Innholdsfortegnelse for June - July 2018 i MOTHER EARTH NEWS

Many communities find it challenging to navigate the legislation and policies to better support their local food economies. The American Farmland Trust has released a comprehensive guide designed to help communities improve their access to local food, from growing to buying and selling. Called “Growing Local: A Community Guide to Planning for Agriculture and Food Systems,” this guide illustrates ways that cities can improve their food systems through policy changes, long-term planning, and public investment. Building on a previous project (Growing Food Connections), this new guide provides a more comprehensive overview of issues within food systems, and shares the best principles and practices for improving them. To date, the guide includes the most comprehensive collection of local policies related to managing farms and ranches, improving access to healthy food, and…

Since moving to our 5-acre homestead in southwestern Wisconsin more than 20 years ago, our goals have been to maximize self-sufficiency, minimize energy use, and untether ourselves from fossil fuels and the emissions associated with burning them. We quickly realized that getting a house in order first, rather than immediately installing a wind turbine or photovoltaic system, would be far more cost-effective with respect to energy use and consumption. To this end, we switched to energy-efficient lightbulbs and sealed up our old 1,900-square-foot farmhouse as best we could with new windows, caulk, and insulation. Within a few years of buying the homestead (pictured above), we began using a solar thermal system to meet our domestic hot water needs. We fired up a Lopi Endeavor woodstove for our primary heat source.…

Few things look as festive or bring a community together more spectacularly than roasting a whole animal. The smell of wood smoke and roasting meat and the sounds of laughter and fire could waft from the coast of Italy, an island in Greece, the playa of Argentina — or a vacant lot in Detroit. Detroit is made up of small neighborhoods, each with its own character and community. In recent years, a surge of interest in urban agriculture has brought natural treasures to unexpected places: a flower farm in an industrial area, a new grove of fruit trees, and a large-scale urban farm in a public park. Last year, in a little neighborhood in Detroit, my friend Sam and I held a spring lamb roast for his birthday. Our friends…

Consider this recipe a blueprint. Swap out the chicken for shrimp or salmon, or make it vegetarian by omitting the chicken altogether and using the marinade as seasoning for 1½ cups of cooked black beans, which you can pile on top of the salad. Yield: 4 servings. Cilantro-Lime Dressing Ingredients • 6 tbsp fresh lime juice• 2 tbsp white wine vinegar• 2 garlic cloves, minced• 3 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil• Salt and freshly ground black pepper Salad Ingredients • 6 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil• 2 tbsp fresh lime juice• 1 tsp ground cumin• 1 tsp minced chipotles in adobo sauce• 1 garlic clove, minced• 1 tsp salt• 12 chicken tenders, or 2 boneless chicken breasts sliced into 12 medallions• 1 red bell pepper, diced• 1…

In previous issues, I wrote about how to turn deerskins into leather (October/November 2016) and how to craft moccasins out of that tanned animal skin (February/March 2017). Now, I’ll describe how to make further use of your home-tanned leather by turning it into a set of tool-belt pouches. The tool belts you can buy at hardware stores are unwieldy, because they need to account for every potential tool and task. They have loops, pockets, and pouches that add weight and bulk. When I’m working at the top of a ladder or on the roof, I don’t want to carry any extra weight, and I’d hate for an unused loop on my tool belt to get caught on something. After you learn how to make custom pouches, you can construct them…

What’s the safest way to manage and extinguish my campfire? When building a fire, use established fire rings or mounds, and while your fire is burning, don’t throw in trash! Burning only wood will send particulate matter skyward. If you add cans, plastic bags or bottles, plastic foam, or foil, the fire will release toxic fumes containing carcinogens. Even chip bags, candy wrappers, and coated cardboard can release harmful chemicals when burned. Newspaper and uncoated cardboard are OK to burn, but your best bet is to stick with wood and pack out your trash. To feed your fire, use these supplies: • Homemade or store-bought fire-starting tinder • Tinder collected at the campsite • Kindling • Larger sticks • A bundle of firewood • Paper plates • Matches, a lighter,…

SHOW US! Share your unique perspective with our community by submitting photos of inviting gardens, nutritious foods, wild animals, and more to the MOTHER EARTH NEWS Photo Group on Flickr (www.Flickr.com/Groups/MotherEarthNewsPhotos/Pool). We’ll feature our favorites here and online!…

“I’m a long-standing reader of MOTHER EARTH NEWS and have learned a lot from each issue.” Alternative Gardening Methods I purchased my farm 15 years ago, and I tried having a garden the first four years. Even though I amended the soil, I couldn’t grow a carrot to save my life. I discovered that I had loamy, white clay soil, which made growing edibles difficult. I’ve gardened most of my life, so this was disheartening. As a long-standing reader of MOTHER EARTH NEWS, I’ve learned a lot from each issue. Recently, I came across an older article, “Lasagna Gardening” (April/May 1999), and it inspired me to research alternative gardening methods. After that, I came upon an article about raised bed gardening. I combined the lasagna method (using cardboard to keep…

As atmospheric carbon levels inch higher each year and habitat loss reduces species counts and diversity at unprecedented rates, finding ways to mitigate the effects of climate change becomes ever more pressing. New research from Stanford University suggests that wild animals are doing some of the work for us — merely by existing. Trees are already credited with removing greenhouse gases from the air by “breathing” them in and storing them in their trunks and roots. The analysis, published in Nature in 2017 by Stanford University researchers, reveals that vertebrate animals are also efficient carbon sinks. Three years of environmental surveys and more than a million records of animal activity in the Amazon contributed to this research, which shows that carbon levels in soil are significantly higher in places where…

Community-supported agriculture (CSA) programs are no longer limited to fresh vegetables. Today, you can find subscription-based opportunities across the country for local fruit, bread, meat, cheese, and almost every other kind of agricultural product, making it easier than ever to support farmers directly with your food dollars. Examples of nontraditional CSAs are cropping up across the country. For example, Scott Farm Orchard in Vermont offers weekly shares of its heirloom fruit every fall (www.ScottFarmVermont.com). In Pennsylvania, members of the Lancaster Farm Fresh Cooperative’s winter bread share receive a fresh loaf every week (www.LancasterFarmFresh.com). Stirring Soil Farm in Kansas sells its pasture-raised, heritage-breed pork through a CSA (www.StirringSoilFarm.com). Besides veggie shares, Turnip Rock Farm offers Wisconsinites what it calls a “full diet CSA” that includes artisanal cheese (www.TurnipRock.com). CSA subscriptions are…

Imagine growing vegetables on rafts in a backyard pond. You won’t need to water, weed, or fertilize plants when water is your growing medium. Because a pond will stay cooler than soil, you can harvest cool-weather crops, such as lettuce, for a much longer period. Ponds that contain fish provide a natural source of nutrients that help support an aquaponic vegetable garden. Not only will your floating vegetable plants produce food, but they’ll also keep algae levels in the pond low by consuming the nutrients algae need to thrive. Historical Aquaponics Systems Combining plant and fish cultivation is far from new; societies have been growing food on lakes and rivers for a long time. The Aztecs created chinampas, large artificial islands and peninsulas on which they grew trees as well as…

A big pile of meat isn’t the end of the story. Lamb-loving cultures have been dressing up their meat with spicy, citrusy, or pungent condiments for over a thousand years. Whip these up the night before your roast to have them on hand with no added stress. Argentinian Chimichurri Chimichurri is perfect for a fresh, bright, citrusy taste on your lamb. Combine 1 to 2 fistfuls each of fresh parsley and cilantro with a bit of olive oil, garlic, and a pinch of cayenne, red pepper flakes, or fresh jalapeño. Blitz the mixture in a food processor or blender. Some people add a bit of oregano and vinegar or lemon juice to the mix, so feel free to experiment a bit! North African Harissa Some people can’t eat anything without…

Corn Broth Ingredients • 6 cups water• 3 corn cobs (kernels removed and reserved for risotto), cut into pieces• 1 onion, quartered• 1 carrot, cut into 1-inch pieces• 1 celery rib, cut into 1-inch pieces Risotto Ingredients • 3 cups kernels (from the 3 ears above, plus more if needed), divided• ½ cup dry white wine• 2 tsp sugar• ½ tsp ground turmeric• Salt, to taste• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil• 1 red bell pepper, finely chopped• 2 cups Arborio rice• 1 cup mascarpone cheese• 1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese• ¼ cup fresh basil or parsley, chopped In this preparation, you’ll get double the corn flavor: corn in the broth in which the rice cooks, and corn folded into the risotto at the end. Yield: 4 servings. Directions: To…

Here’s an example of an edible ecosystem designed for Zone 4, my hardiness zone. Some of the food plants I chose required two individuals for proper pollination. The overall number and types of plants, however, follow the pattern of a woodland ecosystem. Fruit tree: 1 ‘Northbrite’ European pear Woody bushes: 1 black raspberry and 2 Haskap berries Herbs: 1 mint and 2 bee balm plants Ground covers: 24 thyme and 24 strawberry plants Vines: 1 ‘Somerset’ grape or hardy kiwi Edible fungi: One 5-pound bag of oyster or enokitake sawdust spawn The pear should be planted in the middle of the edible ecosystem, with a rodent guard around its main stem until the trunk establishes a thick bark. The berries need to be planted in the corners of the planting…

Outdoor Clothesline From $174 at www.SunshineClothesline.com One of the best smells in the world is that of laundry dried in sunshine and wind. Forget dryer sheets — you can enjoy a fresh, natural smell by drying your clothes and towels on an outdoor clothesline. The Sunshine Clothesline is modeled after an umbrella-style outdoor device patented in 1915 and used by Americans for more than a century. Made in Parkersburg, Iowa, the clothesline rotates in the wind, thereby shortening drying time. And you can easily spin the clothesline to bring open spaces directly to you instead of having to drag around a heavy laundry basket. Available in 9-foot-diameter ($174) and 14-foot-diameter models ($209), the Sunshine Clothesline has a center post and arm brackets of galvanized steel. The wooden arms have been…

Keep Celery Fresh Celery often goes limp quickly in the refrigerator. To keep it fresh, cut off the bottom and place the stems in a vase full of water. Then, place the vase in your refrigerator. You’ll be amazed at how long your celery will stay crisp. Diane Sterne Coalmont, British Columbia Senior Gardening I moved to a senior living complex eight years ago, and chose this place because it had an established garden. The first year I planted in the community garden, nothing grew. Kale plants wouldn’t grow and wouldn’t die; they just sat in the ground where I’d stuck them. Other gardeners had nice results, but they were using a chemical fertilizer, and I wanted to grow a more organic garden plot. I then noticed that the garden’s…

I’ve been reading MOTHER EARTH NEWS for what seems like forever. I own just about every issue, beginning with the very first issue from 1970. Reading the articles in the February/March 2018 issue made me think I was reading MOTHER EARTH NEWS from years ago. I think it’s been the best issue article-wise to have come off the presses lately. “Masonry Heaters” and “DIY Wood-Fired Hot Tub” were just super and brought back so many memories. Since we currently have a greenhouse on our farm, I’m even implementing some of the practices cited in “Add Thermal Mass to Your Off-Grid Greenhouse.” In 1981, I was the head of our local MOTHER chapter — a group where people who shared the magazine’s ideals could network and build community. That same year,…

Genetic research unveils new truths about the natural world every year, but some genomes are notoriously difficult to crack. A small U.S. research team has finally succeeded in unlocking wheat’s DNA, a challenge that many crop geneticists considered almost insurmountable. The genetic complexity of wheat (Triticum aestivum) meant that it took more than a decade of global effort before the genome was successfully mapped. Between 16 and 17 billion individual nucleotides compose wheat’s DNA, and most of its genome is made up of repeating sequences that make it difficult for scientists to identify meaningful patterns using traditional DNA sequencing techniques. Likewise, a single copy of this DNA is more than five times the size of the human genome, and it contains six copies of every chromosome. Though the genome had…

Making enough income to survive can be difficult for people who grow food, educate children, make art, protect wildlife, and serve their communities in other ways. This is just one reason why reducing my dependence on outside income has been a top priority for me. Here’s how I increased my income independence while homesteading on 10 acres in North Carolina. Income Inventory You will need some income, but less than you think. Take an inventory of where your money goes, and divide your current spending habits into categories: Fixed expenses. Some charges are rigid, such as student loans and taxes. The best strategy is to pay down balances and reduce taxable overhead. Sticky expenses. Some budget items are variable, such as mortgages and credit card debt. You can opt for…

Canada is on track to legalize recreational cannabis in 2018. (Medical cannabis has been legal in Canada under certain circumstances since 2001.) This has spawned a number of commercial growing operations. One of the most interesting new growing operations is located in southern Ontario. Green Relief grows medical cannabis in an underground facility that provides about 2 acres of growing space lit by LED lights. The plants grow in rafts floating in tanks supplied with water from fish tanks containing tilapia. The fish waste in the water provides plenty of nutrients for the plants. The circulating water keeps both the fish and the plant roots well-oxygenated. The company harvests both cannabis and fish from the system. In a demonstration area, Green Relief uses the exact same system to grow a…

To make your own charcoal drawing sticks the old-fashioned way, all you’ll need are some sticks and a low-oxygen burn. By choosing an assortment of twigs from various species of trees, you can even make charcoal sticks of different densities. With the help of a homemade charcoal kiln and a nice bonfire, you’ll be well on your way to making your very own charcoal art supplies. 1 First, you’ll need to procure a charcoal kiln, which can be any kind of metal can with a tight-fitting lid. I prefer to use new, all-metal, 1-gallon paint cans because they have lots of room, a handle, and minimal chemical residue, and you can find them at most home improvement stores. Be aware that many places sell paint cans with an epoxy liner.…

Guided by a friend with pond-building experience, we were able to complete a backyard pond in just three hours with the help of a seven-person “worker bee” team provided by Reno’s Permaculture Northern Nevada group. Through this pond, we sought to add the soothing qualities of water to an area of our homestead where we spend time hosting guests and eating meals. We also wanted to add another habitat that would diversify our land’s ecosystem — supporting birds, aquatic plants, and insects. Building Steps We began digging the dimensions of the pond, roughly 7 feet long by 4 feet wide, and 2 feet deep. We kept the edges as vertical as possible. The size of our pond was in part determined by the size of the recycled pond liner given…

Calculate the Value of Solar How can I measure the amount of money I’d save if I installed solar panels? Solar calculators can help you determine whether solar panels installed at your home or business will save money over electricity pulled from the grid. Calculators are a convenient first look at the economics of going solar. However, a calculator isn’t a substitute for a consultation with a professional installer. A trusted installer will inform you about the advantages of different solar systems, issues with your property, and energy rates and incentives. A calculator will arm you with basic information going into this conversation, and also reveal questions you didn’t even realize you should ask. Not all online calculators are created equal. Many are outdated, and many more steer consumers toward…

I want to buy a barrel and start collecting rainwater for my garden. Where should I situate my rain barrel? Collecting rainwater to water your garden is a capital idea! It’s affordable, practical, and a critical practice for those who experience annual, long-term droughts. First, you’ll need a rain barrel. To ensure the water it holds doesn’t get polluted, find a food-safe barrel. These are made from dense polyethylene, which has been deemed safe by the Food and Drug Administration. Containers made of other materials, such as wood or metal, can be used, but they’re more prone to rot or rust. Often, a rain barrel will have a polyethylene core and a wood or metal exterior for visual appeal and personal style. The barrel should also be on the larger…