Food Econ 101

Paul Roberts, the author of The End of Food, dishes on the food system.

Your Meat Is Green

Tips for responsible carnivores.

The Year in Food 2008

What we ate, what the candidates ate, what the Olympians ate.

The Year in Food 2006

From bad spinach to exploding lattes: The tastiest moments of 2006.

Could “peak fertilizer” push farmers toward organics?

Scientists say that lethal low-oxygen zones are expanding in the oceans.

Culinary gardeners talk about the fast-growing properties of curry leaf plants.

That dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico? It’s now the size of New Jersey.

The number of people who eschew wheat continues to grow, and now Gourmet is questioning whether there should even be an annual wheat harvest in this country.

-10-10 fertilizer in before planting, corn is a heavy feeder and needs proper fertilization. Plant seeds one inch deep, every 2-3 inches, and thin to one every 12 inches. When it is about knee high, or just beginning to tassel,...

It sounds like the plant might have a nitrogen deficiency. Try giving it a little bit of liquid fertilizer. A primer on fertilizer, if you need one: Their strength is measured by 3 numbers. So you’ll see something like...

not fertilize basil heavily. Too much nitrogen causes lush growth but low flavor in the leaves. Too much phosphorus encourages flower and seed production.

Yellowing leaves are often a sign of nitrogen deficiency. Plants in pots are particularly susceptible, because whatever nutrients/fertilizer was there gets washed away when you water, and there’s no way for it to replenish...

Quite right, as usual, Sam. Roses need fertilizer in the ratio of 1 – 2 – 1. That is 1 part Nitrogen, 2 parts Phosphorus, 1 part Potassium. Without over fertilizing plants, banana skins add the necessary phosphorus...

ok, all re-users – what proportion old soil to your additions? If using chicken manure, how old is the manure? During the growing season, how often do you fertilize and what do you use?