Farms

Permaculture is a design philosophy and system for creating sustainable human environments by mimicking the patterns and relationships found in nature. The term combines “permanent” and “agriculture” (and later, “culture” ) and was coined by Bill Mollison and David Holmgren in the 1970s. Core Ideas Design with nature rather than against it. "Do as nature does" Work smarter, not harder by observing natural systems Create regenerative systems that produce more energy than they consume Key Principles Care for the Earth – regenerate soils, forests, and water systems Care for People – ensure access to resources for a good quality of life Fair Share – limit consumption and redistribute surplus Practical Applications Food forests – layered planting mimicking forest ecosystems Rainwater harvesting Composting and soil building Natural building techniques Polyculture and companion planting instead of monoculture Example Instead o...

Vertebrate pests—such as deer, rabbits, squirrels, groundhogs, voles, and birds—pose challenges distinct from those caused by insects or diseases. Unlike small pests, these animals can consume or damage large portions of plants quickly, often in a single feeding. Understanding their feeding habits, preferred foods, seasonal activity, and movement patterns is crucial. For example, deer may browse tender shoots in spring but strip bark in winter, while rodents are more active under snow cover or dense vegetation. Recognizing when and how each animal is most destructive helps in targeting control efforts for maximum effect. The Importance of Identification Effective control starts with knowing which species is responsible for the damage. Chewed stems, clipped shoots, stripped bark, burrow entrances, droppings, and tracks all offer clues. Misidentifying the culprit can waste time and money on the wrong countermeasures—for example, a fence built for rabbits won’t keep out deer, and repell...

Plant disease is a disruption in the normal function of a plant caused by a continuous interaction with a harmful agent. It differs from damage caused by a one-time event—such as hail or pruning—because disease progresses over time, often spreading to other plants. Recognizing the difference between disease and physical injury is the first step toward proper management. Disease-Causing Agents Three main groups cause plant diseases: fungi, bacteria, and viruses. Fungi produce spores that spread through wind, water, insects, or contaminated tools, leading to symptoms like spots, wilts, and rots. Bacteria often enter through wounds, spreading quickly in moist conditions and causing leaf spots, blights, and galls. Viruses are microscopic particles that rely on living cells to reproduce, frequently transmitted by insects or infected propagation material, and often cause stunting, mottling, or leaf distortion. Parasitic Plants and Nematodes Some plant diseases are caused not by microbes ...

Successful pest control begins with knowing your garden. Regular observation helps you catch problems early, identify pest species accurately, and understand their life cycles. Keeping a journal of sightings, damage patterns, and weather conditions builds a valuable reference for predicting and preventing future outbreaks. Monitoring tools like sticky traps, pheromone lures, and visual inspections guide timely, targeted interventions rather than reactive spraying. Understanding Pest Life Cycles Different pests are vulnerable at different stages of their development. Learning when eggs hatch, larvae feed, or adults migrate allows you to apply controls precisely when they will have the most impact. Timing treatments—whether physical, biological, or chemical—based on life cycle knowledge increases effectiveness while minimizing unnecessary disturbance to beneficial organisms. Setting Thresholds Not every pest sighting warrants control measures. Thresholds help determine when action is...

Healthy soil forms the foundation for strong, pest-resistant plants. When soil is fertile, well-drained, and alive with a diverse community of microorganisms, roots can access nutrients as needed, helping plants grow resilient and less attractive to pests and diseases. Organic matter is the single most important amendment, improving soil structure, water and air balance, and feeding beneficial organisms that compete with pathogens. While traditional organic gardening may rely on purchased compost or amendments, a low-cost, JADAM-style approach achieves the same goal by fostering vast microbial diversity from local sources. Instead of importing fertility, gardeners can create JADAM Microbial Solution (JMS) using indigenous microbes from leaf mold and local soil, encouraging a self-sustaining ecosystem that keeps pathogens in check. Plants possess remarkable natural defenses that enable them to resist pathogens and environmental threats, playing a crucial role in their survival and overa...

When it comes to protecting plants, organic gardeners often face a delicate balancing act: controlling pests without harming the environment, beneficial insects, or human health. While organic-approved methods are generally safer than conventional chemicals, not all are risk-free. Even plant-based insecticides can pose hazards. For instance, pyrethrin—though derived from chrysanthemums—can contaminate water, harm honeybees, and make people ill if misused. Rotenone, another plant-derived spray, is especially toxic to fish and has raised concerns about a possible link to Parkinson’s disease. Because of such risks, it’s no longer recommended for organic gardens. This is why the principle of least harm is central in organic pest management. Whenever possible, start with non-toxic solutions like row covers, kaolin clay, or physical barriers. Many pest problems can be addressed without resorting to sprays at all. Encouraging natural predators in the garden—lady beetles, lacewings, and par...

Jamaica has a food import bill of US$1.4 billion, a substantial chunk of which goes to the purchase of food consumed by the more than two million stop-over visitors to the island. When cruise ship passengers are added, the island hosts over four million tourists annually. This significant reliance on imported food not only affects Jamaica's foreign exchange reserves but also limits opportunities for local agricultural producers to benefit from tourism-generated income. Recognizing this challenge, stakeholders across tourism and agriculture sectors have collaborated to improve market linkages and support local producers. ALEX (Agri-Linkages Exchange) is a B2B online platform launched by Jamaica's Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries (MICAF) in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism. Its primary goals are to: Reduce food imports. Strengthen the local agriculture supply chain. Provide consistent markets for farmers. Ensure the tourism sector has...

There’s been ongoing debate about how research should be planned. The main issue centers on the balance between pure and applied research—and how much of a country's research should be deliberately structured. Those strongly in favor of planning argue that only research aimed at solving real societal problems is worthwhile, dismissing pure research as a luxurious, time-wasting pursuit. On the flip side, critics of planning—such as members of England’s Society for Freedom in Science—believe that when researchers are overly managed, they risk becoming mere technicians. They argue that without intellectual freedom, true originality can't thrive. In practice, the most effective research strikes a balance between structure and autonomy. Tactical decisions—how a problem is approached day to day—are best left to the individual researcher, who is closest to the work. However, when it comes to broader strategy, input from research directors or technical committees can be valuable, espe...

When major scientific breakthroughs first emerged, they were perceived very differently from how we see them today. Often, prior ignorance of the subject wasn’t even acknowledged—either the issue was overlooked entirely, or prevailing beliefs were so entrenched that they had to be forcibly displaced to make room for new ideas. Innovations frequently face resistance because they disrupt established authority and vested interests in the broadest sense. Zinsser quotes Bacon, pointing out that people who’ve gained recognition for past achievements are often uneasy when progress starts moving faster than they can keep up with. Sometimes, resistance is intensified by the personality of the discoverer. Many pioneers of discovery lack experience in navigating human relationships, and their impact might have been less controversial had they been more tactful or diplomatic. It’s often said that the reception of any groundbreaking idea follows three stages: first, it is mocked as false, impossi...

We've already seen how unreliable an observer's report of a complex situation can be. In fact, even describing simple phenomena accurately is surprisingly difficult. That’s why scientific experiments are carefully designed to isolate specific events, using instruments and techniques that reduce error and yield consistent, reproducible results aligned with broader scientific understanding. Claude Bernard distinguished between two kinds of observation: (a) Spontaneous or passive observations, which arise unexpectedly, and (b) Induced or active observations, which are purposefully sought, usually to test a hypothesis. Effective spontaneous observation starts with noticing something. But for that observation to become meaningful, the mind must relate it—consciously or unconsciously—to prior knowledge or experience. Sometimes, through reflection, it may lead to a new hypothesis. As discussed earlier, the mind is particularly alert to changes or contrasts. While this sensitivi...

Francis Bacon had a major influence on the development of science, largely because he emphasized that most discoveries emerged from empirical observation rather than from strict deductive reasoning. Later, the French philosopher René Descartes made people aware that relying solely on reason can lead us into an endless web of fallacies. One thinker went further, pointing out that logic itself was originally developed to regulate debates in ancient Greek schools, assemblies, and law courts. Its purpose was to help determine which side won an argument. Given this context, it shouldn't be surprising that logic is often ill-suited for science, a field for which it was never designed. In fact, many logicians have made it clear that logic—concerned primarily with correctness and validity—has little to do with the kind of productive, creative thinking that drives scientific breakthroughs. Logicians typically distinguish between two types of reasoning: inductive and deductive. Inductive...

Intuition often follows a familiar pattern: a period of intense focus and desire to solve a problem, followed by a break or shift in attention. Then, suddenly and unexpectedly, the solution emerges—often with a strong sense of certainty. This moment can feel exhilarating, sometimes even leaving one surprised that the answer hadn’t come sooner. While the psychology behind this phenomenon isn’t fully understood, it’s widely believed that intuition stems from subconscious mental activity. Even when we’re not consciously thinking about the problem, our minds may continue working on it in the background. This kind of cognitive intuition —insight that seems to come out of nowhere—differs from the intuition we develop through physical practice. For example, the ability to ride a bicycle without consciously thinking about balance or motion comes from muscle memory , a form of embodied intuition. Built through repetition and experience, it allows the body to perform complex actions smoothly a...

"With accurate experiment and observation to work upon, imagination becomes the architect of physical theory." — John Tyndall Scientific investigation isn't merely about data collection. It demands creativity. While observation and experimentation ground science, it is imagination that breathes life into facts and shapes raw data into theory. Without imagination, knowledge remains static. With it, science becomes visionary. Ideas often don’t arise through deliberate effort. Instead, they surface unexpectedly. A mind deeply engaged in a problem may find the solution not in focused work but while walking, relaxing, or engaging in unrelated activities. These leaps of insight feel sudden, but they are the result of careful mental preparation: extensive reading, experience, and an open, questioning mindset. Curiosity: The Foundation of Inquiry Like other animals, humans are born curious. This instinct drives children to explore and understand their environment—to learn what...

Every meaningful inquiry begins with a question. But to move from wondering to understanding, we need something more — a hypothesis. Hypotheses are the engines that drive investigation, from everyday decision-making to scientific discovery. They are not guesses but reasoned assumptions that help us test ideas, predict outcomes, and learn from the results. A hypothesis is a tentative explanation or proposition that can be tested through investigation. It’s a bridge between observation and theory — a statement that takes what we think might be true and subjects it to the scrutiny of evidence. There are two major kinds: Descriptive hypotheses , which predict patterns or relationships (e.g., “Children who read daily have better verbal skills”). Causal hypotheses , which suggest a cause-effect link (e.g., “Increasing screen time reduces attention span”). Why Hypotheses Matter 1. They give direction A hypothesis keeps research or problem-solving from becoming aimless. It narro...