Gardening / Farming

A neglected, overgrown, old apple tree does have charm, its gnarled, elbowed branches seemingly ready to reach out for a hug. The fruits, unfortunately, more often than not are too small, too pest-ridden, and too high in the tree. My fear of heights makes the last deficiency most important to me. Large, clean fruits are for nought if I can't bring myself to climb a ladder or the branches for harvest.

According to FDA data, the quantity of antibiotics sold for livestock use in this country continues to rise, topping 29 million pounds in 2011. This has a direct effect on the efficacy these same drugs will have on us. Sam Spitz has personal experience with a resistant illness and FamilyFarmed.org asked him to tell his story. It's a cautionary tale that should have us all making better food choices. Read how we can all influence the campaign to end the misuse of antibiotics in livestock and keep antibiotics working for us when we need them!

Step 3 of "How to Start & Manage a Micro Dairy in 26 Steps" will help you understand how to handle cows and what to expect during milking.

Leafy greens are among the most nutritious foods you can eat, but what if they contain systemic pesticides like imidacloprid? New pesticides that are taken up by plants mean there may be pesticides in food crops like collards and kale, not just on the surface.

A profile of Japanese and American persimmons, excellent trees for the deep south.

The place I call home these days is The FarmSchool, a fertile 180-acre strip of ridge top in Athol, where 15 student-farmers are spending a year learning the ins and outs of growing food, managing forests, and raising animals for meat. I arrived at the farm in October, just as the leaves were reaching their peak brilliance. The Farm School - which offers three-day programs for schoolchildren, a summer camp, a full-time middle school, and the apprenticeship program I'm in - takes us through all seasons of farming, weaving together class work and on-farm training.

A beginning farmer learns that keeping does and keeping bucks are two different things.

This passive composting system creates beds of fertile soil through rotational composting.

Learn all there is to know about planting, harvesting and saving heirloom bean seeds as well as the history behind some of the rarest and oldest heirloom beans.

FairShare CSA Coalition partners with health insurance groups to offer a rebate for selecting fresh, organic, local produce.

Many organic farmers want nothing to do with gene-splicing technology or genetically modified seeds; they just want to plant their crops and make a living. As a result, more and more Monsanto lawsuits are piling up as organic farmers try to distance themselves from the giant corporation.

Let packages of heirloom seeds say how much you care.

HOMEGROWN Life blogger Bryce Oates sings the praises of mixed-species perennial pastures for in-between seasons-even if they don't fully alleviate the need for watching and waiting.

Learn how to grow, harvest and process cassava - an amazing staple crop.

Goats are terrific weed eaters, and do a great job clearing land for you, why not utilize them for clearing your pastures!

Learn how to rotate crops with this helpful crop rotation video.

Kate Canney wasn't going to let living in a suburban environment keep her from gardening. She created The Neighborhood Farm to pursue her passion.

No-Till On the Plains Winter Conference brings in big speakers to discuss no-till soil management, companion planting and more.

I'd like to introduce the words farmden and farmdener into the English language. I wonder if there are any other farmdeners out there. And just what is a farmden? It's more than a garden, less than a farm. That's my definition, but it also could be described as a site with more plants and/or land than one person can care for sanely. A gardener and garden gone wild, out of control.

Des Moines, Iowa, gardeners may soon find themselves in hot water with their City. A local resident recently took front yard veggie growers to task for what the resident feels to be unsightly lawn growth. Beets and berries, it seems, do not have the same aesthetic appeal as a green, freshly-mowed front lawn.