Organic Agriculture

When Rudolf Steiner gave these lectures 80 years ago, industrial farming was on the rise and organic methods were being replaced in the name of science, efficiency, and technology. With the widespread alarm over the quality of food in recent years, and the growth of the organic movement and its mainstream acceptance, perceptions are changing. The qualitative aspect of food is once again on the agenda, and in this context Rudolf Steiner's only course of lectures on agriculture is critical to the current debate.

Growing on just one and a half acres, owners Jean-Martin and Maude-Helène feed more than 200 families through their thriving CSA and seasonal market stands and supply their signature mesclun salad mix to dozens of local establishments. The secret of their success is the low-tech, high-yield production methods they've developed by focusing on growing better rather than growing bigger, making their operation more lucrative and viable in the process.

Discover the revolutionary world of sustainable farming with the ultimate guide you've been waiting for. "Sustainable Farming Practices" is your gateway to understanding and implementing cover cropping, a transformative agricultural technique that brings ecological and economic prosperity to your farm. Start with an essential primer in Chapter 1, where you'll explore the significance of cover cropping, the variety of crops available, and the dual benefits these practices bring to our environment and your bottom line. Delve into Chapter 2 to master the art of selecting the perfect cover crop...

Mini Farming describes a holistic approach to small-area farming that will show you how to produce 85 percent of an average family's food on just a quarter acre - and earn $10,000 in cash annually while spending less than half the time that an ordinary job would require.

Unlock the secrets of sustainable livestock farming with Organic Farming and Livestock. This comprehensive guide is your ultimate resource for mastering the ancient art and modern science of organic goat farming. Delve into the fundamentals with an enlightening introduction to organic goat farming. Discover the distinctions and merits of organic certification, explore the rich history and numerous benefits of this farming style, and learn how it stands apart from conventional methods. Selecting the right breed is crucial, and you will find detailed insights into popular breeds, their ...

The soil is more than just a substrate that anchors crops in place. An ecologically balanced soil system is essential for maintaining healthy crops. This is a comprehensive manual on soil management. The "whats and whys" of micronutrients, earthworms, soil drainage, tilth, soil structure and organic matter are explained in detail. Kinsey shows how working with the soil produces healthier crops with a higher yield drawing on his wide range of experience as a master consultant. Learn how to balance soil nutrients for maximum yield. Discover why simple N-P-K fertilization isn't enough. ...

There is a major disconnect between what we wear and our knowledge of its impact on land, air, water, labor, and human health. Even those who value access to safe, local, nutritious food have largely overlooked the production of fiber, dyes, and the chemistry that forms the backbone of modern textile production. While humans are 100 percent reliant on their second skin, it’s common to think little about the biological and human cultural context from which our clothing derives.

The energies in fertilizers and in the cosmos do not often move needles, but they preside over crop production. As this books shows the reader, through learning to tap and use "life-force energy" it is possible to develop farming practices that are both high-quality and nondestructive to the environment. Since high sugar and mineral levels confer immunity against bacterial, insect and fungal crop destroyers, a complete BRIX chart on crops is included. Andersen's chapters outline in detail the difference between deadly slow-kill agribusiness farming and farming as it should be.

The story of the "Lentil Underground" begins on a 280-acre homestead rooted in America's Great Plains: the Oien family farm. Forty years ago, corporate agribusiness told small farmers like the Oiens to "get big or get out." But 27-year-old David Oien decided to take a stand, becoming the first in his conservative Montana county to plant a radically different crop: organic lentils. Unlike the chemically dependent grains American farmers had been told to grow, lentils make their own fertilizer and tolerate variable climates, so their farmers aren't beholden to industrial methods.

Are you passionate about sustainable living but unsure how to start a backyard chicken flock? Do you dream of gathering fresh eggs every morning but feel overwhelmed by coop design and daily care? You’re not alone, but with the right guidance, raising chickens can be simple and rewarding. Raising Chickens for Beginners is your ultimate step-by-step guide to backyard chicken keeping—from coop design and feeding to healthcare and egg collection. It’s time to take the leap and experience the benefits of raising your own chickens!

Louis Bromfield was a World War I ambulance driver, a Paris expat, and a Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist as famous in the 1920s as Hemingway or Fitzgerald. But he cashed in his literary success to finance a wild agrarian dream in his native Ohio. The ideas he planted at his utopian experimental farm, Malabar, would inspire America's first generation of organic farmers and popularize the tenets of environmentalism years before Rachel Carson's Silent Spring.

Renowned scientist and best-selling author Jane Goodall delivers an eye-opening and empowering book that explores the social and personal significance of what we eat. In Harvest for Hope, Jane Goodall presents an empowering and far-reaching vision for social and environmental transformation through the way we produce and consume the foods we eat.

This new book “Organics in the global food chain” is a long overdue scholarly treatment of organic food in its many derivations. It provides a multifaceted view of the obscure but growing concept of organic food in our food chain. Today’s society has a greater appreciation of quality in what we eat and consume including a greater appreciation of sustainability, food security and the other attributes which food should provide society. This book explores the origins and drivers of organic food and opens up this sector to greater scrutiny and debate on the worthiness of organic food as ...

How to Build a Raised Garden Bed is a no-frills, straight to the point booklet for gardeners of action and flexibility. If you want filler and fluff, this isn't for you. On-ground gardening is a time tested tradition, but there is an exciting, bold strategy that will result in better yields yet utilizes a smaller space. This gardening strategy will motivate you in a quest to become a green thumb, even if everything you have touched has wilted and died before. Learn to use the right materials, the correct soil, the ideal plant combinations, and build a device to water it all for you. Enter ...

This 25th anniversary edition, updated by the author, reveals the miraculous communication systems present in nature. Learn how plants and insects communicate through emissions in the infrared frequency range and why poisonous pesticides do not solve the real problems facing agriculture. In this breakthrough book Phil Callahan uncovers why certain insects are attracted only to certain plants, the role of pheromones' work in nature, and how plants under stress literally signal insects to come devour them. Long out of print . . . classic Callahan!

Starting Your Own Hydroponics Garden And Growing System is a no-frills, straight to the point booklet for gardeners of innovation and construction. If you want filler and fluff, this isn't for you. Hydroponics is much older than one thinks, hearkening back to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Yet this is still an exotic, bold strategy that will result in better yields yet utilizes a smaller space. This gardening strategy will motivate you in a quest to become a green thumb, even if everything you have touched has wilted and died before. Learn to use the right materials, the correct growing ...

Africa no doubts, has been written off by many due to the endemic and chronic nature and levels of underdevelopment. The increasing level of ignorance, poverty, extreme hunger, high corruption. social injustice and vices as being fueled by the Climate Change, Crises and conflicts , corruption and diseases has become very alarming. Despite these disturbing situations and narrative, we like the prophets of hope, have come to say that there are still vista of hope for the African continent. If Africa can look inward and dig her gold mines of the Circular economy mixed with the Digital ...

Sustainability of the environment contains both wishful thinking and ignorance – ignorance of the reality that natural systems are complex and unfathomable by scientists, and that repetition of their outputs depend on repetition of initial and all subsequent conditions. Scientific insights provide knowledge, but it is partial in most cases, and when applied is often subject to conflicting objectives, which in turn produce conditions that affect outcomes ‑ thus our best efforts to predict natural outcomes are usually flawed. We further display our ignorance in seeking social ...

Unlock the secrets of sustainable living with "Introduction to Composting," your essential guide to the world of vermicomposting! Transform your kitchen scraps into nutrient-rich soil amendments and contribute to a greener planet, all from the comfort of your home. Discover the intriguing history and crucial importance of vermicomposting in our introductory chapter. Understand why this eco-friendly practice is taking the gardening world by storm and how you can be part of it. Dive into the acclaimed benefits that vermicomposting offers, from nutrient-dense soil that boosts plant growth to ...

Ask the Plant, based on the agronomy of K. Chandler, offers farmers and growers a better way to grow plants that involves reading the unique language of plants, utilizing leaf and petiole testing, and in turn knowing how to produce a better crop using only the fertilizers and soil-building ingredients that are truly needed, when they are most needed. Instead of following the decades-old conventional model where plants are given copious amounts of soluble nitrogen fertilizers aimed to force-feed the landscape green, Ask the Plant addresses how to build a healthy soil without excessive inputs...