SIFT News - Spring 2013

 

It's Spring and We're Warming Up to the Community At the SIFT project farm, we’re connecting with the community and getting ready for spring to make its move. As anyone who’s spent any time in Butte might suspect, we’ve had plenty of spring snow and cold temps. But looking ahead, in March we started potting herbs and seeding lots of spring and summer vegetables. In fact, the greenhouse attached to the NCAT headquarters is about to overflow with seed trays. >>more Online news! The SIFT program's new website has an interactive map of our Butte farm as well as Zoe's blog, Carl's corner, and links to our Pinterest site and helpful sustainable-agriculture videos. >>Go Seed Starting: Getting a Jump on the Planting Season Here in Butte, we’re locked a seemingly endless pattern of winter weather. With planting season just around the corner, will Mother Nature allow a sufficient season to see plants to maturity? We’re not sure, so we’re turning to Plan B—starting our seeds indoors.>>more Improve Your Yield with Companion Planting If you’re not already doing companion planting, give it some thought as you plan your crops this spring. In this approach, diverse varieties of crops are planted together in order to achieve a better yield. Some companion groups have been planted together successfully for hundreds of years, but their success often depends on the local environment. With a little trial and error, you can figure out what works for your small-scale farm or garden.>>more Keep It Light: Kale? Oh Please Not When I was about 12, my mom read an article somewhere – she was fond of Reader’s Digest and Prevention Magazine – about the benefits of asparagus. Particularly, she read that eating asparagus would keep you from getting cancer. With missionary zeal, my mom went on an asparagus kick. I think for a time she offered up asparagus at just about every meal, including breakfast. >>more © 2013 - National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT).