“Can I use manure to fertilize my garden?” That’s a common question we get in Extension and on the Garden Professors page. The answer is absolutely, but there’s a “but” that should follow that answer that not everyone shares. And that is…but for fruits and vegetable gardens the manure you apply could be a potential source of human pathogens that could make you or your family sick. There are procedures and waiting periods you should follow to reduce the potential risk to human health from pathogens in manure and other animal products.”… Continue reading this article “The Scoop on Poop: Manure in the Vegetable Garden (and potential food safety risks)”
Tag: organic
Translating the Language of Seed Packets: Hybrid, Heirloom, non-GMO, and more
Hybrid, heirloom, organic, non-GMO, natural….there’s lots of labels on those seed packets or plants you pick up at the garden center or from your favorite catalog. Since the seed-starting season is upon us, let’s take a minute to look at some of the information – and mis-information – you might find on those seed packets.
For a brief overview, here’s a short video segment I recently shot for the Backyard Farmer Show, a popular public TV offering for Nebraska Extension:
Managing Diseases without Fungicides: A Focus on Sanitation (A Visiting Professor feature)
Submitted by:
Nicole Ward Gauthier, University of Kentucky Extension Plant Pathologist
PEOPLE: University of Kentucky Department of Plant Pathology Website
Kentucky Diseases of Fruit Crops, Ornamentals, & Forest Trees on Facebook
Amanda Sears, Kentucky Extension Horticulture Agent
Madison County Cooperative Extension Website
Alternatives to Fungicides
When diseases occur in urban landscapes, it is often presumed that fungicides are the most important and effective disease management tools available. However, a good sanitation program can help reduce the need for chemical controls and can improve the effectiveness of other practices for managing disease.… Continue reading this article “Managing Diseases without Fungicides: A Focus on Sanitation (A Visiting Professor feature)”
Organic insecticides that will get you high
Plants are crazy chemical factories, synthesizing a whole host of compounds that we use for flavoring and dye and medicine and… getting high. And why are they making all these chemicals? They’re certainly aren’t doing it for our sake… no, quite often they’re trying to kill something – usually insects — and it just so happens that sometimes our brains and bodies react differently enough that instead of killing us, they make us high. Well, and sometimes they kill us too.… Continue reading this article “Organic insecticides that will get you high”
New publication on biodynamics
Happy New Year to our blog readers!
Now that we have our blog safely moved to this new format, we all resolve to post more frequently. (It’s actually Bert’s day to post, but given that his computer is probably frozen – literally – in Michigan, I’ll step in.)
Today I got a link to my most recent publication in HortTechnology on the science behind biodynamic preparations. I’ve written about this topic before, but recognize the importance of peer-reviewed information for researchers, extension educators, and Master Gardener volunteers.… Continue reading this article “New publication on biodynamics”
Conventional vs. organic agriculture – the battle continues
An article was published earlier this week comparing the nutritional content of milk from organically raised cows to that from conventional dairies. The principle finding in this report is that “organic milk contained 25% less ω-6 fatty acids and 62% more ω-3 fatty acids than conventional milk, yielding a 2.5-fold higher ω-6/ω-3 ratio in conventional compared to organic milk (5.77 vs. 2.28).” (ω-3 fatty acids are considered to be “healthy” and you’ve probably heard of them in association with fish consumption.)… Continue reading this article “Conventional vs. organic agriculture – the battle continues”
Why I Don’t Worry Too Much About Organic Fruits and Veggies
Let me tell you something you already know. If you grow something in your own garden you’ll know exactly what poisons were or weren’t put on it, how much fertilizer was used, and furthermore it will taste better.
If you buy your apples from the guy down the street who you’ve known for 20 years you’ll be able to ask him what he used to grow the crop, why he used it, and you’ll have the satisfaction of supporting a local industry. … Continue reading this article “Why I Don’t Worry Too Much About Organic Fruits and Veggies”
So…How Much Pesticide Is Actually In Our Fruits and Veggies?
We have discussed the dirty dozen here before – those foods which a group called The Environmental Working Group (wow—fancy name – everything they say must be true!) has established contain more residues of different pesticides than other foods. I’ve already stated my concerns about selecting organic foods instead of conventionally grown ones because of a fear of pesticides so I won’t restate that here. Instead what I want to call your attention to an article sent to me by our visiting professor, Charlie Rowher. … Continue reading this article “So…How Much Pesticide Is Actually In Our Fruits and Veggies?”
Guano
One of the best organic fertilizers out there – at least in terms of how plants respond to it — is bat guano. As most of you probably already know, bat guano is made of bat droppings. What you probably don’t realize is that bat droppings need to be aged for a while in an arid environment before they become guano. Caves provide the perfect environment for this to occur, and so that is where most bat guano comes from.… Continue reading this article “Guano”
Organic Honey?
As there seems to be a good deal of interest in the topic of honeybees, and I’m a beekeeper, albeit relatively novice, I thought I might continue a bit of discussion.
I’ve been beekeeping for three years, and I sold my first honey harvest this fall. Six gallons, divided into pint and half pint-sized jars. As a newbie, extracting the honey from the frames and getting it into the jars was, by far, the messiest thing I’ve ever done. … Continue reading this article “Organic Honey?”