Innholdsfortegnelse for April/May 2022 i MOTHER EARTH NEWS

I was recently struck by how different this past winter was from the year before, and the year before, and so on, and it got me thinking about how when it comes to “making it” on the land, flexibility is the name of the game. And yet, we made plans for how to handle the newborn lambs and how to protect the garden next year, in light of what we experienced this year. We are definitely shaped by our immediate experiences, but we can’t cling too tightly to the plans we develop as a result of them. Recently, I was asked for a blueprint for developing a resilient group of sheep by some inexperienced folks who had never raised sheep. My advice was to read everything they could find about…

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) reported in October 2021 that United States military bases have been contaminating farms across the country with PFAS—a group of compounds dubbed “forever chemicals,” because nothing in the natural environment (including the human body) can break them down. In a Bloomberg Law news report, Kay Fritz, a toxicologist with Michigan’s Department of Agriculture & Rural Development, said that PFAS are taken up by plants and animals exposed to contaminated water, and thereby pass them on to consumers. Often, farmers with PFAS-contaminated land and water opt to halt operations (though no laws require them to do so), but the EWG found at least 30 military bases that failed to notify nearby farmers of contamination. Evidence of the dangers posed by PFAS has been growing since the…

Basketry is one of humankind’s oldest art forms—believed to be even older than pottery and cloth weaving. It’s also one of the few remaining crafts that’s primarily done by hand. While some contemporary basket styles are made by machines, a machine can’t replicate the dexterity and creativity of the human hand in gauging the suitability of materials, intertwining fibers, and shaping a woven basket. Perhaps because of its long history, the process of basket weaving can feel familiar, even to a beginner. Although the initial setup requires some patience and concentration, after a few rounds of weaving, most people quickly get the hang of it. The natural world—woods, meadows, and marshlands—is bursting with potential basketry material, including reeds, rushes, grasses, pine needles, willows, brambles, honeysuckle vines, bark, and even roots.…

Eden is a garden in harmony with nature, a place of meandering paths along which we gather food for our dinner. My definition of Eden is also a garden without rows — a friendly wilderness without an obvious plan. In contrast, our vegetable gardens and farms focus almost entirely on being friendly to humans, while excluding much of the natural world. Traditional gardens have implied boundary walls and are organized around a short list of plants that are OK, and a long list of plants that aren’t OK. Henry David Thoreau, the American philosopher, farmed beans while staying in a cabin on Walden Pond in the 1840s. After a year of assiduously ripping out every weed, he started thinking that it might be a good idea to plant for nature,…

Here are 10 of my favorite money-saving crops. 1 Leafy herbs. Leafy herbs don’t store or travel well, so they’re expensive to buy. Gardeners can save money by growing basil, parsley, cilantro, and other leafy herbs to harvest fresh as desired. 2 Cut-and-come-again lettuce. This is another short-lived crop once harvested, but by growing your own and harvesting little and often, a single sowing can continue to produce fresh leaves for months. Even just a few containers can produce plenty of fresh leaves. 3 Quick-growing salad ingredients. Rapid-growing salad ingredients, such as radishes, baby beets, and scallions, grow fast enough to make repeat sowings as you harvest throughout the growing season. You can even grow them in gaps between slower-maturing crops so they don’t take up extra space. 4 Pole…

Organic Encouragement I just want to express that I found the article “Unpacking ‘Organic’ ” (October/November 2021) quite insightful. The word “organic” can be ambiguous, and I found it helpful to hear different perspectives on what it means from people who are deeply immersed in gardening. I found that it has a richer, deeper meaning among the gardeners interviewed that goes beyond the generic label we as consumers hold in high esteem. I also took away that gardening is truly a learning process, and there’s no one-sizefits-all approach. “We should strive to grow gardeners, not just gardens,” according to the author. With those words of encouragement, I’ve been contemplating trying out container gardening on my roof in Brooklyn, New York City. I’ve never grown anything in my life! Jack Brooklyn,…

Two groups are suing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to demand the labeling of seeds coated with neonicotinoids—insecticides known to kill bees. Without federal regulation, farmers currently decide whether to use neonicotinoids, but, as the Center for Food Safety and Pesticide Action Network allege, many seeds escape labeling requirements. So, how’s a farmer to know what they’re using? Neonicotinoids have been a flashpoint in the fight between chemical companies and environmentalists for more than a decade. In 2018, under pressure from activists and amid growing evidence of harm to bees, the European Union banned all outdoor use of the three most common neonicotinoids. Meanwhile, their use in America has gone on unabated, despite a 2014 report from the EPA that noted, “[Neonicotinoid] seed treatments provide negligible overall benefits to soybean…

C omposting in a city without a yard is a challenge. I’ve always lived in an apartment but loved the idea of composting, so I’ve tested many methods to find one that ticks all my boxes: compact, pest-proof, and low-maintenance. Luckily, home composters have honed techniques to meet these needs, including the Bokashi method, hot composting with buckets, compost tumblers, and worm hotels. The two biggest issues with small-scale composting setups are odors and pests, so let’s address those issues before diving into the many composting options available to a city dweller. Pests, such as cockroaches, flies, and rodents, are the most common problems. But these two tips alone can eliminate the problem: First, don’t put meats, oily foods, or cooked foods in your compost bin. Second, keep your bin…

Projects From Our Readers If you’ve ever butchered chickens, you know it’s an outdoor job. And if you’ve ever done it without water, you’re worthy of respect. But why subject yourself to that mess—or any other chore that would be better served by running water—when making a portable field kitchen is so easy and economical? This setup connects to a garden hose but can easily be adapted to hold a small water reservoir so you can move it around your property as you please. It’s light enough for one person to handle on their own but still robust enough to leave outside. Countertop Considerations The great part about this project is that it’s highly customizable, including a countertop that can be built to your preferred dimensions. Start by measuring your…

As the creator and instructor of a popular online basement finishing course, I’m always looking for new and useful innovations to make finished basements better. DRICORE Insul-Armor all-foam subfloor panels are my latest discovery. They’re unique, and they do things other basement subfloor options can’t match. To make sense of this innovation, you need to understand how effective basement subfloors work and how they do more than just keep feet warm. In fact, foot comfort is not even their most important job. The most important function of subfloor panels is to stop the dynamic of condensation and potential mold growth that’s the real reason so many basements smell musty. Why Basements Are Musty If warm outdoor air is allowed to work its way into your house from outside, some of…

Have you heard of the #FoodMovementMovement? This May, you can see it in action as sailing vessels, solar-powered boats, and more will be racing to deliver the largest amount of grains over the longest distance with the least possible use of fossil fuels. Popcorn, malted barley, and flour are all being considered as cargo for these voyages, moving between mills, malt houses, breweries, and bakeries with an absolute minimum of environmental impact. Hosted by the Hudson River Maritime Museum, Northeast Grainshed Alliance, The Center for Post Carbon Logistics, and Schooner Apollonia, the Northeast Grain Race brings attention to the low-to-no-carbon movement of food from farm to table in New England, New York, and New Jersey. Any vehicle or combination of vehicles can enter a single voyage in the month of…

Plants remember droughts, according to a discovery published in Food and Energy Security. That is, crops that experience drought early in their growing season adapt to better handle drought later on. This is the first time this effect has been shown outside of controlled lab settings. Researchers drew on data over a 20-year period, covering soybean and maize crops in Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa, a region expected to experience more extreme wet and dry seasons because of climate change. This discovery is important for understanding the impacts of climate change on crops, but it also presents an opportunity for creating new plant cultivars. If certain crops have the innate capacity to become more drought-resistant, researchers suspect that trait can be enhanced through breeding. But beyond breeding for resilience, these findings…

Vegetable powders are a great way to use up a dwindling garden harvest when there aren’t enough ripe vegetables to can or freeze. Making your own powders is also a good idea when your garden is producing a food avalanche and you already have more canned tomatoes, green beans, and cabbage than you could ever use. Vegetable powders don’t take up much storage space, and they add extra flavor to many dishes and food mixes. Although the thought of using powdered tomatoes or powdered cabbage may seem unusual, I’m sure you’re already familiar with a few commonly used powders, such as onion and garlic. Almost any vegetable can be dehydrated and turned into powder. Some of my favorites include beets, carrots, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, corn, zucchini, spinach, cabbages, dry beans,…

I’d like to say that my journey to a little free seed library began because of my awareness of food systems’ inefficiencies, food insecurity, and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the ability of folks to acquire resources. After all, I teach a university course on food systems and social justice. But while that would be true, it also wouldn’t be the whole truth. The whole truth is that I’ve always wished to have a little free library, a place for folks to exchange books and ideas, to relax, and to build community. I’ve enjoyed and benefited from many little free libraries as a reader myself and as a mother seeking out books for my littles, especially during the pandemic. As my family and I settled into our forever…

For several years, my family has been making what we refer to as our “house tea.” We gather botanical ingredients from our garden and surrounding property to create a unique herbal blend. No recipe exists for our tea, because we brew it fresh every day, and the ingredients change based on our preferences and what we have on hand. We make use of the plants around us and incorporate them into our diets in a simple, nofuss manner. Plus, a hot mug of homegrown tea really hits the spot at the breakfast table! Here are some of my family’s favorite plants for growing or foraging. I hope you’ll be inspired to make your own custom tea blend. Blackberries (Rubus fruticosus) and red raspberries (Rubus idaeus) both grow in our garden.…

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!…