Innholdsfortegnelse for June-July 2013 i MOTHER EARTH NEWS

Garden Insects Guide It’s a bug-eat-bug world out there, and you can take advantage of the teeming insect community already at work in your garden to achieve natural pest control sans any toxic chemicals. With our new Organic Pest Control Series, you’ll learn how to identify 15 common garden pests and bring in 14 beneficial bugs that feed on them, a strategy that will foster a healthy, balanced garden ecology. The Series details each pest’s life cycle; the telltale signs of its damage; its natural enemies and how to enlist their assistance; and the best organic pesticides, such as Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis), insecticidal soap and neem. Find it all at www.MotherEarthNews.com/Pest-Control-Series, or get this info on your smartphone or tablet with our new Garden Insects Guide app, available at www.MotherEarthNews.com/Apps.…

Buying a Mower: Don’t Cut Corners I appreciate your assessment in “Zero-Turn Mowers: Best Rides and Best Buys” (April/May 2013) that there was a major difference between the less expensive mowers and the high-end units. I’ve been in the mower business for about 50 years, and the easiest person to match up with a quality machine is one who has experienced the problems that a low-quality mower brings with it. Your comment about finding a good dealer for parts and service is great advice for anyone. Besides being a wonderful mower, one of your highest-rated machines, the Grasshopper 725DT, can also be used to move dirt or gravel with a dozer blade and move snow with a snowblower. You can attach a front rotary broom, a sprayer, or a high-volume…

I’d like to add a little info to your article “Raise Your Best Flock Using Broody Hens” (December 2012/January 2013). Broodies will not only provide excellent mothering for their own or another hen’s eggs, but they will also happily adopt day-old chicks from the hatchery or feed store. Isolate the broody as recommended, and order sexed female chicks. When your chicks arrive, water them and keep them warm and draft-free for 24 hours. The following night, while the hen is half-asleep, lift her off the nest and replace the eggs with chicks. The hen will be a very happy mom come morning! The benefits are that you raise only the chicks you want (i.e., more laying hens and no cockerels), you avoid the hassle of taking care of chicks in…

Unconventional houses can take many forms — think cob, straw bale and underground homes — and now we can add grain bin homes to the list of inexpensive alternative-living options. Snatching up used grain bins is one way of turning the cylindrical, metal structures — traditionally used to store grain — into homes. (For more on grain bin houses, go to http://goo.gl/gZRMb.) But now, a new kind of grain bin house is becoming more widely available. Sukup Manufacturing, a family-owned company in Sheffield, Iowa, manufactures agricultural products, including grain bins. In 2010, the business began planning the production of grain bin homes in response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake. In partnership with Global Compassion Network and Iowa residents, Sukup created an emergency shelter from a grain bin, which it called…

For many food lovers, fresh peaches are the pinnacle of perfection. In her cookbook, In Season, seasonal food evangelist Sarah Raven declares it a crime to cook a ripe peach. Emily Luchetti, executive pastry chef at Farallon in San Francisco, says she prefers uncooked peaches in her desserts, and when she does apply heat to the peach, it’s just for a moment. It’s not that peaches don’t stand up to heat well. They do. But yes, a perfectly ripe, juicy, raw peach is a thing of beauty. Which is better: a Georgia peach, a Colorado peach or a Texas peach? That depends where you are. Deborah Madison, in her excellent seasonal cookbook Local Flavors, remarks that these “quintessential fruits of summer” should always be “tree-ripened and untraveled.” In On Food…

To rely on your garden to feed your family, you need to grow staple crops — those foods that are the basis of the human diet. The best staple crops for building food self-sufficiency should be easy to harvest and store, return good yields, and be calorie-dense to provide the food energy from carbohydrates that you need each day. Most of the 10 staples spotlighted here are also rich sources of other nutrients. In her book The Resilient Gardener homesteader and seed breeder Carol Deppe provides in-depth information about staple crops, and names potatoes, corn, beans, squash and eggs as the “five crops you need to survive and thrive.” I’ve expanded on that list, adding wheat, sweet potatoes, peanuts, cabbage, collards and kale. To show yield comparisons between these staple…

Water Bath Canning (pH 4.6 or lower) Fruits Fruit juice Jams and jellies Pickles Tomatoes* Pressure Canning (pH higher than 4.6) Beans Meat and seafood Mushrooms Nuts Sauces, soups and stews Vegetables * Because they have varying acidities, tomatoes are at the edge of pH acceptability for water bath canning. To ensure safe water bath canning, Carol W. Costenbader, author of The Big Book of Preserving the Harvest, recommends adding 2 tablespoons of bottled lemon juice or half a teaspoon of citric acid per quart of whole, crushed or juiced tomatoes.…

Makes about 8 pints (4 quarts). 3 to 4 pounds chicken parts (wings, thighs, backs, necks or feet) 4 quarts water 2 stalks celery 2 medium onions, quartered 1 tbsp salt (optional) 10 peppercorns 2 bay leaves 8-pint (4-quart) canning jars with lids and rings 1. Combine chicken and water in a large stockpot. Bring to a boil. Skim off foam. Add remaining ingredients. Return to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 2 hours or until chicken is tender. Remove from heat, let cool. 2. Meanwhile, assemble pressure-canning equipment. 3. Remove chicken from stock, reserving chicken for another use. Strain stock through a sieve or several layers of cheesecloth. Allow stock to cool until fat solidifies. Skim off fat. 4. Heat stock to a boil. 5. Ladle hot stock into…

Bountiful sunshine makes our gardens grow, but all living things need a little shade sometimes — especially people. These step-by-step plans will show you how to build a pergola to create your own backyard shade. The finished product will add stylish definition and shape to your yard and garden. A pergola (also known as an arbor) can be an elegant entranceway over a path, a quiet place to sit, or a frame for vines to climb over a deck or patio. Our pergola plans create a structure that’s large enough to span a picnic table, but you can make the dimensions narrower and shorter so yours can serve as a garden entrance. The 6-by-6 and 2-by-8 lumber used in these plans looks great and is more than strong enough for…

Save big by choosing an affordable, portable bandsaw or chainsaw mill to cut lumber at home. Are you regularly in need of lumber for homestead projects but tired of paying high prices for boards from your local home-improvement store? Consider acquiring a small, portable sawmill to cut your own lumber. Access to portable lumber-milling equipment makes creating perfectly dimensioned lumber possible for all of your DIY projects. Bandsaw mills are faster and waste less wood than chainsaw mills do, but chainsaw mills’ light weight and smaller size translate to greatly increased portability. Building with homemade lumber will take a little more time no matter which portable sawmill you choose, but the payoff is huge in satisfaction, savings and the ability to precisely control the dimensions of your boards to fit…

The leading source of calories in an average 2,152-calorie day is sugary, grain-based desserts such as cakes and cookies. These foods (calories in parentheses) make up much of the rest. Calories listed don’t total 2,152 because people do eat some fruits and vegetables, which aren’t calorie-dense enough to make the list. The chart shows our reliance on processed foods. 1. Grain-based desserts (138) 2. Yeast breads (129) 3. Chicken & chicken mixed dishes (121) 4. Soda/energy/sports drinks (114) 5. Pizza (98) 6. Alcoholic beverages (82) 7. Pasta & pasta dishes (81) 8. Tortillas, burritos, tacos (80) 9. Beef & beef mixed dishes (64) 10. Dairy desserts (62) 11. Potato/corn/other chips (56) 12. Burgers (53) 13. Reduced-fat milk (51) 14. Regular cheese (49) 15. Ready-to-eat cereals (49) 16. Sausage, franks, bacon…

Self-employment is a dream shared by many people, but finding the right work-at-home job can be daunting. We asked our readers to tell us their successful home-based business ideas. Despite their different ways of making money, these home-business veterans offer similar advice: Be creative, be patient, listen to your customers, learn from your failures, and have a backup plan for dealing with the inevitable setbacks. Their stories provide inspiration for other start-ups. Many of our readers’ home-based business ideas grew out of a hobby, and these entrepreneurs urge you to choose something you have a passion for. They’re convinced that a work-from-home business will be rewarding if it provides a way to do what makes you happy. Exotic Vegetables I always describe my home business as a hobby that grew…

Well-cared-for gardens, orchards and livestock can be amazingly — sometimes exhaustingly — productive. After all, there’s only so much fruit and produce you have time to can and space to store. And only so many eggs you can eat, milk you can drink and meat you can make room for in the freezer. When you find you’ve temporarily produced more than you can consume, why not do what small farmers have always done? Sell your extra products at a farm-stand or farmers market, or barter, trade or donate what you can’t use. Setting Up a Farmstand Getting started selling vegetables and extra goods is simple. “Tap the network you already have,” says Mary Shepherd, editor of the bimonthly magazine Farmers’ Markets Today. “Put up a sign at work, send an…

We try to encourage recycling, reuse and giving back to the community by playing classic hits from the ’60s and ’70s on musical instruments we made ourselves from garbage and recycled materials. Three years ago, I decided to try to make a one-string electric guitar out of discarded materials. I pulled a Lucky Charms cereal box out of the recycle bin, retrieved a warped yardstick from the garbage and I used toothpicks as frets! Now, our band, The Garbage-Men, has more guitars made from cereal boxes, saxophones from repurposed toys, drums from garbage cans, keyboards from bottles, and more. We’ve performed at community fundraisers, charity events and by “busking” on the street. We’ve played with the Blue Man Group on America’s Got Talent, and have even won an Emmy for…

I had to buy a new handle when the one on our 20-year-old garden rake broke. Also, on the old one, the rake head was held in place just by friction. As the wood got older, it shrank, allowing the rake head to come loose. I wanted to do something that would make it more secure. I selected three large, sheet metal screws and drilled three holes into the new rake handle. The screws penetrated the wooden handle and sealed tightly into the metal rake handle collar. With this new design, it will be much more difficult for the rake head to separate from the handle. Santa Cruz, California…

Onions are biennial, which means they ordinarily produce bulbs in their first year of growth, then, if left in the garden, they flower and bear seed in their second year. George Boyhan, a vegetable specialist at the University of Georgia extension office, says springtime temperature swings — such as a warm spell followed by a cold snap — can sometimes cause onions to bloom. That’s especially true if cold weather strikes an onion that is approaching maturity, a state usually indicated by seven true leaves. Younger plants with fewer leaves are less likely to bloom early. What to do? Harvest any flowering onions and use the bulbs immediately, because they won’t keep well. (You can put the pretty flowering stems in a vase with water.) Do not break off the…

If you follow environmental issues closely, you’re probably aware of the steady stream of alarming news about neonicotinoid insecticides, now the most widely used insecticides in the world. These chemicals have been strongly linked to the deaths of huge numbers of honeybees. Environmental groups and beekeepers have been pressing the Environmental Protection Agency to ban neonics, but as is so often the case, years can pass before enough evidence accumulates to allow the agency to ban toxic pesticides. Two recent studies indicate that more than honeybees are endangered by neonicotinoids. A 2012 study by Japanese scientists concluded that these persistent, systemic insecticides “may be potent risks to human health.” (“Systemic” means the chemical is taken up inside the plants — you can’t wash it off or peel it away.) The…

Thank you for the hoop house plans in your October/November 2011 issue (“Build This Easy Hoop House to Grow More Food”). I built it in August 2012 and started planting in it in September. We ate lettuce, mustard, chard, scallions, mâche and more throughout winter. Our last delicious salads came in February, after Winter Storm Nemo dumped 12 inches in our backyard. I’m a lifelong MOTHER EARTH NEWS fan, and I cherish the memories of visiting your ecovillage in North Carolina in the ’70s. Keep up the great work. Joe Mironov Oradell, New Jersey…

Support Local Food With Slow Money A few generations ago, if a farmer needed help harvesting crops or rebuilding a barn, the community came together to help, sometimes in exchange for a simple, home-cooked meal. Today, you’d probably need an app to find a barn raising. Modern society’s ties to agriculture tend to be weak at best, and even if you know the farmers down the road, you probably don’t know how you can support their businesses. Now, in addition to purchasing from local producers, you have a direct way to support local agriculture. It’s called Gatheround, and it’s the brainchild of Woody Tasch, founder of the movement known as “Slow Money.” Gatheround enables everyday people to donate small amounts of money to a collective fund that invests in local…

Illustrations by Keith Ward Delicious, nutrient-packed and easy as pie to store, pumpkins also lead a double life as colorful autumn ornamentals. Fruit sizes range from tiny to huge, with small to medium pumpkins being the best to eat. Growing pumpkins is easy as long as you protect young plants from insect pests and provide ample space for the long vines to run. Types to Try For thousands of years, growers have selected pumpkin varieties to maximize different characteristics. Growing pumpkins will be most rewarding if you choose varieties based on what you plan to do with your crop. Pie pumpkins are the best pumpkins for desserts, grilling, soups and other culinary uses. Little pie pumpkins weigh less than 6 pounds. Carving pumpkins include larger varieties that are the top…

Chutney is a condiment akin to relish, and it’s also similar to chow-chow and piccalilli. Depending on the source, you’ll find a variety of definitions for each of these zingy condiments, all of which have storied histories and traditional associations — curries in India, cold meats in England, hot dogs in North America. Chutneys make plain foods exotic, lend a kick of spice, and are a forgiving outlet for creative experimentation. Chutneys (from the Sanskrit word chatni, meaning “to lick”) are intended to complement other foods. They are easy to make and chunkier than sauces — a great way to add interest and variety to meals. Probably the most famous chutney, Major Grey’s, is not a brand name but a type of mango chutney, according to Mimi Sheraton in The…

The following varieties are open-pollinated, appropriate to each region specified, hardy and high-yielding. To find your region, see the map illustration above. Ira Wallace of Southern Exposure Seed Exchange lent her wisdom to compiling this chart. Wheat variety recommendations were provided by Eli Rogosa, director of the Heritage Wheat Conservancy, where you can purchase many of the rare, heirloom wheats included here (www.GrowSeed.org). The MOTHER EARTH NEWS Seed and Plant Finder allows you to search the online catalogs of mail-order seed companies to track down the plant varieties you want — go to www.MotherEarthNews.com/Custom-Seed-Search.…

Tested canning recipes (see “Canning Resources” on Page 38) will contain all of the information you need. Always read the entire recipe before beginning. Many of the steps for pressure canning are the same as those for water bath canning. Each year, check that your canner is in good working condition by taking it to your local extension office. What You’ll Need Pressure canner Canning jars with rings and new lids (wide-mouth jars are easiest to fill) Canning funnel Jar-lifting tongs Pots, bowls, measuring cups and spoons Plastic knife or wooden chopstick for removing air bubbles (metal knives can scratch glass jars) Assemble Equipment and Ingredients. Though many sources will tell you to sterilize everything, this step is unnecessary. Pressure canning will kill all potential pathogens. Just start with clean…

When I was a kid, I wanted to grow up to be Amish. I don’t know how I found out about the Amish. I lived in the New Mexican desert. I had never seen an Amish person. But at some point, I learned there were people who farmed with draft animals, grew their own food, made their own clothes, and built each other’s barns in a communal spirit of material simplicity. I wanted my life to be like that. Of course, I also wanted to drive race cars, play guitar in a rock band and go on an African safari. This is, after all, a distracting world. Also, the Amish are an ethnic community, and I wasn’t born Amish. But not everyone is so easily dissuaded. The members of the…

I’ve built many outdoor projects using trees cut from my forest. Although building with peeled poles can be challenging because of their irregular shapes, using foraged wood will cut down on your costs and create a unique addition to your homestead. If you can find it, cedar is great for outdoor building because it lasts 15 to 20 years without rotting. Choose the straightest poles you can find for your pergola posts, with a top diameter no smaller than 4½ or 5 inches. For the best results, peel the bark off of the poles using a drawknife (bark practically falls off of poles cut eight to 12 months beforehand). The biggest challenge with peeled poles is preparing flat, aligned surfaces for fastening beams and other parts. Use a hatchet or…

It’s a paradox of modern culture: Though more than a third of us are classified as overweight or obese, and though more than 3,700 calories of food are available daily for every person in the United States, many of us still don’t get enough of some essential nutrients, including potassium, calcium and vitamin D. This paradox, in which we are overfed and undernourished, is sometimes called nutrient deficiency. In its latest update of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (2010), the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that our average intake of some of these “nutrients of concern” is so low as to be a widespread public health issue. How is it that we eat so much, yet lack key nutrients? The answer to that question is complex, encompassing everything…

Imagine you live in your green dream home. It’s extremely energy-efficient, but also beautiful, comfortable and perfectly suited to your needs. Are you picturing a brand new house? Think again — you can likely turn your current house into your dream home with smart green remodeling. Plus, the amount of money you can save with energy upgrades is often more than you might think. Russ Rudy, a builder and energy-efficiency expert who has done numerous gut rehabs of homes in the Midwest, says he helps homeowners get energy savings of up to 75 percent when he’s able to rework a house from top to bottom. Even with less intensive work, significantly cheaper energy bills are possible. The nonprofit organization Historic Green, based in Kansas City, Mo., has been doing a…

The Web is a marvelous marketing tool for home-based businesses, but it’s also a breeding ground for scam artists. Steer clear of companies promising that you’ll make money fast or requiring an initial cash investment. Among the work-at-home jobs with the worst reputations for fraud are envelope stuffing and processing medical insurance claims. Check with your local Better Business Bureau before you get involved with a work-from-home business. You can also sign up to receive email fraud alerts from the Federal Trade Commission (www.Consumer.FTC.gov/Scam-Alerts) and the National Consumers League (www.Fraud.org).…

BOOKS (See Page 79 to order.) Market Farming Success by Lynn Byczynski The Organic Farming Manual by Ann Larkin Hansen Sustainable Market Farming by Pam Dawling ONLINE The National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service (ATTRA) offers a wealth of tip sheets, booklets and other resources for direct marketing of farm products; call 800-346-9140 or visit www.ATTRA.org. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service maintains a national database of farmers markets; find it at www.AMS.USDA.gov. “Selling at Farmers Markets,” a free, 20-page article published by Growing for Market magazine, is available to download at http://goo.gl/cxjZM.…

The well water on the property we recently bought was undrinkable (too much iron). Without good prospects for a new well (installers could not guarantee the water quality), we decided to install a rainwater-collection system for our potable water supply. We installed gutters along the entire house and tied them all to a 6-inch plastic pipe. We fitted the gutters with microscreen filters. From the gutters, the water goes to a first-flush diverter and then on to the 1,100-gallon catch tank. The tank acts as a settling tank between rains. From that tank, we pipe the water to our utility room, where three more 1,000-gallon tanks are tied together. We pull water from them with a pump that sends the water through three 0.5-micron filters and then through two 0.2-micron…

I absolutely love this hand-held bug zapper and carry it to my vegetable garden to selectively electrocute a great number of unwanted pests. These “electric bug zappers” (as they are commonly referred to) look very much like a tennis racket but consist of a battery-operated electrical grid that is ready to zap bugs instantly when you press a button on the handle. They operate on two AA alkaline batteries. Simply press the “on” button and swat bugs in the air — or knock bugs onto the grid — and they’ll die instantly. I have killed hundreds of potato beetles, cucumber beetles, squash bugs, Japanese beetles and many others while simply walking through my garden rows. It also works great as a weapon against biting insects, such as mosquitoes, deerflies, horseflies…

We beg to differ with your neighbor. Beautiful, organically grown apples are now widely available at farmers markets and supermarkets, and you can grow them, too! The organic approach always starts with the soil and selecting the right apple varieties. First, be sure your intended planting site receives full sun, has good air circulation and is not located in a frost pocket. Work on improving the soil now so that it will be ready for planting next spring. Amend the planting area with plenty of compost, and plant a fall cover crop to add organic matter to the site. Also, test your soil to see whether you need to correct any major nutrient deficiencies. Over the past 20 years, many excellent disease-resistant apple varieties have become available, but you need…

No-Frills Gardening In response to the letter “Does Gardening Really Pay?” (Dear MOTHER, December 2012/January 2013): I think it comes down to your values and what suits you. The quality, freshness and flavor of homegrown food are hard to put a price on. When you involve your children in gardening, you’re not only teaching them the skills, but also how you get rewarded for your work with the food on your table. It’s always exciting when a child gets to pick the first ripe tomato, strawberry or carrot! I agree with the letter writer that people can spend a lot of money on garden gadgets if they want. But they don’t need to. You can start small — even just a container or two — and then build on that.…

Sips of Inspiration There’s just something about reading your magazine cover to cover over a nice cup of tea. I particularly want to thank you for the article “Live Simply: Save Money, Smile More!” (February/March 2013). What beautiful families with real stories. I commend them for following their dreams and living the sort of life many of us long for. I was inspired. Best of luck to them. Patti Nathan Pellston, Michigan Is Full-Time Homesteading Feasible? I read with much interest about homesteaders Anna Hess and Mark Hamilton (“Live Simply: Save Money, Smile More!”). Homesteading is a full-time job for both. They mention a micro-business on the side, and that they just published a book. What happens to folks like them when they get older and need to pay for…

When it comes to speaking up on environmental issues, a chorus is definitely stronger than a single voice. That’s why, as much as you may love your Mother (and we hope you do!), having a look at what other ecologically minded publications are doing can further inspire you and deepen the breadth of your knowledge. In recent years, many such publications have found a home in the nonprofit sector. Among other advantages, this means individual donations to them are tax-deductible, and they can more easily receive support from foundations. But while nonprofit journalism contributes to a more diverse media, nonprofit status can’t be taken for granted. More than other types of print media, the success of this sector rests almost solely on government policy decisions. For the past couple of…

The best pumpkin pies start with real, roasted pumpkin. Roast as much as you can fit in your oven, and then freeze the excess so it’s ready for soups, muffins or even cheesecake. Pumpkin flavor gets a boost from bold spices, such as cinnamon, ginger and cloves. Thin slices of pumpkin are great on the grill, and hollowed-out mini-pumpkins make wonderful serving vessels for soups or dips. Use pumpkins that seem weak in flavor for pumpkin butter. All pumpkins are rich sources of vitamins A and C.…

This recipe yields a small quantity (about 2 cups) — ideal if you’re trying chutney for the first time. It’s somewhat sweeter and milder than many chutney recipes. Spicier, more pungent versions can be an acquired taste. Because this refrigerator recipe isn’t intended for canning, you may adjust the amount of hot pepper and sugar to your liking. When making recipes intended for canning, be sure to follow the instructions exactly. Try this chutney with grilled chicken or pork, or as a surprise addition to a grilled cheese sandwich. 2 cups peeled, pitted and coarsely chopped peaches (or nectarines) 1/4 cup chopped onion 1/4 cup sweet peppers, seeded and chopped 1 tsp finely minced hot chile peppers (or 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes) 1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed (or…

Some of us were lucky to learn food preservation skills at home, on long, hot summer days that now exist as fond memories. Many of us weren’t so lucky. Pressure canning in particular is a source of anxiety for new food preservers. The equipment may seem foreign, and if you aren’t careful, you can end up with food that’s unsafe to eat. Do respect food safety guidelines, but do not fear the useful technology that is pressure canning. The Two Main Types of Canning The easiest way to can foods — and the best place to start — is with simple water bath canning. With this method, jars are processed at the boiling point — 212 degrees Fahrenheit at sea level — which is hot enough to kill molds, yeasts…

ONLINE MOTHER EARTH NEWS Home-Canning Guide www.MotherEarthNews.com/Canning Find more in-depth instructions for water bath and pressure canning, tested recipes, favorite books, websites, and canning products — and even some canning-inspired artwork — on our comprehensive canning page. MOTHER EARTH NEWS How to Can app http://goo.gl/B8ymJ National Center for Home Food Preservation http://NCHFP.UGA.edu USDA’s Complete Guide to Home Canning http://goo.gl/pWRXD Home Canning (Ball website) www.HomeCanning.com BOOKS (See Page 79 to order.) The Big Book of Preserving the Harvest by Carol W. Costenbader Preserving Summer’s Bounty by Rodale Food Center and Susan McClure Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving by Judi Kingry and Lauren Devine…

Over the past 17 years, The Ploughshare Institute has taught sustainable-living skills to more than 8,000 students from throughout the United States and several other countries. On its Brazos de Dios farm, the community offers workshops and seminars on self-sufficient farming, gardening and traditional craft skills. Self-guided walking tours are available, as are guided tours. To schedule a tour (or hay ride!), call 254-754-9600. For more information about the community, see www.HomesteadHeritage.com. Videos providing lessons on homesteading, gardening, crafts, and kitchen and homemaking arts are available for purchase at www.SustainLife.org.…

You can find step-by-step pergola designs and drawings on our website at www.MotherEarthNews.com/Pergola. Use this lumber list to build a pergola large enough to span a picnic table, or adjust the dimensions for a size to fit any space. Lumber list for a large pergola 6 posts: 6-by-6 x 12’ to 14’ 3 crossbeams: 6-by-6 x 130” 8 roof boards: 2-by-8 x 12’ 8 top/bottom for lattice: 4-by-4 x 60” 24 long furring strips (lattice): 2-by-2 x 76” 28 short furring strips (lattice): 2-by-2 x 60”…

Calcium Why you need it: Calcium builds strong bones and prevents osteoporosis. It plays a vital role in nerve transmission and cardiovascular health, and works with vitamin D to maximize each nutrient’s absorption. You need 1,000 mg per day from ages 19 to 50. If you’re over 50, you need 1,200 mg. Where to find it: The primary source of calcium is milk and dairy products. Milk contains 300 mg per cup, and yogurt has 332 mg per three-quarters cup. Plant sources include dark leafy greens — collards have 133 mg of calcium per half-cup. Fortified cereals and soy products also contain calcium, as does canned fish such as sardines. Fiber Why you need it: A fiber-rich diet reduces the risk of heart disease, obesity and Type 2 diabetes. Fiber…

ONLINE American Institute of Architects: www.AIA.org; get advice on how to choose and work with an architect. Build It Green’s Home Remodeling Green Building Guidelines: http://goo.gl/8J5zV; includes extensive information on green remodeling, including a handy checklist. RESNET: www.RESNET.us; find certified home-energy raters and learn about energy-efficient mortgages. Retrofit Techniques & Technologies: Air Sealing, A Guide: http://goo.gl/6FRfD; full of information on air sealing, and written for consumers working with contractors. BOOKS See Page 79 to order many of these titles. Builder’s Guide Series by Joseph Lstiburek Includes The Builder’s Guide to Cold Climates, The Builder’s Guide to Hot-Humid Climates and more editions of specific, practical information for builders in different climates. The series is available at www.EEBA.org. Green Home Improvement by Dan Chiras Outlines 65 projects, big and small, with projected…

For those looking to start a home business and sell their handmade items online, two good platforms are www.Etsy. com and www.EcoMarket.com. Starting a shop on Etsy is free, and you pay only 20 cents for each item you list, making sharing and selling your handmade items inexpensive. Shoppers can use Etsy’s search filters to sort local products from those that would have to be shipped many miles. EcoMarket offers similar services, but all items are vetted for sustainable, organic and ethical production practices. Setting up shop on EcoMarket is easy and free, and the site charges a 10 percent commission on the order for every item you sell.…

How to Eliminate Spiders We look for ways to keep spiders out of our main living areas without killing them. We know they are valuable because of their appetite for other unwelcome insects. Strong sprays are available, but the chemicals in them can be dangerous. After much research, we found our solution in a bar of Ivory soap. We grate an Ivory bar and sprinkle a pinch of the soap flakes into every corner of the house. We avoid vacuuming the soap, and then after about a month, we replace it with fresh flakes. By using this formula, we’ve been able to control the spider population in our house, which is amazing because we live in a small cabin surrounded by forest. Sometimes we find small spiders in our vehicles,…

The following anecdotes were submitted as part of our Wisdom From Our Elders blog. To read more, go to www.MotherEarthNews.com/Homestead-Skills. To contribute your own tips and tales, send an email to Letters@MotherEarthNews.com with the subject line “Elder Wisdom,” or send mail to Elder Wisdom, MOTHER EARTH NEWS, 1503 SW 42nd St., Topeka, KS 66609. — MOTHER Raising Chickens During the Great Depression. During the 1930s, people could order baby chicks by mail and pay c.o.d. (cash on delivery). When the chicks came in, the rural mail carrier would deliver them to the customer and collect the charges. If the customer wasn’t home or didn’t have the money, the mail carrier would leave a note saying the customer had a few days to pick them up at the post office. Any…

Organic Fertilizer Best Buys Organic fertilizers can be wildly expensive. Can you suggest some lower-cost options? Many good, inexpensive organic fertilizer alternatives are available. In fact, your fertilizer can be free! Grass clippings are 2 to 5 percent nitrogen and make an excellent fertilizer. Just be sure you collect them from lawns that have not been treated with herbicides. If you aren’t able to get grass clippings, then your best buy will probably be large bags of alfalfa meal from a farm store. See a chart that compares the prices of various organic fertilizer types and brands online at http://goo.gl/Qr7wA. If you’d like to make your own blended organic fertilizer, we recommend a recipe developed by Steve Solomon, author of Gardening When It Counts — find the recipe on our…