My last article on biochar was in March 2023. You can read about Bigtime Biochar on Barreca Vineyards.com, but the project at Avista’s Waste to Energy Facility in Kettle Falls did not happen. There has been a lot of hype about biochar over the years and that project is a good example. Myno Carbon wanted… (read more)
Diversity and abundance are the hallmarks of a healthy ecosystem. They are apparent when you are out in nature. But what about the ecosystem underground? A pretty sure indication of health is an abundance of earthworms. If those are not visible, how do you check for diversity and abundance in your soil? To answer that… (read more)
Both my mother an father grew up in large families, 7 kids each, on small farms in Missouri and Oregon. Both of them left their farms to fight in World War II, never to return to the farm. They went to college on the GI Bill after our triumph in the war. America went big… (read more)
Take advantage of your disadvantages. Rachel Leiken In the beginning of winter weather forecasters tell us about El Niño and La Niña. This year we got La Nada, an entirely open winter with record warm temperatures. This portends another very dry summer, record heat and high fire danger. Amidst that bad news it is a… (read more)
It was a dry winter and June was a dry month. A lot of us farmers are worried about the lack of water. Still more folks are worried about fire danger. With water in mind, earlier this Spring I started collecting rainwater off the metal roof of my office building. We have been using it… (read more)
You are born. Life gets more and more complicated. Then you die. Okay. Maybe it’s not as simple as that. But simple is pretty hard to come by these days and more and more complicated covers a lot of our mutual experience. New ideas, methods, technology and players are springing up in every field. One… (read more)
I have experienced mixed results with community projects. One food Co-op I helped start is still going strong. Another failed after many years. Some collectives of people living near each other dissolved over time. Others have gone on for multiple generations. Some community gardens flourish while others peter out. So, I was particularly interested to… (read more)
Many bad things have happened to our earth. Now it is time for the Indians to teach the white man how to live as one with the earth and each other. “People of the Falls” Mural Artist Michael Paul (1934-1993) The Spring of 2025 in Northeast Washington has been wonderful so far. We are getting… (read more)
It all started with a visit to a local meat cutter to pick up lamb. They had my lamb meat wrapped and ready to go. They also had a big barrel full of bones left over from the carcasses they had been butchering. They were dumping them somewhere and I had a feeling that a… (read more)
On the long drive up Aladdin Road to Blue Ridge Farm dense forest alternates with open fields and old farms. The area was once more populated than now. When the Goldfield mine and mill was running, you could operate a farm and work at the mine nearby. Jillian and Ryan Garrett are a modern version… (read more)
