Innholdsfortegnelse for February/March 2022 i MOTHER EARTH NEWS

In British Columbia, Canada, wildfires are more frequent, pine beetles are more numerous, and loggers are breaching agreed-upon limits. The forests of British Columbia have been strained to the point that they’re now a net carbon emitter rather than a carbon sink. The result is a negative feedback loop: Climate change increases threats to the forest, and the diminishing forest increases inputs on climate change. Natasha Kuperman wants to break the loop. Kuperman, a former real estate developer and architect, recently launched Seed the North, with the mission of reseeding forests using self-flying drones. The advantage of drones over good old-fashioned gunny sacks full of saplings is that drones can more easily reach the hinterlands of rugged northern Canada. They can also get into recently burned forests, which are too…

In the early 1980s, an American energy crisis had passed. My wife, Jean, and I had had our first child, and we wanted to do something that would secure, rather than compromise, her future and that of our future children. So we dreamed and, in 1983, began laying plans for a home in the country that would minimize our impact on the environment. We discovered a beautiful country property not far from where Jean and I had grown up, with trees surrounding the outskirts of the property and an open field for a future home. At the time, there were many approaches to building distinctly energy-efficient homes. Homes that were heated passively by the sun included large windows on the south side. Their own “greenhouse effect” could be used to…

Ionce rented a pasture that adjoined a yard containing two apple and two pear trees. Every fall when the fruit ripened, the loaded trees would drop any blemished fruit early. The homeowner hated mowing around the fallen fruits, and my cows liked to eat the ones that rolled across the fence, so when they were in the adjacent paddock, I’d throw the windfall fruits across the fence. At other times, I’d fill my pickup bed and drive the fruit to where the cows were. It was a great win-win method to clean up the yard and give my cows a treat at the same time. But it was also time-consuming and backbreaking work. Instead of doing all this work, I thought, what if I planted apple and pear trees right…

After hearing all the talk about the health benefits of kombucha tea, I did some research to see what the buzz was about. Kombucha tea is probiotic-rich and antimicrobial, which means it improves digestive function while helping to fight off bacteria that can cause illness. Studies show that increased consumption of probiotics may lower cholesterol, increase energy, and support immune function. This tasty beverage is also packed with antioxidants that fight free radicals, which cause damage on a cellular level. Kombucha tea is brewed using a SCOBY. The term “SCOBY” is often mistaken for a mushroom, when in fact it’s an acronym meaning “symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast.” When a SCOBY is added to green or black tea with sugar, fermentation occurs, and the SCOBY converts the sugars…

The one thing that all yards and gardens have in common is plant growth. They produce a constant stream of new organic matter—grass, trees, shrubs, and vines. But what you do with that organic matter can make a big difference to your gardening success. Our front yard started off as an open hayfield 35 years ago. Now, it’s a shaded grove of maples, oaks, pines, and locusts that I planted as seedlings. Taken together, these full-sized trees produce massive amounts of leaves and needles each year that we collect and use as mulch and soil amendments. It’s all about making use of the nutrients available from your yard and nearby land. But there’s one thing that makes it all much more effective—chipping and shredding. To be most effective, any kind…

Leslie Wharton, spokesperson for Elders Climate Action (ECA), is in the midst of organizing a growing number of “old hands” into a nationwide network of people who, instead of just talking, are getting together and taking action. “If I were 12 to 20 [years old] right now and looking at our chaotic future, I would be terrified and angry,” Wharton says. “A year or so ago, some of the youth groups started referring to our generation as the ‘boomers,’ in a bad sense: ‘You boomers, you’re the ones who really caused all these problems.’ That sort of thing. So, we decided we would call ourselves the Boomer Brigade. We are here, as a brigade of boomers, to deal with climate change.” ECA’s parent organization, Elders Action Network (EAN), is a…

My wife and I enjoy a well-built home on the edge of town, with a large yard and a lot of trees. Our electricity comes from a pole in the street, our water from the city water utility, and our natural gas from the natural gas supply company. We live in South Texas, the energy center of the world, so what’s there to worry about? That’s what a lot of folks thought until a devastating winter storm hit Texas in February 2021. Many people were left without water, power, or gas. Those with wells had no electricity to run their pumps, and if you had a generator, you couldn’t get fuel. Temperatures inside even the best-built homes were dangerously low. Fortunately, our electricity and gas stayed on. Even if they…

For years, we’ve been experimenting with different ways to heat water using our woodburning stove. Initially, we had a small woodstove into which I plumbed a copper pipe from an old metal mortar box that I bought at an Army surplus store. It held about 8 gallons of water and worked great as a stand-alone system for baths for our young children, and it provided enough water to pour over ourselves during a shower. After we built our minimasonry heater (see “The Mini-Masonry Heater” on www.MotherEarthNews.com), we switched to heating water in big pots on our large cooktop, and we put the hot water into a watering can mounted in our shower. This setup provided about 11 ⁄2 gallons of hot water. It worked fine for a while, but, like…

PERMANET PLUS 12/48/3 STARTER KIT Contain and protect your chickens in the backyard or on the pasture with this complete fence system. Choose this kit if you plan to move the fence one per season (or less often.) Effective for all types of poultry. 48" tall. 100' long. Please allow two weeks for delivery. Available for shipment to continental U.S. addresses only. #8341 $530.80 Member: $514.88 52 HOMESTEAD SKILLS Mother Earth News' 52 Homestead Skills follows homesteader Kimberlee Bastien, as she learns one homesteading skill per week over the course of an entire year. The book details all of Bastien’s adventures, from building a beehive and becoming a beekeeper to creating her own laundry and dish soap. Whether you already live on a homestead, are transitioning onto one, or are…

When is it best to sow seeds indoors for transplanting outdoors later, and when is it best to sow them directly into the ground? Some crops grow better when started one way or the other. Sometimes, the weather, or even your equipment, will make all the difference. Here’s my list of pros and cons for both planting methods, based on my nearly three decades of experience growing vegetables in central Virginia. Transplanting Pros: When you germinate seeds indoors, you get an earlier start on the season, and that means an earlier harvest. New seedlings are easier to care for indoors during cold, wet springs. You can delay transplanting until outdoor conditions are more favorable; simply move the plants into bigger pots if needed. By growing transplants indoors, with good planning,…

In March 2021, new research was published in Science magazine showing that butterfly populations in the western United States have declined, on average, 1.6 percent every year for the past 40 years. The study drew from data collected by professional and citizen scientists. The causes for the butterflies’ decline are many, but researchers were able to single out warmer fall months, which suggests that global climate change is largely responsible. The study builds on findings from around the world showing declining butterfly populations. Recent research in Illinois has confirmed similar trends of decline across all species of butterfly, but some species have been hit harder than others. The eastern monarch has declined 80 percent in the past 40 years. Meanwhile, the western monarch has declined by a staggering 99 percent.…

“When you’re 9 years old, a playhouse made of recycled lumber can become a castle, fort, or anything else you can imagine.” EDITORS’ PICK Garden Bed Creativity We recently decided to build raised garden beds. We didn’t know what we should use to raise the beds, so we came up with the idea of using plastic window wells that we purchased at a local building supply store. We put ¾-inch green-treated plywood on top of the window wells, and then we drilled ½-inch holes through the plywood for drainage. We placed our planters on top of the plywood, and then we added ¾ inch of stones inside the planters and filled the whole thing with dirt. We’re looking forward to spring, when we won’t have to bend down to do…

For folks who don’t farm or garden, a malodorous pile of manure is usually a fly-attracting eyesore to be avoided. But most farmers and gardeners won’t turn up their noses at such a deposit; where some might see rank waste, they instead see nutrient-rich material that can be composted and spread over pastures or plants to help them flourish. According to the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Extension, animals excrete about 70 to 80 percent of the nitrogen (N), 60 to 85 percent of the phosphorus (P), and 80 to 90 percent of the potassium (K) found in their feed. So manure can often replace fertilizer, as it slowly and steadily supplies the same nutrients while simultaneously improving soil health and structure—something most fertilizers don’t do. If you keep livestock on…

This article is available online in audio form at MotherEarthNews.com No matter where you are in your farm or homestead journey—from being “agricurious” and exploring your options to working a full-scale commercial farm—you’ll likely find it necessary to process your own livestock. It’s both a practical and marketable skill to carry into the future of your farming life. Your processing setup and style can be anything from bare-bones to elaborate, depending on your needs and end goals for your operation. When the COVID-19 pandemic began, we all experienced the fragility of the food system and how it can profoundly impact our daily lives. For many consumers, it meant limited amounts of certain products. For farmers and ranchers, it meant shutdowns and order backups at processing facilities across the nation. Many…

MOTHER EARTH NEWS GUIDE TO VEGETABLE GARDENING The Mother Earth News Guide to Vegetable Gardening harnesses decades of wisdom bringing together all the indispensable techniques, complete growing guides, helpful tips, useful photographs, and inspiring illustrations for which Mother Earth News is known. Whether you need to know the best vegetables to grow in the shade or the top gardening tips for soil health in winter, this book has it all. #8179 $27.99 Member: $23.79 MOTHER EARTH NEWS BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO GARDENING Whether you’re a beginner gardener or an expert, this special edition has valuable information from planning and planting to harvesting and preserving. You’ll gain advice and a bird’s-eye view of what makes for a perfect garden site, 10 possible methods to start, tips on how to face the biggest…

Breeding, feeding, and care make a big impact on the quality of fleece and thus the quality of the finished products. With some planning and care, you can raise sheep with excellent-quality wool and set your fleece apart from the rest. Wool Breeds Producing great wool starts with choosing the right breed of sheep. While all sheep grow wool, not all wool is created equal. Even among wool-specific breeds, the variation is immense. Before you purchase your breeding stock, research the different wool breeds and find the one that matches what you’re wanting for your finished product. Cross-breeding is also an option. Often, the best fleece comes from a cross of two breeds, bringing excellent qualities from each. Consider whether you plan to hand-process your fiber or have a custom…

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