This Spring I had a big breakthrough in nourishing my grape plants. I sprayed a mix designed for foliar feeding on my vines just after the first few leaves emerged. The intent was to increase the vigor of the plants but just as much to reduce the number of leafhoppers on the vines. They have… (read more)
“When it all comes down you’ve got to go back to Mother Earth,” Memphis Slim, 1951. If you visit the Northeast Washington Farmer’s Market in downtown Colville on Wednesday mornings, you might buy vegetables or seeds from Chrys Ostrander of BZ Farm, officially named the BZ Permaculture Farm Collective based at the Bezaleel Israel Eco-Village. … (read more)
Thirty-seven years ago, down here along the river (Lake Roosevelt) we could get a frost in the first or second week of September. An extended warm season reaching into October would have been called “Indian Summer”. As I am writing this near the end of October 2023, we still have not had temperatures below 40º. … (read more)
On September 9th, the Stevens County Conservation District hosted a Soil Field Day at Vetter Demonstration Farm near Clayton. Craig Madsen, Agroecologist Coach, was the presenter for the workshop. Craig’s first question when we were gathered around a test hole in a just-tilled field was “What is the most important element for plants and animals?” … (read more)
Learning the hard way by making mistakes is a tried and true (though often painful) path to knowledge. Looking back on what I have learned, it seems more like a lifestyle. It starts by taking chances. You seldom do that unless you think there is something to gain. I get a lot of ideas from… (read more)
I was minding my own business reading email when a document came in from my brother-in-law, Roger, who as I do here, also makes and sells biochar on San Juan Island. It announced that a big company, Myno Carbon, won the 2023 Giuliani Clean Energy Entrepreneur Award and was going to build a carbon removal… (read more)
Compost bin at 20° Outside and 100° Inside November 20, 2022 “Egad” you are probably thinking, “He is writing about compost again. Surely his brain is starting to rot.” This article is not exactly about compost but close. In Stevens County we have a “Soil Health Stewards” group hosted by the Conservation Districts. You can… (read more)
“It’s a jungle out there.” That’s what I was thinking as I prepared to cut down the vegetation between the last two rows of my vineyard. Purple Vetch was draped from one side to another. Yellow Sweet clover grew taller than my head. My feet were tangled in everything underneath. This very wet spring has… (read more)
The Grass is Greener With this very wet Spring everything looks especially green. The green color is from chlorophyll, the molecule critical to photosynthesis, which turns sunlight into plant energy, specifically sugars. Looking at the chest-high grass and purple vetch which has taken over the aisles between my rows of grape vines, I had to… (read more)
The nearly endless month of Farch is upon us. This winter feels like a little ice age. But hope springs eternal… Spring being the key word. With Spring planting and growing in mind, it is time to take advantage of our disadvantages. The ground around here is still protected by snow and ice. No growing… (read more)
