Articles: Soil
Vermicast 101: Good for Soil and Plants
Worms aren’t just the squiggly, pink creatures found on the sidewalk after it rains. They are so much more than that. These highly regarded specimens play a…
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How to Pick Land: Good Enough is Perfect
There is a lot to consider when getting ready to pick land for farming— location, size, price, soil quality, water access, etc. When considering such factors, it…
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Ditch the Pots, Use Soil Blocks!
What’s a cheaper, easier, and surprisingly more efficient way to start your seedlings? Soil blocks! If you’ve never used them before, read on to find out how…
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Open-Source Systems: How Communities Can Help Promote Regenerative Agriculture
The Great Regeneration, by farmer-technologist Dorn Cox and author-activist Courtney White, explores unique and groundbreaking research aimed at reclaiming the space where science & agriculture meet as…
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The Phases of Composting
Although the stages of composting are very closely intertwined, each separate one has its own value and needs to be nurtured accordingly. The materials used go through…
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The Five Keys to Photosynthesis: Caring For Your Plants
There is more to growing than just the basics of sunlight and water. In fact, there are five important factors in determining how well your plants or…
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Inheriting the Earth
Farmland covers 38 percent of the land area of the Earth and is a major contributor to climate change. But it doesn’t have to be this way.…
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Ten Facts About the Water We Use
Most people have a basic understanding of the importance of water conservation. We’re taught to turn the faucet off while brushing our teeth and not to try…
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From the Ground Up: Using Soil Amendments
It may be too early to plant your garden, but it’s not too early to PLAN your garden! Beyond what and how you will plant, it’s important…
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Saving the Soil, Saving Ourselves
The soil undeniably sustains us, without it there would be no gardens, no farms, no livestock– nothing. As we continue to overuse and undernourish the soil, we…
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The Ultimate Guide to Sheet Mulching
Sheet mulching is a layered mulch system that nurtures the soil. You start with a biodegradable weed barrier like cardboard. From there, you build a thick, layered…
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Save Your Soil the Power of Pee
It’s time to roll up your sleeves and get down into the dirt – but you may want to grab a bucket, especially first thing in the…
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How to Create a Nitrogen-Rich, Compost-Fed Soil Bed on Your Patio
If you have an unused stretch of patio, why not make it into a garden? Turning a concrete slab into a verdant garden isn’t as impossible as…
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Grow Your Own Salad Indoors: No Garden? No Problem!
Think you need a vast outdoor garden in order to enjoy fresh produce? Think again! It’s entirely possible to grow your own salad indoors, no matter where…
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The Secret Life of Fungi
Fungi have intricate lives, behaviors, and uses most people are unaware of. Mychorrizal fungi form symbiotic relationships with the root systems of other plants. The crucial, symbiotic role…
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Vermicomposting: Why Venture Into It?
If you’re at all in tune to the agricultural news of late, you’re well aware that soil health is in decline all over the world – an…
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Soil to Soil: Our Environmental Impact
When you think of the impact you have on the environment, your first thought may be the waste you produce or the emissions from your car; but…
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The Importance of Carbon Farming
To get a sense of how carbon farming could positively affect global warming, imagine ten ranches, approximately three-hundred acres each, implementing carbon farming and achieving a conservative…
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The Insatiable Call of Composting
James McSweeney is a composting consultant and educator who has been an ardent proponent and collaborator in the community composting movement in the United States. Through his…
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Composting with Animals: Common Applications
When you think of a typical farm, you probably think of going out to feed the animals with a bucket of scraps. This has been one of…
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Composting: Breaking Down the Core Principles
Composting is about more than just flinging your food scraps into a heap in your backyard. It’s about figuring out a way to give your unwanted food…
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Farming Against Nature
When you’re walking around the grocery store looking at all of the different vegetables, it’s probably hard to imagine that a century ago there was twice the…
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All Purpose Potting Soil Recipe: The Perfect Mix
Check out this easy, all-purpose recipe for potting soil! The above excerpt is from The Community-Scale Permaculture Farm by Josh Trought. It has been adapted for the web. Annual…
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Organic No-Till: Farming like the Earth Matters
If we could do one thing for the planet it would be to ditch the plough. When we turn over soil, the air and sun wreak havoc…
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Care of the Soil
Caring for the soil is the farmer’s number one task; if the soil is healthy, the crops will look after themselves. As the average age of America’s…
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