• Photo 7: The Gafco Holemeister, ready to drill.
    June 13, 2024

    An endless series of decisions, good and bad, resulted in my living on the same property for the last 30 years, no ankle bracelet involved. One may realize a life of fulfillment within a very small realm, while others roam [...]

  • Bio Char startup
    June 7, 2024

      In February 2024, The Davey Tree Expert Company fired up its new biochar facility in East Dundee, Illinois. The facility recycles wood waste from its many client properties in the Chicago area and turns it into an environmentally friendly [...]

  • The Biomass Energy Techniques furnace uses woodchips fired on an inclined grate.
    June 11, 2024

    The following is an excerpt from Kelpie Wilson’s new book, “The Biochar Handbook” (Chelsea Green Publishing June 2024), and is printed with permission from the publisher. The Biomass Energy Techniques furnace uses woodchips fired on an inclined grate. Char and [...]

  • Arbor tape killing a healthy young sweetgum.
    April 10, 2024

    Arbor tape killing a healthy young sweetgum. All photos courtesy of the author. A tree tag presumably still attached to its wire. On the final visit after planting, please remove the guy wires. This is a utopian view from a [...]

  • Sonia J. Summers sketch, courtesy of W. Jim Cortese.
    April 10, 2024

    Sonia J. Summers sketch, courtesy of W. Jim Cortese. Dr. Don Williams, former head of the Ornamental Horticulture Department, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, was a very demanding professor to his students. He was also a very wise individual and [...]