24 results for author: Dan Crawford

Rock Dust, Mother Earth’s Milk

Compost supplemented with rock dust is assisting the sustainability of Sinaloa’s farmers after last year’s cold snap. Last February a cold snap that lasted one week destroyed 90% of the corn crop in the Mexican State of Sinaloa in what many have been described as the worst disaster in Sinaloa’s history. Other crops such as tomatoes, chickpeas, green beans, squash, and chilli peppers were also devastated. Thousands of farmers were affected with the overall cost estimated at $23 billion. (more…)

Topsoil Loss and Remineralization

Topsoil is the result of a long, gradual process in which parent materials (rocks) weather and mix with decaying vegetation. The most lasting and thorough restoration of topsoil lies in imitating and accelerating the natural processes that originally created it. (more…)

Dr. Tso-Cheng Chang: The Amazing Tale of a Farmer, From Farm to Table

Tso-Cheng Chang is a small-scale farmer in Amherst, Massachusetts. His popular restaurant, Amherst Chinese Food, attracts people from all over the Pioneer Valley to its fresh, organic, delicious Chinese food. Dr. Chang is a strong believer in soil remineralization; he has been using rock dust on his organic farm since 1995 in his determined quest to eliminate the need for pesticides and to grow nutrient-dense food. At this point, his soil has become so rich that he has not felt the need to add rock dust in the last five years. Born in a small town in Shandong Province, China, in the late 1920s, Dr. Chang traveled to Taiwan and earned an undergraduate ...

John Todd- Ecology From 40,000 Feet

“When we’re flying at 40,000 feet and we look down, we see a marvelous amount of innovation in agriculture, environmental restoration, green architecture, in systems design and in renewable energy development,” Dr. John Todd tells Organic Connections. “The news on the ground has never been richer, more diverse or in some respects more global. There probably isn’t a continent on which we don’t have something happening, and that just wasn’t the case 20 years ago.” (more…)

Transforming Barren Land Into Fertile

If you were to choose a place to plant your dream vegetable garden, it would probably not be in the foothills of the Grampian Mountains in Strathardle, Perthshire, Scotland. The upland site is infertile, acidic and exposed to severe weather. Around 85 percent of Scotland is classified by the European Union as a “less-favoured area” for farming, and this region, plagued by lifeless, silty soil and boulders, falls right into that category. Yet it was exactly here that Cameron and Moira Thomson settled and decided to become self-sufficient by creating their own garden, growing their very own fruits and vegetables. “Our dream was to grow and use ...

The Potential of Remineralization

Official Green Disc Press Release at COP15 The Green Disc DVD at COP15 in Copenhagen given to all UN Delegations on December 16 includes RTE To read the press release click here Remineralize the Earth and soil remineralization have been included in a 40 chapter interactive multimedia disc of innovative, proven, cost-effective new technologies for integrated sustainable development, adaptation to rising temperature and sea level, and solutions for reversing global climate change. Remineralize the Earth was invited to submit a chapter for a book on a DVD called The Green Disc: New Technologies for a New World. The DVD has been given to all the ...

Maximizing Nutrition in Backyard Gardens

Maximizing Nutrition in Backyard Gardens by Ben Grosscup (forthcoming) Massachusetts Organic Food Guide, 2009-10 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. (more…)

Earthworms and Bacteria Enjoy a Symbiotic Relationship with Rockdust

The Eco-Logic of Vermiculture By Uday Bhawalker Each organism has a role and occupies a niche. In fact, shown by the Russian ecologist, Gause, about 30 years ago that each niche has only one organism with its specific food. If another organism is introduced, it either gets wiped out or creates its own micro-niche by living symbiotically with the first, for example, by using the waste matter of the first organism as food. Ecology of worm bins Let us use eco-logic to understand the ecology (ecology: the relationship between organisms and their environment) of worm bins. Worm bins are meant for bioprocessing of organic wastes. In a worm bin organics ...

Swedish Recognition for SEER Rockdust Magic

Swedish Recognition for SEER Rockdust Magic The fast growing popularity of the soil remineralizing SEER Rockdust has spread across the North Sea to Sweden. (more…)

Ocean Arks Carbon Sequestering Project: A Forest in Costa Rica

Agroforestry Project in Costa Rica: Food, Fuels & Income to Sustain Local Communities By John Todd Project manager William Turley showing one year old Jatropha fruit Almost a year ago we embarked upon a long hoped for dream. Our Costa Rica based colleagues and partners, long term New Alchemist William Turley and his green- thumbed wife Angie Sanchez are planting trees on their land on the deforested lower slopes of the Volcano Miravalles in Guanacaste. Our plan is to replace formerly forested, overgrazed grasslands there with a working landscape of trees. The land is currently leased from William and Angie. Within the year we would like to buy ...