Tag Archives: gardener

New Séralini study shows Roundup damages sperm

Posted on July 13, 2014 by argylesock

Professor Gilles-Eric Séralini is a French scientist researching pesticides and GM (genetically modified, genetically engineered, GE) crops. He’s published a new study in which rats (Rattus norvegicus) were exposed to the world’s most popular weedkiller, Roundup (active ingredient glyphosate) for … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, horticulture, human health, knowledge transfer | Tagged academia, America, biotechnology, corn, Europe, farmer, food safety, gardener, genetic modification, glyphosate, grain, grocery, herbicide, herbicide resistance, human, lab animal, maize, maize NK603, mammal, man, Monsanto, pesticide, pesticide resistance, plant_monocot, poison, rat, research, Roundup, Roundup Ready crop, Séralini_Gilles-Eric, vertebrate | 7 Comments

Seed banks in soil

Posted on June 15, 2014 by argylesock

Chris at woodlands.co.uk tells us about ‘soil seed banks’. Growers and farmers know very well how seeds can live in soil, ready to germinate when conditions change. This can be wonderful, terrible or both. Chris’s article stirs an old seedbank … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, ecology, horticulture, knowledge transfer | Tagged bog, bryophyte, conservation, ecosystem, farmer, gardener, habitat restoration, keystone species, landscape, mining, moss, plant_dicot, plant_monocot, seed, seedbank, soil, wetland | Leave a comment

Is organic farming out of date?

Posted on June 2, 2014 by argylesock

There’s evidence that organic methods can be very productive, as I’ll discuss in this blog when I get around to that. I grow food on an allotment here in Britain. There, like many modern allotmenteers, I use organic methods. I … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, food, horticulture | Tagged allotment, America, Asia, biotechnology, Europe, farmer, gardener, genetic modification, grocery, law, Marsh_Steve, Monsanto, organic, patent, pesticide | 17 Comments

Gardens for wildlife

Posted on June 1, 2014 by argylesock

Here in Britain the gardening season looks good so far. Here’s an article about gardening for bees and other wildlife. Untidy gardeners like me are good gardeners for wildlife. It’s now a year since hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) bred in my … Continue reading →

Posted in ecology, horticulture, miniculture | Tagged apiculture, arthropod, breeding, bumblebee, clover, conservation, ecosystem, Europe, flower, foraging, fruit, garden, gardener, green manure, hedgehog, herb, hibernation, honeybee, hymenopteran, insect, invertebrate, leaf, mammal, nest, plant_dicot, rat, salad, vegetable, vertebrate, weed, wild bee, wild food, wild pollinator, wildlife | Leave a comment

Cultural traditions, environmental conservation and international development

Posted on May 5, 2014 by argylesock

Originally posted on Shonil Bhagwat:
Community mosaic, Edgbaston, Birmingham (Source: Jackie Nash Art) This mosaic is an example of living with difference in a multicultural society and forms a good analogy for the co-existence of cultural traditions, environmental conservation and…

Posted in food, knowledge transfer | Tagged art, conservation, development, farmer, gardener, religion, tradition | Leave a comment

When your produce gets wasted, it’s really a cry for help

Posted on April 24, 2014 by argylesock

Posted in agriculture, food, horticulture | Tagged fertiliser, food waste, fruit, garden, gardener, grocery, organic, vegetable, waste, water | 3 Comments

Open Source Seeds

Posted on April 19, 2014 by argylesock

Originally posted on Global Food Politics:
A group of researchers and plant breeders based at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, on Thursday announced a new initiative intended to break the monopoly control over plant genetic materials promoted by the use…

Posted in agriculture, horticulture, knowledge transfer, money and trade | Tagged America, brassica, breeding, broccoli, carrot, conservation, crop, crop diversity, development, Europe, farmer, food sovereignty, gardener, genetic diversity, kale, patent, plant_dicot, pseudocereal, quinoa, scientist, seed, seedbank, tradition, umbellifer, vegetable, vegetable variety | Leave a comment

Act locally

Posted on April 6, 2014 by argylesock

We’ve all heard the slogan, ‘Think globally, act locally.’ Here in Britain that can mean getting involved with Garden Organic’s Healthy Communities. Gardener or not, organic or not, you can be part of this. For example if you’re in Farnham, … Continue reading →

Posted in food, horticulture | Tagged allotment, Europe, family farm, food availability, fruit, gardener, local community, organic, vegetable | 1 Comment

Trade across the Pond and a possible Brexit

Posted on April 3, 2014 by argylesock

We in Britain are European citizens. Some say that the European Union (EU) is great for all. Others say we should leave – do a British Exit (‘Brexit’). If the Conservative Party (the Tories) wins the next General Election, we’re … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, food, knowledge transfer, money and trade | Tagged America, Cameron_David, Europe, farmer, fisher, gardener, politics, trade, Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership | Leave a comment

Smartphone Apps in Agriculture

Posted on March 19, 2014 by argylesock

Originally posted on Rakshit Agrawal:
Original post at e-Agriculture – http://www.e-agriculture.org/content/smartphone-apps-agriculture Technology has always been an important factor behind development. Even in areas where there is hardly any development, technology seems to have changed some part of it. Telecom has spread…

Posted in agriculture, horticulture, knowledge transfer | Tagged development, farmer, gardener, knowledge, phone, technology | Leave a comment