Seaweed, an already notoriously nutritious food, can become even more nutrient-dense when grown with wastewater from other parts of the food industry, according to new research.  While some seaweed is grown and harvested in sea-based farms, it can also be... read more

Reaching for meats labeled as “raised without antibiotics” is a move that many consumers make in the grocery aisle. But are those shoppers actually getting antibiotic-free beef? As it turns out, that is not always the case.  The US Department of Agricultu... read more

Like most Jewish families, mine has spent years, decades even, crafting our Passover seders. Each time we meet, a new tradition gets folded into the script, and we rejoice in revisiting it for years to come. We’ve included inside jokes, favorite foods, ev... read more

Most Americans think of peanuts in terms of peanut butter or as a snack at baseball games. The history of peanuts in America, of course, is more complicated than that, and it is often tied to the enslavement of African Americans. However, the history of p... read more

The birds and the bees both do it. That is, they team up to protect and pollinate coffee bean plants. Without the duo, as researchers recently found, coffee plants would be far less successful. In fact, a study, published earlier this month in the scienti... read more

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. As lockdowns went into effect in the spring of 2020 to slow the spread of the coronavirus, reports emerged of a global gardening boom, with plan... read more

Seaweeds are among the fastest‑growing organisms on the planet and are very regenerative if they are harvested properly. The number one rule for harvesting sustainably is: do not rip the seaweed from the rock. Always leave some of the seaweed attached and... read more

There’s a particular feeling—a mixture of astonishment and smug satisfaction—that pops up the first time you successfully grow something. Whether it’s plucking a perfectly red tomato from your very own vine or seeing that first hint of a spring crocus bre... read more

It all started with a classic box of holiday chocolates. You know the kind: a molded plastic tray filled with chocolates of different shapes and designs. What’s the first thing you do when the box makes its way around the room to you? You grab the legend ... read more

The idea of a spring tonic is one that spans many cultures throughout time. This phenomenon was partially born out of necessity, since, historically, people needed something nutritious—be it food, drink or medicine—to replenish their strength after surviv... read more

When Mehmet Öztan moved to the US in 2006, he never imagined he’d one day become a seed farmer in West Virginia or that he would become the caretaker of one of the largest collections of Turkish seeds in the country. Öztan originally came to the United St... read more

Twenty-two years ago, when the US Department of Agriculture finalized the standards for its National Organic Program, produce breeders went back to the drawing board. There was little organically grown seed available for farmers to purchase or for breeder... read more

Spring has sprung and that’s good news for gardeners who’ve been eager to dig into the soil once again. If you’re one of the few who’s added fruit trees to your crop list, there’s one practice you may want to think about integrating this season: grafting.... read more

Shannon Donnell remembers a time, just five years ago, when she didn’t see a wildfire break out until late November—well after wine grapes in Sonoma County, California had been fully harvested. Now, Donnell says that wildfires start up right at the beginn... read more

When it comes to growing crops, fertilizer is a vital component. And when it comes to making fertilizer, phosphorus—a mineral crucial to living organisms—is often a key ingredient.  So what happens to the agriculture industry if phosphorus, of which stock... read more

In the Green Mountains of northern Vermont, a plot of nearly 1,300 acres is home to an abundance of flora and fauna, a flock of ducks and two farmers: Melissa Hoffman and Shawn Smith. The ducks at Sho Farm and Sanctuary are not being raised to be slaughte... read more

First, you have to contain your birds. Keep them inside the coop or a run, although they won’t like that. Then, focus on yourself and what you’re wearing. Have a boot wash station, a change of gloves, maybe a set of coveralls just for the hen house. Keep ... read more

Last week, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack officially reopened the first People’s Garden on the National Mall in Washington, DC. Situated centrally, the garden benefits from foot traffic from people heading to the Smithsonian, and it draws a lot of atte... read more

Drive through New York’s western Long Island on any given afternoon—particularly as rush hour approaches—and you’ll be moved not by the idyllic rolling hills of verdant farmland but, rather, by the throb of traffic on the LIE (local parlance for the ever-... read more

There are three categories for produce: marketable; edible but not marketable; and inedible. The first category is great, and it’s what every grower strives for. That’s the perfect apple or great-looking squash that comes out of harvest, meeting the highe... read more