Part of the reason pesticides are widely used in agriculture comes down to the general preferences of the average American consumer. Farmer Don, a local Portland farmer who grows and sells a variety of fresh foods explains the fussiness some people exhibit toward fruits and vegetables—they won’t buy if something is blemished or has any [...]
An unusual situation resulted in a community coming together to care for a flock of chickens.
January 8, 2010 A Farm Foundation Roundtable discussion took place today. Michael Dimock, of Roots of Change (ROC) was present, offering “ten basic building blocks” for a new social contract. Dimock goes on to say, ” I am a realist who looks at the past and says we can, we will, and we must change [...]
As I drive across this quiet stretch of river on the small, two-lane bridge to Sauvie Island, leaving for now the city of Portland not so far behind, I want to write the story of Red Truck Farm, a 1/2-acre vegetable and dry bean farm dedicated to growing organic food for the local community. I [...]
Fall is in full swing and Winter isn’t far beyond, I’ve been enjoying local apples, squash and weekly pots of soup. While this time of year usually encourages folks to slow down a bit I hardly have a moment to myself but was thrilled when I was able to recently carve out a little time [...]
A video tour of backyard chickens raised in urban environments to produce fresh eggs.
There’s a good chance you’ve been around long enough to have heard of a garden tour. Gardening people open their backyards to total strangers – albeit they are garden enthusiasts, which makes it perfectly acceptable – to share what they have created by way of their landscaping talents. Some people visit to get ideas for [...]
Damascus, Oregon (population: 10,000) ponders how to integrate existing urban agriculture into its future urban fabric. Damascus, Oregon is located about 20 miles southeast of Portland, incorporating the surrounding communities of Damascus and Carver to become a city in 2004. It occupies roughly 10,000 acres (16 miles); now designated inside the Portland Metropolitan urban growth [...]