john todd article

John Todd- Ecology From 40,000 Feet -By Bruce Boyer “When we’re flying at 40,000 feet and we look down, we see a marvelous amount of innovation in agriculture, environmental restoration, green architecture, in systems design and in renewable energy development,” Dr. John Todd tells Organic Connections. “The news on the ground has never been richer, more diverse or in some respects more global. There probably isn’t a continent on which we don’t have something happening, and that just wasn’t the case 20 years ago.” (more…)

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John Todd – Ecology From 40,000 Feet

“When we’re flying at 40,000 feet and we look down, we see a marvelous amount of innovation in agriculture, environmental restoration, green architecture, in systems design and in renewable energy development,” Dr. John Todd tells Organic Connections. “The news on the ground has never been richer, more diverse or in some respects more global. There probably isn’t a continent on which we don’t have something happening, and that just wasn’t the case 20 years ago.” (more…)

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Transforming Barren Land Into Fertile Ground

If you were to choose a place to plant your dream vegetable garden, it would probably not be in the foothills of the Grampian Mountains in Strathardle, Perthshire, Scotland. The upland site is infertile, acidic and exposed to severe weather. Yet it was exactly here that Cameron and Moira Thomson settled and decided to become self-sufficient by creating their own garden, growing their very own fruits and vegetables. (more…)

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Remineralizing the Landscape: Creating Fecundity in the Garden

Landscape professionals each year put countless amounts of plants in the ground. Their success and their client’s happiness requires that these plants establish themselves quickly and then grow with vigor. Consequently, any experienced landscape professional attends to each plant’s requirements, working hard to make sure each plant gets exactly what it needs. This usually means focusing on fertilization and pH requirements while locating each plant in a spot where it will get the necessary amounts of moisture and light for it to feel at home. All these considerations ...

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Maximizing Nutrition in Backyard Gardens

Maximizing Nutrition in Backyard Gardens by Ben Grosscup (forthcoming) Massachusetts Organic Food Guide, 2009-10 Is it possible to grow food with exquisite flavor, beautiful shine, extraordinary nutrition, and extended shelf-life? According to growers who have done it, not only can farm-sized growing operations do it, but with the right tools and knowledge, people can do it in their own backyards. Practitioners of this kind of growing say their goal is to maximize crop nutrient density - the amount of nutrition per volume of crop - and that this can be done in a manner ...

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Maximizing Nutrition in Backyard Gardens

Is it possible to grow food with exquisite flavor, beautiful shine, extraordinary nutrition, and extended shelf-life? According to growers who have done it, not only can farm-sized growing operations do it, but with the right tools and knowledge, people can do it in their own backyards. Practitioners of this kind of growing say their goal is to maximize crop nutrient density - the amount of nutrition per volume of crop - and that this can be done in a manner entirely consistent with certified organic growing practices. (more…)

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Farming with Nature for True Taste

Have a look at this great article written by Bruce Boyers in the January/February 2009 Organic Connections Magazine, the magazine of Natural Vitality, on the Bob Cannard, remineralization's most famous farm. The produce from his fields is so bursting with taste and nutrition, that a number of years ago, he was hand picked by world-famous chef Alice Waters to supply fruits and vegetables to her Chez Panisse restaurant. http://organicconnectmag.com/wp/2009/01/bob-cannard-farming-with-nature-for-true-taste/

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American Chestnut Revival

American Chestnut Revival THURSDAY AUGUST 7, LOUIS MAY, an elder environmentalist in the upper Hudson Valley, drove me 70 miles to see a tree he has watched and measured for 35 years. Lou’s tree is in dense forest on a steep slope at the south end of Schoharie Valley. Its 18-inch dbh trunk isn’t impressive for that forest. Actually, it’s a midget compared to its mighty ancestors—but these days, any American Chestnut is rare. This one is a giant and an elder. (more…)

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American Chestnut Revival

Restore the Crown of Abundance THURSDAY AUGUST 7, LOUIS MAY, an elder environmentalist in the upper Hudson Valley, drove me 70 miles to see a tree he has watched and measured for 35 years. Lou’s tree is in dense forest on a steep slope at the south end of Schoharie Valley. Its 18-inch dbh trunk isn’t impressive for that forest. Actually, it’s a midget compared to its mighty ancestors—but these days, any American Chestnut is rare. This one is a giant and an elder. (more…)

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Earthworms and Bacteria Enjoy a Symbiotic Relationship with Rockdust

Earthworms and Bacteria Enjoy a Symbiotic Relationship with Rockdust Each organism has a role and occupies a niche. In fact, shown by the Russian ecologist, Gause, about 30 years ago that each niche has only one organism with its specific food. If another organism is introduced, it either gets wiped out or creates its own micro-niche by living symbiotically with the first, for example, by using the waste matter of the first organism as food. (more…)

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