Tag Archives: #mrjonmoore

Episode 261. Seymour, Fukuoka, Mollison and MacKenzie

This is The ChangeUnderground for the 21st of June 2021.

I’m your host, Jon Moore

Decarbonise the Air, Recarbonise the Soil!

This week I’m taking a look back at my literary mentors in the smallholding/horticulture field. 

John Seymour

It turned out I finally managed to get to the library to ask about self sufficiency books the day after “The Good Life” first aired on Australian TV back in 1977. I hadn’t heard of it, let alone watched it but the librarian alerted me to it. A romanticised version of backyard self sufficiency but with some useful ideas. Continue reading →

Episode 260. Small Scale Grain Growing

This is The ChangeUnderground for the 13th of June 2021.

I’m your host, Jon Moore

Decarbonise the Air, Recarbonise the Soil!

Fertile Crescent Grains

At first sight this small scale grains seems a non-starter but bear with me.

Now the Fertile Crescent grains and their relatives were selected for with the technology the early farmers had to hand. As their technology developed the seeds were selected to fit the technology. This basically means wheeled vehicles and draught animals. From sowing to harvesting this technology suite affected every aspect of grain production. Seed drills, to combine harvesters and silos all reflect this. Continue reading →

Episode 259. My path to No-Dig

This is The ChangeUnderground for the 7th of June 2021.

I’m your host, Jon Moore

Decarbonise the Air, Recarbonise the Soil!

This is My Story And Maybe Yours Too.

Way back in 2004, I caught a chest infection that just wouldn’t lift. After about four months, I ended up one night in Accident and Emergency at our local hospital. Chest X-rays revealed pneumonia. That night, the 25th of August, I “left the building”, twice. The next morning was the turning point, even though it didn’t feel like it at the time. Home ten days later but physically wrecked. Continue reading →

Episode 258. Seeds ~ selection, short seasons

This is The ChangeUnderground for the 31st of May 2021.

I’m your host, Jon Moore

Decarbonise the Air, Recarbonise the Soil!

Some updating info. The website disintegrated and I’m in the process of rebuilding it. Everything except the show notes is back up I hope. The 275 odd sets of show notes will take some time but I’ll get them up over the next little while. Thanks for your patience, now to today’s presentation. Continue reading →

Episode 257. The Importance of Animals

This is The ChangeUnderground for the 24th of May 2021.

I’m your host, Jon Moore

Decarbonise the Air, Recarbonise the Soil!

I’d like to start off with a big shout out to David who bought me a coffee this week! Much appreciated David and yes this show runs on coffee so you are helping to fuel the work. I might point out that 10% of that coffee and all the courses that sell will be donated to the Bubugo Conservation Trust [Link in the show notes] for their sustainable farming program. I love the idea that we can work together across the globe and make a difference in some many places. 

Now for the scheduled episode! Continue reading →

Episode 255. Insurance In Troubling Times

This is The ChangeUnderground for the 3rd of May 2021.

I’m your host, Jon Moore

Decarbonise the Air, Recarbonise the Soil!

If this last year has taught us anything, it has taught us this: People are both a great source of joy and an extreme source of frustration. While we’ve been through something that happened 100 years ago, there’s no guarantee we’ll come out of this pandemic and not have to worry for another 100 years.  Continue reading →

Episode 254. When We Lose Diversity

This is The ChangeUnderground for the 26th of April 2021.

I’m your host, Jon Moore

Decarbonise the Air, Recarbonise the Soil!

We have lived through a period of agriculture that could be described as over specialisation. The number of mixed farms dropped after the second world war. From being cereal farmers, say, growing maize, wheat, oats, rye, clover, peas and barley, individuals were driven by government incentives and market forces into growing one or two crops, maize and soybeans. Continue reading →

Episode 253. Fruit

This is The ChangeUnderground for the 19th of April 2021.

I’m your host, Jon Moore

Decarbonise the Air, Recarbonise the Soil!

Last week I looked at specialising in herbs, this week the focus is fruit.

There is much to recommend this approach to food production in the backyard and on a smallholding.

I divide fruit into three areas. Tree fruits, bush fruits and ground covers. Let’s start with the ground covers.

Ground Covers

Fragaria ananassa, Strawberries are the obvious choice. Because you can grow them for a few years, they fit nicely into an eight bed rotation. It would run something like this: Continue reading →

Episode 252. Herbs

This is The ChangeUnderground for the 12th of April 2021.

I’m your host, Jon Moore

Decarbonise the Air, Recarbonise the Soil!

A quick reminder that The ChangeUnderground is supporting the Bubugo Conservation Trust in Uganda through a percentage of the course sales and the Buy Me a coffee link at WorldOrganicNews.com (Link in the show notes)

Now to to-day’s episode: Herbs!

When we think of gardening, we generally think: veggies. But what if there were other options?

What if?

Turns out there are. As you can tell from the title of today’s episode, Herbs are options. 

Why would we go down that route? Continue reading →

Episode 251. Small Gardens

This is The ChangeUnderground for the 5th of April 2021.

I’m your host, Jon Moore

Decarbonise the Air, Recarbonise the Soil!

Small is beautiful!

In some ways this is a return to first principles and my own beginnings. A general rule of thumb is: we will always be able to grow more than we think.

If you’re new to the No-Dig thing, the productivity can be overwhelming. Remember we are planting more closely than a market garden powered by a four wheel tractor. The space needed for the machinery is available for growing. Equally we are not harvesting in exactly the same way as a market garden. The best mindset is that of a hunter-gatherer rather than an agribusiness.  Continue reading →