Innholdsfortegnelse for June - July 2019 i MOTHER EARTH NEWS

Radishes are the red and white stars of my spring pickling classes. If you have more radishes in your garden than you can eat, or if you’re just looking to try something new, I say pickle them! Here are five reasons radishes are great for ferments. 1 First to harvest, first to ferment. I know people who hardly eat radishes, but still plant them because they delight in the crops’ ability to grow quickly. The cheery round ‘Cherry Belle’ radish and longer oblong ‘French Breakfast’ radish are harbingers of the gardening season. 2 Radishes can be your starter pickle. Never fermented before? Maybe you’ve heard rumors about how good fermented vegetables are for you. Radishes are easy to pickle or ferment, even if you’re brand-new to fermenting. 3 Radishes are…

As a lifelong resident of Wisconsin, I’ve come to enjoy all four seasons. And as a forager, I also find things to harvest in all of those seasons. Collecting willow and making baskets has been a springtime activity of mine for quite a while; I go out when the snow is gone but the buds haven’t broken, usually in March or April. I prefer leafless willow shoots (so I don’t have to strip leaves off later), and I look for places where the plants have been cut back regularly, such as the ditches along roads and waterways. That’s where I find the long, straight shoots I need to make baskets. Not all willows make good baskets. Many species of Salix, the willow genus, are too brittle for the work. For…

Batch systems generally collect raw materials into a receptacle, which, when full, is removed from the collation area. The contents of the full receptacle are then processed. These batch systems all have a distinct separation between the collection and aging processes. Commode batch systems, a type of batch system, have smallish 20-liter buckets under their pedestals. The buckets fill up regularly and are swapped out routinely. Chambered (or “moldering”) systems, another type of batch system, leave material to sit for extended periods of time. These toilets are different from the commode batch systems in that the collection receptacles are larger, and they usually involve urine diversion and leachate drainage. Alternatively, in continuous systems, new materials collect and undergo a degree of decomposition, all within one unit.…

It took me about a year to design and plant a garden that I hoped would look like a painting. It took just a few weeks for it to become a nightclub for deer. At first, scarring my design with deer netting seemed tantamount to keying my car or splashing ink on my best suit. But after trying various thick wood and metal posts, I found aesthetic and functional success by borrowing an idea from suspension bridges and circus tents. Many of these materials can be substituted with other supplies you have at home. I needed anchors to create suspension and support for the deer netting; for this I used steel spiral stakes marketed as leash anchors for dogs. For every rebar post, I needed 1 to 3 spiral stakes.…

Seattle Washington: A clinical study on a leading acid reflux pill shows that its key ingredient relieves digestive symptoms while suppressing the inflammation that contributes to premature aging in men and women. And, if consumer sales are any indication of a product’s effectiveness, this ‘acid reflux pill turned anti-aging phenomenon’ is nothing short of a miracle. Sold under the brand name AloeCure, it was already backed by clinical data documenting its ability to provide all day and night relief from heartburn, acid reflux, constipation, irritable bowel, gas, bloating, and more. But soon doctors started reporting some incredible results… “With AloeCure, my patients started reporting less joint pain, more energy, better sleep, stronger immune systems… even less stress and better skin, hair, and nails” explains Dr. Liza Leal; a leading integrative…

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

As the energy the U.S. receives from solar power increases, more land is allocated to hosting the solar panels that produce it. And in many cases, landowners have written off the grasses and plants below the panels. But that may not have to be the case — new research about the viability of such land is proving how productive this vacant space could be. In a study published by PLOS One in November 2018, Oregon State University researchers describe their findings that shade cast by solar panels installed on parched or waterstressed land creates a beneficial microclimate, increasing moisture retention and water efficiency, and boosting the health of the plants and soil below the panels. The plants showed higher nutritional value and productivity — the researchers measured a 90 percent…

Spirals give this fermented salad panache and character, but you don’t have to own a spiralizer to enjoy the surprising flavors this recipe offers. Use a mandolin or knife to slice radishes very thinly, or julienne instead. This salad is a simple combination of winter and early spring ingredients that’ll make sure every taste sensor on your tongue has something to do. The daikon is fresh and crispy, sours deliciously, and can become a little salty with fermentation. The rosemary pairs nicely with both the daikon and the grapefruit, and surprises the palate. And the grapefruit adds a lovely bitterness. This bitterness comes from the chemical naringin. While it’s present in all grapefruits, it’s higher in the white-fleshed old-school grapefruits that have become hard to find because most people these…

Bodybuilder Sam Sycamore fell head over heels for farming after suffering a biking accident that left him unable to continue his intense gym regime. Weakness in his elbow led to chronic pain in his shoulder, and before long, he realized he couldn’t quite sustain his intense routine of biking, swimming, and weightlifting that had comprised his exercise routine for years. “My injuries forced me to confront difficult decisions about how and why I use my body,” he says. Farming had once been something he’d thought he’d pursue in the distant future, but as he considered his health, his plans shifted. He decided to lease a 1⁄4-acre garden and a couple of acres of pasture to start up a smallscale, specialty-crop operation outside of Louisville, Kentucky. Sycamore discovered that doing chores…

When I raised chickens on pasture, I wanted to sell the entire bird. After all, I had to feed, process, and package the whole bird. If car manufacturers were only able to sell the front bumper and engine of a newly built, fully functioning vehicle, they’d have a hard time paying the bills. This is a common problem for the average livestock farmer selling direct to consumers: Consumers don’t demand the whole product, but the whole product must be sold to make ends meet. I had to sell boneless skinless chicken breasts for $20 per pound to make money, and people still lined up to pay it. We’re all so used to quick-searing boneless skinless chicken breasts that we’re leaving feet and backs and wings in the farm freezers. I’m…

Completely sealed systems are available commercially, but many DIY systems are acceptable too. Figures 3 and 4 (Page 49 and right) show two such systems. One uses IBC totes (Intermediate Bulk Container, or “pallet container”); the other is made from corrugated roofing material. Sealed systems require less cover material, and they can be heated. It’s relatively easy to drain leachate from the bin to an infiltration bed directly below the footprint of the bins; otherwise, a sealed system can be placed on impervious surfaces and drained to an appropriate leachate system. Bins can be clad to meet one’s aesthetic preferences, and they can be insulated to promote better heat retention. The downside is that removing the fully composted material is more cumbersome because of smaller access panels.…

These tables compare the same two batteries over a lifetime of use at a 20 and 80 percent depth of discharge (DOD), respectively. Column 1 shows the manufacturer’s stated number of charge and discharge cycles at the specified DOD. Column 2 is the calculated energy that a single battery can deliver in kWh over its cycle life at the specified DOD. Column 3 is how many FLA batteries are needed to deliver equivalent lifetime kWh of one LFP battery. Column 4 is the cost of batteries from Column 3, based on current prices. Column 5 is an estimate of the lifetime cost per kWh for each battery type to deliver the same energy.…

I started reading MOTHER EARTH NEWS in 1996. I saw an ad for a way to convert a gas car into an electric car. That inspired me to convert my 1995 Geo Metro to electric in 2008. It still runs well after about 41,000 electric miles! Then, in 2013, I installed a 5.1-kilowatt grid-tied solar array on my house. Next, I installed a solar hot water heater that I found on Craigslist for $500. I also found an old solar hot water heater with many leaks that I repurposed into a solar hot air heater that heats my sunroom, and, on good days, my entire house! Last year, I found 14 cracked 310-watt solar panels free on Craigslist! I installed them on my garage roof. They produce about half the…

Imagine a home that produces more energy from the sun than it uses. Now, envision building that home and turning it into a vacation retreat with a stunning view of snow-capped mountains — a place that won’t drain your checkbook, but will instead earn you thousands of dollars a month. A few years ago, my wife, Alex, and I started dreaming about just these things. We had already achieved a piece of that dream — we’ve lived in a net-zero solarpowered house since 2011, when we built Seattle’s first zero-energy home for the price of a smaller townhouse in our neighborhood. It was such a positive experience that we wanted to try building a vacation retreat in Washington’s Methow Valley. Could our dream come true? Shared Ownership At the time…

Create natural beauty products with Janice Cox in person. Register for her hands-on workshop Natural Beauty from the Garden at the MOTHER EARTH NEWS FAIRS in Albany, Oregon, Aug. 3-4; Seven Springs, Pennsylvania, Sept. 13-15; and Topeka, Kansas, Oct. 19-20. Learn to plant a skin care container garden with useful herbs and flowers that can be made into body care products; get caught up on seed-starting basics; create an Earthfriendly pot using recycled newspaper; discuss DIY beauty basics; and make fresh parsley toner, lavender hair rinse, and herbal bath salts to take home. Note: An extra pass is required for this workshop. Space is limited. Learn more or register at www.MotherEarthNewsFair.com/hands-on-workshops, or call 800-234-3368. www.MotherEarthNewsFair.com…

Try the following dynamic stretches to release tension in multiple parts of the body: From a lunge position, reach backward with the arm on the side of the leg that’s lunging forward, creating a twist in the torso and a stretch through the hips. Circle your arms to introduce shoulder mobility at the same time. Do the yoga stretch known as Downward-Facing Dog. Invert your body into a V-shape, with your hands and feet on the ground and hips in the air. Be careful to keep your spine straight. This will increase flexibility in your hips and shoulders while relieving tension in the spine. Keeping your back flat, bend at the hips and push your arms out above your head and against a wall, creating a tabletop effect. Open your…

When you want to cook a chicken whole, consider “spatchcocking.” This technique removes the spine from the bird so it can lie flat and roast more evenly. To spatchcock a chicken, place the bird breastdown on the cutting board. Turn the bird so the tail faces you, and pick up the neck. Keep your knife at about a 45-degree angle relative to the spine, and begin cutting down either side of the backbone. If your knife is parallel to the spine, you’ll find this harder. The easier alternative to making this cut with a knife is to get yourself some good bonecrunching poultry shears. With these, you can cut straight down either side of the spine (with this approach you’ll cut through the pelvis). When finished with this cut or…

You might think it odd that we’d start an article about compost toilets by stating that no such thing exists. But they don’t. Composting is a specific process, one that occurs under specific conditions — and those conditions don’t exist in any toilet. A compost toilet is essentially a progressive system that collects and handles human feces and urine so they can be safely composted. The basic aspects of using a compost toilet are straightforward: 1. You go to the bathroom; 2. The deposit is collected in a vessel; and 3. That collection is then either minimally processed to a mature enough state that it can be buried, or, better yet, it’s further composted to a state that sanitizes and reduces pathogens to a safe level so it can be…

We’re celebrating the magazine’s 50th anniversary in 2020. To mark this long journey, we’re asking for photos of your efforts to live simply. Started in 1970 to raise awareness of mounting environmental concerns and to provide information and support for a simpler lifestyle, MOTHER EARTH NEWS has made it this long because of continuous interest from you, the readers. Your dedication to living more sustainable lives has kept this magazine afloat through five decades and an increasingly digital world. Send photos of your homestead, your garden, and any projects you’ve undertaken over the past five decades to Letters@MotherEarthNews.com.…