After the success of last year's course, Dan Kittredge will be presenting another series of workshops for the 2010-2011 growing season. The goal is to engage and build on what you already know and are doing.

Organic Connections magazine has published a story on blueberry grower Bob Wilt who found that the more efficiently he was able to get minerals into his berries, the higher the brix measurement went. Hence, he concentrated on doing that and still does to this day. And as the brix has gone up, so has the flavor.

Beginning in the 1950s, America’s farmers were told to get big, or get out. It wasn’t just a slogan, it was USDA policy, a mantra recited by several secretaries of agriculture. That mindset, combined with a post-WWII explosion in chemical fertilizer use, made our farms larger and more productive than ever — but at a high price, with many small farmers vanishing and the introduction of new kinds of environmental challenges.

Is it possible to grow food with exquisite flavor, beautiful shine, extraordinary nutrition, and extended shelf-life? According to growers who have done it, not only can farm-sized growing operations do it, but with the right tools and knowledge, people can do it in their own backyards. Practitioners of this kind of growing say their goal is to maximize crop nutrient density - the amount of nutrition per volume of crop - and that this can be done in a manner entirely consistent with certified organic growing practices.

Mystic, Connecticut

My husband John and I couldn't be happier with our brand-new garden this year! It's not very big, but it supplies all the produce that we can possibly use. The vegetables are amazing and we give away basketfuls each week.

Barre, Massachusetts

August 9

I met Joanna Campe at the NOFA Conference 2008. I use Azomite in my garden along with my compost and have no need for fertilizers.

In October 2001 I made my 3rd trip to Maui to visit my good friend, dedicated horticulturist, and tree planter, Stephan Reeve, who, like me, is a long-time health and raw-organic foods enthusiast. His "Fruition" orchard-farm project is an inspiring ecological model.

Dylan Keating explores the global implications of rock dust and explains why applying it in our gardens can transform our crops.

Now that I've passed the half-century mark I feel fortunate to be only slightly worse for the wear as my body copes with getting older. None-the-less, lingering aches in my joints and bones are telling signs that my body is aging. These aches come as no surprise of course.

Lyons, Wisconsin

Six years ago, 2001, I started gardening for the sake of improving my ailing health. I was determined to garden organically for the sake of food purity. Setting out with little knowledge and almost zero experience I had two very disappointing years of only fair yield and relentless insect attack.

Disillusioned, I then read up on some organic pest control approaches. Armed with a little non-toxic ammo I achieved less damaged produce. However it cost extra money and time and did not improve yield.