Most people I talk to are unaware that the UN General Assembly adopted “The Declaration on the Rights of Peasants” (UNDROP) in December 2018. The declaration aims, among other things, to improve living conditions and strengthen the food sovereignty of peasants in the fight against climate change and aims for the preservation of biodiversity. Through…
After years of growing on my own, it was with some hesitance that I decided to create a wwoofing account to add more workers to the farm. Wwoofing stands for world-wide opportunities on organic farms and is a platform for connecting organic farms with workers who, in exchange for room, board and education, work about…
Since I started growing my own food, I have stuck to the principle that I should always grow what I like to eat and ignore what its cost in the store is. As I mentioned in Ancient Garlic, garlic prices are artificially low due to Chinese global dominance of the market. Onion prices too are…
Continue reading Diversifying Onions: an update on new onion varieties from the 2021 trial.
The perennial plant breeder and environmental ethicist Wes Jackson once said, “If your life’s work can be accomplished in your lifetime, you’re not thinking big enough.” The joy of working on something that is bigger than you and which connects you to the web of life is shared by all plant breeders and seed savers. Being…
As the planet warmed 11,000 years ago, garlic was traded from what is now Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan throughout Central Asia. Its long shelf life made it one of the earliest tradable items, acting as a form of currency for hunter gathers. It was light weight, tasted great and stored well. Since the time of the…
Stephen Barstow´s Around the World in 80 Plants profiles in detail the 80 best plants that Stephen recommends for growing in his near Arctic conditions at the 63rd parallel. Being several degrees south at the 59th, the following plants are the ones from his book which I have connected to and which I recommend. But…
Surfers instinctively know when they are aligned with their environment. Like a church-bell that resonates with all its overlapping frequencies at precisely the right volume, they ride waves of energy with effortless ease. At a different frequency and a much slower pace, plants in a sense are also surfers trying to catch waves as their…
By Andrew McMillion 02/04/2021 For the past ten years I´ve been gardening in what I would describe as a harsh environment. Humans have historically survived in the Nordic region primarily as small fishing, hunting and gathering communities with agriculture being a relatively peripheral endeavour primarily linked to livestock. The story of my ancestors who farmed…
Stephen Barstow´s book Around the World in 80 Plants came out in 2014 and immediately made a huge impact on my life. I had the bright idea that I would try to add 20 of the best of his 80 plants to my farm and slowly move towards making a business out of selling permaculture…
