The science of soil management Fertile soil is imperative for any successful farmer or grower. The Soil Food Web is the colony of organisms living in the soil. The food web is a complex living system that interacts with the environment, plants, and animals. When an agricultural town with a population of less than 300 turns out in high numbers for a workshop on soil … [Read more...]
A Labor of Love: Arborist Christopher Little cares about trees
Arborist gives urban trees a trim Christopher Little makes his living climbing trees. Kids might dream of growing up and having a job that includes tree climbing, but Little made it a reality. Little is an arborist. “An arborist is someone who works with trees in an urban setting. As opposed to a forester, an arborist works on trees at homes and properties removing … [Read more...]
Krishna Food Forest & Farm—what is the permaculture concept?
Mimicking natural ecosystems The Krishna Food Forest & Farm , located behind the Sri Sri Radha Krishna temple in Millcreek, is a wonderfully accessible place for anyone in the area to learn about ecological food production while engaging with the Millcreek Permaculture Guild, a friendly community and leadership team. It is run by the Millcreek Permaculture Guild, which … [Read more...]
Wasatch Community Gardens: cultivating good health for your body, for your community
Wasatch Community Gardens has cultivated good health for your body and for your community for the last three decades, because they know agriculture is, or should be, connected more to culture than to business. Wasatch Community Garden brings plants and people together In the Salt Lake area, this robust group is making sure that agriculture remains linked to culture, crops, … [Read more...]
Salt Lake City—conserving water for spring garden preparation
Hugelkultur Beds Salt Lake City—Conserving water for spring garden preparation comes with a German accent. Many of you are getting started with spring preparation for your vegetable garden this growing season. If you’re thinking of expanding your garden by converting another section of your lawn into a garden bed, you might consider installing a hugelkultur garden bed. … [Read more...]
The Great Chemical Myth – Cheap Fertilizer, Cheap Food, High Social Cost
When it was discovered that nitrogen was the most important ingredient for both explosives and fertilizer, our military industrial complex and food production became dependent on vast stockpiles of synthetic chemicals. Many of the original chemical pioneers who built weapons factories found an easy shift from making bombs to making agricultural products and also … [Read more...]
Local Native Wildlife: Pigeons, Squirrels, and Blackbirds, Oh My!
As a longtime promoter of local native wildlife, I have always been intrigued by native animals adapting to the urban environments of Salt Lake City. Native deer, doves, and ducks all do well and whole herds of mule deer now live well within city limits. Many mourning doves now raise their young in our neighborhoods and no longer migrate south as they had done for millennia. … [Read more...]
Three Nontraditional Home Gardens in Salt Lake City
Sugar House Joakim Orton moved into his Sugarhouse apartment in 2016, and since then he’s been cultivating a garden in an unlikely spot. Even though traditional gardening space is limited around his apartment building, he got creative and chose to utilize a long, thin strip of earth that lines the driveway—a spot most others would overlook. Before he began … [Read more...]
Hosta House: Filling His Yard with Hostas Led to a Home-Based Business
Burton Johnson describes Hosta House as “a shady business”. But unlike other shady operations, which require stealth and evasive practices to elude the authorities, this shady business is actually legal. Johnson grows and sells ornamental shade plants called hostas. Johnson then suggests we visit a garden he created for his neighbor Spencer F. Eccles. He says we can see that … [Read more...]
Wasps Can Be Wonderful
Everyone knows that honeybees are good for your garden. They are natural pollinators and all around good guys. But what about the other flying, buzzing garden visitors; wasps, yellowjackets, and hornets? Are they pests? If you have a garden, you might be surprised at the answer. Wasps get a bad rap. They can be persistent when they want to join your backyard BBQ, and they … [Read more...]
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