The Avalon Organic Gardens, Farm, and Ranch Report

February 18, 2010—The sun bows gracefully behind Tumacácori Peak.  I'm precariously perched on a sturdy mesquite branch lashing two large wooden boxes to a weather-worn snag.  Around the property, fruit trees are already flowering, irises are making their pre-season inquiries, and the first signs of green are fading up from ...

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We are back and we have settled in the Santa Cruz River Valley, also known by the natives as the 'Palm of God.'  Our newest exciting project is greening the desert.  Check out this video (recently updated), created by Geoff Lawton, the director of the Permaculture Research Institute (PRI) of ...

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Can you believe it’s Spring! We have emerged from a mild winter here in Southern Arizona. With the renewal of life, of energies, of the complex relationships between insects, microbes, plants, animals, and people, we have an opportunity to give thanks for all that occurred since this day of last ...

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We’ve got the garlic in! That feels great. Takes a group effort to plant half an acre by hand. The early hard frost (24 F in the Lower Garden) in mid October knocked out our Basil, Eggplant, Peppers, Tomatoes, Okra, Cucumbers, and Summer Squash, altering ...

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Farm Report From Avalon Organic Gardens, Farm, and Ranch in Tumacacori, Arizona. 2/08 February witnessed the preparation and anticipation of spring. In this climate spring sneaks in fast out of winter, and is gone into the blazing summer without waiting for anyone to catch up. We are getting our seedlings going ...

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Writing from Avalon Organic Gardens, Farm, and Ranch in Tumacacori, Arizona, winter is the time for introspection, a time for settling in and processing the past year, to prepare for the spring. The New Year brings opportunity for growth, sowing new seeds, trying fresh experiments.  Here in ...

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According to an Associate Press article by Joann Loviglio, there is a new breed of farmers cropping up—more and more college graduates are taking to the fields "Agriculture has been so subsidized, corporatized and globalized," said Tom Murtha who studied English at Penn State. "There's definitely an interest and desire ...

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The Associated Press recently reported Grass that was genetically engineered for golf courses is growing in the wild. Creeping bentgrass was engineered to resist the popular herbicide Roundup to allow more efficient weed control on golf courses. But the modified grass could spread that resistance to the wild, becoming a ...

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The Earth Policy Institute reports that the massive diversion of U.S. grain from food to fuel for cars is raising world food prices. The article notes that corn prices have doubled over the last year, wheat futures are trading at their highest level in 10 years, and rice prices are ...

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An online German publication, Spiegel online, recently questioned a possible connection between the mysterious decimation of bee populations in the U.S. and Germany and the spread of genetically-modified (GM) crops. In some cases, bee populations are down 70-80 percent. The article noted that politicians in ...

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