This Tiny Country Feeds the World

Almost two decades ago, the Dutch made a national commitment to sustainable agriculture under the rallying cry “Twice as much food using half as many resources.” Since 2000, van den Borne and many of his fellow farmers have reduced dependence on water for key crops by as much as 90 percent. They’ve almost completely eliminated the use of chemical pesticides on plants in greenhouses, and since 2009 Dutch poultry and livestock producers have cut their use of antibiotics by as much as 60 percent.

One more reason to marvel: The Netherlands is a small, densely populated country, with more than 1,300 inhabitants per square mile. It’s bereft of almost every resource long thought to be necessary for large-scale agriculture. Yet it’s the globe’s number two exporter of food as measured by value, second only to the United States, which has 270 times its landmass. How on Earth have the Dutch done it?

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/09/holland-agriculture-sustainable-farming/

Square-foot gardening at greatstems.com

Meredith over at Great Stems has put together an excellent series of posts about vegetable families, square-foot gardening and companion plants, complete with a 3-year rotation plan for organic vegetables. Check it out..

Square-foot gardening at greatstems.com

Square-foot gardening at greatstems.com