Known as nature’s fertilizer, legumes like peas, beans and clovers have long been used as natural nitrogen fixers. Also referred to as ‘green manure,’ legumes are typically planted as rotational crops to help feed the soil organically. At the most basic biological level, legumes attract soil-dwelling bacteria called rhizobia to their roots and ‘invite’ them inside…
Category: Commercial Agriculture
Until a few years ago, Northwest orchard farmers weren’t even talking about little cherry disease. Yet according to a recent NPR report, this agricultural foe is responsible for the destruction of cherry trees across Washington and Oregon. The disease does what its name suggests: it causes stunted fruit growth resulting in small, unripe cherries with…
Image used with permission by Real Christmas Trees Direct. It’s mid-December, but the Christmas season has been well underway for several weeks already here in Oregon. With about 530 licensed growers, our state is the #1 producer of Christmas trees with tree farmers expecting to harvest and sell just over 7 million trees in 2015….
The benefits of silicon (Si) have been observed in a variety of crops and plants. But what about silicon’s ability to help crops resist environmental stress? Environmental stress limits crop yields and farmer livelihoods around the world. The stress that causes pests, disease, and decreases plant health and vitality, comes in a variety of different…
While the causes of iron chlorosis are complex, the general yellowing of leaves due to iron deficiency is hard to miss. In some cases, the leaves of a tree or plant turn yellow while its veins remain green (this is called interveinal chlorosis). In more severe cases, entire leaves turn yellow or white while their…
We recently received this testimonial from Nick Haldeman, an organic cranberry farmer in Ilwaco, Washington who has been using our all-natural volcanic rock dust on his crops: “Ours is only the second cranberry farm in the state to transition to organic. As part of that process, I ran a small-scale study using Cascade Minerals Remineralizing…