MOTHER EARTH NEWS December - January 2019

There’s no doubt that I’m a creature of habit, and one of my habits is to read just about everything I can get my hands on that relates to my passions, including gardening, plant-animal interactions, and grazing strategies. One of the topics that comes up time and time again is cover crops, which can be used in the garden, in pasture improvement, in soil-building, and, of course, as forage. It’s all fascinating stuff, and yet, because I’m a creature of habit, I often don’t get around to implementing, or even experimenting with, many concepts I read about, because I can’t always find enough hours in the day. So it goes with cover crops. Sure, I’ve tossed a little buckwheat here, and a little cereal rye there, and I’ve planted clovers and grasses…

Studious Readers I just love this magazine! Each time the newest issue arrives, I take the whole day to read it through carefully. I like to think of it as studying, trying to soak in all the information. At 83 years old, I still maintain a half-acre garden, and the tips in your magazine still help me more and more each day. I grow much more produce than I could possibly need, so I give the extra to all of my friends, who are also older but unable to garden for themselves. Anything left over goes straight to my pygmy goats, who appreciate the spare treats. Gardening has gotten more challenging for me since my husband passed away a few years ago. Luckily, my son is still around and helps me with some…

“Thank you, MOTHER EARTH NEWS, for helping this city boy convert to the country lifestyle. I couldn’t have done it without you.” City Boy Makes Good I first discovered MOTHER EARTH NEWS when a copy was sitting on the coffee table of a friend’s country home. I was a city boy at the time, and dreamed of someday having my own homestead. But how could I make it happen? I had no money, no experience, and no clue where to start. My first move away from city life was when I bought a used step van to outfit as my new home. I spent months adding everything I needed to live on the road — water tanks, a bed with storage underneath, a fold-down desk, a gas stove, a furnace, cupboards, a toilet…

Food advocates have tried for years to facilitate changes to the industry from the top down, but they’ve met with minimal success. Now, rather than waiting for food policies to meander through Congress, communities are taking matters into their own hands through the power of local organization. Although food policy councils are currently taking off across the United States, the movement first began in Toronto, Ontario, almost four decades ago. Concerned citizens formed councils in the 1980s to facilitate conversations about the direction the local food movement was heading, and to put practices in place to address its flaws. In the past decade alone, an estimated 250 food policy councils have been established across North America. While each food policy council is working toward a different end goal, all the councils…

I’m a planner by nature, but implementing my plans is a completely different story. Last December, as 2018 neared, one of my top goals was to be more organized. After all, I was planning a homesteading conference for October — I needed to be prepared! And organization has simply never been my strong suit. When my husband would ask me how much we had harvested the previous year, or how much money we had spent on the chickens, I would look at him blankly and wonder if he really thought I’d kept up with all that. I could’ve thrown out a number off the top of my head, but I probably would’ve been hundreds of dollars off. I could’ve told you the initial startup cost of our homestead, and that’s…

Sun-Capturing, Multipurpose Powerhouse From $2,030 at www.SolarGemGreenhouses.com A reliable greenhouse can be a game-changer when it comes to self-sufficiency. Greenhouses can extend your growing season and provide a more controlled environment to give your plants the best chance possible. Wrap those benefits up in a tough, no-fuss package with tons of utility and multiple uses, and you have the American-made Solar Gem Greenhouse. As editor Russell Mullin puts it, “My Solar Gem Greenhouse is a hassle-free, multipurpose structure that, after a few personal customizations, I also use as an outdoor washroom (complete with a solar shower and composting toilet) and storage shed for garden tools.” Despite being tough, Solar Gem Greenhouses are also lightweight because of their one-piece fiberglass construction and ribbed Gothic-arch design. The automatic ceiling vents open and close, depending on…