MOTHER EARTH NEWS February-March 2013

Grow for All Seasons Planning what you’ll plant this spring? If you’re seeking true self-sufficiency, growing crops that are productive, nutrient-dense and easy to store or preserve will bring you a big step closer to reaching your goal — and will ensure lots of fabulous eating! Sound appealing? Take a gander at our Guide to Top Crops for Food Self-Sufficiency at www.MotherEarthNews.com/Food-Self-Sufficiency, which features our best articles on growing and stowing potatoes, carrots, beets, apples, onions, garlic, winter squash and many other superstar storage crops. While we all love eating fresh spring salads and straight-off-the-vine tomatoes, with a little planning, you can turn your garden into a year-round source of food, decreasing your dependence on the grocery store — even in winter. You’ll also learn how to grow beyond fruits…

Happy new year, everyone! We’ve received some great news to help us ring in the 43rd year of MOTHER EARTH NEWS: Our audience has recently grown 26 percent and is now estimated at about 2.6 million readers. To put that number into perspective, it means one out of every 11 adults in the United States shares your interest in the values represented by Mother Earth News. Feels good to know there are so many of us, doesn’t it? The traffic to our website also grew to more than 2 million visits per month in 2012. The advisory groups many of you participate in have made a major contribution to this growth. We send surveys via email if you have signed up, allowing you to tell us exactly what you most…

Yearning to Farm Most people in my generation want to be doctors, lawyers, writers or hold desk jobs. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with such career paths, but they’re not for me. I want my cubicle to be measured in acres, not inches. I don’t want to hear a clock ticking all day; I’d rather hear chicks clucking, or maybe the sound of wind through the trees. I’m not taking the traditional route — I want to be a farmer. I know it won’t be easy or the most lucrative path, but it’s how I want to change the world — by getting my hands dirty and producing food. My idea of a good life is one in which I have a deep connection to the Earth and to…

Broody Hen Booster Thank you for the great article on broody hens (“Raise Your Best Flock Using Broody Hens,” December 2012/January 2013). We started with a pair of Mottled Cochin Bantams, which promptly gave us two daughters, which in turn gave us granddaughters — all in just over a year. The hens consistently nest in a corner of the coop, which I can fence off with an old wire refrigerator shelf. That way, the hen can see what’s going on, and we can watch the chicks when they hatch. They hatch chicks year-round and keep them under wing for months. The hens are excellent mothers, and our rooster is a proud daddy. We often see him with the chicks sitting on top of him. Within a week, new chicks are…

‘I Feel Completely Violated’ In fall 2011, I picked up a double load of composted cow manure from a local farmer. I diligently spread it into my new garden beds and around my young fruit trees and blackberries. After doing so, I noticed the leaves on my blackberries started to curl a bit, but I wasn’t too worried at that point. Come spring, however, almost everything I had planted in my garden beds exhibited bizarre growth — if it grew at all. I was completely perplexed until I realized the manure was the only constant between all of the plants that were having issues. I called my friend Jo, who had used some of the same manure, and she, too, had damage to her crops. Googling terms such as “manure,”…

Barbara Pleasant’s article “Best Tips for Starting Seeds Indoors” (December 2012/January 2013) is gold! I’ve been trying for five years, with this past spring and summer being my most successful. (I had about six viable plants out of 20 pots.) By describing her mistakes and breaking down the nature of seedlings and their needs, Barbara has probably saved me from a few more years of trial and error. The illustrations in the story were not only wonderful, but helpful. Thank you so much! Alicia Gouveia via Facebook…