MOTHER EARTH NEWS August - September 2020

Our spring was long and slow, compared with most I’ve experienced here in rural Osage County, Kansas. The flowers were late, fruit trees seemed confused, bees swarmed early, and rain was plentiful. All of this added up to an incredibly lush and temperate May that was marked with a couple of interesting first-time experiences and a modification to the seasonal patterns we’ve become accustomed to. Bee swarming season came on with a vengeance in May, and within a two-week period, we captured and re-homed several feral swarms and a few from our own hives. Incredibly, I was sitting deep in the bee yard one afternoon observing what I thought were scout bees investigating one of the new hives I’d built. There were sufficient bees entering and exiting the hive that I…

“The rhythm of planting, harvesting, and preserving will go on to help soothe the rough edges of my soul.” Finding Hope in the Garden I always look forward to reading Hank Will’s work in MOTHER EARTH NEWS; it is where I start every issue. In the latest issue, you asked readers to share their experiences (“Home Isolation,” June/July 2020). I’m sharing something I wrote about gardening in a pandemic. After a few weeks of staying at home, I found that my garden felt much more important this year. I felt the need to write something hopeful about our times, and, for me, where I found hope was in my garden. In the 1960s, I planted my first garden with my mom when I was 12. We planted in our backyard, and it wasn’t much of…

According to Matthew and Nancy Kost of The Buffalo Seed Company (www.TheBuffaloSeedCompany.com), emptying grocery store shelves prompted people to reevaluate their personal food security and decide to grow their own. The Kosts say this applies to both new and experienced gardeners, with returning customers purchasing more seeds than ever before, and first-time buyers asking for gardening advice to pair with their purchases. To manage increased demand, The Buffalo Seed Company plans to diversify its offerings, and source and sell more grains. The Kosts believe this shift could be either short-lived or long-term, depending on how long the pandemic lasts. “While we hope this level of attention will be maintained and aimed at deeper underlying issues, such as climate change and social injustice, change is often difficult at a large scale…

I’ve been exploring food for nearly a decade, and since the beginning, I’ve had a burning question: Would it be possible to produce 100 percent of my own food? Could I exist without grocery stores and restaurants? Nothing packaged or processed? Nothing shipped from far off lands? Could I grow and forage everything I ate for an entire year? That’s the question I set out to answer a couple of years ago. I didn’t have a farm or even a house with a front yard. I didn’t have much growing experience, either. You could say I was jumping off the deep end. I chose Florida as my location because of its year-round growing season. I quickly got to work, meeting people in my neighborhood and proposing that I turn their lawns into…

Welcome to Them That’s Doin’, a department featuring homesteaders discussing what they’ve been up to. We want to know what’s caught your eye, and how you’ve been spending your time. Have you joined a new online community, or added to your herbal apothecary? Welcomed a flock of chickens, or found a unique way to store seeds? Tell us at Letters@MotherEarthNews.com. Satisfied Sweepstakes Winner We entered the MOTHER EARTH NEWS BigToolRack Giveaway hoping to win a useful piece of equipment for our family farm. When we found out we won the BigToolRack Ultimate Rack Package, we were over the moon! Tim, the president of BigToolRack, even called to congratulate us and set up an effortless delivery. The Ultimate Rack Package has helped us get more done on our farm than a UTV. It’s rugged…

We all enjoy life’s simple pleasures: gardening, cooking, the “pop” of a canning lid, eating, spending time in the great outdoors, and, even better, doing these things with friends and family. This outdoor kitchen and canning center combines all of these joys. It’s straightforward to build and can be easily modified to suit the way you cook, can, and entertain. The walls are open for good ventilation, yet the roof is covered to keep rain and blazing sun at bay. Wide countertops provide plenty of room for equipment, produce, preparing, and eating. Before You Start Before you begin hammering nails, let’s hammer out a few basics. Every city and region has its own building, fire, and health codes that dictate what can be built where, by whom, and what it can be used…