Garden Nations

Agriculture Around the World · Technology The Future of Farming Is Already in the Field Drones over rice paddies in China, drip lines in the Israeli desert, glasshouses in the Netherlands and solar panels over German orchards: the technologies changing how the world grows food. The world needs to feed more people every year, with less water, less available land and more extreme weather. Farmers everywhere are answering that challenge with technology, and some of it would have sounded like science fiction twenty years ago. Not every innovation is a success, and not every one makes sense for a small family farm. But many ideas that started on big commercial farms are now cheap enough to reach smallholders and even home gardeners . In this article: eight agricultural technologies shaping farming worldwide, where they are used most, what works and what doesn't, and which ideas you can borrow for your own garden. 1. Agricultural Drones: China Leads the Sky Drones have b...

Agriculture · Around the World Liquid Gold: How the World Grows Its Olive Oil From the endless groves of Andalusia to Greek islands, Italian hills, Tunisian plains and Turkish coasts, the story behind the oil in your kitchen. Right now, from October to January, the olive harvest is in full swing around the Mediterranean. Nets are spread under the trees, branches are shaken, and mills run day and night turning fruit into oil. It's one of the oldest farming traditions on Earth, and it still feeds a global market of more than 3 million tonnes of oil every year. In the last few years, olive oil also became famous for a less happy reason: prices exploded . Many people in Germany and across Europe saw a bottle of extra virgin oil double in price almost overnight. In this guide: where olive oil comes from, who produces the most, why prices went crazy, how the harvest works, the main olive varieties, how to read a label, and whether you can grow an olive tree yourself in Centra...

Agriculture · Around the World Green Gold: How the World Grows Its Avocados From the hills of Michoacán to the valleys of Chile and the coast of southern Spain, the story behind the fruit on your toast. Twenty years ago the avocado was an exotic fruit in most European supermarkets. Today it is everywhere: on toast, in salads, in smoothies, and in guacamole at every party. Behind that success is a huge global industry worth billions, spread across Latin America, Africa, Asia, and southern Europe. In this guide: who grows the most avocados, why Chile became a big name in exports, the water problem behind the fruit, the different types of avocado (including the giant ones Brazilians love), where avocados grow in Europe, and whether you can grow one yourself. A Fruit From Mexico That Conquered the World The avocado ( Persea americana ) comes from Mexico and Central America, where people have eaten it for thousands of years. The name comes from the Aztec word āhuacatl . Span...