If you haven’t had the chance or pleasure to grow heirloom tomatoes, try it this year. There are slicers, beefsteaks, cherries, and more to explore when it comes to the passed-down, open-pollinated ...

Legumes of any kind will enrich the soil between rows. This improved composition will seep into nearby rows over time. Peas, oats, and clover are quick cover for areas between rows. Beans have ...

There are multiple ways to kill cover crop plantings, each best suited to the specific crop grown and the local climate. While farmers can always use the seed packet to tell them when to terminate, ...

Double digging is an alternative approach, one that capitalizes on the soil’s inherent ecological processes, while making it loose enough to plant in right away. The basic premise of double digging is ...

What is graywater, exactly? Household wastewater from washing machines, bathroom sinks, showers, and bathtubs is considered “gray” because it is only lightly soiled and poses a minimal health risk. As ...

As Brian Paddock walks through his 12-and-a-half acres of almond trees, he’s taking in everything. Paddock, like a lot of farmers, is a details guy. He pays attention to each tree, to the soil ...

The house was raised above the ground, like a mushroom or a white ray gun, its rooms radiating out like spokes of a wheel. It was 1957 and this was the “House of the Future,” a prototype modular house ...

Building a basic chicken coop for a small flock of birds is a solid weekend project for the determined do-it-yourselfer with basic carpentry skills, while the more elaborate coops could easily take ...

Before dawn on an October morning, a thick fog wends its way down the many trails of Maine’s Peaks Island, coating the trees and fields in a gray blanket. A man makes his way along the trails, peering ...

The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) released a report last month documenting the causes and the consequences of the pork miracle. The story sounds simple: In the last few decades, ...

Regardless of what you’re growing, spring is an exciting time of year. But it doesn’t come without challenges. Compaction can lead to wet soil that makes it difficult to get in your fields on time for ...