Keeping track of your crop rotation plan is a good practice to get into. At Modern Steader we started tracking our crop rotation schedule with a simple Crop Rotation Log to allow us to plan ahead and work efficiently. You can download the PDF of the Crop Rotation Log and fill in the blanks or …Read More about Crop Rotation Log
Teach the Teacher
Building the Raised Planters
Building the Raised Planters for the Edible Learning Lab Our raised planters in the Edible Learning Lab are custom designed for our specific needs. We use short legs so our younger students have good access to the planters. We recommend between 24″ and 30″ for the leg height. We also use shallow planters using 2×8 …Read More about Building the Raised Planters
How Compost Works
To understand how compost works, we must first understand what compost is… Compost – noun 1. The product resulting from the controlled biological decomposition of organic material that has been sanitized through the generation of heat and stabilized to the point that it is beneficial to plant growth. And how is compost produced? (From the US …Read More about How Compost Works
Why Compost Heats Up
There are two primary types of composting: Cold composting and hot composting. The most common form of composting most of us will see at the household or small community level will be a cold composting process that resembles what we find in nature. It is a passive system of composting where organic matter is simply …Read More about Why Compost Heats Up
The Value of Compost
Composting, especially in this day and age, just makes good sense. The practice represents a responsible way to handle waste and reduce our burden on landfills and the environment. Of course, it has a host of benefits for the garden as well. In the Lab, we focus our discussion on several of the core benefits …Read More about The Value of Compost
Composting Methods
Composting is a process that offers a variety of approaches, each having their own merits. Often, small-scale farmers and home gardeners will employ more than one method for composting waste from the kitchen, yard, and garden to minimize waste and recapture those valuable nutrients so they can be reapplied for the benefit of the next …Read More about Composting Methods
The Value of Worm Castings
Worm castings are one of the amazing products from Mother Nature that serve a multitude of purposes, some active and others more passive in their impact on the food production process. Consider this, composting with worms can reduce the waste that makes it into the landfill by 30% for a single household. That would include …Read More about The Value of Worm Castings
Seed Saving by Traits and Characteristics
Saving seed is nothing new, in fact, it’s been a standard practice of farmers for generations. Saving seed helps to contain costs and was seen as a way to maintain control over the process. It’s an expression of self-reliance really. Though there has been a shift in recent years, seed saving is still a viable …Read More about Seed Saving by Traits and Characteristics
DIY Water Filter
I walked into class at our flagship Lab in Wyoming one afternoon and posed the following question to the class. “If we were camping and forgot to load the cooler with water and we didn’t have a filter what would we do?” Of course, with a class of 3rd and 4th graders, I got answers …Read More about DIY Water Filter
DIY Seed Screens
The seed savings process is pretty simple but it can become more involved for certain varieties. The challenge we’ve found in the Edible Learning Lab is in the process of separating the seed from the chaff and other organic material so that we can store just the seeds for next season. There are few tools …Read More about DIY Seed Screens