By Ken McEntee A pandemic-driven growth in gardening activity has helped to boost demand for peat moss. On the supply side, however, this year’s Canadian harvest has yielded mixed, weather-related results in the nation’s eastern and western regions, according to the Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss Association (CSPMA), Edmonton, Alberta. In its annual report, based on a member survey about the …
By P.J. Heller When the Sleepy Hollow Fire Protection District and Fire Safe Marin wanted to reduce the impact of wildfires in Marin County communities north of San Francisco, they brought in a unique crew from Star Creek Land Stewards to remove fire fuel. Some 1,200 goats and sheep from Star Creek grazed hundreds of acres, removing fire fuel including …
By Ken McEntee Like most businesses across the country, mulch and soil producers count the inability to hire workers among their greatest current challenges, said Robert LaGasse, executive director of the Mulch and Soil Council, of Shallowater, Texas. In the wake of the council’s annual conference, held in September in Memphis, Tennessee, LaGasse said the national trucking shortage and supply …
By Ken McEntee Several North American dairy farmers are employing a worm-based filtration system to clean manure-laden wastewater to use for irrigation while producing a marketable soil amendment and potentially earning credits for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. The patented BioFiltro BIDA (biodynamic aerobic) filtration system is proving to solve the problem of high nitrate levels in dairy farm …
By P.J. Heller Mulch and soil sales, that skyrocketed during the early months of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, may have dropped to pre-pandemic levels or below at the end of the major selling season in May and June 2021. Coming out of 2020 with sales increases of 20 percent to 40 percent, there had been predictions of a significant …
By Kathleen Marquardt Pine grows naturally on the sandhills of the Carolinas, and the longleaf pine, which is straight, strong, and pliable, has become a valuable commodity for many tree growers and harvesters. In earlier days, pine trees were harvested primarily for their wood, and much of it being sent to Europe where there was a shortage of lumber. Pine …
By P.J. Heller The farm-to-table social movement – which promotes serving locally grown food at restaurants and other eateries – is being reverse engineered into a table-to-farm effort that offers benefits to businesses, government and especially the environment. Among the companies across America flipping the farm-to-table concept is Rust Belt Riders, headquartered in Cleveland., Ohio. It collects food scraps from …
By P.J. Heller Coronavirus pandemic advice: Wash your hands often. Wear a face mask. Socially distance. Get vaccinated. Garden. Garden? In a year of on-and-off-again stay-at-home orders, businesses forced to shutter and employees having to work from home, a tanking national and world economy and concerns about the food supply — not to mention the more than 27 million Americans …
By P.J. Heller It could turn out to be one of the most notable marriages of 2020. No, not the Dennis Quaid and Laura Savoie nuptials, or the tying of the knot between Princess Beatrice and Edo Mapelli Mozzi, or even the exchanging of vows between Scarlett Johansson and Colin Jost. We’re talking here about something more down to earth: …
