Solidago Farm

Long-term study finds organic farming leads to adaptations in the genetic material in plants

A 23-year study found that barley grown under organic farming conditions developed unique genetic adaptations, enhancing resilience to nutrient and water deficiencies. Unlike conventionally farmed barley, which became genetically uniform, organic barley maintained genetic diversity, aiding adaptation to environmental changes.

https://buff.ly/3yI18m4 via

Image: The conventional population on the left and the organic barley on the right: – Only experts can spot the differences with the naked eye. However, huge differences can be identified using molecular genetics. Credit: AG Prof. Léon/University of Bonn

I’ve never had asparagus kale, or even heard of it. I might grow it out this year.

All About Kale: The Evolution of This Popular Green Once considered an undesirable vegetable mainly fed to cattle, kale has evolved over the years to become a powerful superfood!

Donna Posont’s “Birding by Ear and Beyond” program makes nature accessible to the blind and visually impaired through bird songs and outdoor education.

Through the program, Posont — who is blind herself — has empowered others to engage with the environment, fostering their independence and self-confidence.

Outside of monthly meetings, where she teaches program participants species identification and other ecological concepts, Posont has taught at libraries, science camps and online.

She would love to inspire a younger generation to expand the model across the country and make it their own.

Read more in this article from Audubon.
https://bit.ly/4dBr4OL

National Audubon Society

We’re riding out Everyone is finally settled in and resting after three days of prep. Hoping the house is still in one piece in the morning.

Preorder Your Copy Today The story of factory farmers, rescued farm animals, and rural communities standing up to big corporations and constructing their own new world that will change the way we eat In Transfarmation, president...

A few photos of the demons. Camp & Graeme are a bonded pair we’re fostering (the terriers).

Organic no-till? How a Maryland farm does it Having the right cover crops and machinery plays a crucial role in the system on Mason’s Heritage Farm.

I’ve been seeing a few pop up in some markets. Buy it, you won’t be disappointed

On the slopes of the Malinche volcano, Juan Vargas starts the dawn routine he’s had since childhood, carefully checking stalks of colorful native corn. For years, Vargas worried that these heirloom varieties — running from deep red to pale pink, from golden yellow to dark blue — passed down from his parents and grandparents would disappear. White corn long ago came to dominate the market and became the foundation of Mexicans’ diet.

But now, the heirloom corn Vargas grows is in vogue. It accounts for 20 of the 50 acres on his farm in Ixtenco, in the central state of Tlaxcala. Vargas remembers just one acre reserved for it 2010, when demand was virtually zero and prices low. Fueled largely by foreign demand, the corn in its rainbow of colors has become more profitable for him than the white variety.

Read more: https://nbcnews.app.link/JK4QZ0zDKBb

I’ve visited this farm and this is super cool

A Maryland Native Hop Hints at New Opportunities for Local Brewers - Baltimore Sun - Maryland News Maryland is widely known for its blue crab and Old Bay spices, but if research into a local crop shows promise, the state could become known for its twist on

George Washington Carver transformed agriculture, revealing the untapped potential of the peanut and countless other crops. 🥜 ⁣⁣⁣
His motto: "when you can do the common things of life in an uncommon way, you will command the attention of the world.” Indeed, he did. He created over 450 commercial products like margarine and instant coffee.

This was no easy feat. Born into slavery, Carver overcame innumerable obstacles so that he could help poor Black farmers who were trapped in sharecropping. He empowered his community to diversify crops, so as not to rely on cotton.

How can you empower those around you? Let us know in the comments. ⤵️ ⁣
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🖼: "George Washington Carver" by Betsy Graves Reyneau, 1942. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. Gift of the George Washington Carver Memorial Committee, 1944. © Peter Edward Fayard

Governor Gavin Newsom has signed , enabling to vote in union elections free from intimidation. Thank you to UFW for driving this movement & all of the allies who fought tirelessly for this transformational victory!

So cool

Pacific Northwest's ‘forest gardens’ were deliberately planted by Indigenous people Finding suggests humans have added value to forests in lasting ways

The farmers in Hawaii restoring ancient food forests depleted by monocrops: ‘Let’s knock the empire down’ Maui is a hub for GMO research but Indigenous farmers are trying to bring back the abundant and thriving landscapes of their ancestors

🤣🤣

🐞 Love this!

Tips for Organic Site Preparation Before You Plant Organic site preparation is simply using methods and materials outside of the conventional options of chemical herbicides to prepare seedbeds prior to planting. Methods of organic site prep can be solarization, smother cropping, repeated cultivation, sheet mulching, and more. There are many ways to....

The Unlikely Ascent of New York’s Compost Champion An ad led to Domingo Morales falling in love with compost. A windfall is helping him spread the word.

I Love me some collard greens.

A community of seed savers has a recipe to revive rare varieties of collard greens Collards were once as diverse as the Southern families they fed, but countless varieties have vanished. The race is on to preserve and propagate. That's where the Heirloom Collard Project comes in.

A Veganic farmer on mission!

The Maine Farmer Saving the World's Rarest Heirloom Seeds Will Bonsall has spent a lifetime scattering seeds across the country. But will his efforts fall among the thorns?

Theobroma cacao (cocoa tree) is native to South America but thrives in . All of these pods were found in the same tree. It’s also tree under threat by climate change.

This was my first time seeing a star fruit (Averrhoa carambola) tree! Fruit was just falling from the tree. I collected a couple to try and store bought starfruit will never do again. Strong citrus-y flavor that finishes kinda sweet.

I’ve been really enjoying these Spoon Tomatoes the past few weeks. It’s a super vine-y plant, so much so I may plant in hanging pots next year. Not a super tomato-y flavor, but still delicious and are little flavor bombs in anything you add them to.

I’m a bit obsessed with these little dudes. I’ve grown a plant or two for the past few years. Spoon tomatoes aren’t super tomato-y, but they add great texture and flavor profile to various salads (especially couscous) and are fun to eat out of hand.

Fall flowers at Mallows Bay.

In its flagship report 2020 entitled “Rethinking Land in the Anthropocene: from Separation to Integration” the Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU) addresses the issue of global land management from the perspectives of climate protection, biodiversity conservation and food security:

“Research approaches for climate-sensitive organic agriculture lie in the search for ways to reduce the number of animals as much as possible without causing bottlenecks in the supply of organic fertilizers, in the optimization of no-till, direct seeding methods (Berner et al., 2008; FiBL, 2019), and in the development of vegan systems that dispense with animal production altogether (biocyclic-vegan.org, 2020).” (Flagship Report 2020, English edition, page 153, Box 3.3-11)”

I missed this bit of news last year.

German Advisory Council mentions biocyclic vegan farming as an approach to "climate-sensitive organic farming". - BIOCYCLIC VEGAN STANDARD In its flagship report 2020 entitled “Rethinking Land in the Anthropocene: from Separation to Integration” the Advisory Council on Global …