Category: farming
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Authors Talk About Gardening
Don’t forget to catch up with this awesome author discussion this evening, Thursday March 11 at 8:00 pm EST We’re going to have some fun… Christopher Woods William Joseph Roberts HP Holo and me. The panel will be Zoom-based and simultaneously streamed on the Holo Writing – Authors Jacob and H.P. Holo Facebook Page, so viewers can watch…
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Where’s the Beef?
If you live in the US and you’ve been into a grocery store in the last few weeks, you’ve noticed something. Meat is getting harder to find, and more expensive. The supply chain is thoroughly disrupted, for a lot of complicated reasons this post isn’t about. No, this is about one thing: why aren’t…
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Farms and Farmland
One of the things I love about my new home state is the farms. For one thing, living in New England for 20 years fighting the annual crop of rocks gave me a deep appreciation for the smooth fields of dirt here every spring. For another thing, I’ve always been a sucker for beautiful old…
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Myth-busting: Calf Cruelty
I don’t usually do a post that is mostly other people’s words, but this is just amazing and wonderful and gives me hope for the future of agriculture. Also, it’s very much true. I grew up on and around small to medium farms, I know what it takes to run one, and it’s not easy.…
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Monoculture, Agriculture, Permaculture
Continuing on the theme of talking about food, farms, and cultivation methods, I wanted to settle down on my soap box and talk about one of my favorite things. I grew up with parents who were very interested in gardening, producing our own foods, preserving it.. in other words, quite old-fashioned and what would now…
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Future of Farming
I write science fiction, I once managed a small farm using permaculture ideas and organic principles, I’ve gardened all my life, and I’m a scientist. Yesterday’s post about Persistent Food Myths was written out of exasperation at the hysteria surrounding the use of ‘chemicals’ on our crops, which is far to broad a term to…
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Mitey Bees
Honeybees, the most-loved insect, and a vital part of the pollination system that ensures we have fruit, nuts, and veggies in the stores to buy and eat, have a nemesis. In recent years you’ve likely seen concerns over Colony Collapse Disorder (also known as CCD) but what you probably haven’t heard about are the Destructors.…
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The Sheep and the Goats
I wound up over at MGC today, switching off with Amanda. My post was about the publishing industry, but it drew on my background of caring for sheep and goats. I sometimes – ok, very rarely – miss that. It’s incredibly hard work, and endless work, too. You can’t take a day off from milking…
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Unnatural Foods
This isn’t, really, a food blog. If I seem to dwell overmuch on the subject, it is perhaps because food is very important to life. Food is the fuel our bodies burn to do our daily activities, which we must do, to earn more food. Is it any surprise that food is a pivotal pillar…
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Livestock Resources for Further Research
Another guest post by my mother, Kathleen Sanderson, in follow-up to the post at Mad Genius Club about livestock in space. This is also useful information if you are planning on keeping small stock while stuck on our current mudball. There seems to be quite a bit of interest in the animals that colonists might…
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Inorganic Food
Chemistry is everywhere. Some of you may know this, but for a long time I lived with my Dad on a small New England farm, where we grew veggies and chickens and dabbled with other things. Most of it was his ideas, I was just grunt labor helping him keep up with chores. Dad’s been…
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Incredibly Late
I know, I’m late, I’m late… but it’s been an interesting day so far. Three weeks worth of laundry, and the First Reader is sick, poor man, so I did it solo. But I managed about 1500 words in the wash and dry cycles, and I think this novella is going to be ready by…