April 30, 2010

This article in the Nanaimo Daily News advocates the use of green manure crops during the growing season to keep weeds down in garden paths. It suggests the types to use, how to plant them and the reasons why it should work. It's unclear whether the author has tried this himself, but it strikes me as an interesting approach to a common problem.

April 23, 2010

I really like this obituary in The Victoria Times-Colonist and not just because it has a charming photograph of a herd of goats. I'm captivated by the idea of farming in Hong Kong. Evidently, Hong Kong has changed a lot in the past 60 years because I don't think you could shoehorn in even a one acre farm now.

April 16, 2010

This article in The Vancouver Sun celebrates the dying art of growing show chrysanthemums and the efforts of one man to pass the tradition on to his granddaughter. After reading this article, I'm tempted to plant a chrysanthemum just so I can practice disbudding it. If the article is correct, I should get a spectacular display of flowers.

April 9, 2010

Forest gardening is a trend that has been picking up steam in the past few years and this article in The Guardian provides an overview. The emphasis is on growing "useable" crops for food, teas, or construction and makes the point that the practice doesn't require that you actually own a forest or even live on a large property.

April 2, 2010

This article in the New York Times takes a look at the commercial greenhouse tomato industry. Not surprisingly, Leamington, Ontario gets a mention. There is a lot of interesting information in here about where our tomatoes come from and the environmental impact of growing tomatoes year round under glass.