sustainable agricultural practices

What Are the Best Ways to Control Garden Pests without Chemicals?

17/12/2021 by Hannie Mommers

It’s December at the moment and back in the Netherlands, I would never have to worry about pest control at this time. But over here in Spain, my second crop is in the kitchen garden. And the grasshoppers have a field day on my plants.

Whenever possible I try to avoid killing insects. I prefer them to move over to the woods behind our house or to the campo (the Spanish countryside). But I also want to eat my harvest so if they are very persistent, I take bigger measures.

What are the best ways to control garden pests without using chemicals or artificial toxins? I have listed 10 methods in this article.

Should We Pre-Germinate Seeds or Sow Directly into the Ground?

06/11/202105/11/2021 by Hannie Mommers

Whether you should pre-germinate seeds or sow them directly into the ground, highly depends on the kind of seed, the season, or your patience.

I had a 4th reason to pre-germinate my beans this year because I wanted to show the process to my grandsons. They live in an apartment building and have a balcony that has some pots. I wanted to stimulate their enthusiasm to get started on their own.

Back in the Netherlands years ago as well as now in Spain I had tried several times to pre-sprout beans using methods I found on the internet. Until this year I rarely succeeded, they molded long before they sprouted.

Water Conservation Management is Crucial for a Sustainable Agriculture

28/07/202114/07/2021 by Tom van Oosterhout

Water conservation management is, of course, not only crucial for sustainable agriculture. Any agriculture needs proper water conservation management. However, for various reasons, with sustainable agriculture, water conservation management requires much more skills and attention. Even our kitchen gardens require water conservation management.

Today it is 37 Celsius. The sun burns all day. There is hardly any wind. When the sun no longer shines in the kitchen gardens, our irrigation system waters the plants for 10 minutes. First, the one where the herbs grow, next, the one where we try to grow tomatoes and zucchini.

Sustainable Agricultural Practices Prevent Excessive Soil Erosion

28/07/202107/07/2021 by Tom van Oosterhout

We support sustainable agricultural practices, such as ecological and biological agriculture and permaculture. Many farmers oppose sustainable agricultural practices.

They argue that sustainable agricultural practices are unable to feed the world population. Even though they are never able to back up this claim.

Fortunately, there are many ways to counter excessive soil erosion. It is no surprise that sustainable agricultural practices are at the top of the prevention and restoration list.

What is Permaculture Farming, and Why can it Save Biodiversity?

26/10/202117/05/2021 by Tom van Oosterhout

What is permaculture farming? Although permaculture is often associated with the replication of nature, design principles are at the heart of permaculture farming. It’s one of the most challenging types of farming we know.

If only because permaculture farming contrasts highly with conventional, industrial farming in which non-renewable resources are used, air, land, and water are poisoned, biodiversity is destroyed, and the soil eroded.

Sustainable and organic farming is closely related to permaculture: the continuation of all life systems is supported (the earth component), as well as community life (the people component), and a fair share for everybody (the economic component).