The “king of butterflies" is rapidly disappearing. In just the last 20 years, the monarch butterfly population has declined by 85 percent in this country—and the numbers are even worse in the West, which has seen a 99 percent drop in numbers.
Read MoreButterflies and bees tend to get top billing when it comes to identifying pollinators, likely because people tend to be less enthusiastic about wasps, moths, and flies. But these creatures also play a vital role in helping plants reproduce. Learning to identify them, and where they like to get their pollen, is an important part of supporting them.
Read MorePest populations can explode even if you keep your soil healthy and maintain a balanced garden ecosystem. Pest management is a natural part of growing plants and occasionally gardeners need to rely on external control measures like spraying pesticides. Organic gardeners shy away from using pesticides for some very good reasons. Sprays, particularly if they are not organic, can kill beneficial bugs and insects, like the bees that pollinate your raspberries or the insects that cycle nutrients through your soil. Pesticides also find their way into the food chain because plants absorb chemicals through roots and leaves. Fortunately you can mitigate the risk of using pesticides by relying on ones certified for organic use, which tend to be derived from plants or bacteria.
Read MoreI really hate weeding. There are days it requires all the strength I have to get out there and pull these tough tufts of green from between my rows of carefully tended beans and peas. But there are reasons to like weeds, or at least respect them.
Read MoreWhen I got out of bed this morning I checked the weather report. It’s the first thing I do every day. When you grow food, the weather assumes a make-or-break urgency that defines your life. It also forever changes the way you relate to a forecast. I never hear “early frost” without worrying it could interrupt my ripening tomatoes, or “heat spike” without fretting over wilting spinach.
Read MoreA healthy Honey Bee population contributes to our health and environment in many ways, not least of which is the way they pollinate fruits, vegetables, and nuts. But Honey Bees, which were domesticated and brought from Europe in the 17th century and have been intentionally managed since, aren’t the only pollinators out there. Often left out of the conversation are the countless other bee species that make your juicy late summer tomato dreams a reality.
Read MoreNobody likes to weed. It’s easy to romanticize growing your own food until you try scrubbing the dirt out from underneath your fingernails after a long afternoon pulling little weeds from in between your radishes, only to see them sprout up again a week later. But there’s no way to avoid them, and with a few quick tips you can at least minimize how much time you spend weeding.
Read MoreWhen I was growing up I often spent muggy afternoons with my grandmother after school tucked away in the back of her garden, cutting twigs into small pieces for the compost pile. I never grasped the importance of what we were doing as a kid but loved chatting with her until the sun dipped below the horizon. As I grew older, I grew to appreciate my grandmother's productive garden. Her hydrangeas always bloomed, her plump tomatoes grew on sturdy vines, and weeds were never a problem. The secret to her success was the compost we made from those twigs, plus garden clippings, leaves and food scraps.
Read MoreSpreading mulch is one of my favorite farm chores. I love the way mulch smells and feels and looks. That moment my pitchfork pierces the heaping mound of leftover grass and leaves and steam spirals up into the cool morning air. The way the strong, lingering scent of cedar follows me home after a day spent spreading wood chips. The satisfying look of a tidy, weed-free field after I’ve laid down a sea of straw to cover the endless rows of potatoes and garlic. I even appreciate the sogginess of cardboard left out in the rain before it’s used to fight weeds along my garden paths.
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