Tag Archives: #worldorganicnews

Episode 213. Glyphosate, The Gut & A Surprising No-Dig Benefit!

This is the World Organic News for the week ending 11th of May 2020.

Jon Moore reporting!

Decarbonise the air, recarbonise the soil!

NCAT ATTRA

As a bit of a follow on from last week when I recommended the resources at NCAT ATTRA which are now free to download, link in these show notes too, I listened to their podcast this week. I listen to most of theirs unless the episode revolves around US Tax law or something equally not relevant to me.

This episode entitled: Glyphosate Contamination was amazingly detailed while being specific to certain producers. Two things leapt out as I listened. A little background: The episode began discussing how some Montana organic durum wheat growers had their crops rejected in Italy for having more than 10mparts per million of glyphosate. That such a small fraction can be tested for is impressive. It also ensures the quality of organic wheat in Italy, at least. Continue reading →

Episode 212. Resources and Heresy!

This is the World Organic News for the week ending 4th of  May 2020.

Jon Moore reporting!

Decarbonise the air, recarbonise the soil!

Back in 2007/8 when the financial crash hit government funding in the US, yes and everywhere else too, but this is a US story for the moment, so the US cut funding to NCAT and especially to their ATTRA program which I think stands for Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural America? Of something like that. I’d used this site for years as a resource for sustainable ag articles, ideas and techniques. Anyway their funding was chopped about and they started charging a couple of dollars for each download. The other day at work I thought I remembered a resource on organic asparagus. A quick google wang had me there. Continue reading →

Episode 211. Science, Biomimicry and Gardening

This is the World Organic News for the week ending 27th of  April 2020.

Jon Moore reporting!

Decarbonise the air, recarbonise the soil!

Given the current whoha we are exposed to of late, I thought it might be a good idea to look at the science behind No-Dig gardening. 

As long time listeners will know, I’m a big fan of biomimicry. This combined with the scientific method – hypothesis, experimentation, data collection and contemplation – allows us to proceed from a solid starting point. As new information is received we can adjust our hypothesis and test again. Continue reading →

Episode 210. Redesigning The Food System

This is the World Organic News for the week ending 20th of April 2020.

Jon Moore reporting!

Decarbonise the air, recarbonise the soil!

We have a great opportunity at this strange time in world affairs. In my own world, the complete lack of clients has led to great leaps forward in the garden space at work. One person with the time and the seeds can make a difference. As I’ve mentioned before, I am employed by a disability day program service and three residential units are in the same location. I’ve been able to supply them with silverbeet, tomatoes, cucumbers, pumpkins and winter squash. Continue reading →

Episode 209. The Tightening

This is the World Organic News for the week ending 13th of  April 2020.

Jon Moore reporting!

Decarbonise the air, recarbonise the soil!

Hello listeners! We have had our local hospitals closed for two weeks and they are scheduled for a deep clean. These facilities are the centre of COVID-19 cluster here in the North West of Tasmania. The numbers are small compared to other places on the globe, so Mrs World Organic News and I are relieved these measures have been taken. Herself has been home for three weeks and as I’m classified as an essential worker because I’m in the disability sector, I’ve been out in the community. The drive to work is along back roads and work itself is isolated from the rest of town anyway so we are relatively safe. The only contact with the rest of the world is food shopping. People are doing the right thing and my hands are now almost 90% alcohol from the hand sanitiser. So we remain hopeful and carry on. I hope you all stay safe. Continue reading →

Episode 208. No-Dig for Victory.

This is the World Organic News for the week ending 6th of  April 2020.

Jon Moore reporting!

Decarbonise the air, recarbonise the soil!

Folks we are in a battle, more than that we are in a war. Opportunity often comes disguised as adversity. 

The long decades of struggle against pollution, against Monsanto, against fossil  fuels and the mindless idea of continual consumption could be coming to an end. I do NOT see the suffering of this time, the infected and the deceased as a positive. I sit in empathy with Mrs World Organic News as she weeps during news reports covering death tolls and abandoned nursing homes and the incompetence of some responses. I am livid at the mindless bullshit spreading across social media. Let me put that clearly. Continue reading →

Episode 207. Quick Response Gardens

This is the World Organic News for the week ending 16th of  March 2020.

Jon Moore reporting!

Decarbonise the air, recarbonise the soil!

In reference to last week’s episode #206  Two Different No Dig Garden Systems, I called for any listeners who understood the carbon drawdown effects of lasagna gardening structures I was talking about. A big thank you to Peter McCarthy for his response.

Quote:

As far as your question about how the lasagna system works as regard nitrogen drawdown (which is a concept I don’t believe is a long term problem in any case assuming u have a complex biodiverse system that is going towards abundance 😉). My observations are that with this system when freshly layed and planted IE the layers have not yet become good soil, is that the plants roots can find the nutrient throughout the layers as the plant needs them. The fresh chicken manure that when fresh would ‘normally’ burn roots, doesn’t in the lasagna system since the roots 5 cm above are nitrogen deprived in the straw/leaf layer. The plant can pick, choose and adjust the soil environment. This is a hypothesis based on observation not proven by science. We as humans don’t have to understand the mechanisms… It makes us feel stupid but often plants know best. Lasagna beds work a treat. And have the bonus of training the stupid human to continue adding simple layers on top and avoiding our temptation to dig it over.

End Quote. Continue reading →

Episode 206. Two Different No-Dig Garden Systems

This is the World Organic News for the week ending 9th of  March 2020.

Jon Moore reporting!

Decarbonise the air, recarbonise the soil!

This week we’re delving into the worlds of lasagna and straw bales. 

Lasagna gardening is a variation on the No-Dig system described in the World Organic News No-Dig Gardening Book. It involves the standard steps of edging and laying down a barrier between the garden space and the soil/lawn below. So far so straightforward. Continue reading →

Episode 205. Regenerative Farming With Chickens

This is the World Organic News for the week ending 2nd of  March 2020.

Jon Moore reporting!

Decarbonise the air, recarbonise the soil!

Why Chooks?

This week I’m diving deeply into the humble chook. Known outside of Australasia as the chicken or hen, Here they are chooks. Get used to the word as it’s just what I use. Maybe you could spread this practice to where you live? A little linguistic trading.

So to the chooks. There has been a rediscovery of the humble chook in suburban areas over the last, say, twenty years. Local authorities have changed by-laws to allow the keeping of poultry, often without the rooster but that’s not too big of an issue as unfertilised eggs are just as delicious as the rooster boosted option. Continue reading →