By Richard Mitchell Farmers, municipalities and home gardeners alike understand the concept and value of composting but may not understand how to make good compost. The National Organic Program (NOP) offers guidelines for composting to eliminate pathogens and weed seeds. … Continued
Dig Deeper
organic certification
Cutting-edge compost
By Troy Hinke National Organic Program (NOP) regulations require certified organic compost to be turned five times in 15 days. The assumption is that temperatures will remain above 130-degrees F long enough to kill pathogens and weed seeds and give … Continued
Confessions of a “foodie”
By Mary-Howell Martens, Lakeview Organic Grain Originally posted December 2004 Okay, I admit it; I’m a “foodie.” I can hardly help it, coming from a family where cookbooks were considered appropriate leisure reading, where Julia Child joined us regularly during … Continued
Smoothing the path to a profitable harvest home
By Mary-Howell Martens (with Klaas’ help), Lakeview Organic Grain Originally posted on September 28, 2004 Standing out in your field, surrounded by those amber waves of grain or rustling corn stalks, it is hard to imagine that the value of … Continued
Farming is definitely shades of gray
By Mary-Howell Martens (with Klaas’ help!), Lakeview Organic Grain Originally posted on August 31, 2004 The sun is brilliantly sparkling on the water, the waves a gentle and steady rhythm, and the ocean breeze is warm on my arms. The … Continued
Farms R Us? Part 2
By Mary-Howell Martens (with Klaas’ help!), Lakeview Organic Grain Originally posted on August 3, 2004 What follows is the final installment of a two-part series that developed when our friend Sandy asked us last winter to “franchise the design of … Continued
Farms R Us? Part 1
By Mary-Howell Martens (with Klaas’ help!), Lakeview Organic Grain Originally posted on July 20, 2004 When our friend Sandy asked us in January to “franchise the design of our farm” onto his farm, that seemed like a crazy idea. After … Continued
Why making organic the norm is important
Klaas responds to a question about last month’s column, Lakeview Organic Grain Originally posted on December 16, 2003 From the Dakotas to the Texas Panhandle, the rural Great Plains has been losing people for 70 years, a slow demographic collapse. … Continued
Why we certify
By Mary-Howell Martens (with Klaas’ help!), Lakeview Organic Grain Originally posted on October 24, 2003 “Come on, Mom, go faster! There’s never any cops along this road and we’ve got to get there!” My son’s urgency made a certain amount … Continued
The rise of the organic kiwi
By Laura Sayre Originally posted on April 1, 2003 Every stop on the tour of Leo and Diane Whittle’s organic kiwifruit orchard is enjoyable, but the last is the most spectacular: that’s when Leo takes you up the steep hill … Continued