A Growing Concern
Made by God, immutable, perfect and constant, our world has always been the way it is now and will always be the same. Perhaps it is a human desire for order and predictability that is at the root of such traditional beliefs. But pesky facts get in the way. Fossils provide evidence for creatures that [...]
I am finding long-season crops more and more satisfying to grow. Shade in my garden doesn't matter as much once the trees have dropped their leaves. And the pace of activity imposed by the slow vegetables is more forgiving if I miss a week or two when planting or harvesting. I define long season varieties to be [...]
Gifts lubricate the informal economy and build relationships in our local community. Sometimes it's a pick-up truck, maybe it's eggs or fresh milk, perhaps helping a friend hammer down a new roof, but for me now it's often my honey. As soon as you start giving food, things, and labor to your friends and neighbors you are [...]
As the recovery - or lack thereof - continues, it is becoming more clear that there is an important shift in economic power away from Europe and America and toward the emerging Asian economies. There has always been concern that the Chinese sleeping giant would awake and overtake us, but I doubt that anyone anticipated the entire [...]
Cookie parties come with the holiday season. It's a great time to gather with the neighbors, to share a few cookies, drink eggnog and hot mulled wine and other libations, and catch up on the gossip since last year. Some of us can only eat so many sweets before it's too much, so this year [...]
Update September 2023 I've been growing amaranth for more than a dozen years now, so it is time for a little update. The article below is still a good place to start if you wish to learn a little more about this fun and beautiful crop, but after doing this for a few years I [...]
Summer garden abundance came early to much of the rest of the country, as an early summer heat wave kicked in on the east coast. Meanwhile, the Pacific Northwest has remained one of the cool spots on the globe this year. Spring was two to three weeks late, the summer was cool, and only time [...]
As the less-than-adequate federal stimulus funds recede from view, we are left with a sinking realization that this recession is depressingly persistent. Gains on the employment front have reversed. A fifth of the population is either unemployed or under employed, so demand for goods and services is lacking. Without demand, companies aren't hiring. With the private sector in [...]
A few weeks ago I commented that the honey flow was about to begin and that my hives were heavy with bees but very light on stores. A quick check last Sunday (7/18) revealed that the bees have been very busy. The honey supers on all three of my colonies are almost completely plugged out. [...]
The parsnip seed project looks to be a success this year. Plants left in the ground over winter are happy to turn the energy stored in their delicious roots into vigorous growth in the spring. The parsnips were one of the first things to green up in the spring, and now they have the record [...]
