NEW 226
Natural Science I: Organic Farming

Dr. Catherine Roach
Associate Professor of New College and Religious Studies
Office: 101F Carmichael Hall email: croach@nc.ua.edu
Office hours: M 10:30-11:30, W 2-4, or by appointment

NEW226 is an intensive, hands-on practical course in organic farming. It aims to teach students the basics of organic farming (healthy soil life, composting, cover crops, seedling transplantation, insect control, harvesting, etc.) while also addressing fundamental questions behind organic farming: Why choose organic methods over others? What are the problems with the industrial agriculture model? How does our food production fit into an analysis of current environmental problems and solutions?

Spring 2005 syllabus (PDF)

Readings:

Gardening for the Future of the Earth, by Howard-Yana Shapiro and John Harrisson (all PDF):

• Introduction
• Chapter 1
• Chapter 2
• Chapter 3
• Chapter 8
• Postscript, Bibliography, Resources, and Index

What Is Organic Agriculture? What I Learned from My Transition, by Bill Leibhart (PDF)