Categories
- Bicycling the Baja
- Colombia
- Community Supported Agriculture
- Costa Rica
- Cycling: North America / On the Road
- Dairy Farming
- Education
- El Salvador
- Farmers' Markets
- Food
- Guatemala
- Guest Blogs
- Honduras
- Horticulture
- Livestock
- Local Agriculture
- Mexico
- Nicaragua
- Organic Farming
- Panama
- Permaculture
- Politics
- Poultry
- Small Scale Faming
- Spain
- Starting Out in Farming
- Sustainable Development / Climate Change
- Urban Projects
- Water
- Young Farmers
Recent Comments
- Rich on Rocks, ropes and roses – our final few days in Colombia
- Charlotte on Rocks, ropes and roses – our final few days in Colombia
- Charlotte on Rocks, ropes and roses – our final few days in Colombia
- Shanna on Rocks, ropes and roses – our final few days in Colombia
- James Pocklington on Rocks, ropes and roses – our final few days in Colombia
-
Recent Posts
Archives
Category Archives: Horticulture
Rocks, ropes and roses – our final few days in Colombia
29th September: We’re getting a bit behind ourselves on the ol’ blog. Right now we are in Madrid, Spain having said a fond farewell to our cycling adventure in the Americas after just over a year on the road. Prolonging … Continue reading
Posted in Colombia, Horticulture, Local Agriculture
7 Comments
Blots on the landscape
Colombia is blessed with some of the most diverse and fertile terrains on earth. For example I have lost count of the number of new fruits that we have sampled in less than a month, it’s probably running at one … Continue reading
Posted in Colombia, Food, Horticulture, Poultry
Leave a comment
‘Hey farmer, farmer put away that DDT now…’
…wrote Joni Mitchell in her hit song ‘Big Yellow Taxi’ in 1970. DDT that most infamous of synthetic pesticides, the use of which arguably launched the environmental movement as we know it today, first made it’s appearance during World War … Continue reading
Posted in Horticulture, Nicaragua, Politics
1 Comment
Organic kitchen gardens in Miraflor
One of the projects in El Sontule, Miraflor Reserve focuses on the development of organic kitchen gardening. Many people have a bit of land by their house, perfect for growing veggies to meet many of the families’ needs. A few … Continue reading
More on coffee…
On May 15th, Radio 4′s ‘The Food Programme’ broadcast a fascinating programme about coffee – focusing on Central America. Apparently the global price of coffee is at a 34 year high. Back in 2003 coffee was trading at $60cents per … Continue reading
Grains of gold
In El Salvador the coffee bean is known as ‘el grano de oro’ – the grain of gold. And for good reason. No other country in the region has depended so heavily on coffee in its history and economic development. … Continue reading
Posted in El Salvador, Horticulture, Local Agriculture, Water
Leave a comment
How fair is fair trade?
Buying fair trade products is popular back home. People happily pay a premium on their coffee, bananas, chocolate, and a range of other products in the belief that a proportion of the money is going to pay workers a fairer … Continue reading
Posted in Food, Guatemala, Horticulture
Leave a comment
Land of plenty
The land around Quetzaltenango is very fertile indeed. Two villages in particular: Zunil and Almolonga have a thriving agriculture industry. Almolonga is k’iche (the local language) for ‘place where water springs’. There are many rivers and streams tapped for irrigation … Continue reading
Posted in Guatemala, Horticulture, Local Agriculture
Leave a comment
Some musings on maize
Mexico is the birthplace of corn. The crop was domesticated 8,000 years ago into one of the world’s most important food crops. Unfortunately since the North American Free Trade Agreement took effect in 1994, US corn has flooded Mexico at … Continue reading
Posted in Food, Horticulture, Local Agriculture, Mexico
Leave a comment
Notes on arable farming: from the slopes of the volcano to the banks of the river
On leaving Mexico City, and drawing closer to the awesome volcanoes, evidence of crop cultivation increased as urban sprawl decreased. Despite the very arid looking environment, on the banks of the volcano there was a lot of corn growing activity. … Continue reading
Posted in Food, Horticulture, Local Agriculture, Mexico
Leave a comment