Tag Archives: shrub

Cocoa prices are surging, but cocoa farmers are still making a pittance

Posted on June 24, 2014 by argylesock

argylesock says… Chocolate tastes so good, but it’s not so sweet for the smallholders who grow it. You can scroll down for info about other tropical commodity crops.

Posted in agriculture, money and trade | Tagged cacao, cash crop, coffee, commodity crop, farmer, palm oil, plant_dicot, plant_monocot, rubber, shrub, smallholder, sugar cane, trade, tree | Leave a comment

Paving the Way For Invasive Species

Posted on September 29, 2013 by argylesock

Originally posted on Living With Insects Blog:
Horticulturalists help bring beauty to our gardens and landscapes by introducing plants from other parts of the world and breeding them for aesthetic characteristics. In the past, not enough attention was paid to…

Posted in ecology, horticulture | Tagged alder buckthorn, alien species, aphid, arthropod, brimstone butterfly, ecosystem, garden, hemipteran, insect, invasive species, landscape, lepidopteran, native species, pest, plant_dicot, shrub, soybean aphid, tiger moth | Leave a comment

The Role and Risk of Coffee-based Development in Ethiopia

Posted on September 15, 2013 by argylesock

Originally posted on Global Food Politics:
Two Farmers in Ethiopia Pick Coffee Cherries, the fruit processed into coffee beans (Image courtesy The Upcoming). A new report issued by the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) claimed that the child mortality…

Posted in agriculture, human health, money and trade | Tagged arboriculture, cash crop, child, coffee, coffee leaf rust, crop, development, disease, farmer, fungicide, fungus, organic, pathogen, plant_dicot, poverty, shrub, trade | Leave a comment

Gorse

Posted on April 11, 2013 by argylesock

Here’s a good article about gorse (Ulex spp.) by Chris at Woodlands.co.uk There’s gorse in bloom now, somewhere in the British Isles. There’s always gorse in bloom. As Paul Simons at the Guardian reminds us, an old proverb says that … Continue reading →

Posted in ecology | Tagged alien species, child, flower, foraging, gorse, history, invasive species, native species, shrub, weed, wild food | 2 Comments

How agroforestry schemes can improve food security in developing countries

Posted on March 2, 2013 by argylesock

Caspar van Vark at the Global Development Professionals Network has written a good article about agroforestry. That means farming with trees and shrubs amongst crops and livestock. Dr van Vark calls for more discussion of agroforestry as part of improving … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, ecology, knowledge transfer, money and trade | Tagged Africa, agroforestry, America, Asia, crop, development, Europe, farm, food, food security, knowledge, livestock, plant_dicot, plant_gymnosperm, plant_monocot, shrub, sustainable, tree | 3 Comments

Rhododendron ponticum – much more than just an invasive weed

Posted on January 30, 2013 by argylesock

Posted in ecology, horticulture | Tagged alien species, arboriculture, biodiversity, biological control, Chondrostereum purpureum, conservation, disease, ecosystem, fungus, herbicide, history, invasive species, mould, mycoherbicide, pathogen, pesticide, Phytophthora infestans, Phytophthora kernoviae, Phytophthora ramorum, plant_dicot, potato blight, research, shrub, sudden oak death, tree, weed | Leave a comment

Swaddling clothes, gold, frankincense and myrrh

Posted on December 22, 2012 by argylesock

Myths about the birth of Jesus say that ‘three wise men’ visited him as he lay, ‘wrapped in swaddling clothes,’ in a manger in Bethlehem. The myths say that the wise men gave him ‘gold, frankincense and myrrh’. Swaddling means … Continue reading →

Posted in human health | Tagged child, culture, frankincense, gold, history, human, mistletoe, myrrh, myth, pharmaceutical, plant_dicot, poverty, religion, shrub, textile, tree | 4 Comments

Tree of the month: Blackthorn

Posted on December 15, 2012 by argylesock

Two nights ago the moon was new so according to this version of the Ogham ‘tree calendar’, we’re now in the Month of the Blackthorn. You might choose to follow my ‘ogham’ tag for other posts in this series. The … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, ecology | Tagged blackthorn, conservation, Europe, farm, flower, foraging, fruit, hedge, history, landscape, native species, ogham, plant_dicot, shrub, tree, wild food | 9 Comments

Should we stop eating meat?

Posted on November 2, 2012 by argylesock

Would it solve the world’s food crisis if we all went vegetarian or vegan? Priyamvada Gopal at the Guardian says no, inequality is a bigger factor in food shortages. I think that food wastage, especially in the rich world, is … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, food, human health | Tagged farm, feed, food, food security, food waste, game, grain, grass, grassland, hazel, land use, legume, livestock, mammal, meat, pasture, plant_dicot, plant_monocot, poverty, ruminant, sheep, shrub, soya, tree, vertebrate, waste, wild food | 24 Comments

Tree of the month: Bramble

Posted on October 15, 2012 by argylesock

The moon is new today so we’ve just entered the Month of the Bramble or the Month of the Vine. You might choose to follow my ‘Ogham’ tag for earlier posts in this series. Several of the species called ‘trees’ … Continue reading →

Posted in ecology, horticulture | Tagged access to land, autumn, bramble, bulrush, forest, fruit, harvest, hedge, history, landfill, ogham, plant_dicot, plant_monocot, recycling, shrub, tree, waste, weed, wine, woodland | 8 Comments