Innholdsfortegnelse for April/May 2023 i MOTHER EARTH NEWS

Farmers’ top reported challenges include finding affordable land to buy, accessing capital, affording health care, meeting the costs of production, finding housing, and paying off student loans. Across the board, young farmers who are Black, Indigenous, and people of color are disproportionately affected. Fortunately, farmers have some new opportunities to gain the support they need. In November 2022, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced a $24 million investment into organizations and institutions that train beginning farmers and ranchers. In a press release, the National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s Acting Director Dionne Toombs says, “[Beginning farmers’] success, especially in the first 10 years, often hinges on access to reliable, science-based information and the latest educational resources so they can improve their operations’ profitability and sustainability long-term.” A fresh wave of…

This article is available online in audio form at MotherEarthNews.com Something doesn’t look right in your garden. Maybe your plants don’t have that midsummer vibrancy and look a pale or even slightly yellow. Growth seems slow, and the plants seem weak and spindly instead of bushy and vigorous. Older leaves keep dying and falling off. All of these signs are possible symptoms of a lack of nitrogen. Easy, right? Grab the box of blue powder off the shelf, and mix up some instant problem-solving! Not so fast. That temporary fix isn’t doing the good it should. Humans aren’t the only organisms that help plants grow, gather nutrients, and survive. Plants are quite capable of providing for their own needs and have developed intricate relationships with other organisms to do just…

Some people think of home-based crafts as fancy hobbies rather than attributes of self-reliant living, but it all depends on the context. Whenever you do things simply, you can save money. I’ve made wonderful homemade soap with old oil, and candles from otherwise useless paraffin drippings. I’ve unraveled old sweaters and used the recycled yarn to make new things. Most of the time, I can’t afford hobbies that cost money, so I get creative with whatever I have on hand. Proficiency in traditional skills is a kind of security fund: Today, it may be easy to buy whatever you fancy in a store, but tomorrow, you may be glad to know how to make your own. A good place to start is making natural body-care products. They’re usually quick to…

I’ve read conflicting advice about whether using galvanized wire in gardens is safe; some sources indicate high lead and mercury content. What’s a safe solution for fencing an organic garden? You’re right to be concerned. Lead and mercury are quite toxic. I’ve similarly encountered a writeup from an author who tested soil levels beneath galvanized steel and found that it contained higher levels of lead than soil on the same property but away from the steel. Though steel is made of iron, lead and mercury become involved during the galvanizing process, whether through hot-dip or electro-galvanizing procedures. So, almost any galvanized metal will contain at least some lead, though the mercury evaporates above 375 degrees Celsius. (Galvanizing takes place at 450 degrees Celsius.) Protection agencies have become aware of the…

Nature provides for us in a variety of ways, whether we recognize these gifts or not. But nature isn’t just there for us to exploit. By following a few basic guidelines, anyone can engage with nature in a more grateful way. There’s nothing to it but to do it! These days, it’s a high priority for some people to simply get out and get in touch with nature. It can be therapeutic to spend time away from technology and in the company of the relaxing sounds and fresh scents of the outdoors, if you’re willing to lace up tight and venture out into the splendor. Nurtured by Nature If you can accept nature as it is, it can work in your favor. If gravity is on your side, you’ll have…

Some websites claim they can calculate how many solar panels you’ll need for your home or property, but switching to a solar electric system isn’t that simple. Before buying whatever equipment a website recommends, you should first assess whether your location can accommodate solar, gather data on your household’s electrical usage, and find a reputable certified installer. My wife and I live in a rural area of East Texas, where wind and thunderstorms can easily knock out our electricity. Significant weather events have downed the grid in our region for days. When we decided to install a solar electric system in 2014, we’d reached the age when dragging around a generator and cables was no longer feasible. Soaring energy prices are the reason many people consider producing their own electricity.…

Before you run out and buy your first set of bees, take the following steps to ensure your venture into beekeeping is a success loaded with lots of honey and fun. Attend a Beginner’s Class Most classes for beginners are conducted by a beekeeping association. Usually, these classes are posted months in advance and range from a four-hour course to eight or more hours in length, with each covering varying amounts of information. These classes will show you what to expect before you begin handing over hardearned cash for honeybees and equipment that you may later discover you don’t want or need. Join a Bee Club The value of bee clubs can’t be overstated. Countless times, novice beekeepers wander into our meetings frustrated with beekeeping after only a season or…

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!…

“Is there any possibility of receiving transcripts of your podcasts?” Transcripts for Podcasts I found your podcast through your email — my husband gets your magazine, and I get the email. I’m hoping to find transcripts for your podcasts—I don’t hear well and would really like to access the information provided. I’m especially interested in Podcast Ep. 170 with Dr. Temple Grandin. Is there any possibility of receiving transcripts of podcasts for those of us who read but don’t hear well? Thank you for your time and attention. Leah Via email Hi Leah, You’re not the first subscriber to request transcripts. And we’ve got great news! We’re working on including transcripts on our website as part of our initiative to keep our podcasts accessible for as many people as possible.…

Several months ago, we at TeraVolt Energy had a conversation with Ogden Publications Publisher Bill Uhler and Editorial Director Marissa Ames about the Mother Earth News Sustainable Homestead project. Ogden cultivates some vacant acreage behind the company headquarters in Topeka, Kansas. Staff members have discussed different options for using the space, from community gardens to a totally sustainable homestead. For those of us in the renewable energy world, that means living “off the grid.” We all agreed that regardless of how long it might take to bring a sustainable homestead from concept to completion, it’d present a great opportunity for us to share ideas with readers. Before building any homestead, it must be planned out. This is the first in a series of articles about what should go into a…

Tall bluestem grass sways gently in the breeze against a brilliantly blue sky as I watch local Kansas ranchers gather to plan the day’s controlled burn. Not a cloud is in sight as pickups and all-terrain vehicles loaded with water-filled spray tanks rumble down a dusty gravel road. I overhear laughter and mild conversation as these graziers embrace the camaraderie and teamwork awaiting them over the next few hours, but their discussion quickly turns serious as the schedule is laid out. If everything goes according to plan, the ranchers will work together with another nearby crew to burn a large acreage of grassland in a single day. Lighting a tallgrass prairie on fire might seem contrary to common sense, because it’s almost like starting a wildfire. But if carefully planned,…

“Stop the car, stop the car!” I shouted as my friend Jamie Gold and I were returning from a fishing trip in the Virginia mountains. “What is it, did I hit something?” Jamie asked. As he hit the brakes, I bolted from the vehicle. “There’s a chicken of the woods on that tree,” I said. “What’s a chicken doing in the woods?” My friend’s confusion was understandable. But if you’re a fan of edible fungi, then you can understand my euphoria at glimpsing what many people—including my wife, Elaine, and me—consider the best-tasting wild mushroom. Chicken of the woods is classified as a polypore, which, as a group, tend to grow on dead or dying trees or over underground wood, especially hardwoods such as white and red oaks, ashes, and…

What are some easy-to-grow flowers I can plant and harvest with my kids? Kid-friendly, easy-to-grow flowers include bachelor button, black-eyed Susan, celosia, cosmos, dahlia, daisy, gerbera daisy, globe amaranth, coneflower, lovelies-bleeding, marigold, nasturtium, peony, phlox, roses, snapdragon, strawflower, sunflower, and zinnia. Gather the following supplies: • Flower seeds of mixed sizes, colors, and bloom times• Hand trowels and cultivators• Watering can• Balanced fertilizer, such as 10-10-10 or 20-20-20• Straw and mulch materials Planning Your Cut Flower Garden • You can plant flowers in a garden, flower bed, or container. Plants need more than eight hours of sun with well-drained soil.• Decide which flowers to grow.• Plan for mature size, shape, and color.• Look for varieties with long stems; some will need staking. Designing with Flowers Learn flowers’ attributes to design…