All the news that's fit to eat
By Karla Milosevich & Rebecca North Rodents, such as gophers and voles, eat the roots of the fruit trees which can damage or kill the trees, so rodent control is a big issue for farmers. Owls are predators that can control rodent populations in orchards naturally without the use of pesticides and chemicals. So how [...]
By Heidi Lewis The parenting adage goes, “Put on a sweater, your mother is cold,” but we needn’t worry about the health of a nectarine, which is indeed a sweater-less peach. Peaches’ fuzzy coats help protect them because pests don’t care for their texture, but nectarines get extra mothering. Nectarines thrive with the special care that many orchardists [...]
Ed Magee spends his days thinking about sunlight. When he isn’t working on his 38-acre orchard of white peaches and nectarines in Vernalis, California, he’s in a lab studying the energy of electrons. This scientist-farmer’s day job aids NASA researchers in determining the elemental mix of stars. Ed is a scientist through and through and he takes a very [...]
Alex Godbe started The Hungry Owl Project in 2002 to raise awareness of the danger that rodent poison poses to owls. Alex had been an intern for Wildcare, a Bay Area wildlife rehabilitation and education center, and was struck by the number of sick raptors and other hunting birds that ended up in the facility [...]
By Bridget Meigs Owls can play a crucial role in rodent control on organic farms. Instead of traps or poison, owls are natural predators that can help control populations of rodents like meadow voles that can girdle and kill the fruit trees. Many owl species reside in forested habitat, but the North American Barn Owl [...]
Join us for our first Farm Steward Project of 2010 on the west coast at E&M Farm, growers of sweet and delicious nectarines and peaches, in beautiful Vernalis, CA. Come help us install six owl boxes while you learn about the owls in the area and the important role they play in rodent control. If you [...]
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