Category archive

Soil

Biodynamic Farm Story: Convergence & Composting Chaos

By Anna Helmer Well, I am thrilled to discover that the likely theme for this edition of BC Organic Grower magazine is: Composting Chaos. The suggestion that chaos may be composted is encouraging and practical…and it is always a treat to find something compostable that is in such good supply. Further thrills at the possibility… Keep Reading

Biodynamic Farm Story: Late Pandemic Musings on Thriving, Not Just Surviving

Anna Helmer The Biodynamic baseline regeneration mission: replace the vitality of the soil—successfully drawn into the plants and then removed along with the crop, for consumption. In Biodynamics, the way to do this is through composting—the creation of humus that supports soil to regain its power. The Biodynamic Compost Preparations are the fertility tools of… Keep Reading

Ask an Expert: BC Farmers & Ranchers Learning Together

Emma Holmes The Sustainable Agricultural Landscapes (SAL) Lab at UBC’s Faculty of Land and Food Systems is taking a collaborative approach to research that supports producers in making management decisions that are science-based and regionally grounded. I recently had the opportunity to catch up with Sean Smukler, DeLisa Lewis, Amy Norgaard, and Raelani Kesler from… Keep Reading

Footnotes from the Field: Waste Not, Want Not

Empowering the Human Micronutrient Supply Chain from the Soil Up Marjorie Harris I have long accepted that the saying “Healthy Soil, Healthy Plants, Healthy people” fully explained the human nutrient supply chain. Turns out, this is not entirely accurate. In fact, the mineral requirements for healthy plants, animals, and people are quite different. During organic… Keep Reading

Why Nature’s Path Embraces Real Organic & Regenerative Organic

Arran Stephens, Nature’s Path Founder, and Dag Falck, Nature’s Path Organic Programs Manager Pioneer organic farmers were the visionaries of their age. Like many other inspired thinkers born before their time, they viewed the ordinary in extraordinary new ways, working quietly and diligently towards an alternate approach, often years or even decades before the general population… Keep Reading

Adapting at Fraser Common Farm Cooperative

Photos and text by Michael Marrapese In 2018 Fraser Common Farm Co-operative—home of Glorious Organics—undertook a year long on-farm research project to explore how small farms could adapt to climate change. Seeing the changes in seasonal rainfall, climate predictions by Environment Canada, and new ground water regulations from the provincial government, the cooperative could see… Keep Reading

Bringing Plants and Animals Together for Soil Health

Crop-Livestock Integration at Green Fire Farm DeLisa Lewis, PhD What do the North American Dust Bowl of the 1930s and the current global experiences of climate change have in common? Of course, both are understood as environmental disasters with humans as major contributors. But, if you answered with either ‘farmers’ or ‘soils,’ or more ideally,… Keep Reading

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