; state of the art equipment: the rice mill should be clean and well maintained; and operation skills: the mill should be operated by skilled operators. If any of these requirements are not met, milling will result in poor quality rice.”
Showcase of technologies to increase quality and pricing of domestic cassava in Thailand
From 17 to 19 May 2017, Rakbankerd Co.,Ltd. and IMPACT, held an Innovative Live Demonstration Roadshow, at Don Chang Sub-district, Mueang Khon Kaen District, Khon Kaen Province.
The government has initiated new measures to increase the pricing of domestic cassava root prices; one of which is by setting minimum export price for tapioca products. It aims to improve farmer’s lives and to encourage them to apply technology, to increase productivity.
Miss Supharat Bencharongkul, Deputy COO of Rakbankerd Co., Ltd,said
This local event gathered almost 200 farmers and professionals, who tried their hands on the new and innovative machines of K.K. Kasetkollakarn Banpong, as well as that is the Rotary Tiller, Ripper Sub-Soiler and Cassava Planter.
Ms. Ajjima Roysri, Project Manager, IMPACT, said “SIMA ASEAN 2017 is ready to host 5,000 farmers across Thailand, to experience the Outdoor Demonstration Area, which consist three main crops – cassava, rice and sugarcane. This gives the visitors the opportunity to see the leading brands live in action, and feel drive of their agriculture machinery on real terrain.”
SIMA ASEAN Thailand 2017
SIMA ASEAN Thailand 2017 SIMA ASEAN Thailand 2017 presents great opportunities for the agriculture sector to enter the ‘Thailand 4.0’ era. Visitors can experience the latest agricultural innovation and technology from local and international sources. The show will be held from September 7-9, 2017 at Hall 5-6, IMPACT Exhibition and Convention Center and IMPACT Lakeside Muang Thong Thani. To get your visitor badge, please visit to www.sima-asean.com.


Nick's Blog for Real Roles
Nick of People and Gardens
(Sun, 01 Aug 2010)
Hi I’m Nick
I live in St Austell, Cornwall and I’m 28
I work for PeopleandGardens at The Eden Project’s Watering Lane Nursery as a gardener. We grow a range of salad crops for Eden’s restaurants as well as doing every day maintenance around the 8 acre site. One of our greenhouses is half the size of a football pitch and was originally built to store all of the Eden exhibits.We also grow lots of other crops which we put into our veg bags. You can read all about that in the South West region forum section.
I’m doing a sponsored bike ride on Saturday September 18th from Trafalgar Square in London to The Eden Project which is about 260 miles. We are making The Quality Of Life veg bag scheme into a Community Interest Company and I hope to raise enough money to purchase some cold store facilities . We need £6,000
You’ll be able to follow my progress here.
If you want to sponsor me, or even turn up on the 18th to wave me off let me know on www.peopleandgardens.co.uk or ring 01726 222919 and I’ll give you more details.
Bye for now
(Wed, 28 Jul 2010)
Welcome to Nick’s blog on Real Roles.


Lawn Care Services
CJS Landscape of Green Bay, Wisconsin offers a full service soultion to all your lawn care needs. We will take care of your lawn mowing, fertilizing, weed control, insect management, aeration and spring and fall clean up needs. CJS Landscape also takes care of any overseeding and repair issues.
Let CJS Landscape tackle your property’s clean up needs this spring and fall, with our power rakes and leaf vacuums.
A properly trimmed and maintained lawn not only gives your yard a cleaner look, but CJS Landscape will also take care of the behind the scenes with a healthy fertilizer schedule and weed control plan.
CJS Landscape follows a 6 application turf care program throughout the season to ensure your lawn looks its best.
Turf Care Program Steps: (all applications will strictly conform to the manufacturers label directions)
- Early Spring: Application (Granular) of fertilizer with a pre-emergent for control of crabgrass.
- Mid-Spring: Application (Spray) of an herbicide for control of broadleaf weeds.
- Early Summer: Application (Granular) of a time released balanced fertilizer designed for the green up effect.
- Late Summer: Application (Granular) of a time released balanced fertilizer designed for the green up effect.
- Early Fall: Application (Spray) of an herbicide for control of broadleaf weeds.
- Mid Fall: Application (Granular) of a quick release nitrogen fertilizer to promote a strong root system throughout the winter and ensure an early spring green up.