MOTHER EARTH NEWS February - March 2017

I recently participated in the annual Farm and Food Conference put on by the Kansas Rural Center, which is a local organization devoted to ecological agriculture. The organization’s tagline is “Promoting the health of the land and its people.” Sessions presented practical, hands-on solutions to various problems with soil development, grass-finishing meat animals, growing vegetables yearround in high tunnels, and managing bees in an ever-less-bee-friendly environment. I even gave a presentation on the hows and whys of adding poultry and livestock to small-scale intensive and urban setups. I look forward to this conference every year because it represents my community in the foodproduction world, and this one time a year, we all get together to share successes, failures, and war stories. We pick one another’s brains and commiserate over that 2,4-D…

Homesteading at Any Age I’ve been getting MOTHER EARTH NEWS for a couple of years and look forward to future issues of this wonderful magazine. I was really struck by the letter from Vicki of Okmulgee, Oklahoma (Dear MOTHER, December 2016/January 2017). I’m hoping to someday find a bit of land; build my own tiny, energy-efficient house; and have some chickens, perhaps some sheep, and maybe even a horse. This dream can’t happen until I’m in my 60s, when I fear my age will be a drawback. It wasn’t until I read Vicki’s letter that I realized, yes, some people do start this kind of thing late in life. Can you perhaps run an article on how other older readers are managing? It would be very encouraging to us late bloomers. Thank…

Wind energy generation tripled in the United States in the past six years, and according to a recent U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) report, we have the potential to breeze far past that expansion by installing bigger and better wind turbines. The 2015 report, titled “Enabling Wind Power Nationwide,” explains that key advances in wind turbine technology will help expand wind power generation across the nation, to all 50 states. Currently, wind turbines operate in 39 states, and these turbines are typically about 260 feet tall. The DOE is collaborating with its industry partners to develop larger turbine towers that reach 360 to 460 feet high, which will harness the energy of the more elevated wind streams found in certain regions. Developers are also seeking to increase blade length on turbines…

Max and Katharine Dubansky, along with their children, Grace, 19; Leon, 17; Iris, 10; and Tessa, 6, live on a 106-acre organic farm located at the foot of Backbone Mountain in Oakland, Maryland. The Dubanskys, one of three families designated as our 2016 Homesteaders of the Year, sell Backbone Food Farm’s products through a community-supported agriculture(CSA) program, as well as to local markets and restaurants. Now in its 17th season, the farm is well-established, and the whole family helps out on the homestead. Max, Katharine, and Grace work seasonally at the nearby cross-country ski center for fun and a little extra money. The Dubanskys grow shiitake mushrooms and various other types, and they raise pastured pigs and beef cattle. Their team of Percheron draft horses provides the farm with true…

Novel growing methods go through phases of prominence on the gardening scene. Perhaps made popular by a new book or a reinvigoration of an old method, there’s always some “hot” technique, product, or way to garden. But what’s just hype, and what really works? Which methods have noted advantages? And which methods make sense for small-scale backyard gardeners versus serious homesteaders or market gardeners? Let’s dig into the benefits and potential hang-ups of six gardening styles you’ve likely heard about lately. Lasagna Gardening This method cleverly transfers the layering concept of lasagna to gardening — but instead of cheese and marinara, we’re talking about plant debris and all things compostable. The idea is to create thick, diverse layers of organic materials that will act as a mulch and break down into rich…

The basis of great home-preserved tomato products is, of course, great tomatoes. When preserving ketchup, tomato paste, or other dishes that require an extended amount of reduction, save time by choosing fleshy tomatoes that aren’t too watery or full of seeds. Good picks include paste and plum tomatoes along with heart-shaped and beefsteaktypes. Though shape or size may tell you something about the suitability of a cultivar for preservation, color should never be a factor. Tomatoes can easily be frozen whole in freezer bags with no preparation aside from a rinse to remove any dirt and a quick check to avoid rotting areas. Skinning tomatoes before canning them is a matter of personal preference, but by eliminating this somewhat labor-intensive step, thewhole process should be more accessible to beginners. Decoding Tomato Language D:…