It would be nice to think of water soaking into the soil, and all that ground below us being recharged with rain and draining down to the lake and cycling around. The […]
The Dry Dry Earth of Home
Indigenous Land Use and the Agricultural Land Reserve
It’s actually the law of the land: indigenous rights precede all others. No matter that the rule has scarcely been applied since 1858, it’s still the law of the land, and it […]
Sweet Apricot Kernels
Move over California, with your water-hungry almonds. 4.5 litres of water to grow one almond? Ridiculous! We have apricots with sweet kernels here in the north, that can grow in the shrub […]
Fire Moves Snow As Well As Ice Does
Do you remember the summer of fires? A big one started at Elephant Hill, outside of Ashcroft, and burned to the north for months. Here is an image of the burn area […]
Getting Down to Some Serious Fun in the Kitchen
There are close to 20,000 acres of wine grapes planted in the ruins of the Okanagan Valley, immensely attractive to tourists and restauranteurs alike. The wine? Well, some is fine and most […]
Our Future is Fruitful
The future opens out of the present. First we see. Then we help others see. Then we build it together. Staghorn Sumac: Our Okanagan Future The future is already here. It is […]
How to Grow Tasteless Apples
For around forty years, the provincial government has been financially supporting this method of apple growing. Looks pretty modern and efficient, doesn’t it! It’s very seductive. Bankers and government officials love it. […]
How to Beat Global Warming By Turning the Grasslands Upside Down
Water has a surface tension. It divides light into bands of energy. It keeps some and sends more away, but not evenly. So does mullein. In mullein’s case, it covers its pulpy, […]
25% of Fruitgrowing Agricultural Productive Capacity in the Okanagan is Wasted
Here’s an industrial apple plantation after harvest. The trees are in long rain rows to facilitate mechanized farming, using multi-ton tractors and spraying equipment (combined weight of about 5 tonnes). After harvest, […]
Fall Rain in the Grasslands
So, it rains, right. 35 centimetres of snow have already melted. Now the rain. Rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain. And the sun. Melting stuff, even through the clouds of rain. So, […]
Okanagan Okanogan 