Soil Health Check-Up Elevated Beds & Containers for Gardeners Grow a Superfood Goji Berries Akaushi Cattle a Healthful Red Meat

The magazine of modern homesteading

& Small Stock Journal Volume 98 • Number 3 May/June 2014 Soil Health Check-Up Elevated Beds & Containers For Gardeners Grow a Superfood Goji Berries Akaushi Cattle A Healthful Red Meat

Plus: • Sizing your solar system • Tips for making herbal teas • All about patents • Horses don’t share feed and much, much, more inside... 2 UNIQUE OFF-GRID PROPANE FRIDGES

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But the Pocket Power Plus not only met that forgot to charge it the night before. criteria, it exceeded my expectations more than I Hi, Bill Heid, President of Solutions From ever could’ve imagined. Science here with some absolutely amazing and Here’s what makes this device the most amazing exciting news. personal, portable backup power system ever Let me explain: developed: Pocket Power Plus Is So Powerful It Can Even As part of my mission to bring to market the • It will charge ALL your electronic devices. Jumpstart A Bus latest and greatest in off-the-grid gear, I literally (With 16 different kinds of adapters, there’s no Unique Gas has been the North American off-grid appliance leader for over have to travel around the world. And I do so quite popular electronic gadget this device won’t be frequently. In any case, by now I’m sure you are wondering 50 years. We meet any family’s off-grid refrigeration needs - from the small Unique 3 that compatible with. It even has a USB charging how much the Pocket Power Plus costs. Well… That being the case, and because I run several port!) provides full versatility (3 way functionality - propane/110V/12V) to the largest certified companies, it is a must that I stay in touch with my Here’s Great News For Countryside Readers: teams of employees back here in the states. And I • It will run ALL your electronic devices, too! The retail price of the unit is $229.00. However, propane fridge in the world, the Unique 18 (stay 2+ weeks at the cabin/cottage). don’t know what your experience has been but, if (For example, you can run: An iPad for 18 hours. as a special, limited-time introductory offer, you can you’re “off the grid” when traveling like I am, you A Kindle for 32 hours. An iPhone for 64 hours. get the Pocket Power Plus at… Stainless/Black/White - Unique enables the off-grid KNOW that isn’t always easy… because… An iPod for 150 hours. 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(It’s also great for 90-Day “Guaranteed Tough” sometimes the power goes in and out with regular business travelers… on the ground or in the air.) 100% Money Back Warranty! Contact us for a Unique dealer near you: frequency. Heck, even the Florida Keys can present Here’s How It Works: Try out the Pocket power challenges regularly. • When plugged into a standard wall outlet, the Pocket Power Plus charges in about 5 hours. It Power Plus under any conditions. If it fails to [email protected] • 1-877-427-2266 Not to mention outages caused by other can also be charged by your automobile with the perform as I’ve described here… or… it breaks or emergency situations. included 12 volt DC adapter. malfunctions in any way, just return it to my office www.UniqueOffGrid.com Not good. Not good at all when you have several and you’ll receive a prompt refund of your full businesses, your family and scores of employees • The Pocket Power Plus provides peace purchase price (less shipping and handling). No relying on you to keep things moving forward. of mind when you add it to your vehicle’s hassles. No questions asked. So, for the last two years, I have been on a frantic emergency kit! For Fastest Service: Got to the web site below search (literally scouring the globe) looking for a • It’s nearly bulletproof electrically… and much, and click the “BUY NOW” button at the bottom of reliable, portable backup power solution. And to be much more! the page and enter code CS131… quite frank… Pretty amazing, don’t you agree? And… www.PocketPowerPlus.com It Has Been Frustrating! Here’s What Makes For Fast Service: Have your credit card ready Don’t get me wrong. I’ve found several. But This All Possible! and call the Priority Order Hotline at… no matter what the manufacturer says, if the unit is light and small, it’s underpowered. Or, if the unit Earlier I mentioned that there has been a 1-877-327-0365 is powerful, it’s way too heavy and bulky to be recent breakthrough in battery technology. The To Order By Check Or Money Order: Write practical… that is… breakthrough is an advanced type of battery that your name and address on a plain piece of paper and evolved from lithium-ion batteries. send it along with the total payment for the number They Just Don’t Perform It’s called a Polymer Lithium-Ion Battery. of Pocket Power Plus units you want (plus $15.95 As Described… UNTIL NOW! These batteries are much more powerful than shipping and handling if ordering only one unit) to: Recently, due to a breakthrough in battery their predecessors… and… can be shaped to almost Solutions From Science, Inc. technology (which I’ll discuss in a bit), I found a any size or design needed. And that’s what makes personal, portable backup power unit that more than the Pocket Power Plus so powerful… yet… so Attn: CS131 lives up to every claim it makes. It’s called the… compact and portable. 2200 Illinois Rt. 84 These batteries are already starting to power the P.O. Box 518 Pocket Power Plus next generation of battery-powered electric vehicles. Thomson, IL 61285 This device is truly amazing and very cool. And get this, these batteries are so powerful, since Checks and Money Orders should be made First of all, it is truly compact. The unit is just a April 2011… payable to: Solutions From Science. little larger than an iPhone 5. They Have Been Responsible For Several One last thing: This special, more-than-half-off Second, it’s truly powerful. David Fink, our World Drag Racing Speed Records! introductory offer on the Pocket Power Plus is only chief electrical engineer at Solutions From Science, good until our current supply runs out. New units jumpstarted his Harley after it had sat for 9 months. Now I hope you see why I’m so excited about the will be sold at the regular retail price of $229.00 If you know anything about old Harleys, you know Pocket Power Plus. each. 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Our Philosophy It’s not a single idea, but many ideas and attitudes, including a reverence In this issue for nature and a preference for country Vol. 98 No. 3 • May/June 2014 life; a desire for maximum personal self-reliance and creative leisure; a concern for family nurture and commu- What’s happening this month on your Countryside homestead… nity cohesion; a belief that the primary reward of work should be well-being Departments: rather than money; a certain nostalgia Country conversation...... 8 for the supposed simplicities of the past and an anxiety about the technological and bureaucratic complexities Homestead health: of the present and the future; and a Stretching for health on the homestead...... 18 taste for the plain and functional.

Alternative energy: Countryside reflects and supports Sizing your battery bank...... 20 the simple life, and calls its practitioners homesteaders. Around the homestead: Protecting your homestead innovations...... 26 Stack firewood to dry quickly...... 31 Co u n t r y s i d e & Sm a l l St o c k Jo u r n a l When in Rome: Don’t repeat mistakes...... 32 Includes Small Stock Magazine Founded 1917 by Wallace Blair Animal agriculture & water conservation...... 33 and Countryside Magazine Founded 1969 by Jd Belanger

The goat barn: Send your manuscript to: Co u n t r y s i d e Editorial (or [email protected]). The editors reserve the right to When 3 is not a crowd...... 36 select and edit letters/articles/photos to be printed. The opinions and advice given here are not necessarily those of the Publisher. The cow barn: Publisher: Bart Smith General Manager: Mike Campbell Akaushi cattle — healthful meat...... 38 Office Manager:Ellen Soper Managing Editor: Anne-marie Belanger Ida The horse barn: Editorial Assistants: Jerri Cook Fulfillment:Chris Barkley, Laura Ching, Why we’re called “farriers”...... 41 Samantha Ingersoll, Ann Tom, Rhonda Weiler The Equine Infectious Anemia test...... 42 Advertising office: 1-800-551-5691 Horses don’t share...... 43 Classified ads: Gary Christopherson: [email protected] Display advertising: Alicia Komanec: [email protected] The henhouse: Kelly Weiler: [email protected] Vaccines chicks can gobble up...... 44 Printed in the U.S.A.

Co u n t r y s i d e & Sm a l l St o c k Jo u r n a l (ISSN 8750-7595; USPS 498-940) is published bi-monthly by Countryside The rabbitry: Publications, 145 Industrial Dr., Medford, WI 54451. Looking for a low maintenance pet? Try Angoras...... 45 Periodicals postage paid at Medford, WI and additional mailing offices. ©2014 Countryside Publications.

Editorial office: 145 Industrial Dr., Medford, WI Soil health: 54451, 715-785-7979, [email protected]. Subscriptions (U.S. funds): $18 per year; two years, Integrated Pest Management...... 46 $30: Countryside Subscriptions, 145 Industrial Dr., The dirt on beneficial microorganisms...... 48 Medford, WI 54451. POSTMASTER: “POSTMASTER: Send all UAA to CFS. (See DMM 707.4.12.5); NON- The garden: POSTAL AND MILITARY FACILITIES: send address corrections to Countryside Subscrip- Elevated beds are great for gardeners...... 51 tions, 145 Industrial Dr., Medford, WI 54451. Top 10 tips for thriving outdoor containers...... 54 Countryside & Small Stock Journal, May/June 2014 5 Start a New Career DO WHAT YOU LOVE Penn Foster’s fast, ﬂ exible, and aff ordable programs will help you get a fresh start with a new career in the growing animal care industry.

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twitter.com/pennfoster • facebook.com/pennfostereducation 925 OAK STREET, SCRANTON, PA 18515 623G 6 I grow an oddball: Kohlrabi...... 62 Grow the alpha superfood: Goji berries...... 63 Gathering “wild” food in the city: Rethinking urban ecosystems...... 68

The homestead kitchen: Canning butter and cheese...... 70 Got eggs?...... 71 Make hard cooked eggs—by steaming...... 72 Make your own herbal teas...... 73 Biscuit recipes...... 74

Book review: Rotten tomatoes: Tomatoland...... 76

Country neighbors: Bountiful Blessings Farm in Virginia...... 78 On the cover: Best friends meet through Countryside...... 80 Operation “Cowbegone”...... 82 Pepper plants are transplanted into healthy soil. Revisiting self-reliance...... 84 A matter of time...... 86 Growing up rural in the 1950s...... 88 Super fly Saturday...... 89

Poor Will’s Almanack...... 92 After chores:...... 106 Subscription business: Question: When does my subscription expire? Answer: The Month/Month and two-digit year will appear above your name on the upper right side. Contact us: Remember, it takes a couple of weeks Phone: 1-800-551-5691 for renewals to be entered into the computer system and mailing labels (8:00-4:30 Central) generated—so don’t dilly dally. The earlier you send your renewal, the Fax: 1-715-785-7414 less chance of missing an issue. You 145 Industrial Dr., can also renew online.• In this example, the order number is: 66518703 (circled in blue), and the subscription expiration date: Sep/Oct 16 (September/October Medford, WI 54451 2016, circled in red). w w w .countrysidemag .c o m Ongoing: Ke e p a n e y e o u t f o r unauthorized m a g a z i n e r e n e w a l s (We never know when they’ll pop up.) Cu s t o m e r s e r v i c e / Hiding behind several different b o o k o r d e r s : made-up names including CBS, United [email protected] Publishers Services, Publishers Billing Ex- change and National Magazine Services, they mail notices similar to the one left, Adv e rt i s i n g o f f i c e : trying to sell subscriptions to Co u n t r y s i d e & Sm a l l St o c k Jo u r n a l —as well as doz- [email protected] ens of other magazines—for exhorbitant prices far above the going rate. In the case of Co u n t r y s i d e they offer a two-year renewal for $65.95, while the real price is only $30. • The name and address may change—in March it Ed i t o r i a l o f f i c e : was White City, OR. • This company is not connected with Countryside Publications, in any [email protected] way, and has an “F” rating with the Better Business Bureau. • If you receive a notice like this one please ignore it or ask them to remove your name from their mailing list. If you have Show copies: We’ll gladly send renewed through them, call 1-775-345-3664 and ask for a complete refund. (They have been copies of any of our magazine titles charging some people $20 for the “privilege.”) • Genuine renewal notices come from us here for livestock or other shows; you at the home office at 145 Industrial Dr., Medford, Wisconsin 54451. provide the postage. For details call If you ever have a question regarding your Co u n t r y s i d e subscription, call us at 1-800-551-5691. 1-800-551-5691 or email [email protected]. CountrysideHere’s &“almost Small Stock Journal, everything May/June 2014 you ever wanted to know”7 about self-reliant Country Living!

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Nov/Dec 2003 Vol. 87/6 • Raising rabbits step-by-step • Solar hot water, options for Nov/Dec 2009 Vol. 93/6 • Build a one-log hauler every climate • Build Your Own Root Cellar • A non-electric chick brooder May/June 2007 Vol. 91/3 • Coping with today’s economy • Anyone Can Weld! • Herbs for the holidays • Feeding & care of your new •Garden in a Greenhouse Honeybees July/August 2008 Vol. 92/4 Nov/Dec 2005 Vol. 89/6 • Choose the best cow for your • Tools for the integrated home- March/April 2010 Vol. 94/2 • Solar and wind options for homestead stead • Going Solar: The Real Cost grid-tied homes • The time is right for a family • How to Choose & Use The • Build a fieldstone smokehouse July/August 2007 Vol. 91/4 garden! Modern Scythe • Start your own business • The importance of biodiversity • Dry your bounty • Meet the Neighbors: How 3 in livestock production Homesteaders Built Their Dream Sept/Oct 2006 Vol. 90/5 • Keep your bees healthy Nov/Dec 2008 Vol. 92/6 Ponds •The wonders of vinegar • Rearrange your chicken yard • Homestead finance,how • Build a solar food dryer for fresh grazing less can be more May/June 2010 Vol. 94/3 • Make apple cider • No plug? No problem! Handy • Is it Time for a Cow? Sept/Oct 2007 Vol. 91/5 Cordless Tools • Composting the Easy Way, Nov/Dec 2006 Vol. 90/6 • Earthen Construction An Let Your Hens Do the Work • How to sell your crafts Alternative Building Option May/June 2009 Vol. 93/3 • Build a Clamshell Greenhouse • How to choose a grain mill • Free & wild winter food • Hard economic times? • Build a solar shower • A tropical greenhouse: Actions speak louder than words Sept/Oct 2010 Vol. 94/5 • Swap your lawn for an at 9,100 feet • Hogs on the Homestead Jan/Feb 2007 Vol. 91/1 edible garden • Solar Panels: Buy or Build? •Be prepared with a Jan/Feb 2008 Vol. 92/1 • Standby generator systems: • Onions: Truffles of the Poor wilderness survival kit • Build a cold frame or choosing a personal power plant • Choose the right knife hoop house • Minerals for your horse • Shear your own sheep Sept/Oct 2009 Vol. 93/5 Nov/Dec 2010 Vol. 94/6 • Is windpower right for you? • Life on an Off-Grid Alpaca Farm • Why Do You Need a Goat? March/April 2007 Vol. 91/2 • The Fall Garden: Time to Plant Let Us Count the Ways... • Getting started with bees May/June 2008 Vol. 92/3 for Spring • Winter Fun: Build a • Stand-alone solar water • The Integrated Homestead Part 1: • Going Solar? Start Small with a Heirloom Sled pumping Soil Fertility Pint-Sized Inverter • Angle Grinders (We may substitute if an issue sells out)

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tongues and cannot get enough salt Brandywine—the Not everyone from a salt block. They will either make their tongues sore or try to fulfill river wants a computer their salt needs by biting off chunks Co u n t r y s i d e : Jeffrey Goss does not and perhaps misaligning their jaw. think a Mennonite would name a Co u n t r y s i d e : I noticed on the reader Cows have rough tongues. If you tomato Brandywine? survey you had quite a few questions have ever been licked by a cow, you I’ve always considered it to be on computers and other electronics. will know just why cows can get a very appropriate name, since the I hope you understand that there are their salt needs met by licking a salt Brandywine River together with its still people without Internet access block. east and west branches was the very and most of those people live in ru- Several years ago, I provided only epicenter of the Mennonite settlements ral areas. There are also other folks trace mineral loose salt for our horses. in North America from 1683-1783. like me who live simpler lives who After a while the horses stopped eat- The Brandywine drains a large don’t have, nor want, these modern ing the TMS and went without. The part of that area between Wilmington, technologies. light finally came on, and I provided Delaware; Philadelphia, Allentown, Don’t think I am an old man both loose TMS and plain salt. A and Lancaster in Pennsylvania. who is set in his ways, for I am only horse friend of mine told me she used Besides the Mennonite, the Penn- 17. I also know other young men ice cream salt for her horses because sylvania Dutch also lived there, so without these modern “necessities.” it is the purest, but our horses would their language did not originally Please don’t forget about us. — Isaac not touch it. So I put out Kosher salt contain the words brandy or wine. Grover for them along with the loose trace But I dare say that most of the early mineral salt. Now they consume Mennonite settlers could have told Don’t worry Isaac, we haven’t forgot- ten you and your brethren. We’ll stick moderate amounts of both. Also, the you where the Brandywine River with a paper magazine for a long time! cows get both a trace mineral salt was. In that area it is hard to really At this time the survey results are block and a plain salt block. Give define the difference between Amish still being tabulated, but we’ll share them a choice, and they will make and Mennonite or Amish-Mennonite them as soon as they’re available. the right one. as so much intermingling has oc- Info like the Healthy Chickens Bul- A great article Robyn. I have read curred. — Henry Leid, Kentucky letin (ad, left) can be accessed at your nearest library. The folks there will and reread it. Even though we live be happy to help you find what you’re in north Florida and seldom deal looking for. with severe winter conditions, we are planning to move to Kentucky. Then this article will be referred to often. Managing live- Thanks Robyn. — Judy Andrew stock in winter Co u n t r y s i d e : Robyn Scherer’s, aricle in Jan/Feb, was excellent—lots of Solar water heaters important information. I do, however, available locally take issue with one of her recommen- dations. While salt and minerals are so Co u n t r y s i d e : I read Co u n t r y s i d e from important, a salt block is inappropri- cover to cover, and would like to ate for horses. Horses have smooth comment on the recent article by Joan CountrysideWild & Small Stock Journal,Horse May/June 2014 and Burro 9

Thank you for supporting the Wild Horse and Burro Program since 1971. Come join us in Lorton, Virginia on June 20 - 21 Meadowood Recreation Area 10406 Gunston Road Friday Preview, 2pm - 7pm Saturday Adoption, 8am - 4pm Adoption by First Come, First Served

Directions: From I-95, take exit 163 for Lorton and VA-642. At the end of the exit, travel East on VA-642 briefly (.4 of a mile if you're coming from the North and .2 of a mile if coming from the South). At the light intersection for Lorton Market St., turn right. There will be a grocery store and strip mall on your left. At the light intersection for Route 1, continue on straight ahead. This will put you on Gunston Cove Road, which changes to Gunston Road/VA-242. In about 2 miles you'll pass the main entrance to the Meadowood Recreation Area on your right. Don't turn here, rather continue on another half of a mile. You'll turn right through a gate onto a dirt drive. If you use Google Maps, Mapquest, or other GPS, you can use these coordinates as your destination and it will take you right to the location: 38.670731,-77.190827

866-468-7826 blm.gov 10 10 Heaven never helps the man who will not act. — Sophocles Lardin, “Adventures in Solar Water offs. The system ultimately cost us Heating.” under $3,000. Garry would have been STOP First, I commend you on your happy to just sell me the equipment PredatorsinTheirTracks diligence to create a sustainable hot but I wanted the tax write off and water system that does not depend on NYSERDA refund. big oil or fracking or nuclear energy. We bought locally and Garry has Please do not take this letter as a criti- become a great friend, moving on to cism, only as informative. You have do more solar installs for friends of already designed and built your own mine because I took a chance with system, including a $1,600 solar water him. We need to support local indus- heater (!) from China, and therein lies try and local people. Look around o u n t r y s i d e Call Toll Free 888-902-2272 the rub. Other C readers you at your fellow Americans. Do Countryside - Original 2009_Layout 1 11/6/2009I 9:12hope AM will Page sit 1 up and take notice. you want to continue having neigh- It is not, I repeat, not necessary nor bors who are making enough to The Original World is it sustainable to order products survive in their own homes? This is a must-have commentary from China for solar energy. Please, Thank you for buying American about money and finances, which please look around you. Go to the made! Go the extra mile and find your when understood, will bring true web, you will find solar installers in solar hot water system right here in freedom from stress and worry. If this your area and often, as is the case in our own country. — Jules Harrell Four units will give complete was understood and lived by every my solar water heating system, your human being on earth, the world 360-degree coverage would be a very different place. And state will refund half the cost, and though that isn’t going to happen, you can write off a large amount in Solar tax credits you can personally free yourself from federal taxes. Co u n t r y s i d e : Many farmers could endless frantic striving and fear in a I, too, searched for a solar solu- justify getting an alternative energy world gone mad. tion. I spent a few years trying to system, especially with the number Order this transcription by Vernon Howard find an installer who would make it of incentive programs available. For Protection Against Night # today! Send only $5 (Shipping included) to: work for our situation, i.e., living in example, the federal government is of- Time Predator Animals 1 New Life • PO Box 2230-AJ • Pine AZ 85544 fering a 30% income tax credit to those the Northeast mountains on the Mas- Nite•Guard Solar® has been proven buying a solar or wind installation for www.anewlife.org sachussetts/Vermont/New York bor- effective in repelling predator animals The World’s Top der, where it’s pretty cloudy already a home or business. This tax credit through scientific testing and proven by the Selling Solar Powered Security System and then the plane exhaust seems to will be in effect for installations until company and tens of thousands of users. make it even cloudier. We get virtu- Dec. 31, 2016. Additional national incentives and available rebates are Nite•Guard Solar attacks the deepest OVER ally no sun in the winter here. most primal fear of night animals, that listed at energy.gov/savings. I spent a while talking to install- of being discovered. When the sun goes Local utility companies offer their 300,000 ers, several came to my home but down, Nite•Guard begins to flash and still I didn’t write a check because I own incentive programs. “Biggest continues until sunrise. The simple but SOLD thing we are seeing is that every util- effective fact is that a “flash of light” was waiting to learn more and find DON’T BE FOOLED BY ity company in the country has differ- is sensed as an eye and becomes an someone compatible who wouldn’t COPY CATS charge us a ton of money and would ent incentives,” Olinyk says. “Part of immediate threat to the most ferocious make sure we got our state and fed- what we do is to work with the utility night animals and they run away. eral write off. 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We received FACE BOOK $4,000 from NYSERDA (New York well to set up self-producing propane Princeton MN 55371 State) and another $2,000 in tax write systems, using animal manure, for www.facebook.com/niteguardllc 1.800.328.6647 niteguard.com CountrysideSTO & SmallP StockPredatorsinTheirTracks Journal, May/June 2014 11

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FOLLOW US ON PO Box 274 FACE BOOK Princeton MN 55371 www.facebook.com/niteguardllc 1.800.328.6647 niteguard.com 12 12 We give advice by the bucket, but take it by the grain. — W. R. Alger the farmers. It could be a lucrative humans consider mosquitoes a bad business for those offering the system, bug, they are a very tasty snack for a as well as an off-grid solution for the swallow or bat. farmers. — via iPhone 2. Antibiotics for cattle: This is done John C Camp- in feedlots. They are a prophylactic This was sent in mid-February, treatment due to crowded conditions. bell folkschool when propane in western Wiscon- Cattle could be raised on open range 1 x 30 sin was going for $4.19/gallon, with a with more space, no need for drugs 200-gallon limit. Reports of $5/gallon but the cost of beef would be $15–$20 weren’t unheard of in Wisconsin. We now carry a pound. We Americans want, and fish antibiotics! enjoy, a cheap, abundant source of www.CampingSurvival.com Why farmers cross food. 3. Water doesn’t belong “just to farm- the road… ers.” I suggest you go upstream. You will find a dam, which then produces Water Enjoy a new type Co u n t r y s i d e : We enjoy your magazine a recreation area which most farmers of water pump: Well and read it cover to cover the very are too busy to use anyway. The irri- easy drawing, day it arrives. We have learned much Done! high-volume gation done in Kansas uses very little water flow, and from it. surface area. They sit on the Ogalala rugged stainless steel design. Just a few comments on Ferlita’s Bison Pumps® Aquifer which produces most of their are the answer to accessing “annoyances.” (Jan/Feb) irrigation water, as well as for parts your well anytime. Bison My husband and I (ages 75 and of Oklahoma and Texas. Pumps® are easy to install and 76) have been farmers all our lives— work right beside your electric 4. “Corn is not a natural food for pump in wells with static the last 36 years in Wisconsin. We had dogs.” Is it the farmers’ fault that the levels up to 200 feet dairy cattle for 30 years and had to dog food producers add corn? I sup- deep. give them up due to illness and age. pose if the farmer didn’t raise and bisonpumps.com We now have a small herd of Angus supply corn, then these producers 800-339-2601 beef cows. would be forced to use something The farmers lost again with the else…perhaps chicken feathers? Farm Bill, this time to the food stamp (Ed. weird side note: Our yellow lab, program. The Farm Bill and my tax who we adopted last spring at the age of money also supports the school lunch four, would go into the nearby corn field program. Our insurance is plenty and return with an ear of corn—numer- high too. ous times! He was obviously tearing them Christian light We have always practiced good off the stalks on purpose. We also caught 1 x 30 land stewardship with strip farming, him eating all of the raspberries within erosion controls and the building of reach—after I [mistakingly?] gave him dams to control water and drainage. one to try. Luckily the garden is fenced, Our animals never lived in filth. or who knows what would have been left. As far as traffic, part of our farm And no, he is certainly not starving!) was taken to improve a county road. 5. Chickens: Again, people want The only time our farm machinery a plentiful supply of cheap food. uses it, is when we cross it to get to Chickens are also raised in confine- the 80 acres on the other side. ment, not cages. Only laying hens I’m a Wisconsin farmer and proud are in cages. of it. — G. Davis, Wisconsin 6. Traffic: If a person can’t see a  large piece of machinery (combine, tractor) going down the road, do you Co u n t r y s i d e : In the Jan/Feb 2014 issue really think one would see the small you published a letter that had a list slow-moving emblem? Most machin- of complaints about farmers. I would ery has rubber tires. They were not like to address these issues. First let put there for diving in fields; they are me state that I don’t live on a farm, there for driving on roads. You may but in a small town. But I do know be annoyed with farmers moving where my food comes from! machinery down the road, but they 1. Land drainage: I can agree with don’t enjoy being there either. Why most to the point, but I would like to not leave for work/appointments/ know which are “good bugs?” We as or whatever 10 minutes early in the Countryside & Small Stock Journal, May/June 2014 13 DR® POWER GRADER

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Call for a FREE DVD and Catalog! Includes product speciﬁ cations and factory-direct offers. TOLL FREE 888-213-0395 14 14 To be happy, we must be true to nature, and carry our age along with us. — Hazlitt spring and fall when you might en- Faced with another Alabama counter machinery? If it continues to snowstorm, I was eager to get up, annoy you, just think, “There goes put on a pot of coffee, and share my my food!” morning with my friends in Co u n - 7. I don’t find either corn or soybeans t r y s i d e . At 6:06 a.m. the power went inedible. Soybeans are just a newer out. I grabbed an oil lamp, tore a small food. The statement “GMO foods are piece of paper from a used envelope, unsafe,” is an unproven theory. There and headed toward the kitchen. I is slight evidence that it could be lit the small roll of paper on the gas true, but with all the different GMOs, flame under the coffee pot (no need much more study has to be done be- to waste a match), lit the lamp with fore that statement can be made. the paper, poured a cup of coffee and 8. Farm Bill: There are very, very sat down for my journey through the few farmers that use crop insurance magazine. for a living. The vast majority of There is always so much to learn farmers only use crop insurance as a from the submitted letters and ar- safety net. You state no one replaces ticles. I look forward to the regular your job if something happens. You contributors as well. As I made my would qualify for unemployment, way through the pages, I was glad to which, by the way, you do not pay see another article by Patrice Lewis. any of the premium—your employer I have read and re-read her articles does. Also you could qualify for food over the years and even passed them stamps, which is part of the Farm along when friends and relatives have Bill. The Farm Bill covers many, mentioned starting a homebased busi- many things besides crop insurance. ness. As I read on, I thought about the If you lose your job, you only lose information in the articles and how I your source of income. If the farmer could use it… ”I’m going solar one loses his crop (too wet for planting, of these days, I need some of those YOUR SOURCE grasshopper infestation, hail storm, batteries when I do.” “Great advice drought, too wet at harvest), he loses on the truck, I don’t know what we FOR CANNING his farm, machinery, home, vehicles would do without our F-450.” “If and anything else he owns. Don’t you I can find one of those ‘man lifts’ I From canning meat to think he needs a safety net? could paint my house myself, but it vegetables, find the supplies When you sit down for your will probably take me three weeks. you need at Lehman’s. next meal, what, besides the napkin, This is a big house. And what about didn’t originate on a farm or ranch the cracks in the wood siding, do I On the Square in Kidron, Ohio somewhere? You can complain about need to caulk?” “Trees. Yes, plant 4779 Kidron Road, Dalton, OH 44618 farmers if you want to, but don’t do those trees. They help the environ- IN THE HEART OF AMISH COUNTRY it with a mouth full of food. — Ruth, ment and the economy, and honestly, OPEN EVERY DAY EXCEPT SUNDAY North Dakota I don’t want to use plastic toilet paper

any time soon. Keep that paper wood LEHMANS.COM » The latest issue coming.” “What a great idea, for the » 800.438.5346 hospital to buy vegetables from the and a community. We need more supporters of local farms.” “Jerri moment” By the time I came to the article by Bernis Ingvaldson on WWOOF- For a FREE copy of the catalog and Co u n t r y s i d e : The last few weeks of my ing across America, I was dug deep special e-mail offers, mail to: Lehman’s, Dept. 2KZC, 289 Kurzen Rd. North, life have been busy. My husband and I into the magazine, absorbing every Dalton, OH 44618 have embarked on a self-employment word. This story made me wish I was Name: journey that seems to be “uphill all the young again. I would love to drop way” at the moment. I always look what I’m doing and work my way Address: forward to receiving my latest issue of across America, meeting new people Co u n t r y s i d e and was thrilled to see it in and learning skills along the way. It the mailbox one evening on returning would have been great if this had been Zip: home. Too tired to sit up and read it, I around when I was a young lady, I placed it on the kitchen table to enjoy would not have had so many hands on E-mail: with coffee the next morning. “oops” moments. It would have been

UrbanFarmAdFebruary2014.indd 1 3/7/14 2:56 PM Countryside & Small Stock Journal, May/June 2014 15 15 the list goes on. Can you believe it? The 4-H What a shame that we encourage program is connected to Mon- our children to participate in agricul- santo through their support and ture events and group activities such contributions to the Alabama as 4-H without digging deeper into the Cooperative Extension… political arms that support and hold up the organizations. Check out your great to have learned from someone local Cooperative Extension’s website. else’s experience and get it right the Key “Monsanto” into their “search” first time on my own. feature and see what kind of dirt you Then there is Jerri Cook’s, “While can dig up. You Were Celebrating.” How can one I’d like to close by saying, Thanks, person get my blood boiling so quick- Jerri! Thank you for your endless ef- ly? I really appreciate her digging into fort in attempting to show us the truth the crevices to bring us the informa- about our food, big corporations, big tion from a political perspective. And government, and political agendas I love her sweet sarcasm. If I wasn’t that ultimately affect our freedoms. already paranoid about my food and Thank you for inspiring me to get big government’s agenda, I would be involved and research every aspect after reading her articles. of my family’s lives. At this point in my reading, every- Now that I’m calm again, I’m go- one else is up, the snow has melted ing to try Daniel Strauss’ Bean Burrito and it’s safe to make our way to our recipe with eggs for lunch and finish office. All of the local schools are reading my magazine. — Kimberly, closed, but my child has a school day. Alabama Since we homeschool, he has to go. I’m the teacher and I say we have school, Why do shelters so we have school. No need to take a day off on a cold and wet day, save charge? the day off for a warm, sunny day on the creek bank. Co u n t r y s i d e : I loved the article by We get to the office where I check Ferlita in Wisconsin (Jan/Feb 2014 pg. voice mails and emails. At this point, 15). I live in a four-block square of Mt. I have an email from our homeschool Ayr, Indiana. The only stores are a gun coordinator with our church affiliate. shop, which opened in 2012, a small Yeah, activities! It looks like someone post office, a small tutoring/lending wants to start a 4-H program for our library/community room to rent for homeschool group. “What a wonder- meetings. Last summer I saw no bees ful idea,” I think, as I remember 4-H as or rabbits, although we do have an a child. I quickly click on the web link abundance of loose cats. to learn more. As I meander through I’ll be moving to my son’s property the information, requirements and this spring—three miles from town course offerings, I see the sponsor with no close neighbors. I’m an animal information. This is where “my Jerri lover, embroiderer, make small quilts moment” as I like to call it, kicks in. and crafts, watch old tv shows and Monsanto! Can you believe it? The 4-H movies, and I have about 50 pen pals; program is connected to Monsanto eight are “regulars.” through their support and contribu- I’m 67 and have taken in unwanted tions to the Alabama Cooperative Ex- pets on my own for 60 years. Most ani- tension as well as a $50,000 grant from mal shelters are just businesses. They the Monsanto Fund, the philanthropic would rather kill than give an animal a arm of Monsanto Company, in 2008. good home for free. One charges $250 And in 2013, five $5,000 scholarships and up! — Susie Smith, Indiana were given by the American National Please remember, while some vet- CattleWomen Foundation, Inc. and erinarians generously waive fees and Monsanto. Monsanto even sponsored food may be donated, medications, lit- the 4-H Volunteer Spring Training for ter, heat, lights, phone and taxes, etc., 2013. Unfortunately, this is just a few, still have to be paid. 16 You Own 16 No wise man ever wished to be younger. —Swift Helpful, free Crockpot and it came with a recipe Your Home book and it had a bread recipe in it. I also sent for the hardcover recipe advice—from an book, cake and bake pan, and meat Now Own attorney rack. If you’re going to get dairy ani- Your Power Co u n t r y s i d e : This is in reply to Jerri’s mals, get goats. They are wonderful. lawyer article: Great article and writ- They’re smaller and easier to care for ing. Self install than cows, and the milk is easier to off-grid I recently had a restraining order digest. You will need more than one, packages expire against my neighbor—he had as they are social/herd animals. I been shooting my dogs, killing all have seven does. The meat is very manner of birds, including, and not good, too. I usually put two or three limited to, bluebirds, hawks, finches kids in the freezer every year. Get a and more. His excuse in court was copy of Storey’s Guide to Raising Dairy unbelievable (there were squirrels in Goats by Jerry Belanger from Coun- the attic!). Recently he began again tryside Bookstore or Tractor Supply. with a vengeance. He will come out It tells you everything. — Katherine, All-Weather power into the yard and shoot his rifle in New York the air and over the houses. We live made affordable with directly in the landing pattern of Just 1 30% back from the Atlanta International Airport. I am (one!) Federal Government. in the process of filing again with the tablespoon of court to try to put a stop to all this nonsense. I have contacted the free detergent required! Emergency legal sites, who in turn listened to Backup my concern and referred me to an at- Co u n t r y s i d e : I’d like to offer another torney. The attorney was very helpful recipe for laundry detergent, which I and gave me an hour of free advice have been using for over six months, (this was supposed to be 30 minutes and has worked out wonderfully. It free) on how to approach this matter. costs about $24 for an entire year’s I was ready and willing to retain the supply. A large plastic bucket with legal service. After reading from the a lid is necessary to mix it; I used a previous restraining order, the attor- five-gallon food storage bucket and it ney advised me to file a continuation was half full from this recipe. This is of the last order and request the same best mixed outside! The Purex adds Helping folks in all judge. There are other details too scent and softener. The laundry is a 50 states for 12 years. lengthy to mention here. Bottom line. little “coarse” feeling without it. You are absolutely right about those Let our experience who choose the legal field to help. 1 box of Borax 2 bars of Fels Naptha, grated (protect work for you. The legal fee at the office is $265, per your hands) hour. These people reached out to 1 large box (4 lbs.) baking soda me, and gave me the confidence and 1 box Arm & Hammer Washing knowledge to handle this situation Soda pro se. Thank you Jerri Cook. — S. 1.5- 2 bottles of Purex Crystals Thomas, Georgia 1 (3 lbs.) tub of Oxy Clean

Mix together dry. Use only one Advice to tablespoon per load, or a second tablespoon for really dirty laundry. This greenhorns: mixture will dissolve in cold water, and works in front loading washers. It Call us for a FREE Get goats can be added into the tray or directly quote TODAY! Co u n t r y s i d e : This is in reply to the into the tub. (I remove the detergent Canadian reader in the Jan/Feb 2014 tray from my top loader and put it in 888-782-0706 issue (pg. 9) who wanted to make there.) I have used it to hand wash bread in a crock pot. items and prefer liquid detergent for www.apxsolar.com Back in the 1970s I got a Rival that. — CG, New Hampshire Countryside & Small Stock Journal, May/June 2014 17 Help wanted Limited space in Bryan’s Florida garden requires growing vertically Co u n t r y s i d e : We raise and grow all of whenever possible. our own food and basically provide pretty well for ourselves. We are both semi-disabled and retired, and are looking for a couple or family that enjoys getting their hands dirty and is willing to accept that our small farm is a life and not just a one-day chore here and there. We raise our animals to butcher, garden, have many varieties of fruit, can anything and everything, and also have bees to round it all off. We are still cooking on a 100-year-old wood cookstove that we enjoy very much. We would love to share what we are doing and know that there are people out there that have needs because of hard times. We would like to help out. We are struggling to find people anywhere and I know they are out there. — Vicki and Bob, [email protected] What will you be doing at age 97?

Co u n t r y s i d e : I am an organic gardener/carpenter with almost a century of combined experience. Northeast Florida is a nearly perfect geographic location that allows year- round gardening. I grew up in Western Kansas, product of family heritage of conservation. We used strict organic practices and recycling long before it became the norm. My mother is looking forward to planting her 78th consecutive garden in the same plot, proof that going organic works. Not too shabby for a young 97-year-old, huh? As you can see from the attached pics, I’ve stepped out of the box a bit. Being limited to 900 sq. ft. of “green space” makes growing “up” instead of “out” a must. Note the permanent T-posts. Simply unwind lines from the opposite fence and attach to posts. Set in a few climbing wires and you’re ready for climbing veggies. Check out the “upward tomato vines.” so by using the conveyer and adding The little chicken house, cross Using a conveyer made from a a couple of scoops of manure and a tees, 35 ft. cold frame and all manure few extra parts makes life easier. I little water, a real “super mulch” is and compost bins are constructed grew tired of running my mower created. Earthworms love the finely from recycled 4 x 4 fence posts. — back and forth across a pile of leaves, chopped mixture. Bryan Estes, Florida 18 The soul, by an instinct stronger than reason, ever associates beauty with truth. — Tuckerman Homestead health: running smoothly. I wanted to share a few stretching options that will help your body get ready for the work of Stretching the day and may also protect you from injury. for health on Mobility drills are a simple first choice exercise. Move your body in the homestead many directions with a focus on the major joints—hips, shoulders, knees, and elbows. Swing your arms gently. By Su s i e Gr o s s m a n Lift your knees. Circle your hips right In d i a n a and left, turn your head from side to side (slowly), and circle your wrists. ’ve been an avid reader of Co u n - Susie Grossman Circle your arms from the shoulder t r y s i d e for many years, and have learned a great deal. I enjoy all of the tors gave me the knowledge to learn fully (if you have a full range of I movement and no injuries). Move contributor’s articles, and even when how to live frugally and debt-free so they don’t pertain to me personally, I that I was able to pursue my dream your body rhythmically and sym- have found inspiration through the of teaching others. metrically, as you feel led by areas challenges and successes of others. I have noticed that not many of tightness. I own a small yoga studio in people contribute articles on exercise Do several repetitions of move- northern Indiana and also train for those on the homestead. In keep- ment with each joint to encourage the clients on an individual basis with ing up with chores and animals, at synovial fluid to move and protect the kettlebells and yoga. I have been times, we often forget that our bodies joint when you begin vigorous work. blessed to be able to shift from full- need to be taken care of with as much Stretching and moving the muscles time work at a factory to being a small love and attention as our animals and allows them to elongate, get a little business owner, doing what I love! our homestead. Our bodies need to blood flowing, warm up and prepare for harder work. The same series can Co u n t r y s i d e and its many contribu- be stretched every day to keep them be repeated before you go to bed at night. Although this little change in Live a Better Life! your routine might not seem like a Raw Food A Complete Guide for Every Meal of the Day lot, you may be surprised to discover how much better you feel before, dur- By Erica Palmcrantz and Irmela Lilja ing and after a day’s work. Raw food is more than a diet. It's a lifestyle and a movement. The stories of Stretching does not necessarily weight loss, increased energy, healthy-looking skin, and better digestion are require long holds of deep stretches seemingly endless. However, many people are turned off by the difficulty (as in yoga) to be effective. Flexibility and unpleasantness of eating only (or even primarily) foods cooked below 104 degrees Fahrenheit. With dozens of recipes accompanied with beauti- is relative to your daily requirements. ful, full-color photographs, Erica Palmcrantz and Irmela Lilja prove that If you can’t bend down to tie your eating raw foods can be simple, inexpensive, and delicious. From creative shoe because your hamstrings are too salads to spicy burritos to chocolate mousse, every recipe will broaden your tight, then you should think about raw-food horizons. Complete with recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, desserts, and side stretching them a little bit. If you can’t dishes, Raw Food is an innovative approach to a wholesome way of eating. 174 pages, $16.95 + $4 shipping. WI res. add 5.5% tax. reach overhead to work because your 1-800-551-5691 • www.countrysidemag.com shoulders are too tight, you could use some flexibility work. If you don’t know where to start, buy a used book on stretching and study it for proper form. Repeat the exercises exactly as described. If you want to do the splits or backbends, just because you have a desire to do the splits or backbends, I recommend that you see a local yoga teacher who can teach you properly.

Susie Grossman, NASM-CPT, HKC, Certified Turbo Kick Instructor 574.453.6323; www.WarsawsSecretFit- ness.com bind-in 18/19 & 90/91

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Sizing your battery bank Don’t underestimate your needs

By Da n Fi n k do you design for, 12 volt, 24 volt or use a greater number of 2-volt bat- Co l o r a d o 48 volt? teries in series to reach these voltage The problem is that the lower the standards. t’s always fun to cruise the hills and voltage electrical energy moves at, canyons of Colorado in a vintage the higher the losses from resistance 12-volt home power Iautomobile, and I’ve occasionally heating. It’s shown in in the Ohm’s had the chance to do just that with Law wheel in Diagram 1, and the systems, back in the day my neighbor Dan B. in his nifty old “squared” part is what really gives Back when I first started in the Model A Ford pickup. But after one us trouble. These are commonly renewable energy business, almost excursion I got an email from a fellow referred to as “I squared R losses.” every off-grid power system was volunteer firefighter saying, “I passed You can make up for this by using 12-volt. Solar electric modules were you guys on the road last night, and thicker wire—but copper is a very designed for it, thanks in part to I was right up on you before I even expensive metal. If you halve the both the oil and gas industry and saw your lights. They were so dim. voltage of a circuit, to keep losses the U.S. Coast Guard adopting solar Why is that?” the same you’d have to increase the in the 1970s for the off-shore marker Most of the answer is that the wire gauge by three American Wire lighting of oil platforms, barges and Model A used a 6-volt electrical sys- Gauge (AWG) sizes, a pricey propo- buoys. A huge variety of 12-volt tem, and that actually sheds some sition. “I squared R” is why those lights, pumps, motors, music and tv light on a very important consider- Model A headlights seem so dim, systems and even small appliances ation when designing and installing and also why American automobile were (and still are) available from a renewable energy system backed makers all moved to 12 volt electrical automotive, long-haul trucking and up by batteries: What system voltage systems in the 1950s. camping manufacturers. Many early The reason everything lead-acid off-grid home power systems were battery-related comes in multiples wired entirely for 12 volts, as back of two is simply the nature of the then inverters—which convert DC electrochemical reaction that hap- electricity from a battery into stan- pens internally in modern cells. No dard 120-volt AC house current— matter how big or small each battery were extremely expensive. But these cell is, it operates chemically at two 12-volt DC home systems presented volts, and to get higher voltages you many problems, too. simply connect the cells together in One problem was (and remains) series (Diagram 2). Both 6-volt and the standard 12-volt DC outlet, that 12-volt batteries are easy to manu- cigarette lighter socket that anyone facture in convenient sizes, and easy who owns a vehicle both loves and to put in series to make 24- or 48-volt hates, whether they smoke or not. It Diagram 1: Ohm’s Law wheel systems. Larger power systems often works okay for charging your smart- Countryside & Small Stock Journal, May/June 2014 21 to 50 cents for a regular outlet), and again failed quickly. That then led people to chop off the cigarette lighter plugs from their appliances, replace them with standard AC plugs, and install regular 120 VAC wall outlets and switches and lights, but all wired at 12 volts. That caused many more problems, as a wiring polarity error could instantly zorch an expensive 12-volt car stereo, and woe to the guest from town who unknowingly plugged a 120 VAC appliance into a Diagram 2: Battery cells connected in series 12-volt outlet! It also turned out that regular wall switches actually fail phone while driving, but once you tions fail fast. Back in the day, many after only a few years when used at start trying to use more power from people wired their 12-volt DC homes 12 volts DC. Check back to Diagram 1 it, such as for a small inverter or a 12- with cigarette lighter wall sockets and do the math—a light or appliance volt travel coffeemaker, the connec- that cost over $10 apiece (compared that draws 120 watts uses only 1 amp

Safety, last issue of Co u n t r y s i d e ) use a hydrometer Battery monitoring (left) to suck up battery electrolyte into a hydrometer, measure both specific gravity and temperature of the Back in the day, we off-grid “pioneers” had only electrolyte, and write these numbers down. For each one way to measure the state of charge (SOC) of a bat- and every cell. This is how professional off-grid in- tery bank: voltage. The problem was, that only worked stallers troubleshoot and diagnose battery problems, when the batteries had been “at rest” for two to three though we usually use a refractometer that needs hours, with no power coming in and none going out. only a drop of electrolyte instead of a whole turkey Which pretty much put the only time to take a reading baster hydrometer full of that nasty stuff. at around three in the morning. We also learned how to interpolate readings taken at other times of the day, Amp-hour meters: This is the solution I recommend simply based on years of experience…but there was to almost everyone, and they cost only about the always that “blind spot” during the day while charg- price of single battery (monitor photo). These me- ing, when voltage doesn’t provide much feedback on ters tally all the state of charge. Here’s a quick list of different ways to energy coming figure any battery bank’s state of charge. in to your battery bank and Voltage: When your batteries have been at rest, you out of it, and can indeed get a fairly accurate sense of their state of simply show charge by simply reading battery bank voltage with you a “percent a wall-mounted meter or a handheld mul- full” number. timeter. Diagram 4 shows a typical at-rest Even children voltage versus state of charge situation. But can interpret keep in mind, when the batteries are be- that reading, ing discharged, their voltage will show far and say “Mom, lower than actual state of charge; a running the batteries are refrigerator will easily make this reading almost down to show 20-30 percent less than actual SOC. Battery monitor 50 percent, can I And during charging, all bets are off—you go start the gen- simply have no data at all until the the char- erator for you?” ger reaches float stage and stays there; only These meters are not perfect—they need time to then do you know they are full. “learn” how your battery bank behaves—but in my opinion, the simplicity makes up for all the inaccu- Specific Gravity: This is (literally) the acid racy. My amp-hour meter is mounted in the living Diagram 4: test and bottom line for battery health. room, so it’s always obvious to everyone what’s up hydrometer Wearing all your proper PPE, (see Battery with my battery bank. 22 Happiness consists in activity. It is a running stream, and not a stagnant pool. — J. M. Good

Three-stage charging

When it comes to preserving the health of a large, expensive home battery bank that sees daily use, an inexpensive auto-parts store charger just won’t cut it. All battery manufacturers specify three-stage charging for longest battery life. Fortunately, all modern charge controllers for solar, wind and hydro use this charging regime, as do all inverter/chargers designed for off-grid use. The charger simply feeds up charging energy to the battery bank at the best rates for the right times, to make every bite easily and efficiently digestible. Diagram 3 shows how three-stage chargers perform their magic. During the “bulk” stage, the battery receives every bit of energy the charging source can provide. This makes up the majority of the charge cycle, bringing the batteries up to about 90 percent state of charge. After the batteries reach a certain voltage set point specified by the battery manufacturer, the charger switches into “absorb” mode, and this is where many people who don’t use automated Diagram 3 chargers run into trouble. Absorb is all about timing and is critical; during this phase, the controller holds the same state of charge, and should be performed the voltage steady while the remaining 10 percent at least four times per year; many installers now of battery capacity is filled with gradually reducing recommend monthly. All that’s involved is check- current. Typical absorb times range from two to four ing each battery cell to be sure it’s topped up with hours. After that, the controller switches to “float” distilled water. Then hit the “equalize” button on mode, also known as a trickle charge. This provides the charge controller, and it takes it from there. You just enough current to keep the battery happy and can program most controllers to equalize automati- healthy without boiling off electrolyte, and prevents cally on a set schedule, but if the battery electrolyte self-discharge. level is too low you’ll cause permanent damage, so I With flooded lead-acid batteries (see the last always recommend doing it manually. And always issue of Co u n t r y s i d e ) there’s a fourth stage of charg- follow the battery manufacturer’s instructions to the ing, called equalization. It provides a controlled letter—sealed batteries such as VRLA and AGM will overcharge that brings all batteries in the bank up to be ruined if equalized like flooded varieties. at 120 volts, but uses 10 amps at 12 A new era of inverters use until your main one arrives back volts. Those switches failed because Then, finally, the price on invert- from the repair shop (can’t run the we were using them at 10 times their ers started to drop as more off-grid microwave, dishwasher and fridge rated current capacity, and that’s homes were built. Now, it makes no all at the same time for now, sorry), also a fire hazard. Some homeown- sense at all to painfully pull giant #10 life will go on as normal. I actually ers even used adapters to fit car tail wire for 12 volt DC circuits in any keep a few extra, older inverters in light bulbs into regular screw-base home, and even many RVs are now stock here on a loaner basis for clients light sockets. Wiring a house for DC wired only for 120 VAC house cur- who get zapped by lightning, etc. and loads also required #10AWG cable. rent at the outlets and lights. Worried need repairs. I’ll be discussing every- If you’ve ever had to pull that stuff about how to cope with living after thing about inverters in an upcoming through studs and walls, and then an inverter failure and waiting for Co u n t r y s i d e article. connect it to switches and outlets, you the repair? Just buy an inexpensive The real impact of reasonably- already know how brutal that process extra, and store it on a shelf. You’ll priced inverters was simply this: is compared to the usual slinky and be back up and running in under Any electrician anywhere, or you thin #14AWG used in most home an hour, and while you may have with your DIY skills, can easily wire branch circuits. to be more frugal with your power your house, cabin, garage, shop, RV, Countryside & Small Stock Journal, May/June 2014 23 camper or even deer stand just like There are exceptions of course— relied upon system sizing spread- any other house in town for standard with standard battery sizes (see the sheets for designing off-grid systems. 120 volt AC house current, provided last issue of Co u n t r y s i d e for detailed Many excellent ones are available by the grid or a generator. Then, all information on battery banks) com- online. You simply tally up the watt- the seemingly exotic (but really very ing in at 6 volts, using eight batteries age of all the different loads you plan straightforward) renewable energy to make 48 volts may be just more to run, estimate the hours per day equipment you bought connects to capacity and cost than someone and week you’ll be running them, your home with three or four house might need for a small system in a and let the spreadsheet do the math current wires in your main breaker small home or cabin. In those cases, for you. But as a panelist at a recent box, just like in town. 24 volts (four batteries) is perfectly conference of off-grid system profes- acceptable. As for 12 volts, I consider sionals, I asked for a show of hands it worthwhile only in campers and on how many of these experts used 12, 24 or 48 volts? RVs, as they can’t carry much battery sizing spreadsheets. Well over half This is a choice you’ll have to weight and it can be handy to have the hands in the room went up. Then make for your power system before a couple 12 volt outlets around for I asked how many of these designers you pull out your checkbook, no camping. and installers found that the spread- matter if it’s for your home, cabin, Now remember, I’m not talking sheets gave an accurate indication of RV, boat, or mansion. I almost always about actually wiring your house for actual energy usage. Only about two recommend 48 volts. The equipment 48, 24 or 12 volts—just your battery hands went up. is readily available and costs no more bank and Balance of System equip- I think I’ve identified the root of than any other voltage, you get more ment right by the system control the problem. Off-grid system sizing watts of output for both your dol- center. Your inverter will seamlessly spreadsheets are a bit like anonymous lar and the size and weight of the and inexpensively convert DC bat- online surveys about your sex life— equipment, everything runs more tery voltage to regular old house everyone tends to underestimate efficiently with lower resistance heat- current. their needs and overestimate their ing losses, and you’ll save a bunch by capabilities. And, remember how in- using thinner copper wire through- Sizing your battery bank dividual batteries are almost always out the system. For decades solar installers have 6-volt or 12-volt; that means you are

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atalo g 24 Ability and necessity dwell near each other. — Pythagoras buying them in “blocks” of capacity range. For example, with a 48 volt system a typical battery bank consists of 8, 6-volt batteries wired in series to give 48 volts. At the usual 350 amp-hours apiece for L-16 batteries, that’s 2,100 watt-hours per battery, for a total of 16,800 watt-hours (16.8 kWh) of storage (of which only half is usable). The next step up is to add eight more batteries, putting you at double the capacity and double the cost. That’s a big gap, and there aren’t many options for batteries in between L-16s (350 amp-hours) and golf cart batteries (225 amp-hours). The options that do exist tend to be more expensive, simply because fewer batteries are produced in those intermediate sizes. So, I tend to take a more practical approach, and it seems to work. The key is to focus on the big loads Refractometer that run frequently, identify those that the homeowner can’t control, and leave a big buffer for all the your well pump and water pressure Arrgh! Fortunately, the outlet is little stuff. For example, the refrig- pump. It’s certainly coincidence, easily accessible and I can unplug erator and freezer: These are both but it always seems like my refrig- it as needed. A freezer full of food big loads, and they turn on and off erator/freezer chooses to go into its has a lot of thermal mass, and can when they need to, without regard defrost cycle (which draws a hefty easily hold food cold for at least 24 to the current state of charge of your 450 watts) right at the times when hours if you are careful to not open battery bank. Same with the blower my battery bank is low after a snow- the door very often. on your home heating system. And storm or a spell of rainy weather. The other critical load you should pay attention to and carefully estimate is lighting—and be sure to remember that in wintertime, your lighting load goes up thanks to shorter days. For most other loads, you are in complete control. When power gets low, cook your rice on the gas or wood stove instead of the electric rice cooker. Do the dishes by hand instead of in the dishwasher. Make drip coffee on the stove instead of using the electric coffee maker. Put off doing laundry or vacuuming the carpet until the sun is shining again. Use the laptop computer instead of the desktop. Play cribbage instead of watching a movie. And so on. I do highly recommend that everyone planning to move off the grid try out a battery sizing spreadsheet online…but don’t stake your investment on the results. You’ll be married to the power system you purchase for a very long time, and there’s more to such a long-term Snorkel_SD135A:Countryside 10/24/12 9:38 AM Page 1

Countryside & Small Stock Journal,25 May/June 2014 25 relationship than anonymous online compatibility surveys.

How to keep your batteries alive In the last issue of Co u n t r y s i d e I briefly discussed the most common Beautiful hand selected Western Red Cedar, causes of premature battery bank still water and crackling fire...all you need failure. The top culprit in my mind to enjoy a relaxing soak, under the stars. is chronic undercharging, which boils Choose wood-fired simplicity at half the down to using more energy than you price of plastic spas or digital fingertip are generating. When I go on a trou- control gas or electric heat.The moonlit sky and peaceful relaxation are free. bleshooting call after a homeowner • No Plumbing, No Power Bills! phones to complain that the battery • Jets available for wood heat tubs bank “just doesn’t seem to hold much • Digital control gas/electric 30 Years of a charge anymore,” I’m already 99 heated systems available too. Made in percent sure of exactly what’s going USA! on, and preparing to deliver the bad On Sale Now! Ask about Special Freight Offer. Wood Fire Heating Cost $0 news that a battery bank replacement Under Water! is likely needed. Ouch. with wood fire! First, install a good battery monitor Call Toll Free UNDERWATER and learn how to read it. My policy as Woodstove an off-grid systems designer and in- 1- 800-962-6208 heats water www.snorkel.com AMAZINGLY staller is that a battery bank monitor fast! is required; If you don’t want to bother Dept. SD145A with it, go find another installer. An excellent monitoring system actually costs only about as much as a single battery, and you are likely already buying either four, eight or 16 batteries to build your bank. It’s a small amount of money well spent. See the sidebar for more information on the different ways to monitor battery health. Always use three-stage charging systems, set exactly to the battery manufacturer’s specifications. All modern solar, wind and hydro controllers provide three-stage charging (sidebar), as do modern inverter/chargers when charging via the grid or a fossil-fuel generator. And almost all are easily programmed to those exact specs via a digital panel display and buttons.

And finally... Treat your battery bank like a good friend. Drop by and check in on how things are going frequently, offer support and assistance when needed, and be sure to try and catch and solve any problems before they get serious. That way, in times of need your battery bank will be there for you, too. r 26 Be not merely good; be good for something. — Thoreau

Protecting your homestead innovations

By Je r r i Co o k Co u n t r y s i d e St a f f

ou can’t be a homesteader if you’re not an inventive soul. It Yis the one and only requirement to join the ranks of the self-sustained. You must be able to look at a five- gallon bucket and see a chicken roost, a tomato cage, and mold for cement pavers—at a bare minimum. Because homesteaders are such an inventive lot, it’s no surprise that most of the innovations that have helped build our modern world were conceived on a homestead. This is true of the seed drill, dreamed up by farmer Jethro Tull who needed to grow more wheat to satisfy the appetite of a nation, and Bell’s Reaping Machine the mechanical reaper invented by Cyrus McCormick with the help of a these rights came with amendments times in our collective history where slave named Jo Anderson. The differ- to the Constitution. The right to enjoy someone has made a discovery and ence between the inventive solutions the exclusive benefits of one’s own in- openly shared it with everyone, those times are few and far between. Hu- shared in the pages of Co u n t r y s i d e and ventiveness was so important that the the inventions that have advanced Founders included it in the body of man nature being what it is, if you agriculture is their worth in the Constitution: To promote the Progress want ingenuity, you’re going to have marketplace. It’s one thing to share of Science and useful Arts, by securing to reward it with something more current or past common knowledge. for limited Times to Authors and Inven- than altruism…so the Founders did. Our readers do it all the time. But if tors the exclusive Right to their respec- They gave us a guarantee that for a you’ve got an idea that could change tive Writings and Discoveries~Article limited time, the federal government the world, how you disclose it to oth- I, Section 8. Clause 8. will prevent others from profiting ers could have long-lasting effects on The reason for the inclusion of from your innovation, as long as you any rights you have to profit from your property rights in the very body of the register your patent or trademark own creative innovation. original Constitution is as valid today with the United States Patent and Nearly every American can name as it was then. Of all the resources that Trade Office (PTO). some of the more basic constitutional we hold to be intrinsically valuable, rights—the right to free speech, the none is more valuable than human The American right to freedom of religion, the right ingenuity. It’s what drives our ex- Patent System to equal treatment under the law. But istence. And while there have been At present, the American trade- Countryside & Small Stock Journal, May/June 2014 27 mark system is governed by two the litigation lid on Pandora’s Box of and expensive. pieces of legislation: The Patent Act patent trolls. While the legislative and execu- of 1952 and the America Invents Act On February 20, 2014, the White tive branches may have jumped in of 2011. The two pieces of legislation House announced a new set of initia- feet-first to battle the emerging are wildly different, as reflected by tives that are aimed at curbing claims market for patent trolls, members their passage dates. Under the 1952 brought by patent trolls. One of the of the judiciary aren’t so sure. Rob Act, an inventor who was the first to proposals would engage the public Lindefjeld is a recognized leader in conceive and reduce an invention to in the process via social media in the area of patent law. As Chair of practice was granted a patent, giving hopes of more readily identifying the American Bar Association’s Sec- them the exclusive right to control, any prior inventions that are already tion of Intellectual Property Law and sell, license, or otherwise exploit being freely used by the public. The Chief Intellectual Property Counsel their invention for 20 years from the Administration has also proposed of Nantero Inc., he has expressed his date of the original application. This a full-time pro bono coordinator to concerns about the involvement of was known as the “first-to-invent” assist low-income inventors with the the other branches of government in system. patent process, which can be slow forming U.S. patent law. “Present and After the passage of the America Invents Act, the United States became a “first-to-file” system. The changes took complete effect in March of 2013. Now, if two people invent basically the same thing, the patent will go to whoever gets to the Patent and Trade Office first. This change argu- ably favors corporate research and development over the small inventor who may not have the resources to engage in the arduous process of filing a patent claim. As you would expect, the 2011 legislation didn’t exactly make the American patent system more efficient, let alone more equitable. Since the America Invents Act became law, patent claims have jumped sharply, giving rise to a whole new class of litigant—the patent troll. Patent trolls leverage the high cost of litigation by filing infringement claims with no intent of going to trial. Instead, they extract large settlements from so-called infringers who cannot af- ford to defend the action in federal court, which is where all patent cases are heard. Enter the Congress and Executive Branch. At present, there are at least three patent bills making their way through the Congress. In the House, there’s H.R. 3309—otherwise known as The Innovation Act. One of this Act’s most important provisions would make the losing party responsible for the prevailing party’s legal fees. The other two, The Patent Transparency and Improvement Act and the Patent Abuse Reduction Act are Senate bills which would impose strict new pro- cedural rules. All three seek to close 28 28Good humor is the health of the soul; sadness is its poison. — Stanislaus former judges of the Federal Circuit, invented a waste oil combustion the court that has guided our nation system. “We manufactured heating so effectively through much of our systems that incinerated used oil for By Li s a St e e l e recent technological boom, have ex- space heating,” he explains. At the pressed concerns regarding the effect time, used motor oil cost next to noth- that some of the proposals designed ing to acquire. On his own, with years as a response to litigation tactics of of legal study, Ryan applied for and some patent assertion entities may received two patents on his system. have upon the justice system as a He established a successful business whole, and the federal court system and all was well, until Valvoline went in particular. My personal opinion is green. that Congress should continue to rely “Valvoline developed a method primarily upon the courts to handle of purifying used oil and blending the problem of overzealous litigants. it with virgin oil resulting in the Putting aside any potential for con- new ‘green oil,’” he explains. “Now, stitutional infirmities presented in used oil collection companies are legislative reform measures, I hap- paying upwards of $2.75/gallon. pen to believe that federal courts, Thus KingBuilt’s market was utterly particularly the Federal Circuit, are destroyed.” best suited to handle the threat that What do homestead innovators patent assertion entities present to do when they’re put out of business the vibrancy of our system while do- by a large corporation? They invent ing minimal harm to an intellectual something else—which is exactly property system that has served our what Ryan did. Ryan went back to nation so well. Our common law the drawing table, with his faith in system of justice has really served tow, and invented an oil press for our nation well for so many years homestead use. and has been shown repeatedly to be Ryan’s cold-press oil extractor will the best way of avoiding ‘unintended extract oil from just about anything Ra i s e p r o d u c t i v e r a b b i t s consequences’ created by legislative that grows, even botanicals. Accord- Storey's Guide fiat.” ing to Ryan, his latest invention will to Raising Rab- With all three branches of gov- extract oil “from raspberry, prickly bits tells you ernment trying to formulate patent pear cactus, tomato seed, shea nuts , everything you law, you can bet that the homestead jojoba, etc….” need to know inventor is looking at a minefield “I will put it this way, if a bio sub- to raise rab- when thinking about applying for a stance contains oil, we can extract the bits success- patent. If you think you’ve invented oil out. If our press doesn’t instantly fully. Packed something that is new, useful, and work, we will modify the press and with practical non-obvious, spend some time on make it work. We have produced information, the U.S. PTO’s website. The informa- many custom oil presses for people,” this book cov- tion there will help you determine if says Ryan. ers every aspect of rabbit raising, your homestead invention should be An enterprising homesteader including: patented. But keep in mind, a patent could even make their own corn oil. • Best breeds • Feeding and man- isn’t a guarantee of success. “However,” explains Ryan, “strictly agement • Showing and selling • from the corn germ, which is the tip of Housing facilities and sanitation When a patent won’t the corn kernel. Corn by itself is only • Marketing • Disease, parasite, protect you 3% oil. Our research on corn shows and predator control that all the energy that goes into Perfect for both novice and veteran Even those who make it all the mechanically separating the germ rabbit producers. By Bob Bennett, way through the process and obtain and just crushing the germ doesn’t 4th Edition, 256 pages, $19.95 a patent don’t have a guarantee of pencil out.” financial success. A patent only ex- Ryan has another patent applica- Add $4/s&h. WI res. add 5.5% tax. cludes others from using or profiting tion pending at the PTO. You can 1-800-551-5691 from your invention without your see his newest invention in action at www.countrysidemag.com permission. It doesn’t stop someone OilPress.co. (It’s .co, not .com.) from using the raw materials that Countryside Bookstore your invention needs to function. The Whizbang guy 145 Industrial Dr., Medford, WI 54451 Just ask Ryan Thomas Bechard. Ryan The bad news is not every in- Countryside & Small Stock Journal,29 May/June 2014 29 vention is patentable. One of the Available requirements for patentability is & Small Journal novelty. Your invention has to be new. Back IssueS If something has been widely used for decades or even centuries, it’s July/August 2011 Vol. 95/4 Nov/Dec 2012 Vol. 96/6 • Is it really food? Grow Your Own to Be • Heat Your Home Using Multi-fuel ineligible for federal patent protec- Sure Technology tion. For instance, you can’t patent a • Beef on a Budget, Raise and Market • Build a High-Protein Chicken Feed fork, a piano, or a common bicycle. Grass-Fed Beef Dispenser Also ineligible for patent protection Sept/Oct Vol. 95/5 Jan/Feb 2013 Vol. 97/1 are inventions that have fallen into • Real “Whole” Whole Wheat Recipes • 10 Foods That Keep Us Healthy the public domain because the patent • Is Your Herd Ready for Winter? Build a • Know Your Dirt, Secrets to Healthy Soil has expired. Once the patent period Solar-Heated Water Tank March/April 2013 Vol. 97/2 is up, anyone can use, copy, and pro- Nov/Dec 2011 Vol. 95/6 • Aging on the Homestead duce it. That’s exactly what Herrick • The Importance Economics & The Myth • Alternative Livestock Feeds Kimball did when he introduced the of Wealth May/June 2013 Vol 97/3 Whizbang chicken plucker. Herrick • Forage Through the Forest for FREE Wild Food • Alternative Energy Tips simply built a better mousetrap. • Protect Your Livestock with Solar The good news is that unlike Jan/Feb 2012 Vol. 96/1 Fencing patent law, the three branches of • Warm Your Buns With a Masonry Stove July/August 2013 Vol 97/4 government aren’t all that interested • Buying a Used Tractor? Follow These Tips • Lightning Rods, Protect Your Invest- in trademark law, making it a much ments more economic and efficient way for March/April 2012 Vol. 96/2 • Donkeys For Pleasure & Protection • Healthy Soil, It’s at the Root of Your homestead innovators to protect their Sept/Oct 2013 Vol 97/5 re-inventions. It’s faster, easier, and Garden • Working Oxen, Popular Once Again • Build a Home for Less Than $25K cheaper to register a trademark with • Ease “Farrier Phobia” in Your Horse the PTO than it is to go through the May/June 2012 Vol. 96/3 Nov/Dec 2013 Vol 97/6 patent process. • Preserve Your Produce With Sunshine • Make Yogurt in Your Oven • Put Your Cattle to Work Instead of applying for a patent, • Grow Apples Even in Cold Climates • Bring Renewables to Your Homestead Herrick is in the process of acquiring a trademark for Planet Whizbang. “I July/August 2012 Vol. 96/4 Jan/Feb 2014 Vol 98/1 • Caring for Livestock in Cold Weather started Whizbang Books (now Planet • How to Use Grey Water in Your Garden • Make an Emergency Hand Pump • Brood Some Chicks This Spring Whizbang) back around 2002, with the publication of Anyone Can Build Sept/Oct 2012 Vol. 96/5 March/April 2014 Vol 98/2 a Tub-Style Chicken Plucker (a.k.a., the • Saving Seeds, A Rewarding Heirloom • Short Rotation Forestry: Plant a Tree Tradition! Today! Whizbang plucker plan book).” • Bring Your Old Cast Iron Back to Life • Purslane, It’s not just a week—It’s dinner! “I self-published 100 copies (the first printing) of that book and had them comb-bound at a quick-print Only $4 each... while supplies last shop. My investment was less than Circle the issues of your choice. Note: Past issues not listed are sold out.) $1,000. I sent review copies off to ( several magazines, including Co u n - 95/4 95/5 95/6 96/1 96/2 96/3 96/4 96/5 96/6 t r y s i d e and I think all of them even- 97/1 97/2 97/3 97/4 97/5 97/6 98/1 98/2 tually mentioned it to their readers. I also managed to sell a few copies of Name ______the book by mentioning it at a Yahoo! discussion group. I offered to send Address ______the book with an invoice and trust City ______State______Zip______the people to pay. The first book I sent Phone number ______went to Australia. I’m still waiting for the payment. But everyone else Credit Card # ______Exp ____ CVV #_____ paid. E-mail ______“Once people saw the book, they spoke favorably about it online. Mail this form along with $4 per issue plus $4 shipping/handling for first issue and $1 for each additional issue to: When people started making and Co u n t r y s i d e Ba c k Is s u e s , 145 Industrial Dr., Medford, WI 54451 using the plucker, and mentioned it online, that made a big difference. 1-800-551-5691 When I managed to figure out how For more information on back issues, visit our website: to turn a Blogger.com blog into a www.countrysidemag.com 30 Make your own 30 Nobility should be elective, not hereditary. — Zimmermann homestead tools!

Handy Farm Devices e Plant patents are the fastest growing domain for agricultural patents. In 2013 the PTO office granted 847 patents for new By Ro l f e Co bl e i g h plants. Dating from the Golden Age of e Most patents are issued to residents of California. In 2012 the American Farming, PTO issued 34,659 patents to California residents. this volume is both a e The National Security Agency (NSA) has a patent for a tribute to days gone new, useful, and non-obvious method that will help them spy on by and a resource you—U.S. Patent 8,141,160. According to the application on file for present day ho- meowners, farmers, at the PTO, the computer-based method can search for possible and ranchers striving information by any parameter the government selects—medical toward greater self-sufficiency. Here you records, employment history, political affiliation—if you com- will find hundreds of clever ways to trans- municate about it, their computers can hone in on you. Read the form those odds and ends that might seem whole application here: http://goo.gl/8fHwaz. like junk into very useful gadgets and tools, from a treadmill that can power a dairy e Do a search on Google.com/patents to see if someone already separator and churn, to a drinking foun- holds a patent on your invention. This impressive database lets lay tain for chickens. Other devices include a people view the entire application, including drawings, without rig for moving large trees; a self-feeder for being overwhelmed. A search for “chicken apron” will bring you bees; a hand garden cultivator; and gates to a patent for a product homesteaders who keep chickens will that lift over snowdrifts. It’s full of useful illustrations and includes a whole section immediately recognize. of tried-and-true tips. 304 pages, $9.95*

free web site with PayPal ordering books on page 60 in this issue.) Homemade buttons, sales really took off. And Contrivances when people started posting YouTube What’s in your videos of their homemade Whizbang 1001 Labor-Saving Devices for backyard? pluckers, that helped sales a lot. If you’re a homestead innovator, Farm, Garden, Dairy and Workshop “I’ve sold over 25,000 copies of you probably have several inventions By Sk y h o r s e Pu bl i s h i n g the book since 2002. My initial invest- and custom-made contraptions lying The traditional ment for 100 copies of the book, was around. There may even be a couple American devices my only investment in the business. of projects that you’ve thought about contained in this It has supported itself since then and expounding on. Before you decide to intriguing compila- I plowed the profits into publishing share your invention with the world, tion date from an era other books, as well as stocking and take an afternoon to familiarize your- long before milking selling plucker parts, all while work- self with our patent and trademark machines, pesticide ing a full-time job off the homestead. process. Both a patent and a trade- sprayers, and indus- “The business has generated mark will preserve your interests, trial hay balers. Yet enough money that two years ago I but the processes and the costs are the simple inven- was able to buy 16 acres of land with tions described for doing everything from very different. If your invention, like a house, adjoining the 1.5 acre home- managing young bulls to protecting drain Ryan’s, requires years of expertise and outlets can be just as useful for today’s stead we’ve lived on for more than precision machining to build, you’re farmer as they were for the homesteaders 20 years. We were able to pay cash likely in need of a patent. However, if over a century ago. Discover how to make for the property. And we are hoping your inventiveness has led to special- such items as a movable nest for hens, to purchase another smaller property ized knowledge or a way of doing a ribless boat, a farm cart with adjust- nearby to build a more efficient pro- something, like Herrick Kimball, you able racks for larger loads, a wire fence duction and storage facility. Again, might decide to take the trademark tightener, a fruit picker, a grindstone set we will pay cash for it, and the money route. and frame, and much more. 621 pages, has all come from the home business. $14.95* You have a constitutional right to Better yet, in January of 2013 I left preserve your interest in your intel- *Plus tax & shipping my factory job in the city and came lectual property, but only if you do it home to work at Planet Whizbang full before someone else does. Keep that Call Countryside Bookstore time. It was a dream come true. And in mind when you’re tinkering away, 1-800-551-5691 it all started with a homely-looking trying to find a better way to catch a chicken plucker plan book.” (See his mouse or shear a sheep. r w w w .countrysidemag .c o m Countryside & Small Stock Journal, May/June 2014 31

Stack firewood to dry quickly

By G. Me l i s

elling “dry” wood is a bit prob- lematic for an honest man. Even Sif the wood is kiln dried in an oven to zero percent moisture, the wood will absorb water from its environment as soon as it cools. An inexpensive way to ensure dry wood is to keep it up off the ground and protect it from snow and rain, in a dry place where air can circulate. At the beginning, before harvest, you have a living tree that is very adept at conserving moisture despite injury and drought, as it has mecha- nisms or defenses to hold the moisture in its cells. Fresh cut or green wood is the beginning of changing live wood to dry wood. I have read that it takes oak cut to firewood length, split and stacked, two years to “air dry.” In my experience, most other hardwoods do Stacking wood on pallets keeps it off the damp ground and helps the air circu- not take that long. late. Tarping the pile will keep snow and rain from dripping down the logs. What I do to speed the process of air drying is to cut the trees in the winter, leaving the limbs attached. Supposedly, the twigs pull out the moisture during the next growing season. During the following winter I cut off the limbs and skid the wood out to the wood yard where it cures until spring, when the wood is cut into four-foot blocks, split fairly small, and then stacked up off the ground and covered with metal very dry, which dries the wood even my chimney annually and check for roofing. more. I have heated my house with creosote, I do not have any accumula- In the autumn, I store firewood wood, burning nine “full” cords (4' tion of creosote in my chimney. I have in the basement of our house. Dur- x 4' x 8') a year for the last 30 years. never had a chimney fire because I ing the heating season my house is While I do sweep out the ash from burn “dry” wood. r 32 In nothing do men approach so nearly to the gods as in doing good to men. — Cicero

By Be n Ho f f m a n feet. In checking color-infrared aerial photos, the area north of the ridge he old adage—“When in Rome, When in was tinted blue (cold) and vegetation do as the Romans do”—turns me was mostly spruce. South of the ridge Toff. I don’t like the status quo, the photo was tinted red (warm) and but sometimes there is a reason for it. Rome tree vegetation was a mixture of as- Many homesteaders leave “civiliza- pen and spruce. So I settled for a site tion” and venture off on their own, Pay attention to the south of the ridge with a nice view following their own ideas, and many reasons people do what of the Chugach Range. After build- end up in trouble. It pays to observe ing, I realized another interesting the Romans for awhile and under- they do fact—the mosquito population was stand why they do things the way they much lower on the drier, south side do. Many of them learned the hard building lots in poorly drained soils of the ridge. way and we can benefit from their may be more than offset by the prob- I observed another interesting mistakes. Always check for alligators lems of getting good drinking water fact. Flat land cleared for agriculture before wading into the swamp. and perching the septic system to get was, when not frozen, constantly wet It even pays to observe the native rid of effluents. Perching the septic and unsuitable for crops. Why? The wildlife. For example, where does is a one-time solution, but pumping sun angle was so low in that latitude the prairie dog build his home? Usu- effluents because of poor drainage that soils on level or north-facing ally on the southerly/westerly slope. and its attendant dampness is eternal. slopes never warmed enough to pro- Why? Because the sun keeps the soil Equally, maybe even more im- duce a crop. They warmed enough much warmer during winter and the portant, is siting a dwelling. I live on to melt the upper permafrost and prevailing westerly winds are broken a north-south roadway, and most of produce standing water and flying by the higher ground. This is a good the older dwellings are oriented east- mosquitoes all summer. Land with example for man, to reduce needs west. Those places, with more area a southerly tilt was much warmer for fossil fuels. In northern climes, exposed to the warmth of the sun and and quite productive. Near mile 83 for crops and pasture, the southerly less to the prevailing westerly wind, of the Alaska Highway north of Fort slopes are bare, dry and warm sooner are easier to heat. Unfortunately, my St. John, British Columbia, there is a than those tilted toward the north. house faces west, bearing the full good example of this. An unproduc- Plants begin growing earlier and brunt of the wind, with little solar tive field on a north slope west of the produce longer, and livestock has gain. Down the road is a solar home, highway had been abandoned (1989) more days to graze. facing the road, with the sloping roof and grew back to small trees. About There is a lot of information facing east, not south. 15 years later, this land was being available, on and off the internet, nfortunately, affluence has pro- cleared once more—but it would that would benefit urbanites moving Uduced more home designs fea- never produce a good grass crop. into a rural environment. Two of my turing multiple roof lines. While riving through the desert east favorite resources are U.S. Geological these may be okay in Georgia (if you Dof Reno are some examples of Survey (USGS) topographic maps want to spend the extra money), attempts to irrigate land that should and Natural Resources Conservation they are a disaster in snow country. never have been cultivated. Irriga- Service soil maps, available online Snow accumulations in roof valleys tion channels, plainly visible from and in print versions. Topo maps can be a real problem; bituthene the highway, were dry and full of show ground elevation, degree of roofing underlay and all the flashing tumbleweed. Desert lands are often slope, streams, ponds, forest, open in the world may not be enough to so saline from centuries of low rain- land, and cultural features (roads, prevent ice dams that back water up fall that agriculture, other than graz- buildings). Thus you can visual- and eventually find a way into your ing, is not practical. And California ize the lay of the land and much of bedroom. Some architects are not has many examples of dry land that what’s on it. Soil maps show the clas- alert to these hazards and, though has been successfully irrigated but sification and boundaries of differing capable of calculating loads and the saline effluents have destroyed soil types. Interpretation data for the designing structures, are oblivious plants and wildlife in the basins soils describe their suitability and to environmental considerations. where the effluents were deposited, limitations for roads, trails, building The farther north you go, the more and poisoned the Colorado River. and agriculture. important environment becomes. I So the moral of this story is not ne most important fact—water wanted to build a log cabin in Alaska that you have to become a Roman, Oruns down hill. So lowlands with on a level site north of a volcanic but at least consider their history and slow or no apparent drainage will ridge with a beautiful view of the reasoning. Talking to the Romans hold water longer following rain or Wrangel-St. Elias Range. Wanting a might save you a lot of grief—learn snow and may be too wet for build- basement, I dug a test hole in late from them and try not to repeat their ing construction. The lower price of August and hit permafrost at 13 mistakes. r Countryside & Small Stock Journal, May/June 2014 33

Animal agriculture & water conservation

By Jo h n Hi b m a that water is absolutely essential to use in animal agriculture overall is the success of their business and to not different compared with that ater is the most important perpetuate their lifestyle. used to produce plant proteins. Only nutrient for all forms of life. However, with increasing popula- soybean production is more water WWithout water, all activity on tion and the accompanying require- efficient than the production of milk, our planet would cease to exist. And ment for more food, we must be goat meat, and chicken. Furthermore, yet humans have regularly abused aware of the fact that there is a rising no plant protein can rival the water water quality and water supply, lacka- need for more aggressive manage- efficiency of egg protein. daisically and irresponsibly believing ment and usage of water, maintaining Across the U.S. the competition that we will always have enough good water quality and the conservation for water is becoming ever more water for all of our needs. of all water related resources. We intense. Amazingly, we’re finding For most of us living in the U.S., humans must realize that water is a that there isn’t enough water to go the availability of clean water has precious resource not to be wasted. around. We all take for granted being never been an issue. In our modern, Of key concern for all who make able to reach for a faucet and have technologically advanced society a living in agriculture or, at the very cool, clean water in a matter of sec- we’ve come to expect—and dare I least, value a rural lifestyle and where onds. We’ve become spoiled with the say—have a right to water that is free their food comes from, is the bal- extravagance of green lawns and golf of bacteria, pathogens and anthro- ance of water for human and animal courses and carwashes. Ironically, as pogenic chemicals. Water supplies needs. Critics of animal agriculture the population flocks to the warmer and quality have been well managed are quick to suggest that the water- climes of the U.S. to escape the colder for decades and nothing makes the use efficiency from animals is much weather, we need more water to stay “news” quicker than polluted water lower than the farming of crops cool. Increasingly, in our country, in someone’s town. The U.S. Envi- such as grains, fruits and vegetables. where we need water the most is ronmental Protection Act of 1972 Therefore, those critics say, animal where it’s the most scarce. was originally created to address the agriculture should not be viewed as Assessing and managing water widespread pollution of our water- a long-term alternative or means of needs here in the U.S. has been a ways and riparian habitats. feeding the world’s growing popu- political hot potato for many years. People reading this magazine lation. All of our protein and energy The midwest drought of 2012 put often have a connection to animal ag- needs can be supplied by legumes, water usage and “climate change” riculture. They raise animals, big and grains, fruits and vegetables. once again, in the national spotlight. small. They often have built their own Recent research, however, con- During the winter of 2014, the water home and have a large garden. They cludes that when the biological shortage in California became critical. aspire to a life of independence and availability and quality of each gram One of the world’s most comprehen- are in love with the natural beauty of protein produced for humans is sive water storage, distribution and of their world. They understand considered, the efficiency of water irrigation systems has transformed 34 I can make a lord, but only the Almighty can make a gentleman. — James I. a region that is essentially semi-arid feedstuffs that are not useable as efficient water use. Although live- to blossom with amazingly diver- food directly by humans, animal stock will never rival humans for sified agriculture. However, with agriculture holds a unique niche in the world’s potable water supply, more years of below average rainfall the production of food for humans. they do use large amounts in some and mountain snowpack, the water Animal agriculture enables much of production systems—and that’s what supply has been strained to deliver the land that’s unfit for conventional many are worried about. We must adequate water for agricultural needs farming to be used to produce food develop and adopt new technolo- while, at the same time, keeping the for the world’s people. Animal agri- gies in agriculture to ensure water burgeoning population of the Golden culture will always have a place in supply, quality and sustainability. State from going thirsty. our world because it fills a need in Much of our culture is already our ecosystem by converting these disconnected from agriculture—not n southern California, decades of feeds into high quality proteins, vi- understanding how it works and Ianimal agriculture have defiled its importance. As with many socio- the underground water supply with economic-environmental issues, high nitrates. That water may never Only soybean there are differing opinions as to how be fit for human consumption. Ani- to best address and solve a given situ- mal agriculture which had been an production is more ation and who’s to blame for using economic lynchpin for decades in all the water. New regulations could that region is now being regulated water efficient than result in animal agriculture becoming out of existence. In grain-producing a casualty. It may sound farfetched areas of our country, intensive re- the production of now, but someday, owning animals moval of ground water from aqui- may be illegal because they use too fers is affecting both farming and milk, goat meat, much water. water availability for communities. and chicken. There’s little question that water It’s becoming increasingly diffi- is quickly becoming the most pre- cult for animal agriculture to coex- cious resource on our planet. Regu- ist with an urbanized population. lations for water use are already in There’s an interesting paradox tamins, fats, and energy for humans. place in many parts of the world that’s emerging all around the world. Sustaining this unique niche very and knocking on the door of many As the standard of living improves much depends on sufficient quanti- more areas. Many people would be for many countries, there’s a greater ties of water for maintenance and very happy to see animal agriculture demand for high quality animal pro- production. eliminated. The larger animal opera- tein which means a steady growth tions such as feedlots and large dairy in animal agriculture. However, the y the year 2050 food production farms are already on the radar with growth and dispersion of human Bon our planet will need to double regards to nutrient management and populations and the accompanying from what it is now in order to feed nitrogen pollution. Critics of large environmental pollution of surface the nine billion people expected animal operations will be quick to and groundwater in many developed to be living here by then. Farmers point out their water waste and and developing nations is narrowing will need almost 20% more water to inefficiencies. the margin between the available produce enough crops and livestock For many people, owning or car- water supply and the demand of to feed that growing population. ing for animals can be as much for humans and animals. As the demand for animal protein aesthetic or lifestyle reasons as much Because of their ability to con- increases, innovation and new tech- as it is to supply food and fiber. Ev- sume fibrous and lower quality nology will be critical for smart and eryone engaged in animal agriculture must be diligent about communicat- ing the importance and relevance— both from a nutritional and economic point of view—of animal agriculture. And at the same time those engaged in animal agriculture, as well as agriculture in general, must become more innovative as they seek to conserve water. All of us who are involved with animal agriculture will need to be proactive in finding ways to make animal agriculture more productive and less wasteful and showing the world its relevance. r Countryside & Small Stock Journal, May/June 2014 35 36 Earth, turning from the sun, brings night to man. — Young

The goat barn: When 3 is not a crowd

These two does “share” a kid—something that doesn’t happen often.

By Be t t y Ta y l o r temperature under the heat lamp forming a bond. Unwittingly Reba Pe r s i m m o n Ri d g e and watched faithfully for “pasty was forming this bond with another Ho n e y a n d Go a t Fa r m butt,” two died each day for four doe’s kid. Te n n e s s e e days. She was having no luck with all And so it went. My goats chose the the pushing. I washed my hands and he natural world is as unforgiv- worst weather of the “polar vortex” lubed up with a concoction I make ing and brutal as it is beautiful. to deliver their kids. Surprisingly, of beeswax, olive oil, comfrey and TWe want to be nature lovers, but none were lost to cold! The moms tea tree oil--to prevent introducing sometimes it feels as though nature were diligent in cleaning, warming, infection. Baby goats are usually born does not love us. This winter has been and feeding them! I sat by impotently front feet and nose first, but I felt bone-rattlingly frigid. I bemoan it, and watched the miracle take place— nothing that felt like little hooves or a but on this sunny late February day, they and nature had it covered. Until face. I put her in the cab of my pickup I look out at the seemingly lifeless the last birth. and drove her to the vet. To prevent landscape and know that it takes this Reba, a red and white myotonic, exposing her to other sick animals, brutal cold to hold back all the ver- labored all day. Restless, she would the vet agreed to tend to her in the dant life about to spring forth. Nature lie down, get back up, and then lie front seat of my truck. Upon checking moves between extremes, and labels down again. She would not eat. Then her, the vet said that the kid had died, like “good” and “bad” do not apply. at nightfall, she ate and laid down was malformed and malpositioned, It is what it is. among her herd and was quiet. I and was already breaking apart. It This winter has driven home the checked on her during the night and would have to be removed in pieces. lesson of nature’s indifference to my she remained calm. The next day she So the vet sedated Reba and pulled humble human sensibilities. First began pushing, but to no avail. One of the kid from her. She cautioned me my favorite rooster was plucked the other kids, a little buckling, frol- that Reba would likely succumb to from his nighttime perch by a barred icked around her as she labored. In infection. owl. I miss my rooster, but who can between pushes, Reba would lick him I took her home and propped her begrudge that wild bird for hunting as if she were licking the caul away up over a bale of hay to wait for the to feed its February owlets? from her own kid. Powerful hor- sedative to wear off. The vet said Days later, 25 Silver-laced Wyan- mones, oxytocin, are being released propping her up this way might dott chicks arrived in the mail. Even at this time, which are important prevent the bloat that could occur if though I dipped each one’s beak in in bonding a mother to her kid. As she were left in a lying down position. warm water, watched it drink, and the doe licks the caul away from the Goats continue to produce saliva, then showed it to the feed, and even kid’s head and nose, doe and kid are even if they are sedated, and can’t though I carefully modulated the learning who each other are and are swallow or clear it themselves. Prop- Countryside & Small Stock Journal,37 May/June 2014 37 ping her over a bale of hay helped keep her head in a position that let the saliva drain from her. As she was draped, unconscious and drooling, over the bale of hay, the same little buckling hopped around, on, and over her, using her still body as his playground. He leapt onto her back and slid down her neck and head again and again. Night came and she was still un- responsive. I left her in the goat shed with her herd, thinking she’ll make it or she won’t. Around 3:00 a.m. I awoke, bun- dled up, and went to check on her. She had moved herself from the bale Water of hay and was amid her herd rest- ® ing comfortably! The next day, she Wisdom © 2011 Waterwise Inc was her normal old Reba—eating, drinking, moving about normally. Shocking truth revealed: But something else, something more •tap •alkalized amazing had occurred! The little •bo led •energized buckling that had been frolicking •ltered •reverse osmosis around her as she labored and that •mineral •distilled had used her as a playground when •spring •and more… she was propped over that bale of Call for FREE Report & Catalog 1-800-874-9028 Ext 721 hay, was as bonded to her as he was to Waterwise • PO Box 494000 Leesburg FL 34749-4000 • waterwise.com/cty his real mother! Reba treated him as if he were the kid she’d lost. As far as she was concerned, he was the result of all of her labor. In the following days, he nursed from her and from his own mother as he pleased. Reba butted the other kids away, as is usual for does to do with kids who are not their own, but she doted on this little guy and followed him around making sure his world was up to her standards. I was amazed! In his most recent book, Gene Ever- lasting, Gene Logsdon says, “We raise our farm animals with loving care, grow quite fond of them, put our lives at risk to save theirs if necessary, and then we kill and eat them.” I have killed and eaten my chickens after doting on them and nudging them along from day-old chicks. I raise six-month-old kids, like Reba’s little buckling, for someone’s dinner table. As I write about the beauty and the brutality that is the natural world—as an eater, I am part of that beauty and brutality. r

To see more of Persimmon Ridge, visit PersimmonRidgeHoneyFarm.com 38 A nickname is the heaviest stone the devil can throw at man. — Anonymous The cow barn: Akaushi cattle – healthful meat

By He a t h e r Sm i t h Th o m a s Id a h o

he word Akaushi means red cow in Japanese. This breed Twas introduced to the U.S. in 1994. “This is the only free-grazing beef breed in Japan,” says Bubba Bain, Executive Director of American Akaushi Association. “These cattle have been in existence as a distinct breed for more than 150 years and are a national treasure in Japan.” Dr. Antonio Calles brought some to the U.S. when he was at Washing- ton State University. “He saw that the Japanese were extremely healthy people. They don’t have problems with obesity or coronary heart disease and he wondered what they were doing different. The Japanese eat a lot of fish, but also consume a lot performance to get to the end result. the offspring of any breed we put of beef. Dr. Calles started researching Akaushi cows will put a good calf on Akaushi on.” this, and found that meat from these the ground and the calves give good animals had an abundance of oleic weaning weight, yearling weight, ef- Delicious, healthful meat acid and mono-unsaturated fats. He ficiency in the feed yard, grade and Eating satisfaction is truly remark- imported eight cows and three bulls yield well on carcasses—and give you able. Muscle fibers tend to be longer to the U.S. so he could build a herd that consistent excellent cut of meat and thinner, which helps make meat and do more research to find out we’re all looking for. This breed per- more tender. The fatty acid composi- more about these cattle.” forms well for the cow-calf producer, tion is also different. When you cook Calles started doing embryo the feeder and packer, efficient all the this beef, you can pour the fat off transfers to produce more of these way down the chain,” he explains. into a cup, and at room temperature cattle in a short time, and created “Carcasses on fullblood cattle are it stays liquid. Regular pork or beef more than 6,000 offspring from those highly marbled and prime or prime- fat, if you leave it sitting there, will original cattle in 15 years. Many of plus,” says Bain. “We also have a solidify to a hard, white fat. Akaushi these Akaushi are located at Har- lot of data on half-blood carcasses; fat doesn’t do that. wood, Texas. “HeartBrand beef owns Akaushi cattle cross extremely well Today you can find Akaushi meat these cattle and sells or leases cattle to with all breeds. We can double the in leading restaurants across the other breeders. Many new members grade and improve the yield on country. When people taste it, they have joined our American Akaushi are impressed with the flavor. “The Association, which was started in Akaushi produces healthful meat early 2010,” says Bain. with a high ratio of mono-unsatu- The Akaushi is known for consis- rated to saturated fats,” says Bain. tent, tender, flavorful, juicy, highly “There’s also a high amount of oleic marbled meat. “Even though the acid in Akaushi meat (the healthy end product is important, this breed ingredient in olive oil). It is extremely has not sacrificed any other impor- heart-healthy. Our research at Texas tant traits such as reproduction and A&M indicates this.” Countryside & Small Stock Journal, May/June 2014 39 Dr. Antonio Calles says oleic acid is recognized by people in the medical community and the American The American Project Heart Association as the good fat for the heart. “Akaushi beef in any form Dr. Calles brought eight unre- gives the highest amount of oleic acid lated cows and three unrelated per square inch of meat,” he says. bulls to this country in 1994. This Bill Fielding, CEO of HeartBrand was the nucleus to start a breeding Beef, says the health benefits are a herd. “When you do careful selec- big plus for the consumer. “Custom- tive breeding with this number you ers are asking for healthful, tasty can prevent inbreeding. You mate products. We’re seeing growth of this bull number one with eight cows, aspect of the industry—whether it’s giving eight lines of cattle. You mate grass fed or all natural beef. People bull number two with the same eight cows to give another eight lines, and want a healthier product with better do the same with bull number three. We also started using embryo work and nutritional value, and something that using reciprocal crosses on daughters of the three bulls, and switched bulls will reduce their bad cholesterol in- to create more lines. Our inbreeding coefficient with this system was between stead of increasing it. We strongly be- 5 and 5.6, which is very healthy. An unhealthy inbreeding coefficient would lieve that if the beef industry started be 14 percent and higher. Many cattle breeds have an inbred coefficient of 35 using these genetics and changing the percent, which is very high,” he says. way cattle are fed, we could produce “We have additional sire lines from another population that is also pure, a product that is better for you than to avoid inbreeding problems. These sire lines came to this country earlier, in pork, chicken, buffalo or any other 1976. I was able to purchase semen from these bulls in the early 1980’s. We meat,” says Fielding. have that semen in hand and plan to use it to create more genetic diversity,” Calles says that people have been says Calles. told red meat will increase choles- “Hopefully we can also obtain more semen from different bloodlines in Ja- terol. “Now we must educate people pan. We are working in a very precise way with this breed, to maintain all the to the fact that these fats are good important traits—fertility, productivity, milking ability, etc. with no problems— for you.” People who must be care- in every generation.” ful what they eat no longer have to The first 11 animals arrived in New York in November 1994 and stayed six reduce their intake of red meat. This months. “It was cold and wet that winter. Then they went to Wisconsin for is great news because meat contains several years. The first three winters it was between 10 and 22 below zero. many nutrients our body needs, such Then the cattle were sent to Texas. They came all the way from humid, hot as vitamin B , which is not found in 12 weather of Kumamoto to New York, to Wisconsin, to Texas.” These imported a vegetarian diet. cows were hardy and long-lived, still productive into their early 20s. Calles “Red meat is a great source of all was able to generate a large number of embryos from these cows, which the amino acids to produce a complete shows their high level of fertility. protein. It’s a package of complete “When the animals came to the U.S. the bulls were confined in a collection nutrients, combined with eating center. We didn’t retire them from collection until 2009; they were producing satisfaction. This is an opportunity semen for many years. Two of the three survived into their 20s. What is amaz- for the cattle industry to create some- ing is that the bulls were kept confined and stayed sound. They were very thing sustainable, with additional functional and very healthy. Not very many bulls of other breeds stay fertile or health value to the consumer. We can survive for that many years with inactivity; they have problems with knees and produce many millions of pounds feet,” he says. Akaushi bulls have excellent conformational structure. of meat in this country, but we need The biggest challenge for this breed in America was to get enough num- to produce high quality beef that is bers—starting with such a small group—to produce enough cattle to supply healthy for the human body. If we can the demand. It took several years to be prepared to offer semen for cattle combine palatability with the health producers. Now a growing number of people in various states are raising aspect, that’s the way the cattle indus- some of these cattle. try will survive. Our meat now has to Several Idaho breeders have obtained Akaushi cattle. In 2010, Shawn Ellis, be healthier, raised with no chemicals, near Blackfoot, Idaho, signed a cooperator agreement to raise Akaushi for no hormones, no additives,” explains Heartland Brand Beef. Ellis received 60 cow-calf pairs (some full-bloods and Calles. That’s the only way we can some half-bloods crossed with Red Angus) in April 2010. compete with other industries such Jack Goddard, the northwest director for the American Akaushi Associa- as chicken, fish, pork. tion says this Idaho herd is helping show people how the animals perform in a colder climate than Texas. They are also doing very well in rough rangeland The cattle conditions. Akaushi are red, horned, more 40 40Sympathy with nature is part of the good man’s religion. — F. H. Hedge

Akaushi are very hardy in a variety of environments.

heat-tolerant than black animals, worry about variation on productiv- which is a major issue in southern ity or performance traits, feed ef- states, and have low birth weights. ficiency and feed conversion,” says The cows calve easily with no as- Calles. “These traits were already sistance. Fullblood males average selected and fixed for many years. 72 pounds at birth, and females 68 All we need to do is provide a good pounds. Adults are moderate size. environment for them, with good Bulls weigh 1,700 to 1,800 pounds care and low stress management, and and cows are 1,000 to 1,100 pounds. these animals will reach their genetic Disposition is excellent. Akaushi potential 100% of the time,” he says. have been extensively handled for Akaushi are very hardy in a va- many generations, selected for ease riety of environments. “They were of handling. “There are many things developed in Kumamoto, which they do with them in Japan that we latitude-wise is the same as between can’t even imagine; these are very Austin and Temple, Texas, in a very docile cattle,” says Bain. People hot and humid climate, so they do working with Akaushi cattle view well in the southern part of our them as part of their family. country. If you move them to the “We don’t claim to be number northern U.S. they do even better. one on weaning weights or yearling Any time you reduce humidity and weights, but a rancher will never be temperature in summer, they have embarrassed about the weights of less stress and less trouble dissipat- Akaushi calves,” says Bain. “Full- ing heat. They do very well in the blood calves wean at 500 to 600 north, with ability to grow a good pounds. Crossbred calves have been hair coat to withstand cold winters,” averaging 600 to 700 pounds at he says. weaning because of heterosis,” he “The reason these animals thrive explains. in a variety of climates is because the You get maximum heterosis when Japanese government in the 1940s crossing animals that are totally un- took some from Kumamoto and put related, with wide genetic diversity. them in Hokkaido—the same latitude These cattle are not related to Ameri- as between Seattle, Washington and can breeds. “This produces more the Canadian border. In winter it’s hybrid vigor than when crossing two very cold, with a lot of snow. It took American breeds, because most of the Japanese 50 years to select genet- our breeds have become crossbreds ics that do well in cold, dry weather, already,” he says. and infused those genes back into “The way the Japanese selected the general population of the breed, these animals and worked with them to improve versatility to handle any for many decades; we don’t have to environment,” says Calles. r Countryside & Small Stock Journal, May/June 2014 41 41 The horse barn:

Great ewes. Why we’re called Great salt. “farriers” Great season. The meaning behind the word Champion’s Choice® Salt.

By Br y a n S. Fa r c u s ,Cj f were called upon to be our “partners ©2002-2014 “Fa r r i e r -Fr i e n d l y ™” Se r i e s in labor” and their care was vital, so that we might enjoy the fruits of all ccording to a recent study that hard work. In those days, anyone conducted by the American having talent in the areas of horse- AHorse Council, there are manship and horse care was a major approximately 9.2 million horses in asset for the success of all young the U.S. and of those approximately and developing societies. I suspect two million are owned by horse en- that the historical perspective makes thusiasts. As for the number of hoof sense to most of us and it is not really care professionals (farriers) available? a subject that is questioned, all that Well, you may be a bit surprised. often. But what about the word far- Recent surveys suggest that the rier? How was that term coined? This number of professionals (farrier as- seems to be the object of some confu- sociation members) could be as low as sion. Throughout our history, farriers 10,000. Although, this figure doesn’t have seen more changes in their job take into account those farriers who description than they have in their practice without any professional actual craft practices. Logically, this organization affiliation; other surveys leads many inquisitive people to ask suggest that perhaps the number of the following twofold question: What actual “working” farriers could reach exactly does the term farrier mean 30,000. Even with the inclusion of and why is it that today’s farrier has this conservative estimate, it is still ended up with so many aliases? quite evident that the number is sig- The best I can do to answer this nificantly low, when compared to the question is to offer a few suggested amount of horses that exist. Not so theories. First, let’s begin with Web- surprising, then, is the fact that after ster’s interpretation. To my surprise, I centuries of ever-changing ideology found their definition to be somewhat Same great products, regarding what it means to be a farrier, ambiguous. It reads as follows: now in new packaging. one constant still remains—the need “...(n.) a blacksmith; (British n.) a for more of them. veterinarian. To tell the story of how the farrier (Latin forms: ferrum, meaning has come to be is relatively simple. iron; ferratus, meaning iron-shod)” Many would say, “farriers were born out of necessity.” During the initial In reality, even though a farrier development of our society, the horse will study the skill of smithing iron, was instrumental and the care of him as well as the anatomy and medical The Essentials of Success™ indispensable. Thus, the role of the concerns involving a horse’s foot, See the full line at hoof care provider (farrier) was born. there are many aspects of black- ChampionsChoiceSalt.com As our industrial demands increased, smithing and veterinary medicine so did our need to convert our raw that are not applicable to the craft of materials into usable ones. Horses horseshoeing. If we are to rely solely ©2014 Cargill, Incorporated. 42 Nature knows no pause in progress and development, and attaches her curse on all inaction.— Goethe on Webster for the definition of the term farrier, it leads us to the conclu- sion that it must be an umbrella title for both professions. However, this is quite the contrary. Most historians can provide us with a bit more intel- ligence. During the time of William The EIA test the Conqueror (1066 A.D.) Norman By Ha n n a h Ti m o n e n by biting insects that draw and carry noblemen invaded England and with Mi c h i g a n blood. The fly or mosquito transmits them came a most trusted “master of the disease by biting an infected ani- all the kingdom’s horses”; his name, verywhere, it seems, everyone mal and then transmits the virus to Henry de Farrariis. Many believe that involved with horses is con- a healthy animal. the English dubbed the term farrier cerned about the possibility of But the virus can be spread by to include anyone in charge of the an illness called EIA. EIA stands for other ways, too. It can be transmitted care of horses, particularly the care EEquine Infectious Anemia, also oc- by saliva, milk, and body secretions. of their feet. In other accounts, it has casionally known as “swamp fever.” Blood transfusions and unsterile been documented that the family This retrovirus infection is transmit- syringes have also been known to name, Farrariis, was taken from a ted by blood, and can affect any spread the virus in some cases. Clean- French town, situated near the south- member of the horse family (horses, liness goes a long way to ensuring eastern part of Paris, called Ferrieres. ponies, mules, and so forth). your horse’s health. This town was widely known for its Horse shows and county fairs The sad news is that there is no plentiful iron mines and those iron require that horses entered in compe- known cure for EIA. The infected craftsmen who prospered. As time titions or those that are stabled on the horse will always be considered a passed, those craftsmen were called grounds possess a negative Coggins threat to horses everywhere, especial- “ferriere,” later to become shortened test. Many states and provinces have ly if there are other horses nearby. The and re-titled “ferrer.” made it law that all horses traveling only way to safeguard other horses With such an array of uncertainty interstate must be carrying negative is to either quarantine or humanly as to the truest form of the term far- papers. What is EIA and why is it destroy the infected horse. The horse rier, one thing is certain. Those who important to the horse industry? may be clinically fine, but the risk to have assumed this title carry with When this disease is contracted, it other horses remains high. Putting them a long-standing tradition of often goes unnoticed until symptoms the animal down is the only realistic being a powerful influence on the occur. The cells that are targeted are option at this time. quality of life for all horses that are the macrophages, large white blood When testing the horse for the in their care. All farriers carry this cells that travel through the body disease, your veterinarian will draw awesome responsibility and it should looking for foreign material. some blood from the horse, and put never be taken lightly. In my view, the There are three types of the ill- the samples into the small wells on a mere diversity of this title serves as a ness: acute, subacute, and chronic. test tube plate. The plate is covered constant reminder of how important The acute illness is accompanied by with a gel containing antibodies. The the job of a farrier actually is and it a high fever, weakness, swelling of blood proteins will spread through should always be a title that signifies the lower legs and abdomen, irregu- the gel, and if EIA proteins are pres- pride, as well as distinction. r lar heartbeat and a weak pulse. The ent, they will react with the antibod- death rate is high. Sudden death is ies, forming a visible line. This means References & resources: common in the acute cases. it is “positive,” meaning the horse is American Farriers Associations, The subacute illness progresses positive for the disease. The opposite www.americanfarriers.org much more slowly than the acute will happen if the horse is negative. Brotherhood of Working Farriers, illness and is less severe. Symptoms Often the blood samples are sent to a www.bwfa.net include anemia, recurrent fever, and state veterinarian for the testing. Horse Shoeing and The Horse’s Foot, swelling of the lower chest, abdomen But we can still work to prevent Dollar & Wheatley The Principles of Horseshoeing II & and legs. the disease from spreading. Keeping (P3), D. Butler & J. Butler Finally, the chronic illness is also the barns and paddocks clean, dump- The American Horse Council, www. characterized much like the subacute ing standing water, and working horsecouncil.org type. Its symptoms also include to make our farms and ranches as A Short History of the Term Farrier, T. recurrent fever and anemia. It is the bug and insect-free as possible will Ryan, www.horseshoes.com least severe of all three types, and go a long way to ensure our horse’s Who Invented Horseshoeing?, H. many people may not realize that the overall health. Also, having your Heymering, www.horseshoes.com horse has contracted the virus until veterinarian out to have the Coggins www.equine411.com a Coggins test is performed. Equine test done at least once a year will also www.americanfarriers.co Infectious Anemia is caused mainly help keep EIA at bay. r Countryside & Small Stock Journal, May/June 2014 43 The horse barn:

Horses don’t share

and depending on the baler, these By Sa l l y Ly n Br u n e l l e Ca t u s Fa r m flakes can vary in weight and thick- Sa n Di e g o Co u n t y ness. In my area the average person gives one flake two times a day. This s a girl I read every book that works fine if you have an easy keeper had a horse in it, you know, (a horse that does well on little food A those stories about the poor and care), and the flakes are gener- abused horse that just needed some- ous. In general, the larger the horse one to love it and save it. Well, I guess and the more energy he puts out, the I still want to believe some of those more food he will need. There is no stories, but let’s get real here. Horses hard and fast rule for how much your are horses and when it comes to food Paint mare horse is going to need. Too much and they don’t share and seldom do you he’s going to get fat, too little and he’ll see one horse say, “You first.” ions that also had varying degrees of be thin. You need to look at the horse When feeding time comes around malnutrition. and adjust the feed for that particular (usually when they see me), it’s every How did this happen? The horses animal. But how do you do that when horse for himself. Whoever gets there were given hay every day. Like so you have four that all live together? first and pushes to the front gets the many people, the owner is very busy The ideal solution is to separate them most, and then there is the “how fast with work, family and activities. when you feed, and watch each of can I get it down?” Let’s not forget There just wasn’t enough time to stay them to see how fast they consume those back hooves, the teeth, and and watch the animals. their food. Your alternative is to have ears flat back that say “Back off, I’m The answer was simple—horses more feed piles than you have horses. first.” don’t share! All four horses were kept If you have four horses put out at You may be thinking “Not my in one large corral, hay was placed least six piles; more is better. Space horse,” but if you have ,more than in four piles, all in a nice row. The them far apart, so one horse does not one, this is what is going on in their largest gelding was the dominate dominate more than one space. Pay minds. Horses do not think about horse in this little herd, the next in attention to which one is bossing the next meal, their attention is on line was the other gelding, then the around the others—you may have to the here and now. A healthy horse larger mare, and finally a little Arab tie him with a feed bin or bag. has a healthy appetite; if your horse mare. One horse is very capable of It was obvious that the four flakes walks away from his meal, start ask- keeping other horses out of at least given to these horses was not suf- ing why. two piles of hay while he eats first, ficient. This resulted in each animal Now that that’s said, let me tell then the next one in the herd hierar- losing weight in different amounts. you of the horses that have come to chy eats nearest him and defends his Once they were on my farm they me for help. Some very nice people pile, until he is pushed out by number were each given their own corrals and who did not know that horses don’t one. This leaves the fourth pile for I was able to give individual diets. I share asked me to look at one of the third highest in the herd, and the also observed the eating patterns and their four horses who was not doing poor little mare is kicked and chased confirmed my original assessment of well. What I saw was an emaciated away from the food entirely. As she the pecking order. The big gelding horse too weak to stay standing, grows thinner and weaker, she tries finished his hay in record time and with a badly injured back hock that less and less to get to the hay. What is was looking across the fence at the was open and raw, and blind in one she eating? Dirt and manure. other horses. The other gelding ate at eye. The decision was made that she So why did I say all four horses a normal pace and then the two mares would be brought over to my farm for were malnourished? Hay bales liked to eat more leisurely. care, along with her three compan- separate into what we call flakes, As for the little mare, she ate 44 A person with a bad name is already half-hanged. — Old Proverb Vaccines chicks can gobble up

By Sa n d r a Av a n t

n alternate vaccine delivery Asystem for newborn chicks This Arab mare eats laying down due has been developed by U.S. De- to a leg injury. partment of Agriculture scientists to improve vaccination against in- testinal diseases like coccidiosis. A common and costly poultry disease, coccidiosis is caused by tiny, single-celled parasites that belong to the genus Eimeria. Infected birds laying down on a thick bed of shav- spread disease by shedding oocysts, ings. We kept food in front of her 24 the egglike stage of the parasite. The hours a day. With veterinary care and infected birds are slower to gain careful supplements, she recovered weight and grow, and sometimes and is now working as a therapeutic die. horse. Traditional poultry vaccine meth- Now we have another mare in A rehabed horse up for adoption. ods involve vaccinating chicks in trays on a conveyor with an electronic much the same condition. She was sprayer. However, some chicks may kept with two younger geldings and be missed by these methods and con- feeding was done by a neighbor, since sequently have little defense against the owner lives two hours away. I diseases. was called when this mare was found The alternate system, involves with a swollen back leg and the vet putting low doses of live Eimeria was called. She is also underweight oocysts inside gelatin beads, which and needs extra care. Now with no are fed to birds. one to chase her around and cause Microbiologists examined the her leg further injury, she is slowly gelatin bead vaccine effectiveness responding. Her eating is very slow in chicks of layer hens and broilers. and picky, so I suspect she needs One-day-old chicks were immunized her teeth attended to in addition to by ingesting gelatin beads or with a Raise horses clearing her gut of dirt. It will take hand-held sprayer. The group that A comprehensive guide to rais- veterinary care and careful feeding to swallowed the gelatin beads had ing horses! This complete guide to bring her back to a healthy and sound a greater vaccine uptake than the intelligent horsekeeping covers it horse. She will be up for adoption group that received the vaccine in all: Facilities, feeding and nutrition, when she has recovered. spray form, and was better protected daily health care, disease preven- I try to educate horse owners, but against coccidiosis. tion, horse handling, selecting the best way is to learn how horses In another experiment, chicks breeding stock, breeding the mare, interact with each other, and what were reared similarly to birds in a foaling and weaning, and much requirements are needed before you poultry house, vaccinated with the more! By Heather Smith Thomas, buy or accept that first, second, third, gelatin beads and later given a dose 499 pages, $19.95 + $4 shipping. or fourth horse. of Eimeria oocysts. The vaccine-bead- WI residents add 5.5% tax. Remember, these animals depend fed chicks had greater weight gains on you for their very existence. They than an unvaccinated group and were Call: 1-800-551-5691 have no way to find food and shelter more capable of converting feed into or visit when humans pen them up in small body mass. www.countrysidemag.com corrals. Read more about this research in Countryside Bookstore If you are interested in adopting, the January 2014 issue of Agricultural contact: [email protected]. Research magazine. 145 Industrial Dr., Medford, WI 54451 r r Countryside & Small Stock Journal, May/June 2014 45 The rabbitry:

Looking for a low maintenance pet? Try Angoras

By Ma r y Bo w e r block because they swallow their fur. It may “plug up” or me, a 13-year-old their intestines and lead to homeschooler, I found death. Fthat a rabbit was an After shearing, I card it easy pet to own. Ever since I with alpaca fiber. Angora had to get rid of my rescued hair doesn’t need cleaned. It lop-eared buck, Thumper, I can be immediately carded had a desire to get another and spun. Because angora bunny. My mom told me that hair is very fine and slippery since I live on a farm I would it needs to be blended with have to get a productive pet. another fiber. I choose alpaca I don’t like the idea of eating fiber because it is soft and rabbits, so I discovered that an angora Then I made legs for it so I could col- feel like angora to me. After being would be good for me. Since I crochet lect his manure for compost, another carded it is ready for the spinning and knit I found an angora would “product” of angoras. For exercise, I process. I use a drop spindle which be useful. After my parents agreed, I bought a doggy pen for small dogs one of my immediately tried to find one. Since and I connected it to his cage. six siblings I had more experience with a buck I feed him pellets from the feed is always I thought it would be a good idea store. They only carry one type of w i l l i n g to start there. Craigslist was where rabbit food and he seems to do well t o h o l d . I found him. I also saved him from with their feed. For his grasses I give They spin being eaten. I liked him the first time I him home grown alfalfa that my dad i t w h i l e saw him. Because of his apricot, fuzzy hayed. I feed the coat I named him Sassafras. hair. Then Supply list: it is ready Supplies will you need for your • Pet grooming scissors to be used angora • Fine hair brush in any way Angoras, with their long fuzzy • Nail clippers Mary Bower and Sas- you wish. hair, have a tendency to get mats. • Electric clippers safrass When I got Sassafras he had many • Cage with covered and open Expanding your rabbit-tree mats. I bought pet scissors, a brush, wire areas My project expanded and I now and nail clippers. But they just didn’t • Play yard cage own a doe. I purchased her with the seem to do the trick. I was lucky, • Pellet feed money I saved when I worked on a because my aunt is a dog groomer. • Hay game bird farm. I got her at the fair With her help I got all of his mats • Fine tooth carder for cotton when she was six-weeks old. It was out. That’s when I discovered that I • Drop spindle a fun experience to have a rabbit for needed some electric hair clippers. I a while. It seemed that she grew so bought an inexpensive pair of ordi- How do you prepare wool? fast! My new dream is to raise ango- nary people clippers and that worked Wool begins with the rabbit itself. ras. I encourage everyone, especially really well. I shear my angora once a season needlecraft enthusiasts, to get one of Angoras don’t need a special cage, for good health. Angoras will try these fuzz balls with faces. They are any will do, but I used a wire cage on to groom themselves because of the fluffiest bunny on this planet and the ground so he could eat the grass. discomfort, which could cause wool caring for them is very gratifying.r 46 Man must be prepared for every event of life, for there is nothing that is durable. — Menander Soil health: focus of IPM programs is to prevent these problems from developing while, at the same time, reducing or Integrated eliminating the use of chemicals as a way of managing those problems. IPM seeks to restore and enhance the Pest natural balances in an ecosystem and not to necessarily eliminate species. Management Regular monitoring makes it possible to evaluate the populations of By Jo h n Hi b m a outputs. Both commercial agribusi- both pests and beneficial organisms. ness and the home gardener are faced IPM allows a producer to take steps ests and diseases are an un- with the challenge of how to deal to enhance natural controls—or at avoidable reality in agriculture. with crop pests in a cost effective and least avoid or limit the disruption of PIn this immensely diverse bio- ecologically responsible manner. natural controls. system that we call Earth, humans Commercially manufactured IPM practitioners base decisions must share with other species and pesticides, herbicides and fungicides on information that is collected compete with crop diseases and those have been around for decades, en- systematically as they integrate creatures we call “pests.” If you’ve abling food to be both plentiful and economic, environmental, and so- ever grown a garden or raised crops inexpensive. However, many of those cial goals. IPM can be used within on a commercial scale, sooner or chemicals have adversely affected the context of both agricultural and later you’ve had to deal with pests human health as well as causing urban environments and is flexible and diseases that either kill crops environmental damage. It has also enough to accommodate the chang- or cause so much damage that you been found that when many of these ing demands of agriculture, com- wonder why you’re trying to grow chemicals are used repeatedly on the merce, and society. anything at all. same plants, they can lose their effi- IPM emphasizes the integration More often than not, most people cacy in controlling pests and diseases of a number of pest suppression tech- resort to purchasing pesticides, her- as plants develop resistance. nologies and the most effective use of bicides or fungicides to correct or Rather than focusing on reactive IPM usually involves a combination control problems with crops. Agricul- methods in addressing these chal- of these different approaches: tural pests and diseases are costly, re- lenges, scientists and educators have, • Biological control—use of ben- ducing the yield of crops, resulting in for many years, been advocating a eficial organisms to manage pests. less food for the world’s masses while more proactive approach to disease • Cultural control—crop rotation, increasing the cost of those crops due and pest control in plants. Known improved sanitation, and other prac- to the added inputs necessary to grow as Integrated Pest Management, or tices that reduce pest pressure. them. With the world’s population IPM, this approach integrates diverse • Mechanical and physical con- increasing by thousands each day, control methods that pose minimal trol—for example, traps and cultiva- farmers strive to attain the greatest threat to human health and natural tion. yields of fruits and vegetables from a resources. • Chemical control—judicious finite amount of acreage. At the same The heart of an IPM strategy use of selective pesticides. time, a growing population seeks to seeks to manage pests and diseases • Host plant resistance—use of preserve natural resources with low through an understanding of their pest-resistant varieties. environmental impact—all while interactions with other organisms • Regulatory control—state and farmers are expected to increase crop and the environment. The general federal regulations that prevent the spread of pests and diseases.

Carrots Love Tomatoes Biological controls involve the re- By Louise Riotte lease of specific predators or parasites that can attack a particular pest while Grow a better garden when you know the secrets of the predator itself is not being inva- companion planting! Learn which plants nourish the soil, sive to the environment and causing which keep bugs and pests away, and which plants just don’t other problems. There are also many get along. Louise also covers six gardening techniques, wild native predators and parasites out in plants, poisonous plants and more. A gardening classic, and the fields and orchards. For example, 220 pages, $14.95 for good reason! Revised and updated. there are at least two dozen pests just + $4/shipping. WI residents add 5.5% tax. for the apple crop alone. Growers need Countryside Bookstore, 145 Industrial Dr., Med- to be able to recognize these and learn ford, WI 54451 • 1-800-551-5691. how to manage them. Every type of Countryside & Small Stock Journal, May/June 2014 47 FAST�FENCE47 fruit has its own unique set of chal- IPM programs continue to evolve Info�and�buy�now�at lenges during the growth process. based upon field situations and in- www.electricnets.com Cultural controls can include crop novations that develop. A technique 800-356-5458 rotation. Nematodes are a common called “Perimeter Trap Cropping” problem in vegetables such as onions, (PTC) involves planting an attractive carrots and lettuce. Rotating a field plant species (to the pest) so that it HOME CIDER PRESSES or plot out of those vegetables and completely encircles the main crop 4 MODELS AVAILABLE growing sweetcorn or other grains like a fortress wall. PTC functions Our secret is the “APPLE EATER” Grinder, and NEW IMPROVED ( w h i c h by con- Polymer drum, which will not crack a r e n o t Soils with high levels of centrat- or breed bacteria and is designed to grind a bushel of apples in five (5) a ff e c t e d ing and/ minutes. by nema- humus (organic matter) will or killing GUARANTEED— todes) for the pest * Sturdy construction a season, support more of the good i n t h e * All cast iron grinder will help organisms and exclude the border- * Immediate delivery. break the ing area, Go online, call or write for FREE Catalog: life cycle pathogenic organisms. while re- Happy Valley Ranch and lower d u c i n g 16577 W. 327th St., Dept CS, Paola, KS 66071 the persistence and damage of the pest numbers and disease spread on 913-849-3103 CS.happyvalleyranch.com nematodes the following season. In the unsprayed cash crop in the center some areas, a cover crop such as su- by preserving natural enemies. dan grass can be rotated in to reduce Researchers in the Northeast nematode load and the sudan grass U.S. found that when blue Hubbard can then be plowed under to help was planted around yellow sum- improve the soil quality. mer squash, the pests that had been Excessive tillage tends to reduce damaging the squash crop were more the soil’s biomass. Soils with high attracted to the Hubbard. Spraying levels of humus (organic matter) will only the perimeter crop significantly support more of the good organisms reduced the damage to the summer and exclude the pathogenic organ- squash. isms. Poor quality soils and poorly They were also successful in drained soils provide an open door managing pepper maggots in bell to damaging pests and diseases. peppers by surrounding the fields Cultural control can also involve with hot cherry peppers. Growers the removal of certain plants that are reported that their pesticide use was the source of a disease for a particular reduced by 89% and the percentage fruit. Cedar Apple Rust is a problem of undamaged bell peppers increased for the apple crop. Cedar trees should significantly. Roses Love Garlic be removed from around an apple In many cases, when IPM tech- Companion Planting orchard to help control that particular niques are incorporated into farming blight. and gardening, the use of pesticides Compan- In the case of cucumbers, physi- can be reduced. If the application of ion planting is cal controls can be put in place by a pesticide is needed, growers must simply planning placing row covers on the cucumber determine the best choice and timing your garden to plants so the cucumber beetle can’t of a pesticide once an “action thresh- take advantage get at the plant. old” has been reached for a pest. of the natural Diseases such as apple scab, a Every region of the country has friendships be- fungus, and fire blight, a bacterial its own unique growing conditions tween plants. disease, are dependent upon tem- and challenges to agriculture. Work- In Roses Love perature and moisture, degree days ing closely with your ag extension Garlic, you’ll and leaf wetness. Those problems agent or crop professional will help in discover how don’t necessarily emerge the same establishing an IPM protocol for the flowers help or hinder nearby vegetables time each year. Setting up weather crops you like to grow. IPM programs and other flowers. Let Louise Riotte stations to monitor temperature, have been instrumental in increasing introduce you to hundreds of flowers and humidity and rainfall is useful in people’s awareness of how fragile our all their friends (and enemies, too)! 249 predicting when the conditions are environment is and the responsibility pages, $14.95 + $4/shipping. WI residents ideal for a known problem to occur farmers have in reducing the impact add 5.5% tax. Countryside Bookstore • 1-800-551-5691 in a particular region. of chemicals on the environment. r 48 He had lived long enough to know that it is unwise to wish everything explained. — Coningsby Soil health:

The dirt on beneficial microorganisms The coming soil revolution!

By Ke v i n Ga l l a g h e r In fact, it appears that we are on life began on Earth, where photo- the cusp of a revolution in soil man- synthetic bacteria first converted n what could be one of the earli- agement techniques that embrace the nitrogen, in the atmosphere, into the est examples of soil management organic re-mineralization of our soils’ fuel for higher life forms to live on. Itechniques, the Bible admonishes structure and the support of healthy Microbes help plants in many ways, us in Exodus 23:11 …”For six years biological communities of bacteria but they are especially important you are to sow your fields and harvest and fungi for the delivery of the nu- in increasing the availability of nu- the crops…but let the land be renewed trients in the soil, to the plants. There trients, enhancing root growth and and lie uncultivated during the sev- is the beginning of a conceptual and making plants more disease resistant. enth year.” If the authors had known practical shift in understanding that On the cutting edge in the de- what we know today, they might have is taking hold, with farmers and the velopment of naturally brewed veg- added, “and replenish your minerals public at large, “that plant health is etative strains of live photosynthetic and microorganisms.” Since mankind intimately intertwined in a complex bacteria is Ecological Laboratories made the transition from hunter/ and largely invisible ecosystem in in Cape Coral, Florida. Ecological gathers to agrarian societies, farmers which literally thousands of species Labs is a world leader in beneficial worldwide have known that their of microorganisms are competing and microbial products for hydroponics soil loses its fertility with repeated cooperating in an intricate system” of and soil, with their “Microbe Life” use and tilling. The concept seems decay, renewal and growth. line. These live microbes actually increasingly lost on the modern age. Grab a handful of soil from your enhance photosynthesis in plants In December 2012, Time magazine garden and take a close look at it. You and allow them to fix nitrogen and ran an article entitled “What if the may see some tiny insects squirming carbon from the atmosphere. The World’s Soil Runs Out,” which con- around, but the majority of the life in results have been outstanding, with cluded that the world is indeed run- those few grams of earth are invisible. over 30% increase in crop yields and ning out of usable top soil. All around There are literally billions of bacteria, significant increases in their Brix the world farmers and growers are millions of fungi, thousands of insects (sugar) levels. Increased Brix levels becoming increasingly concerned and tens of thousands of species liv- indicate produce that has more nutri- about what amounts to a world-wide ing in one gram of healthy soil. Per- tive value, higher mineral content, soil crisis. The over-use of herbicides, haps you have heard of some of these and healthier plants that are more pesticides, petrol-chemical fertilizers organisms referred to as beneficial resistant to insects and disease. and modern tilling techniques (a $150 bacteria, essential or effective micro- oug Dent, Senior VP of Prod- billion a year business), appear to organisms or probiotics. Probiotic Duct Development at Ecological be responsible for the depletion of products for people have never been Labs, says “that modern agriculture our soils nutritive qualities. In many more popular thanks to national ad has relied so heavily on chemistry places our soil has lost all its fertility. campaigns for items like Activia® over the years that we are literally Millions of acres of soil today have all yogurt. Now there are a myriad of destroying our soil. I refer to it as soil the nutrient qualities of chalk. Time beneficial microorganism products toxicity. These practices are destroy- magazine suggested that the world’s available for the soil. ing the soil lifeforms. Many farmers farmers and scientists needed to get ll people, plants and animals now are using Microbe Life products together to turn this frightening situa- Ahave a symbiotic relationship for three reasons. One, is to reduce in- tion around. With the help of science, with the invisible world of bacteria, puts, meaning the chemicals they put without GMO, we may be able to put viruses and fungi that live in and down. Two, is being able to restore the the “natural” back into nature, with around their bodies. The relationship soil, and three, being able to increase beneficial microorganisms, popularly between plants and microbes started the value of their crops through known as “probiotics.” back in the primordial pools where higher yields. We are able to do all Countryside & Small Stock Journal, May/June 2014 49 of that with our Microbe Life and Plants don’t have the means to break healthy, disease- and pest-free plant. Quantum products. We know if we down their “food” and therefore rely oe Magazzi of Green Ag and Turf increase chemical fertilizer too much, on microbes and fungi to meet their Jin Connecticut, who has worked we will actually shut plant processes nutritional demands. Integrating with live microbial products for a down. Let the plant do its own work. beneficial microbes into your soil decade, describes microbes in the Let it rely on nature. Use minimal and on your plants’ leaves is a great soil as “the processing, retention and amounts of fertilizing. Under chemi- way to get them the fertilizer and delivery system of the soil.” Process- cal farming, you have to increase it, micro-nutrients they crave and in ing means microbes in the soil are the increase it and increase it to try to get the process reduce or even eliminate machinery that breaks down organic to get the same results to the plant.” chemical fertilizers and pesticides matter into forms that are usable by a Four hours north of New York which have an adverse effect on the plant. Retention means that microbes City, up in Otsego county, lies sleepy health of your soil’s biological com- will grow and thrive to the level of the Charlotte Valley and Star Route Farm. munities. Good soil health leads to a resources present in the soil. When The valley has been prime farmland since colonial times and at its peak PROBIOTICS FOR YOUR FARM AND GARDEN! was known for growing our country’s finest hops and grains. Walter A heAlthier body begins with heAlthier food. Riesen, a stained glass artist and a grow healthier first-class gardener for years, has fruit and vegetables and hardier trees become a different kind of artist. He’s and shrubs using now an artist in the finer nuances MICROBE LIFE’S and manipulation of the content of beneficial the top quality soil on the Star Route Microorganisms and other Farm, where he now farms. Walter natural products, describes himself as non-certified without using organic, sustainable farmer and like Chemicals! many of the new wave, young farmers, Walter is a proponent of farming www.MiCrobelifestore.CoM for “nutrient quality.” He is interested in soil health, bio-diversity and nutrient dense yields that produce healthier, better tasting fruits, vegetables and grains. “Nutrient Density” is a concept which states that the criteria for success in agriculture should be the nutrient content of the produce rather than the quantity and yield. The goal is “to obtain this quality, by adhering to basic principles involved in how biological systems operate— soil and plant interaction being the key one.” armers like Walter are using Fprecise measuring techniques to embrace some ancient concepts and some new natural biological technologies, like beneficial microorganisms, so they can manipulate their soil’s quality with a greater finesse than ever before. In addition to paying attention to their soil’s microbial and mineral structure, our new farmer is shunning the mega doses of chemical fertilizers, in favor of top quality organic fertilizers, natural sources of macro and micro minerals and biological communities of beneficial micro-organisms. 50 Clocks will go as they are set; but man, irregular man, is never constant, never certain. — Otway you add nutrients, the bacteria and spring will be in bringing up these santo spokesman said, “Agricultural fungi rapidly divide and incorporate numbers through organic means. He biologicals represent the next layer these compounds into their cell bod- plans to use Neptune’s Harvest Fish/ of opportunity for growers to drive ies. Delivery, refers to the complex Kelp hydrolisate for fertilizer and yield and productivity while helping systems of microorganisms mov- regular use of Microbe Life probiot- the preservation of finite resources on ing nutrients through the soil like ics from Ecological Labs to enhance our precious planet.” a living plumbing system. Bacteria his soil’s biological communities. On the Star Route Farm, Walter colonies and fungi live on and in the He knows that a complex soil, full of considers this coming year his first plant, delivering vital compounds nutrients, is a great start, but to get it real trial of his efforts in soil re-min- from the soil to the grasses, trees to his plants in an optimum way, he eralization and the use of microbial and plants. One of the first things needs to amend his soil with microor- products from Ecological Labs. Last you will notice when you start using ganisms and mycorrhizal fungi. year he saw a significant, positive beneficial bacteria is significantly armers and ranchers often think visual difference with his hot house improved root growth. Your crops Fof microbes as pests or patho- tomatoes, kale and emmer (an ancient will have better growth and bigger gens that are destructive to their form of wheat, also known as farro), yields because the larger root balls crops or animals (as well as them- in size, color and yield by using Pho- will increase nutrient uptake and selves), but attitudes toward ben- tosynthesis Plus regularly. Walter is deeper access to water and nutrients. eficial microbes are rapidly chang- excited about the possibilities for this ack up on the Star Route Farm ing out of necessity. Agriculture coming growing season, because of Bin upstate New York, Walter has is finally understanding that soil what he’s doing to engineer his soil’s been getting a reputation among the probiotics (microbes, bacteria and quality. locals for his great kale, leeks and fungi) are essential for decomposing cientists are just beginning to tasty purple carrots, potatoes, garlic organic matter, recycling old plant Sunravel the many ways plants and tomatoes. He attributes this to material and providing the essential use microbes to extract nutrients his attention to his soil quality. Walter mechanism for the plant to absorb from the soil and deter pathogens. believes the number one thing you all the richness of the soil. The rela- Just as you have to supplement your can do for your crops is know your tionship that soil bacteria and fungi soil’s nutrients with fertilizers, you soil. This means you’re going to need forms with plant roots and the sur- also have to supplement the biology a good quality soil test. Walter recom- rounding area (the rhizosphere) are of the soil with these new products mends Logan Labs at loganlabs.com increasingly being given priority by from companies such as Microbe where they use a very comprehensive, farmers and gardeners alike, when Life, supplementing the soil with weak acid test for minerals that more considering how they grow and beneficial microbes in greater num- closely resembles the way plants as- the quality of the yields they get. bers and combinations than nature similate nutrients. Then you’ll need Even Monsanto is starting to pay can provide on its own. The use of to interpret your results. A very good attention to agricultural biologicals. beneficial microorganism products resource for that is soilminerals. Coming under increasing criticism for for the farm and garden allows us to com/soiltestservices.htm. There is the mineral stripping, soil depletion harness their power in a natural and a lot more on soil tests in the July/ characteristics of their glyphosate sustainable manner. These processes, Aug 2013 issue of Co u n t r y s i d e . based product “Round-up,” Mon- as old as life on Earth itself, tweaked Walter’s soil test revealed that he santo recently signed a multimillion by a newfound understanding, are had very high organic material, but dollar deal with one of the European about to have a revolutionary effect all his macro-nutrients were presently leaders in the development of natural on the way we go about fixing our at a deficit. All of Walters’ efforts this microbial biological agents. A Mon- soil crisis and growing bigger yields of more nutrient dense food. r

Kevin Gallagher is an urban gardener recognized for his serious tomatoes. Kevin is a radio host on WPKN radio 89.5 FM in Bridgeport, Connecticut and WPKN.org, where he spins an eclectic music show and conducts interviews focused on food and agricultural issues. He blogs at Kevin’s Korner at http:// www.microbelifestore.com/blogs/kevins- korner. Kevin is President of Microbe- lifestore.com where you can purchase many natural microbial products such as Microbe Life. Countryside & Small Stock Journal, May/June 2014 51 The garden:

Elevated beds are great for gardeners

By An i t a B. St o n e

ardening can be an incredibly rewarding task, but sometimes Gthe physical effort required (weeding, planting and mulching) can take a toll on our bodies, especially for those of us who have to stretch in order to reach the plant beds. Excel- lent for all seasons, waist-high raised garden beds can make the soil and plants you are working with more accessible, because everything is located in an area where we can easily reach and tend to our plants. This popular idea is useful for young children, the elderly, and any gardeners who have difficulty kneeling or reaching far without support. And if you are a gardener who wishes to enjoy more Elevated beds make gardening easier on your back and knees. convenience, then this type of raised To measure the distance between blocks to build another style of raised bed is for you. By simply moving the bed and yourself, use your arm bed garden, which worked well. The the raised bed concept up off of the as a guide. You should be able to blocks are heavy and strong enough ground and elevating it to a table on reach the center of the bed from the to firmly withstand any type of spring legs, we can all grow flowers, fruits end or sides. The ideal bed offers and summer storms when etched into and vegetables comfortably. top-notch growing in a specific space the ground on the lowest level. From A simple hand-reaching effort and allows room for maneuverability. that point, you can build a rectangu- without leaning and hurting our When designing the bed with legs on lar or square shape upward as high backs or having to bend our knees blocks, make sure the bottom panels as you wish, the most popular being and stretch is becoming popular in are strong enough to support the soil up to your waist. A tape measure is home gardens and senior facilities. plus the water that will be placed into important to have on hand in order If you are a senior or adjusting to a the bed. The rule of thumb is to use 10 to get the proper measurements for disability, this is one of the easiest inches of soil for deep-rooted crops. your personal space. For wheelchair methods of gardening. Even if age A bed eight to nine inches deep will accessibility a 24-inch bed is the best or disabilities are not major issues in accommodate herbs and some short, choice. A 36-inch bed off the ground the gardening arena, you can build small vegetables. Last spring I built a will help avoid the bending-over- a raised bed and enjoy the ease and raised garden using a series of bricks factor. comfort it will provide for years to that sat one on top of each other, held Many people use lumber to build come. together with mortar. I used concrete an elevated raised bed garden, as 52 We hand folks over to God’s mercy, and show none ourselves. — George Eliot line of trees and about 100 feet away from walnut trees. Once your location has been determined, you can lay moistened newspaper down to smother any weeds that have decided to pay you a visit. Make sure there are sufficient drainage holes in the bottom of the bed. A two- to four-inch layer of gravel can be used at the bottom of the bed prior to filling it with soil. Before you fill the beds, make sure the frame is level. When you fill the beds, it is preferable to use sphagnum peat, leaf mold and manure. Soil should be about five percent organic and the pH should measure 6.5 for best growth. I prefer soilless mix, which I often blend myself by using a mixture of peat, perlite and vermiculite. The mixes are light and offer top of the line drainage. With a soilless mix, you should fertilize and water frequently. Several months ago I located an old chest of drawers and measured one of the drawers, which turned out to be a perfect solution for my particular needs. I drilled four holes for drainage, and then hiked the drawer on top of a double layer of concrete blocks prior to filling it with soil. This makeshift innovation worked perfectly and it was simple. To figure out how much soil was needed, I simply measured the length and width of the drawer area. First, figure out the necessary depth of the soil in feet. Second, decide how deep you want it. If the measurement is less than one foot, divide the number of inches by 12 to convert it to feet. For opposed to bricks. Lumber comes in gardeners use cedar. Select boards 20- example, three inches divided by 12 8', 10' and 12' lengths, so try to keep 2" x 4" x 8' and one 1" x 2" x 8". Try to equals .25 feet. Multiply the width the dimensions of your beds to mul- avoid treated lumber, which contains by the length by the depth to find the tiples of two or three feet to minimize heavy metals that are potentially dan- number of cubic feet of soil required. waste. For example, if the dimensions gerous and environmentally hazard- If the length is 10', the width is 10', are 3' x 6' then 12' lumber is ideal. A ous. Treated railroad ties also leach and the depth is 0.25', the result is 25 4' x 8' bed is most easily built with dangerous chemicals into the soil. cubic feet because (10 x 10 x 0.25 = 25). lumber. A popular bed measures 4' The possibility of raw wood rotting Once you convert the numbers, you wide by 20' long because it gives is realistic, but it takes several years can fill the space. Also, if you want you 80 square feet of growing space. and it is still better than using wood to measure soil from feet to yard, A 3' x 3' is also a good measurement that injures the environment and puts simply remember that 27 cubic feet whether you stand or sit in a chair. toxins in the soil. is equal to one cubic yard. Use mulch One consideration is the type of wood For higher vegetable yields, raised to retain soil moisture. You can also used. If you decide to use recycled beds should be placed in a north- use pine needles, just be careful with wood, the length determines both south direction for a maximum sun them because too many may burn the width and length of the bed. Because exposure of six to eight hours. Beds roots of your plants. of its rot-resistant properties, many should be placed away from the drip Many people use topsoil, but I try Countryside & Small Stock Journal, May/June 2014 53 53

Shallower elevated beds are good for growing lettuces and annuals—and easier to move if needed. to steer clear of it because numerous the amount of fertilizer, you can use tiny sprouts often find their way into approximately one pound of 10-10-10 the bed. So be diligent as to where fertilizer per 10' x 10' area. you purchase the topsoil and make Water conservation is a prime in- sure it’s a reputable place. You can gredient with this type of raised bed. also put your topsoil through a tight Soaker hoses are perfect for this type steel strainer to make sure any weed of garden because water is geared seeds will be caught prior to spread- towards the roots and not wasted on ing into the beds. Look for a com- unnecessary areas, which only causes bination of topsoil, potting soil and pathogens to attack when leaves compost. Keep in mind that weeding and flowers become saturated. You is greatly reduced in a raised bed. can also add a timer to control your You can opt to cover newly plant- soaker hoses. Small hand tools can be ed seedlings with bird netting or row used in beds, eliminating the larger covers. It is fun to add a hoop house tools, which are not necessary and effect by simply bending two 6' pieces sometimes inconvenient to handle. of 1/2" PVC pipe to form a hoop. This Another positive point for el- way you can fashion semi-circles and evated no-bend raised beds is mo- place their ends into 1" pipe previ- bility. You always have the option ously placed inside or fastened to the to move the bed, no matter where it side of the bed. Then drape the bird is located as long as you don’t set it netting or row covers over them. If in concrete. If you build or purchase you want a tiered look, use circular more than one bed, make sure 12" forms to insert inside the rectangular paths are accessible to move between raised bed and plant the items in the beds. Other suggestions are 18" levels to give the tiered look. to 24" paths, and for wheelchairs a The size and depth of the bed can four-foot pathway is the best. Once be constructed to suit your personal lifted off the ground, a raised bed requirements. For example, the out- becomes functional and has the pos- side measurements of the bed can sibility to meet your needs in any be 4'4" wide x 3'4" deep x 36' high. I season, with any types of flowers, have seen several raised beds, usually vegetables or herbs and become an 18" to 24" high and approximately unlimited source of gardening for four feet wide. When figuring out everyone. r 54 A nation may lose its liberties in a day, and not miss them in a century. — Montesquieu

Top 10 tips for thriving outdoor containers

By An i t a B. St o n e water droplets on top of the foliage, which encourages No r t h Ca r o l i n a disease problems. Attempting to keep the leaves dry and or years I have tried my best to grow plants in con- the soil slightly dry is the ticket to proper water manage- tainers because of the limited space in my garden and ment. Recently I designed a plan to place soaker hoses Falso because I can move them around, depending on inside the rim of my containers. This control offers just the where the sun and shade are prevalent. After a decade of right amount of water when planning my schedule. trial and error, I have learned a few good lessons. There Plants have different water requirements. If you grow are ways to create luscious blooms and plants that thrive cactus or other succulents, be vigilant with water because in their own “home.” these plants love dry soil or natural moisture (dew). You My plants have experienced container-plant death can purchase a moisture meter to measure proper levels from overwatering. I am more diligent not to let them dry within the soil. Soil provides a good balance between out, by lessening the obsessive water technology. Plants water-holding capacity and aeration. I usually use a soil- benefit by allowing oxygen to pass into the soil when they less mix which I find in bags marked “container mix.” become dry. The idea is not to encourage suffocation. The These mixes offer water retaining granules that perform top of the soil is not a true indicator of whether or not the well in containers. For cactus and plants that require low soil is dry or wet. Using a popsicle stick or your longest amounts of moisture, try adding a bit of sand for better finger up to the second knuckle, check out the lower area drainage. of each plant. Another true test is to look closely at the I have often been guilty of not putting enough soil roots. If they appear black or whitish and mushy, then inside the container. One trick I learned is to use filler rot is evident. I’ve always scheduled water and feeding material to help prevent root rot. Filler can be any type of times in the early morning or evening, avoiding the heat packaging, such as Styrofoam “peanuts,” clay pot shards, of the day. As an added measure I have stopped using or even newspaper. The filler adds drainage and helps overhead sprinklers because they splash, often leaving prevent rot. Nowadays I put the soil level up to about pg 55-center ad/envelope

Countryside & Small Stock Journal, May/June 2014 55

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Try a DR® at Home Call Today for FREE DVD and Catalog! TOLL for 6 Months! SHIPPING FREE 888-213-0395 Call for details. DRpowertrailer.com 56 If you want enemies, excel others; if friends, let others excel you. — Colton One neglected area that I became aware of was that container plants require food more often than plants in the garden. After the first blooms appear on plants, feed them again with a slow-release granules. Avoid feeding plants when the soil is dry because you can burn the roots. It is preferable to water first prior to feeding. I find that feeding foliage plants monthly worked well during their growth periods. But the blooming plants required feeding more often because they need more energy, so my feeding schedule became once every two weeks while flowers were blooming. September is a good month to let up on feeding container plants that I wanted to overwinter. Believe it or not, plants can become stunted if your container is too small to accommodate their width and height. Not only does size and type of plant “home” matter, but make sure the plant receives the proper environment. Too often I have planted small roses in pots that were too big, hoping the plant would fill it out, or I have planted an overwhelm- one inch from the rim of the container. Once plants are ing number of bulbs in a pot without the knowledge that in the container, make sure to add more soil if any roots the bulbs should not touch each other inside the container. are exposed. Most annuals have shallow root systems, so they will Whether in-ground or placed in containers, all plants function in containers that are wider than they are deep. I require light to survive. Light ranges from full sun to often fill the bottom half with filler. My rule-of-thumb is to complete shade. I learned that the most common cause use a container approximately three-inches larger than the of lack of blooms is not enough or improper light. Fre- roots of the plant. This keeps the plant from “drowning” quently the greenery shines with growth but flowers in too much soil and water. Whatever type of pot you use, do not appear. Part-sun or medium light plants do best make sure drainage holes exist at the bottom. I learned with approximately four hours of direct morning sun. that the hard way when my bean plants suffocated from Petunias, zinnias and pansies need six hours of sun daily. lack of air and drainage. Vegetables grown in containers require six to eight hours Knowing my Plant Hardiness Zone or USDA Zone is of sun daily. Even winter vegetables require the proper important because often I have purchased plants that do amount of light for healthy growth. not winter over and survive until the next season. But cold isn’t the only factor that determines whether plants will survive. Too much heat also makes an impact and will kill a plant instantly. The AHS (American Horticulture Society) Heat Zone Map is used the same way that the Plant Hardiness Zone Map is used. Zones range from 1 (north) to 12 (south), which indicate how many heat days occur each year, and helped me figure out which plants would grow best in my containers. Upkeep is a necessity. Maintenance is keeping any container plant looking nice by deadheading dying flowers and clipping old, dead stems and foliage. Paying attention and offering TLC keeps my plants from withering, going to seed and encourages more blooms. Keep a lookout for Cypress in individual pots of various sizes give a tiered insect damage also. Use horticultural oil for an organic effect. method of keeping the environment clean and free of Countryside & Small Stock Journal, May/June 2014 57

Caladium is potted with some colorful shade-loving impa- tiens.

area and well-drained soil. Familiarity assists with plant growth. Many books have been written about the right plant for the right place, so it’s a good idea to bone up on the information to avoid failures, diseases and unnecessary aggravation. When I remind myself that plants, like people, need a healthy environment, then I am fully in charge of making sure they grow, thrive and offer top-quality performance. r

pests while eliminating pathogens. Make sure you can identify the insect prior to treatment. If unsure, collect the damage in baggies and head for your local nursery or the Agricultural Extension Agent in your area for identification. For the short term, I simply give insects a strong shot of hose water. Over the past few years I have noticed an accumulation of white-looking grit around the inside of my containers, especially perennials. I have carefully removed the rootball and wiped off the “salty” appearance using a solution of water and bleach. Once dry, I add fresh soil, then replant. Make certain to consider location, a major part of container success. Check out the sun and shade stats for any plants prior to placing them in a container. The smallest amount of sun that shines on a shade plant is unhealthy for the plant. Sun-loving plants do not thrive well in shade, especially under trees. Just because a plant offers beauty doesn’t mean it is container worthy. So treat the plant with respect and dignity, allowing it time to grow and bloom. Once I discovered companion plants and how they function, I was able to create and design some awesome combinations within the same pot or areas. Ancestry is important to the growth of a plant. If you plant johnny-jump-ups you can be certain it will thrive in part sun, moist, soil-rich conditions as it has for decades. Native environment is important for plants. I prefer ornamental grasses, so I know each prefers a dry 58 Countryside Bookstore NEW! • NEW! • NEW! • NEW! • NEW! • NEW! • NEW! • NEW! • NEW! My Pet Chicken Handbook The Farmstead Egg Sensible Advice and Savvy Answers Guide & Cookbook for Raising Backyard Chickens No matter where you live, you can have farmstead fresh eggs! By Li s s a Lu c a s & Tr a c i To r r e s Th e Ex p e r t s a t My Pe t Ch i c k e n By Te r r y Bl o n d e r Go l s o n

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Eat the Yolks Discover Paleo, fight food lies, and reclaim your health

By Li z Wo l f e , NTP, Fo r w a r d b y Di a n e Sa n f i l i pp o

Worry about cholesterol. Avoid red meat. Eat whole grains. Could it all be a lie? We live in an era of health hype and nutrition propaganda, and we’re suffering for it. Decades of avoiding egg yolks, choosing margarine over butter, and replacing the real foods of our ancestors with low- fat, processed, packaged substitutes have left us with an obesity epidemic, ever-rising rates of chronic disease, and, above all, total confusion about what to eat and why. This is a tragedy of misinformation, food industry shenanigans, and cheap calories disguised as health food. It turns out that everything we’ve been told about how to eat is wrong. Fat and cholesterol are harmful to your health? Nope—they are crucial to your health. “Whole grains” are health food? Not even close. Counting calories is the way to lose weight? Not gonna work—nutrients are what matter. Nutrition can come from a box, bag, or capsule? Don’t count on it! In Eat the Yolks, Liz Wolfe debunks all these myths and more, revealing what’s behind the lies and bringing the truth about fat, cholesterol, protein, and carbs to light. You’ll be amazed at the tall tales we’ve been told in the name of “healthy eating.” With wit and grace, Wolfe makes a compelling argument for a diet based on Paleo foods. She takes us back to the foods of our ancestors, combining the lessons of history with those of modern science to uncover why real, whole food— the kind humans ate for thousands of years before modern nutrition dogma led us astray—holds the key to amazing health and happy taste buds. 288 pages, $26.95

To request a listing of more books we offer please write to: Bookstore Catalog Request, 145 Industrial Dr., Medford, WI 54451 or call 1-800-551-5691 or visit www.countrysidemag.com Countryside & SmallCountryside Stock Journal, May/June 2014 Bookstore 59 NEW! • NEW! • NEW! • NEW! • NEW! • NEW! • NEW! • NEW! • NEW! Butchering Beef The Mix & Match Guide to The Comprehensive Photographic Guide to Humane Companion Planting Slaughtering and Butchering An Easy, Organic Way to Deter Pests, Prevent Disease, Improve Flavor and Increase Yields in Your Vegetable Garden By Ad a m Da n f o r t h By Jo s i e Je f f e r y Beef cattle are large animals, requiring significant land and With its unique split-page expense. Humane slaughter- mix-and-match system, The Mix ing and efficient butchering & Match Guide to Companion will give you the best return Planting is a colorful visual gar- on the cattle you process, and dening guide to which vegetables, Adam Danforth’s comprehen- fruits, and herbs grow best with sive full-color manual guides one another, and which do not. Due to the revived interest you through every step. Adam in vegetable gardening, people will help you: Be well-prepared are again turning to the age-old for slaughtering day; Get the practice of companion plant- cuts you want from each primal; ing as an effective way to avoid Package and freeze your meat to preserve quality, appear- chemicals and reduce labor sim- ance, and freshness; and much more using detailed, step-by- ply by placing the right plants step full-color photography of every stage of the process. next to each other in the garden. This book is 342 pages, $24.95 designed to help gardeners mix and match various companion plant pairs and groups to create healthy, har- Butchering Poultry, Rabbit, monious botanical communities. All you have Lamb, Goat and Pork to do is choose from the The Comprehensive Photographic Guide to Humane extensive plant directory Slaughtering and Butchering to find the perfect plant pals. Each central crop By Ad a m Da n f o r t h has a row of colored dots along the top and bottom Locally raised animals, hu- of the strip showing its manely slaughtered and expertly “requirements.” Turn the strips and butchered—that is the best meat match the dots to find your plants’ best friends. The more we can eat. With Adam Dan- dots that match, the better the chance your plants will flour- Hardcover, Spiral Bound, 131 pages, $17.99 forth’s full-color comprehensive ish. manual, you can learn the skills necessary to take an animal 40 Projects for Building calmly and efficiently from pasture to freezer. Every step of the Your Backyard Homestead slaughtering process—from se- A Hands-On, Step-By-Step Sustainable Living Guide lecting the proper equipment to preparing, stunning, and bleed- By Da v i d To h t ing the animals—is presented with careful consideration for A companion volume to Backyard the animals’ well-being and your safety. Includes scrupulous Homesteading, 40 Projects for Build- attention to sanitation and detailed instructions for packaging ing Your Backyard Homestead pro- and freezing your meat for the best quality, appearance, and vides details on how to build more freshness ensuring that the animals you process will nourish than 40 projects to enhance readers' and satisfy everyone they feed. 446 pages, $24.95 sustainable living. Even if they are only moderately handy, they’ll dis- For more cover the tools and techniques for building their own feeders, fences,

homesteading titles visit and structures. In the process, they’ll www.countrysidemag.com save money and have the satisfaction of doing it themselves. 255 pages, $16.95

60 COUNTRYSIDE BOOKSTORE NEW! • NEW! • NEW! • NEW! • NEW! • NEW! • NEW! • NEW! • NEW!

Anyone Can Build A Anyone Can Build A Whizbang Chicken Scalder Tub-Style Mechanical

By He r r i c k Ki m b a ll Chicken Plucker

By He r r i c k Ki m b a ll The Ultimate Every small-farm and back- Homemade yard poultry producer dreams of a machine that will do the Chicken Scalder nasty job of feather plucking. With the publication of Any- Every small-farm and one Can Build A Tub-Style backyard poultry producer Mechanical Chicken Plucker needs a good scalder to that dream can now be an af- quickly and efficiently scald fordable reality. their homegrown poultry This book is a well orga- prior to plucking. Precise nized and complete how-to scalding translates to fast, guide to building a Whizbang complete and easy plucking feather plucking machine. of feathers. But high-performance, readymade scalding A Whizbang plucker will pick the feathers off chickens, equipment is much too expensive for your average small- ducks, turkeys and geese in a matter of seconds. Just turn scale poultry producer to justify. And no one has ever come the machine on, drop one or more scalded birds into the tub up with plans for an easy-to-make, relatively inexpensive, and watch as rubber fingers flail the feathers off (whithout high-performance homemade scalder....until now. damaging the bird's skin). In this book, down-home inventor Herrick Kimball, Every component needed to make the machine is thor- developer of the world famous Whizbang Plucker, tells you oughly discussed and the construction process is carefully how to build your own Whizbang Chicken Scalder. This is detailed, step by step. There are 62 clear drawings. There the scalder that Kimball spent two years building, testing, is also a chapter dedicated to the subject of alternative con- rebuilding and retesting before he felt it was worthy of be- struction options, as well as a chapter about other equip- ing called a Whizbang. ment used to process poultry. Mail order sources for parts This book tells you everything you need to know to are listed in the Resources chapter at the back of the book. make the ultimate homemade chicken scalder. Your Whiz- Commercial tub pluckers cost $2,000+ but this book tells bang scalder will faithfully and precisely scald thousands the reader how to build a comparable unit for $500 or less. of birds for years to come. It will make poultry processing A Whizbang plucker will dutifully pluck thousands of birds so much easier. 66 pages, $23.95 for years to come. 60 pages, $19.95

The Planet Whizbang Idea Book For Gardeners

By He r r i c k Ki m b a ll Herrick Kimball, inventor of the world-famous Whizbang chicken plucker, Whizbang cider press, Whizbang garden cart and Whizbang wheel hoe has packed the pages of this book with a diverse selection of whizbang ideas for people who enjoy growing their own food. Among other things, you’ll learn the following: How to make and use Whizbang solar pyramid cloches; How to make Whizbang T-post trellis spans; How to make Whizbang T-post hops poles; How to Make a Whizbang wood-and-wire garden tote; “How to Grow Strawber- ries of the Largest & Finest Quality” (from E.P. Roe, the acclaimed 19th-century berry-man); How to make a Planet Whizbang wheel hoe (with an oscillating stirrup blade); How to harvest, grind & use wood-stove biochar; How to grow “hugelberries”; How to “steam-fryalize” compost (with a milk-can rocket stove); How to make a Whizbang T-post grape trellis; How Good Ideas to make forever plant tags; How to make a Whizbang shoulder yoke; How to make Steve Lon- sky’s amazing siphon-tube rain barrels; How to make Mark-Albert-style caterpillar cloches; Make Great and much, much more! After you're done reading this book, you'll be a smarter gardener, a more clever gardener, Gardeners and a Whizbang-inspired gardener. 124 pages, $21.95

Countryside &COUNTRYSIDE Small Stock Journal, May/June 2014 BOOKSTORE 61 The Vegetable Gardener’s Storey’s Guide to Raising Beef Cattle Container Bible 3rd Edition y e a t h e r h o m a s m i t h By Ed w a r d C. Sm i t h B H T S This definitive handbook will help both By growing vegetables in contain- beginners and experienced cattle owners ers, even novice gardeners can reap grow healthy, sturdy beef stock. Whether a bounty of organic food in very small spaces. Anyone can harvest you want to raise one or two animals or tomatoes on a patio, produce a run a full-scale beef production operation, pumpkin in a planter, or grow broc- this book has the information you need, coli on a balcony – it’s easy! Ed including: how to prepare comfortable, Smith shows you how to choose the low-maintenance facilities; breed and right plants, select containers and calve for specific genetic attributes; rem- tools, care for plants throughout the edy illnesses and maintain herd health; growing season, control pests with- handle herds humanely; market your cattle business. Includes out chemicals, and much more. He comprehensive, up-to-the-minute information on diseases and even includes plans for small-space container gardens that are vaccinations; raising grass-fed animals; identifying and dealing perfect for urban and suburban gardeners. 263 pages, $ 19.95 with toxic pasture plants; and much more. 340 pages, $19.95 Feel free to use another sheet of paper, or call 1-800-551-5691 to place your order today! Order Form Title Quantity Price

Name: Total books $ Address: Shipping* $ $4 first item, $1 each add'l item City: *Call for Priority & Foreign Rates State: Zip: Subtotal $ E-mail: WI Residents add 5.5% sales tax $ Visa MC Discover AmEx Total $ No.: Expiration: Signature: Phone: Mail your order to: Countryside Bookstore, 145 Industrial Dr., Medford, WI 54451 Or call 1-800-551-5691 • www.countrysidemag.com 62 Restraint is the golden rule of enjoyment. — L. E. Landon is cooler, but costlier). I adjust the chains holding the light fixture so that plants are four to six inches below the tubes. I grow an oddball I water often enough to keep soil moist but not soggy. As seedlings grow and weather warms, I may water By Na n c y Pi e r s o n Fa r r i s twice a day. Once a week, I add soluble fertilizer to the So u t h Ca r o l i n a watering can. I use fish emulsion (the odor makes my cat crazy, but the fertilizer promotes healthy foliar growth). ohlrabi: the About three weeks after I sow the flat, Don prepares oddball the garden row, using a rotary tiller. One evening, or Kamong veg- on a cloudy day, we move the flat to the garden row. I etables I grow in lift a clump of seedlings from the flat and gently sepa- spring. The word rate them. Since stems are fragile, I handle seedlings by means turnip- leaves or roots, and set plants at two-inch spacing. Then, cabbage. Like a I lay a soaker hose along the row and water for a few turnip, kohlrabi minutes to settle the soil around the roots. Thereafter, I produces an ed- water for a few minutes each day to keep soil moist. ible bulb. Unlike About a week later, Don prepares another 10 feet of a turnip, kohlrabi row. Since our soil tends toward acidity, I check with bulbs grow above my trusty pH meter. If it reads below 5, we add a bit of ground. Like cab- dolomitic lime or wood ash to the compost we place bage, kohlrabi in the furrow. We cover that with a couple of inches of leaves attract cab- soil, then sow the kohlrabi seeds, and cover lightly. We bage butterflies; keep the soil moist until seeds sprout, about a week to unlike cabbage, 10 days later. This year, I interplanted nasturtiums with kohlrabi leaves cole crops—this tasty, edible flower may repel cabbage grow, not from a butterflies. root, but from a Don sprays all cole crops weekly with bacillus bulb. thurengiensis to reduce cabbage butterfly populations. Like other cole Kohlrabi: neither turnip nor cabbage—an oddball vegetable I have grown the White Vienna, which produces crops, kohlrabi three-inch bulbs in about six weeks. This year, I started grows best in cool weather; early spring or in the fall. In with Express Forcer (Parks Seeds), which matures in just a normal year, I can grow kohlrabi in the garden about a over five weeks, and tolerates frost well. I started kohl- month before Easter. (Usually our last cold snap occurs rabi in flats during the winter storms of February and Easter week.) began harvesting small bulbs in late March. For a contin- This year, due to unpredictable winter weather, I ued harvest, I planted Purple Vienna and Kongo Hybrid, started a few kohlrabi, along with other coles, in a flat in (both from Shumway Seeds). The former has purple skin my cool greenhouse. and the Kongo will make bulbs up to six inches across. I use flats which my husband, Don, built. For the Both varieties require 60 days to full maturity. Sown in sides, he used 1 x 4 and the bottoms are counter-top March, these produced through May and June. material left over from a kitchen remodel. Don used a By July, cole crops are becoming tough and bitter, quarter-inch drill bit to make drainage holes at five-inch and the cabbage butterflies are making plans for a sum- intervals in the bottom of each flat. mer festival in my garden. It is time to harvest kohlrabi I begin by spreading two inches of good potting soil and clear the row for okra or black-eyed peas. in each flat, then I add an inch of sterile soil or ver- Kohlrabi has a flavor like a mild turnip with just a miculite. Thus, I sow seeds in a sterile medium, and if hint of apple. Small bulbs need no peeling and can be unsettled weather forces me to leave seedlings in the flat sliced to add a nice crunch to spring salads. I add slices for an extra week or two, the potting soil underneath or wedges of larger bulbs to salads or vegetable trays. I provides nutrients and support for the developing root also shred the larger bulbs into coleslaw or carrot-apple systems. salad. About eight weeks before the last spring frost, I sow I make a stir-fry using sliced kohlrabi added to a skil- seeds—thinly so seedlings won’t get crowded as they let in which I have gently cooked onions in a bit of olive grow—and cover lightly with sterile medium. I lay a oil. piece of glass over the top or wrap the flat in plastic, to Kohlrabi is neither turnip nor cabbage—it looks like conserve moisture. an oddball and has a unique flavor. I enjoy growing it, When seeds sprout (about a week to 10 days), I re- not only for the taste it adds to spring salads, but for the move the cover and set the flat under a shop light in the conversation piece it can become when neighbors see it greenhouse. I use one white and one regular tube (white in my garden! Countryside & Small Stock Journal, May/June 2014 63 The garden:

Looking for a hardy, healthy-for-you plant that grows great in poor soil? Grow the Alpha SUPERFOOD in your garden!

By Do n Da u g s books 4 e introduced our experiences with wolfberry (goji) grow- Wing to Co u n t r y s i d e readers with two articles in 2009. Since that time our motto has evolved from, “Let’s put a wolfberry plant in every garden,” to “Help!” It was in October 2009 that the garden venture with wolfberries evolved into Phoenix Tears Nursery. There was discussion about controlling the production of our plants with a trademark. That idea was soon dropped in favor of putting wolfberry plants in as many gardens as possible, with no reproductive strings attached. First a little background. The plants we grow were discovered on a friend’s ranch in the Utah West dessert. They were a side benefit of the building of the transcontinental railroad more than 150 years ago. Wolfberries were a part of the Chi- nese worker’s diet. A few plants were transplanted to my garden and the next spring resulted in a bounteous crop of fruit. That first planting has evolved into a nursery that supplies six national mail order catalog nurs- eries with plants by the thousands and equally important, the person who may only want one plant. We receive daily phone calls and emails and we freely share information. We named our wolfberry variety 64 Eloquence is in the assembly, not merely in the speaker. — William Pitt Phoenix Tears. Not to detract from my If planting in containers, do not use Bare rootstock arrives looking like a scientific background, you should purchased potting soil. Many potting dead twig and the root is just a bare know that the name was given to soils include peat or sphagnum moss, stick with no root hairs. Never fear, me by the original wolfberry trans- which tends to make the soil too new buds may appear in as little plants growing in my garden. Plants acidic. If available, use a good sandy as three days, or up to two weeks do talk. Chinese legend says that the loam for potting soil. after planting. The bare rootstock “alpha” wolf ate both the fruit and Soil can be tilled from two- to six- has been stripped of leaves and new leaves to maintain his dominance inches deep, but holes for individual growth comes out from secondary over the pack. We call this variety roots may need to be dug deeper, buds where the previous leaves were an Alpha Superfood, because of its depending on the length of roots. stripped off. Occasionally, new shoots nutrient profile, the fact that it will Some growers just dig holes where will come up from the roots. grow in hardiness zones 3-10, is self- plants are to go and do not even till pollinating, drought hardy, hates up the soil. They then mow the grass fertilizer, and grows in any soil with between the rows of plants, or let the Pruning a pH of 6.8 or higher; has fruit, leaves, plants naturalize in a given area. Oth- Bare rootstock planted in early and roots with food or medicinal ers have used raised beds, covered spring should have some fruit the value; and will talk to you if you are with plastic and watered with drip first summer and should reach full willing to listen. All other potential irrigation. The plants will adapt to production in three years, depending superfood plants come in a distant whatever is your intent. If planting on how they are pruned. We have second, including pomegranate and bare rootstock, place the plants in the tried various approaches to pruning. blueberries. ground a little deeper than the soil Originally we trained vines on wires Wolfberries have been grown in line on the plant. If you purchase pot- as in grape production. Wolfberry China for thousands of years. I am ted plants, carefully remove the plant vines will get 13 to 15 feet long if sure the Chinese are also still learn- with all the soil. If the soil clump does not pruned. We found that pruning ing, and I know they are doing far not come out of the pot easily, cut the to promote fruit production on trel- more research on wolfberry plants pot off. Again place the plant in the lises resulted in a tangled mass of than is done in the United States. ground a little deeper than the previ- vines, making fruit picking difficult. Unfortunately, the thousands of acres ous soil line. The trellis approach also produced devoted to wolfberry production in Do not add nitrogen to the soil. more second year growth, and that western China is a mono-crop, and as Wolfberries do not like rich soil. As is where most thorns form. such are subject to pests and fertilizer nitrogen levels increase, leaf produc- Our most productive plants are needs similar to a mono-crop such as tion increases and fruit production two- to three-year-old plants grown corn in the United States. So far, we decreases, and if too high, the plants for resale that are planted as one- have not experienced such challenges die. This principle is especially impor- year-old bare roots. They are planted in Utah. We have produced up to 100 tant for newly planted bare roots. We in solid rows and are not pruned at pounds of fruit from a 30-foot row of have plants at the nursery that have all. Each plant produces many first mature plants that started out with received no fertilizer in any form for year stems, each of which produces 15 roots. eleven years and are producing excel- fruit. The only down side of this ap- lent fruit crops. Fruit and leaf nutrient proach is that you need to get on your tests from these plants indicate they knees to pick the fruit. If all stems that Site Preparation are as good as or better than the best produced fruit are cut off in late fall, Wolfberries can be grown in any- that come from China. the plants produce even more stems thing from a one-gallon container to Once established, wolfberry in the spring, producing even larger open fields. A critical factor in wolf- plants are very drought resistant, crops in succeeding years. berry propagation is soil pH. It MUST but newly planted starts need to be The self-supporting plant prun- be 6.8 or higher. Our nursery plots kept moist. Older plants send down ing procedure outlined as follows is have a pH of 7.4 and the West Desert a taproot that can access water deep the most recommended approach to site has a pH of 8.0. Soil that grows in the ground; so if the soil looks dry pruning. It results in attractive rows blueberries will kill wolfberries. If the on the surface, this may not mean that of plants with easy to reach stems for pH is too low, a calcium supplement the plants need water. It is better to fruit production. is required. We recommend using give them a good soaking every few First Year: Generally it is best to let oyster shells, which can be purchased weeks than to water a small amount the first year’s growth go unpruned. at stores that sell chicken feed. There more often. Sandy soil, with poor wa- This will maximize root production are also other commercial calcium ter holding capacity, needs watering and give a few more berries the first supplements available. Soil type is more often than clay soil. summer. not critical. Wolfberries will grow For field or garden planting, place Second Year: Select the largest in clay, sand, or loam however, each plants every two feet in the row and healthy stem for a main trunk. Re- soil type has its unique properties. make rows at least six feet apart. move any side shoots. When this Countryside & Small Stock Journal, May/June 2014 65 are not constant. As fruit ripens from orange to red, sugar content increases and B vitamins and calcium content decreases. Fully ripe fruit is less bitter. My preference is to let fruit at the base of a frond become fully ripe and nearly all fruit at least orange in color. Then I pick all the fruit on a frond by the handful. That way there is a mix of nutrients and it is much more efficient than just picking fruit as it is fully ripe. The ripe fruit on Phoenix Tears variety does not drop off when ripe, as does the fruit of some other varieties, so picking can be delayed to get maximum ripe fruit at one time. Pick by pulling fruit slightly to the side, rather than pulling straight away from the branches. This produces the least amount of stem remaining on the fruit. Wash picked fruit in cold water. Fruit with stems still on will float, fa- cilitating stem removal. This is much less work than trying to get stem-free fruit when picking. Washed fruit can be used fresh and will keep well in the refrigerator for a few weeks. For freezing, just put the washed fruit in freezer bags and put into the freezer. I prefer one or two-quart size bags, The nutrient content of wolfberries varies as it ripens—as sweetness increases, and fill so that when laid out flat the nutrients decrease. contents are an inch or less thick. This facilitates quick freezing and when main stem reaches 16 inches, trim on second year growth. Aim for an opened, any amount can be easily off the tip to promote side branches. umbrella-like canopy of first year removed. We have no data on nutri- During the summer, remove any new growth. The long-term goal is to ent loss in frozen fruit over time, but shoots that come off the main stem have a nicely shaped, self-supporting fruit frozen for three years still looks at an angle of more than 45 degrees. plant that is about six feet tall, with and tastes like freshly frozen fruit. Leave three to five side shoots that a three-foot diameter canopy of first For drying, place the washed fruit are growing at less than a 45-degree year growth. on racks and dry at 105°F or less. angle from the stem. If you want a Starting about the third year, Drying takes three or more days and narrow row, leave only side stems plants will begin to produce runners that are parallel to the rows. These around the base of the plant, similar Ev e r y th i n g Yo u Ne e d To Kn o w become lateral branches that will to the way raspberries reproduce. Ho w To Ra i s e produce fruit and fill in the spaces These shoots should be dug up for Goats between the plants. Leave one large, replanting or used for vegetables. By Ca r o l Am u n d s o n upright shoot near where the main If side shoots are not dug up, wolf- Whether you want to raise a dairy barn full of milkers, one stem was cut off. This shoot will be- berries can become very invasive. hundred meat goats for market, a come the third-year main stem. If tilling between rows, do so after herd of Angoras for mohair fiber, Third Year: Fall or early winter digging up emerging new shoots. or a few Pygmies as pets, this book is for you. Expert, hands- pruning can be done to clear out un- Tilling promotes more new shoots on advice makes it easy to get started raising a wanted stems. Spring and summer and is great if you need hundreds of healthy herd. You’ll find information about trav- pruning is used to control structure new plants. eling with goats, marketing, treating illness, and more, including a glossary of caprine terms, tables and canopy growth. The goal is to and charts for easy reference, and a list of breed prune to maximize first year shoot associations. $19.99 + $4 S&H + WI Residents production and eliminate second Wolfberry harvest add 5.5% tax. year growth as most thorns appear Nutrients in both fruit and leaves 1-800-551-5691 www.countrysidemag.com 66 Brevity is a great charm of eloquence. —Cicero fruit tends to stick to the drying racks. plant nutrient content and possible Fruit is dry when it reaches a raisin Skillet Wolfberry Muffin health benefits. Nutrient testing is like consistency. Dried fruit retains its 2 eggs very expensive. Even a simple test nutrient value for years. 1/3 cup olive oil for a common nutrient like vitamin Leaves and young stems can be 2 teaspoons lime juice C costs about $150. Most growers 1 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour harvested any time of the year. Heavy and fruit suppliers cite existing data 1/2 cup freshly ground flax seed spring and summer pruning will 1/3 cup maple syrup files for their nutrient claims. Using promote new stem and leaf growth. 1 tablespoon baking powder our own resources and the help of Stems for vegetable use should still 1 teaspoon orange zest two USDA Specialty Crop grants, be totally green and show no woodi- 3/4 cup dried wolfberries Phoenix Tears Nursery has devoted ness. Newly formed stems six inches 1/2 cup ground walnuts nearly $20,000 to fruit and leaf nutri- or less in length are the most tender. ent testing. Leaves can be left on the stems and Preheat oven to 350°F. What follows is a summary of the entire unit can be used as a fresh Beat eggs until fluffy. Slowly some of the data we have assembled vegetable, or they can be dried for beat oil into eggs. Then beat in on nutrients found in Lycium barba- later use. Leaves and stems dried in lime juice. In another bowl com- rum, variety Phoenix Tears. Keep in a dehydrator at 105°F take less than bine remaining ingredients. Then mind, these are in most cases one- a day to dry. Dried products should slowly stir the dry mixture into time tests. be stored in an airtight container in wet mixture. Pour batter into a We do know that nutrients change a cool, dry place. Dried stems and seasoned, cast iron skillet. Bake over the course of a growing season. leaves can also be powdered in a 30 minutes at 350°F. Cool slightly For example, ORAC (Oxygen Radi- blender. I use the “Dry” Vita Mix before serving. Serve with butter, cal Absorption Capacity) values in container to powder dried leaves. honey, or jam. Phoenix Tears dried leaves, ranged This nutrient-loaded product takes Serves 6 from 486 in the spring of 2009, to 522 up very little storage space. in the fall of 2010. This is quite a large Leaves for vegetables or tea can be difference, but when compared with picked throughout the growing sea- wolfberry cookbook, just add wolf- listed values for blueberries at 40 and son. If growing plants for both fruit berry leaves and fruit to just about pomegranate at 100, the difference and leaves, the best time to harvest anything. is not very critical. ORAC is a valid the leaves is late in the fall after nearly measure of antioxidant potential. It all the fruit has been harvested and is a measure of the food’s free radi- before the first heavy frost. Wearing Wolfberry nutrients cal absorption capacity. Preserving a leather glove facilitates harvesting The name “Goji” appears to the antioxidant status of the body is the leaves and helps prevent getting have been adopted about 2004 as an the key to absorbing injurious free stuck by thorns. To strip the leaves, English language berry-marketing radicals. There is no other whole food grasp the base of the stem with a name. “Tibetan Goji” and “Hima- that can match wolfberry plants for gloved hand and pull up the stem. layan Goji” are English language this purpose. This will strip all the leaves off the marketing names and are not found Phoenix Tears leaves were tested stem. Leaves may be used fresh, in Chinese literature. In fact, Goji is for total bioflavonoids in 2010, and dried or powdered. Leaves for drying not found in any Tibetan history or were found to have triple the caro- should be immersed in cold water, traditional medicine texts. Ningxia, tenoids and five times the lutine washed and drained and then placed a province in North Central China, found in spinach. Bioflavonoids are on drying racks. produces about 40% of the annual water-soluble and have antioxidant Wolfberry roots can be harvested Chinese wolfberry crop, with a and anti-inflammatory properties. at any time of the year. A good source reported 2001 production of 13,000 They also can play a role in modify- of root material is the side shoots that metric tons. Dried fruit is exported, ing the body’s response to allergens, come up between the rows. but most leaf and root material is viruses, and carcinogens. Alpha and consumed in China. beta-carotene have anti-carcinogenic Most of the available wolfberry activity. Zeaxanthin and lutein have Uses nutrient information comes from been shown to protect eyes from Both fresh and dried leaves and Internet sources. Little actual plant age-related macular degeneration. A berries can be used in a multitude of nutrient testing has been done on common source of zeaxanthin is egg ways, including appetizers, salads, varieties grown in the United States. yolk. Both dried wolfberry fruit and main dishes, breads, muffins, cookies, Lycium barbarum, variety Phoenix dried wolfberry leaves are excellent breakfast foods, desserts, and bever- Tears is an exception to that rule. cholesterol free sources of these nu- ages. A Superfood Cook’s Dream Come Reasons for including wolfberry trients. Most of the zeaxanthin found True, Goji Wolfberry Recipes, includes plant parts in the diet can be justified in wolfberry fruit is a dipalmate form 127 wolfberry recipes. Lacking a by inferring a relationship between and has twice the bioavailability of Countryside & Small Stock Journal, May/June 2014 67 67 more common nonesterfied forms. wolfberry fruit is PQQ (pyrroloqui- We still Lycopene is another carotenoid noline quinone). Wolfberries (Lycium found in wolfberries. Lycopene is a barbarum), have a centuries long make things. powerful antioxidant and may play reputation as an anti-aging food a role in prostate cancer prevention. source. The amount of PQQ found Tomato juice and ketchup are listed in Phoenix Tears wolfberries far as prime sources of lycopene. Phoenix exceeds any other known natural Tears dried leaf lycopene content was source of this nutrient. double that of ketchup, without sugar Scientists have identified mito- or high fructose corn syrup found in chondrial dysfunction as a key factor many tomato products. in aging. Mitochondrial dysfunction Another incredible nutrient found and death are now clearly linked in in wolfberries is the carotenoid betta- the development of diseases associ- crptoxanthin. The USDA database ated with aging. Recent research has lists wolfberries with the highest documented that PQQ can reverse Since 1925 we have helped value for any food plant source. Re- mitochondrial dysfunction. PQQ to preserve the traditions search, mostly in China, has proven not only protects mitochondria from and techniques of Southern betta-crptoxanthin effective in treat- oxidation damage, it also stimulates appalachia, and have shared ing diabetes, preventing bone loss, growth of new mitochondria. The them with the world. Come relieving arthritis inflammation, number of mitochondria in body enjoy making crafts and restoring strength of muscles, and cells, including the brain, decrease good friends on 300 natural, treating cardiovascular disease. with age. Scientists now believe scenic acres in western Dried leaves tested in 2009 had a that mitochondria number and north Carolina. betaine content of 19.38 mg/g. This function determine longevity. PQQ value is higher than found in wheat has emerged as the nutrient that John C. Campbell Folk SChool folkschool.org 1-800-FOLK-SCH bran and wheat germ, two foods can safely trigger mitochondria BraSStOwn nOrtH CarOLina listed as having high betaine content. biogenesis. Betaine is rapidly absorbed and plays Nutrient analysis of Phoenix a role in maintaining liver, heart, Tears wolfberries revealed a PQQ and kidney health. Betaine is often content nearly 300 times greater than prescribed for lowering high blood natto, a food source listed with the pressure. Betaine will also reduce highest level of PQQ. homocystine levels. Part of PQQ’s role as an anti- Phoenix Tears fruit tested in 2009 oxidant is related to its capacity to had an ellagic acid content of 11.92 participate in repeated reactions mcg/g. Also found in pomegran- before breaking down. For example, ate and raspberries, this nutrient is vitamin C can survive four catalatic a proven cancer deactivator. A May redox cycles, catechin 75, quercetin 1997 study at the Amala Cancer 800, and PQQ 20,000. Thus, as a Research Center found that ellagic free radical scavenger, PQQ is un- acid, even in very small amounts, excelled. was highly effective in deactivating When the 2009 articles were o u n t r y s i d e aflatoxin B1, one of the five most printed in C , we were potent liver cancers known. Ellagic just beginning to collect nutrient acid also binds to and protects DNA data. The information above is just from methylating carcinogens. In an- a fraction of what we have learned. other study by Hanen Mukhtan, trace The data on leaf nutrients opened amounts of ellagic acid were added a whole new dimension of use and to drinking water before feeding rats marketing possibilities. Who would carcinogens found in barbequed beef have thought that there would be a and chicken. A very small dose of need for a wolfberry cookbook? Who ellagic acid delayed cancer by 50%. would have predicted that one cus- How about wolfberries with your tomer in 2013 would preorder 11,000 hamburgers? Dozens of other studies plants? We are a long way from could be cited to show the effects of competing with China’s thousands ellagic acid on lung, liver, skin, colon, of acres devoted to wolfberries, but and bladder cancer. every plant growing in someone’s The ultimate anti-aging agent in back yard is progress. r 68 The best education in the world is that got by struggling to get a lving. —Wendell Phillips

Gathering “wild” food in the city Rethinking the role of foraging in urban ecosystem planning and management

By An d y Ha l l from less than five years in Baltimore to more than 80 years in Seattle. In- n the U.S., influential landscape come levels varied widely ranging architects of the 19th and early 20th from less than $10,000 to more than century such as Frederick Law $250,000 and ethnic and racial diver- I sity is common. Olmsted and his student Charles Eliot, advocated the creation of networks Foraged products consisted of of urban parks connected to each whole plants (or fungi) or were other and, through river corridors, to derived from a variety of native green spaces beyond the boundaries and non-native species, above- and of urban settlements. These planners below-ground parts: bark, flowers, argued that public spaces with large of their care. Decision-making pow- fruit, leaves, roots, stems, etc. Promi- amounts of vegetation were essential ers and management authority were nent among the non-native species elements of healthy, functional cities. vested in municipal governments are many edible fruit and nut spe- These new landscapes emphasized and professional park managers. cies including common apple (Malus aesthetics, relaxation, recreation, and With the popularization of the domestica), Chinese chestnut (Casta- refuge, reinforcing emerging notions concept of sustainable development nea mollissima), European or sweet about which human–nature interac- in the late 1980s, planners saw the chestnut (Castanea sativa), ginkgo tions belonged in the city and which need for community involvement. (Ginkgo biloba), European plum (Pru- in the country. They began to experiment with green nus domestica), and European pear Productive practices were defined space policies that explicitly seek (Pyrus communis). Edibles, includ- as rural and, therefore, inappropriate to integrate social, economic, and ing berries, fruits, nuts, greens, and inside the city and city parks. Thus, ecological concerns in urban environ- young shoots, were by far the most cities such as Columbus, Ohio erased ments, recognizing and incorporating frequently mentioned type of product subsistence gardening and rules interstitial, raw, or “feral” lands into in each study site. In some cases, for- prohibiting foraging in parks became park creation and protection. Such agers’ ethnicity and/or place of origin commonplace. (McLain et al.) Fur- places, including the street trees appear to condition which products ther, development and maintenance and other vegetation that character- are foraged. For example, Chinese of the great urban parks demanded ize these spaces, are important for immigrants sought ginkgo nuts (G. centralization and professionalization meeting the community and eco- biloba) in Baltimore, New York, and system needs of low income urban Philadelphia; African-Americans in neighborhoods that do not have Baltimore and Philadelphia foraged RANDALL BURKEY COMPANY large expanses of undeveloped land young pokeweed shoots (Phytolacca Quality Products Since 1947 or existing parks. These shifts in the americana); and American Indians in conceptualization of urban nature Seattle harvested evergreen huckle- and human roles in it have, to some berries (Vaccinium ovatum) and nettle extent, created openings for the re- leaves (Urtica dioica). Managers in the turn of productive practices such as Philly II study also describe talking farming, horticulture and beekeeping with foragers of Italian, Hispanic, and to public green spaces. However, Eastern European origin, many seek- FREE Catalog urban foraging has received little ing prized species for family recipes Quality Pouducts · Expert Knowledge · Great Prices attention by planners of urban green (e.g. morel mushrooms [Morchella 10% Off Your First Order spaces spp.] and greens common in Europe) Use the key code “COUNTRY” Today, foragers in this unique or carrying on traditions of foraging Call Toll Free Visit Us Online study in Baltimore, Seattle, New practiced in their sending countries 800-531-1097 randallburkey.com York City and Philadelphia ranged (e.g. harvesting mushrooms). Countryside & Small Stock Journal,69 May/JuneWindmill 2014 Aeration for Your Pond69 Also selling Electric aerators, Most conservation practitioners Water Fountains and Pond interviewed in these studies had a Filters. Uses No Electricity negative or, at best, ambivalent view Great way to improve your pond!! about the desirability of allowing or encouraging foraging, particularly • Your pond will take on J.L. Becker Co. in parks or natural areas. Of the four a whole new look 15286 St. Rt. 67 cities, Seattle and Philadelphia are the • Clearer water for Wapakoneta, OH 45895 furthest along in rethinking the role of swimming, boating, and 888-905-3595 or 419-738-3450 foraging in urban green spaces. fishing www.aerationwindmills.com The Seattle Parks and Recreation • Reduces algae and [email protected] cleanses the water Department is actively seeking to • Helps prevent fish kills We accept rehabilitate former apple orchards in city parks, trees that it had neglected for decades. In 2012, the city approved the establishment of an experimental “Shop” in Nature’s Garden food forest in a neighborhood park, and the Parks and Recreation Depart- b y Sa m u e l Th a y e r ment recently updated its regulations We are surrounded by free groceries—gourmet, organic, super- to permit foraging, provided that nutritious foods—that we have never tasted and do not recog- quantities harvested are small. nize. This book not only identifies these fruits, nuts, grains and Philadelphia has followed a simi- vegetables for you, it also teaches you where to find them and Nature’s Garden lar path and is supporting efforts by shows you how to prepare them. is a continuation of the work begun in The Forager’s Harvest, and covers the non-profit organization, Phila- 41 new plants, with a similar format. Great photography and delphia Orchard Project, to establish quality printing. 512 pages, $24.95 + $4 shipping. Wisconsin public orchards in sites throughout residents add 5.5% tax. the city, including revitalization of the Woodford Orchard in East Fairmont Write to: Countryside Bookstore, 145 Industrial Dr., Medford, WI 54451 Park. The re-establishment of fruit Or call: 1-800-551-5691 • www.countrysidemag.com picking in Fairmont Park brings the city back full circle to the late 1800s, when the park’s commissioners wel- comed thousands of school children every Nutting Day, a local holiday Your nails can be at the time, to the park to harvest chestnuts, walnuts, and hazelnuts Happy Again! (Gabriel 2011). At the same time, Philadelphia seems quite hesitant to expand foraging beyond these forms $ 95 of agricultural produce harvesting, 16 with other types of foraging prohib- (price includes postage) ited on park lands. These exploratory studies point to “Oh my gosh!! This the importance for planners, manag- stuff is working ers and scholars to understand urban and I’m amazed!! green spaces as not only providers of services, but also providers of mate- How do I write a rial products. testimonial??”... Kelly W., Oklahoma Free access is currently available to “Gathering ‘wild’ food in the city: rethinking the role of foraging in urban ecosystem We Guarantee it! planning and management,” by Rebecca J. More information & video online McLain, Patrick T. Hurley, Marla R. Emery Long Creek Herbs and Melissa R. Poe, featured in a special issue P.O. Box 127-CS of Local Environment, published by Taylor Blue Eye, MO 65611 & Francis. Read the full article online: www.tand- 417-779-5450 fonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13549839.201 Mon - Fri, 8:00 - 5:00 Central time 3.841659 www.LongCreekHerbs.com 70 Only actions give life strength; only moderation gives it a charm. — Richter The homestead kitchen: clarifies the butter and helps remove excess moisture. By now your jars should be sterilized. Take out one 3:or two jars at a time, while still hot, quickly and carefully fill hot jars with hot butter. Wipe rim, put on lid and Canning butter ring and set aside, continue until jars are filled. There is no need to water bath or pressure can. Figure about two eight-ounce jars per pound of butter. Since you do have and cheese to skim the white foam off, you may not use every jar. We opened one up just recently and it tasted fine. It By Da n i e l St r a u s s was about one year old. My wife gave one to her brother Ne w Yo r k . then he called and asked if one could can cheese, too. After some Internet research, we found we could. just received your March/April magazine. I never thought dry canning was controversial. If storing dry Ifoods in jars causes an uproar, then let me stir a nest and see if hornets come out. Last year my wife canned butter and this year she has experimented with cheese. The official government and educational entities don’t recommend canning either. We don’t let little things like that deter us. Before I get into describing how to can butter and cheese let me first address the advantages of doing so. Some have said, “Why can butter or cheese, just buy it when you need it.” First, I do expect that in the future cheese and butter will be available to buy, but at what price? Anyone up on the economy knows the Federal Canning cheese Reserve is counterfeiting money at a terrible rate, which Preheat oven to 275°F, again sterilize half-pint jars will add to inflation. It is also clear that the day of the 1:for 20 minutes. U.S. dollar being the world’s reserve currency are almost Cut cheese into chunks, take jars out of oven and over. When that happens, all the dollars in all the banks 2:place in pot of boiling water. Water should only all over the world will want to come home to roost. Hello come half-way up the outside of the jar. You don’t want Weimar Republic. Will your pay keep up with massive water boiling over into the jar. Place chunks of cheese inflation? I doubt it. So being able to have food in jars into jars and let melt. As cheese melts add more until might literally be a lifesaver. Besides, sometimes you can melted cheese is within one-half inch of jar top. The find a great deal on cheese or butter and stock up. “So, Internet said to melt about 5-5 1/2 pounds per dozen freeze it,” says my antagonist. eight-ounce jars. Let me tell you a sad story. People I know of had a Once jars are filled, wipe rim, place on lids and freezer full of venison, pork, and other foods. The power 3:rings, transfer back to boiling water and add enough went off in the summer time, being rural, there were no boiling water to cover jars and hot bath them. I have seen dry ice suppliers in the area. They gave away what they anywhere between 20 and 40 minutes on the Internet. could to neighbors for a cookout, but still lost hundreds Probably the longer time is better. I prefer to pressure of dollars worth of food. The food in jars did not suffer can at five pounds pressure for about 15 minutes. I use the same fate. They now rely mostly on canning for food the pressure canner for everything. I use five pounds and preservation. about eight minutes for jellies, pickles, and sauerkraut as well. The oils in the cheese do separate but they will soak Canning butter back into the cheese over time. We experimented this Preheat oven to 275°F. Preferably take half-pint year and it worked out well. Fresh cheese is nicer, but the 1: canning jars (using smaller jars helps to prevent canned cheese tasted just fine. I have heard of canning waste), place on tray and put in oven for 20 minutes for cream cheese the same way. Basically any cheese that can sterilization. Dry sterilizing prevents excess water in the melt can be canned. We haven’t let ours sit long enough canned butter. yet, but it is said the cheese does get sharper over time. Cut up butter into chunks and melt on stove top on For more information or videos on butter or cheese 2: medium to low heat to prevent burning. (Some place canning, an Internet search will turn up articles and butter in the oven while it’s preheating to help melt butter YouTube videos on the subject. Yes, official sites do not then transfer it to stove top.) Bring butter to boil. A white recommend you store butter or cheese by this method, foam forms on top, skim this off. It may be used in other yet plenty of people have had success. So the standard cooking but can be salty. Boil butter for five minutes. This disclaimer, you do this at your own risk. r Countryside & Small Stock Journal, May/June 2014 71 71 The homestead kitchen: baking dish. Break eggs on top. Sprinkle cheese on top. Bake in 375°F Quality!! oven until the eggs are set. Wood-fired Cookstoves Curry Omelet • Cook • Heat • Save $$ 1 teaspoon curry powder (yellow Can heat up to 2,500 or red, you may use more if you like square feet! it spicy) 6 eggs Call or Visit our website 1 tablespoon water for more information! 1/4 cup peanut butter 517-278-2214 Salt to taste (peanut butter is salty) Oil for fry pan www.kitchenqueenstoves.com

Beat eggs with water, curry and Got eggs? salt. Pour into shallow skillet or om- By Do n n a Ri n e h a r t elet pan. Cook gently, lifting edges to let the uncooked egg run under Look at all the eggs! Yes, it is great to continue cooking. When eggs are to have extra eggs. I love to have a set spread peanut butter over half of dozen to give to a friend or to take the omelet and fold over. Let set one to shut-ins with a loaf of homemade minute to melt peanut butter. bread. We started a Garden Share table at our church where everyone My dad used to make this for my shares extra produce and we always sisters and me as a special treat. have a dozen or more pasture fed eggs to share. It is a good way to Eggs In a Nest educate people about the wonderful 6 eggs taste of fresh eggs. Salt and pepper 6 slices of toast Here are some recipes in reply to Daniel Straus’ “Thinking Outside the Set the oven at 375°F. Separate the Carton” in the March/April edition: eggs. Beat the whites until stiff. Add If you like pickled eggs, you will salt and beat a bit more. Toast bread love and place on a cookie sheet. Pile egg MusChristopher Eggs whites on toast and make a depres- 1/2 cup white sugar sion in the middle of each. Carefully 1 cup vinegar 1 cup cold water slide a yolk into each. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon dry musChristopher pepper. Bake until yolks are as set as you would like, 15 to 20 minutes. Boil together 10 minutes. Pour Whites will be toasty brown. over about 8 hardboiled, peeled eggs. Let pickle for 2 days before using. • Will keep weeks in the refrigerator. By Ro b e r t K. Sm i t h Ke n t u c k y Eggs with Black Beans Here is another egg recipe. This is what my grandmother told me: 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 clove garlic, minced 1 large onion, chopped fine Mama Smith’s Egg Jelly 3/4 cup stewed tomatoes 1 cup sorghum (don’t use molasses) 1 can black beans 1/2 cup white sugar 1/2 cup water 6 eggs, well beaten 6 eggs 1 teaspoon nutmeg (or to taste) 1/2 cup grated cheese In an iron skillet, bring sorghum free Sauté the garlic and onion in oil to a good boil. Add sugar, cook until until light brown. Add tomatoes, dissolved, and a few minutes more. beans and water; mix well and sim- Add beaten eggs, a little at a time. mer 10 minutes. Place in a buttered Cook until thick. 72 There is not a moment without some duty. — Cicero

Remove from stove and add I have been a Co u n t r y s i d e reader 1/8 teaspoon salt nutmeg. since 1994 and have found many Nutmeg, to sprinkle on top (1/2 to good articles to read. — Pine River, 1 teaspoon) We’d never heard of this, and while Minnesota Robert ended his letter there, a little Preheat oven to 350°F. Pour the research showed people use this on top Egg CusChristopher cusChristopher into an 8" square of pancakes, or as a dip for French toast 4 eggs, well beaten (ungreased) glass baking dish. Bake sticks. Some people replace the sorghum 3 cups whole milk 30–40 minuted or until a table knife with milk and increase the sugar to 2 1/2 cup sugar comes out clean when inserted into cups, and reduce the eggs to 2. An In- 1 teaspoon lemon extract the center of the cusChristopher. Cool ternet search (or maybe old cookbooks) and serve chilled. reveal a variety of ingredients. • Fr o m Pi n e Ri v e r , Mi n n e s o t a • This egg cusChristopher recipe was my mother’s and has stood the Steaming eggs test of time. I freeze eggs for use later. I put ByTr a c y Ec k h a r d t them in double paper sacks after they Id a h o freeze in small plastic bags (I learned this from Co u n t r y s i d e ). I have been s a young child, I always dreamed of having a flock of chickens. able to keep them up to three years AThen I found myself as a single mother at age 21, and I knew this this way. I was glad to have a lot on was something I had to do to help keep my young family fed and off of the hand this winter as I had some medi- “system.” I started with a few hens and ended up with a lot, 10 years later. cal issues that put a lot of things on Throughout the years we have gone without hard-boiled eggs. hold and had to give away my laying They simply would not peel nicely…until tonight. I have tried it all, hens. from adding vinegar, to salt to timing, lid on, lid off… They simply would not peel nicely. Then I broke out my vegetable steamer and six eggs, straight from the nest boxes. I filled the water reservoir and set the timer for 30 min- Fresh Eggs Daily utes. When it went off, I dunked them in cold water for 10-12 minutes. They peeled like they were the eight-week old store-bought eggs! Raising Happy, Healthy Chickens...Naturally By Li s a St e e l e By Li s a St e e l e Recipes wanted: More than ever, Americans care about the quality and safety of the food they eat. Are you a whiz in the kitchen? They’re bringing back an American We’re looking for homemade reci- tradition: raising their pes with ingredients that you can pick own backyard chickens for eggs and com- from the garden and as few processed panionship. And they care about the quality of life ingredients as possible. Homestead of their chickens. Fresh Eggs Daily is an authorita- raised meat, CSAs, farmers markets tive, accessible guide to coops, nesting boxes, runs, and foraging count, too! Be sure to breeding, feed, and natural health care with time- include ingredient amounts, time to tested remedies. The author promotes the benefits of keeping chickens happy and well-occupied, and cook/bake/smoke, and complete in- in optimal health, free of chemicals and antibiotics. structions. (Too much information is She emphasizes the therapeutic value of herbs and better than not enough!) We’ll compile natural supplements to maintaining a healthy envi- a hearty homestead food cookbook if ronment for your chickens. Includes many recipes we get a good response. and 8 easy DIY projects for the coop and run. Full color photos throughout. $17.95 + $4 S&H + WI Send your recipes (and contact info) to Residents add 5.5% tax. Co u n t r y s i d e Recipes, 145 Industrial Dr., Medford, WI 54451 or email to: csyedito- 1-800-551-5691 [email protected]. www.countrysidemag.com Countryside & Small Stock Journal, May/June 2014 73 The homestead kitchen: leaves to respect the plant. Never strip the branches, but pick a few leaves here and there. Plants like blackberry and raspberry thrive on pruning, so cutting stems works well. Dry the leaves on the stems and then, wearing How to harvest gloves, hold the stem in one hand and strip the leaves from the branch. It is then easy to clean the leaves. 1 and 2 Garden herbs tend to have thick stems and retain water. I find it is best to gather a using scissors, clip dry herbal teas the leaves from the stems, then dry. If it is necessary to use other methods of drying due to high humidity, By Sh i r l e y Be n s o n from $12 to $20 for a 16 to 18-ounce etc., always dry herbs at the lowest Wi s c o n s i n jar, but these jars do not hold that temperature. many ounces of tea. With just a little Teas should be kept as air-free as erbal teas are a wonderful, searching you will find places where possible and stored in a dark cool inexpensive way to cure you can gather them for free. place. Teas tend to lose their potency Hmany of your daily aches and When possible, teas should be over time, so it is a good idea to pains, but they should not be used air dried, as heat has a tendency to harvest what you will use and then indiscriminately. If you are going to destroy vitamins and other healthful replace them each season. I oven can be raising, harvesting and drinking elements. mine, reusing my canning lids that herbal teas you should research each Gather your tea leaves/fruit I have saved. I do this to keep them tea very carefully. This is easy to do early, as soon as the dew has dried, free of moisture, mold and insects, using the computer, herb books and in remote areas away from dusts and for my convenience. You will publications. and industrial sprays. When it is have to decide how you wish to store Do not just read one article and necessary to wash the leaves, wash your teas. r then form an opinion. Read many in warm water, shake off the excess articles and then check the author’s and allow them to dry on a towel background. Find out who sponsored or newspapers to remove as much the surveys; did they have a special moisture as possible. Continue the interest? Are they trying to sell you drying process stirring and turning something? Only after a thorough every three or four hours for the first research should you make up your day. Never gather under power lines mind, and then always be open to or along busy highways. possibilities. Some people tie the herbs in small Attention should be paid to the bundles and hang them upside down kind of medications you are taking in a dry place. This will work but and the effects of the herb on your I find unless the bundles are very own personal condition. Always read small or the humidity low, they tend the section on side effects. Serious to mold or don’t dry evenly. The easi- thought should be given to allergies. est way for me is to use screens in the Test each tea slowly and in small garage. Set the screens on a support amounts until any possible reactions so the air will circulate around them can be determined. and keep out of direct sunlight. Put Natural herbs really are medi- only one kind of herb on a screen at cines. If you read labels carefully a time as the leaves will break off you will discover many of the over- and mix. the-counter remedies you buy are Stir the leaves now and then so actually made from herbs you will they dry evenly and when crispy, recognize. pick out the sticks and foreign articles Gathering and curing your teas is and store in freezer bags or glass jars. simple and inexpensive. A visit to a If necessary, they may be finished natural food shop will convince you in a dehydrator at the lowest heat of what a great idea it is. Many of setting. the teas you will use will be priced Remember, when harvesting the 74 Silence is one great art of conversation. — Hazlitt The homestead kitchen:

Beat your biscuits

By Ke v i n & Do n n a Jo h n s o n beat with a rolling pin or wooden Lo u i s i a n a mallet. Do this for 15 minutes. Beat the dough until it is flattened out, y husband and I would like then fold over and beat some more, to share a recipe with read- continuing this until the process has Mers which we are now using been repeated at least 20 or more for our daily bread. For years we have times, depending upon the weight attempted to make 100% whole wheat of the beater and the vigor put into bread using no white flour at all, but beating it. Turn dough ball over in found it challenging to knead and sifted whole whet flour as needed to work with the dough because of the keep from sticking. extreme stickiness of the whole grain Roll out to 1/2" thickness and cut flour. And we didn’t want to knead into biscuits. Let rest on oiled pan for it with while flour either. Also, we wheat is fermented with a sourdough at least 30 minutes. wanted to use our sourdough starter leaven and baked long enough to Bake for 20 minutes at 450°F in culture to ferment the dough in order be thoroughly dextrinized, it will steam oven. r to avoid using commercial yeast or be mellow enough to melt in your baking powder. mouth. It makes one of the finest, We are offering our handmade 1847 Eventually we discovered an old most easily digested breads possible, Oregon Trail sourdough starter culture technique for simple bread baking without white flour, shortening, bak- for $15 (which includes postage). The published in an old book from the ing powder, yeast or soda. However, package includes a dried starter culture, 1930. Having never heard of it, we to make it moist, a little bit of oil, such complete set of written instructions for thought that perhaps others hadn’t as olive oil, melted butter or coconut making traditional loaves of sourdough as well. The technique employs oil can be used, turning it into a soft, bread, and a set of sourdough recipes “beating” the bread dough instead yet flavorful and chewy bread. which we perfected to use with the starter of kneading. Surprisingly, it’s been culture, such as pancakes, muffins, flat such a blessing for us as it makes the Sift together into a large bowl: bread, etc. This American heirloom 4 or 5 cups whole wheat flour (or most delicious, moist, healthy prod- culture was handed down from a family blend with rye flour) uct we’ve ever tasted! Fortunately, whose ancestors had traveled the Or- having a grain grinder is an added 2 tablespoons salt 4 tablespoons brown sugar egon Trail during the Gold Rush. Our benefit since it provides us with fresh educational website, EarthStar Primal flour, so the quality of the bread is Stir into the dry flour: Habitat is about a lifestyle of voluntary truly amazing. 3 1/2 cups liquid (mix 1 cup milk and simplicity: www.earthstar.newlibertyvil- 2 1/2 cups water together) lage.com. Beaten Biscuits 1 cup sourdough starter Old Fashioned Fermented 100% 1/3 cup coconut or olive oil There are various methods of pro- Whole Wheat Bread ducing a sourdough starter, including (No yeast or baking powder) Cover bowl with towel and let the use of potatoes: ferment in warm (75-82°F) area for Sourdough potato starter Note: This recipe for making 4 to 8 hours. When fermented, the After boiling several potatoes, pour off the still warm water. Allow to healthy, hearty biscuits is outstand- dough will rise slightly and look cool until lukewarm and add flour to ing. Instead of kneading the dough, well hydrated. Now add more sifted produce a thick batter. Let stand for at it is well-beaten for about 10-15 min- whole-wheat flour, enough to make least 24 hours or until it smells yeasty. utes, made into little biscuits or cut a stiff dough. The starter can be stabilized in the re- thin into crackers or sticks. When the Turn out dough onto board and frigerator. csy book ad bind-in

Countryside & Small Stock Journal, May/June 2014 75 “Quick! Call 911!” I shouted to my wife as the ﬁ re headed towards our barn.

I had been an idiot. If you’ve burned with a It was early spring, but there was still snow on the steel drum, you know the ground so I thought it was safe to burn some paper and problems: brush. What I didn’t realize was that the top of the tall grass was dry. The fi re decided to travel across the top • Poor circulation won’t allow of the grass and head...straight towards my barn! debris to burn completely. Never again would I burn without a barrel, I swore, • Flying embers can ignite as my neighbors gathered to watch the fi re department surrounding combustibles (like bail me out (and save most of my barn). barns and houses). That was years ago, and true to my word, I got a • Drums are heavy to move. 55-gallon drum and used it to dispose of my household burnables and other yard trash and debris. But I hated • Eventually, the drum will rust. how hard it was to get a fi re started in a barrel and,

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Rotten tomatoes

By Je r r i Co o k sheltered intellectuals want so des- The assertion is as sophomoric Co u n t r y s i d e St a f f perately for you to believe, it’s not an as it is unconstitutional. Many large immigration problem. It’s a very dan- companies use employment agencies ’ve made mistakes—big ones, gerous foreign policy problem, and to fill positions in food processing little ones—I’m the master of people like Estabrooks are willing to plants. It is a common practice here all manner of mistake making. stare the problem right in the face, in the U.S. While the hiring processor The good news is that I’m usually but instead of telling the unpleasant has standards that the prospective ableI to find the lesson I’m meant to truth, they point the finger of blame at employee must meet, that company learn from my folly. Such is the case American consumers and American has no say in how the employment this time. My mistake? I took the companies because they’re terrified agency operates. So, how would it advice of a computer program when of two things: 1) being kidnapped pass constitutional muster if Ameri- looking for a good book to read. This and/or killed by the Mexican slave can companies singled out only agen- particular mistake yielded not one, traders who operate in this country cies operated by Mexican nationals but three lessons: 1) never take the with impunity, and 2) being labeled for special scrutiny? advice of a computer program when as culturally insensitive by “activist” By Estabrooks’ own admission, selecting a good read; 2) Just because groups who foster human-trafficking every time an American company or the New York Times slobbers all over an by enabling the Mexican nationals American law enforcement learned author, it doesn’t mean the guy has a who commit horrific crimes against that a Mexican employment agency lick of sense, and 3) listening to it as an other Mexican nationals. was committing abuses, they stepped audio book doesn’t make To m a t o l a n d As I mentioned earlier, Esta- in to correct it. Every time. Yet, Esta- How Modern Industrial Agriculture brooks’ tentativeness is staggering. brooks wants to punish the American Destroyed Our Most Alluring Fruit by He illustrates case upon case of hor- companies with large-scale protests Barry Estabrooks more bearable. rific crimes—everything from actual and boycotts. He makes no mention To m a t o l a n d was one of the sug- kidnapping and selling of Mexican of protesting outside of one of the gestions that showed on my Kindle nationals by other Mexican nationals Mexican employment contractors as I flipped through search results. It to filthy living conditions that in- who have committed documented looked interesting. I like a good, rea- clude rooms filled with lice-infested abuses, many of them observed by soned discussion about our food sys- mattresses and human feces. All of Estabrooks himself. He makes no tem. But that’s not what I got when I this, Estabrooks notes, is happening mention of protesting outside of the downloaded To m a t o l a n d . The entire because of Mexican “employment” Mexican embassy, even though he premise of the piece is bathed in the companies that transport workers openly admits that the bulk of the hu- same tired elitist rhetoric coming from Mexico and other Latin Ameri- man-trafficking problem originates from the trendy Manhattan flats that can countries to the United States there. Why not? Because he’s terri- Estabrooks calls home—Americans to work in chemical soaked fields fied of the repercussions. Mexican are bad. American companies are for next to nothing. So, who does trafficking cartels are notorious for bad. The free market system is bad. Estabrooks hold responsible? The kidnapping and killing Americans You are bad. corrupt Mexican government that who speak up against them. Urging a Perhaps the most disturbing part allows their citizens to be treated this protest or boycott of a Mexican slave of Estabrooks’ whine fest is his abject way? The human trafficking cartels trader could get you killed. Calling and unhidden intellectual timidity that brutally kill both migrant work- for a boycott of an American com- when it comes to the problems faced ers who complain and the American pany? It’s so easy a monkey could by immigrant workers—documented citizens who try to help them? Nope. do it. Maybe he should’ve called it and undocumented. Whatever your Estabrooks blames the American Bananaland. views on immigration, set them companies, claiming that the com- Estabrooks tries to build up the aside for a moment, because con- panies should be responsible for how American activist groups who are trary to what Barry Estabrooks and the Mexican “employment” agencies forced to feed, clothe, and provide his wealthy, guilt-ridden band of operate. medical assistant to the migrant Countryside & Small Stock Journal, May/June 2014 77 workers hired by Mexican “employ- About halfway through the book, You can put a screeching halt to a ment” agencies. He tells his reader I decided to switch to audio book. I large part of the human-trafficking what good work these folks are do- like audio books. Sometimes, a book originating on our southern border ing. But are they helping the victims I didn’t enjoy reading is actually by simply buying less produce from of human trafficking or enabling the entertaining as an audio book. For the chain store and more from an in- exploiters to continue operating with instance, I never really liked Water- dependent grower. Even in the north impunity? Why would the traffickers ship Down. It seemed to lumber, not where only hydroponic growers are spend money to feed, clothe, and care really engaging my imagination. But producing in the winter, there are for these workers when activists, with when I listened to it on audio book, alternatives to grocery stores. Across millions of dollars of taxpayer grant I loved it. There’s something about the country, small groups of people money, will do it for free? being read to that changes the dy- are following a long-established prac- Estabrooks describes with great namic. Unfortunately, it did nothing tice in the Mennonite community. verbosity how some enslaved work- to improve To m a t o l a n d . They’re forming small buyers’ clubs ers have escaped with the help of a Not only does Estabrooks come and food co-ops which send a truck Florida activist group. Their efforts to remarkably wrong conclusions, south once a month to buy produce at saving these workers are noble, he offers no clear suggestions for from non-corporate growers. to be sure, but in the end, the reader change—just the same old “make As far as the deplorable condi- has to ask if these groups aren’t mak- ‘em pay” rhetoric. I can’t in good tions migrant workers are forced to ing the problem worse. According to conscious leave it like that. endure, I have only one question. Estabrooks, when a worker manages Part of what Eastbrooks says is How is it that the government can to escape, they are fed, sheltered, correct. If you’re buying tomatoes spy on me to make sure I’m not sell- provided with medical attention, and or any other fresh produce from ing raw milk, but they can’t monitor then sent right back into the fields to a grocery chain, it has likely been the business practices of employment work. They’re not returned to their grown in a cesspool of dangerous agencies offering to secure work for country with instructions to tell oth- chemicals, planted and harvested by migrant workers? If you figure it out, ers about the abuse they suffered at vulnerable people who are victim- let me know. In the meantime, avoid the hands of their Mexican “employ- ized by Mexican human-trafficking any and all produce on the shelves of ers.” They’re just kicked back into cartels, and transported hundreds, if grocery chains if at all possible, and play in better condition. not thousands, of miles to the shelf. avoid To m a t o l a n d at all costs. r

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Charles, Jesse Mark, and Kimberly love homestead life.

Homesteading in Virginia Bountiful Blessings Farm

By Ki m b e r l y Mi l l s it, but we certainly make use of what warm days come, it’s hard to keep Vi r g i n i a we have. me in the classroom. In January I start I am 23 years old, the youngest of seeds. Lots of seeds. The main crops ’m Kimberly Mills and I live on seven, but now the oldest at home. I grow are a variety of tomatoes and five acres in Virginia with my I am the teacher for 180 days from peppers. I also start broccoli, cauli- Iparents and two adopted brothers, 8:30 a.m. until noon. But when the flower and cabbage. We have five Charles (10), and Jesse Mark (9). We live on a mini mountain, so therefore we work amidst rocks and hills. We do not use all of our five acres because of woods and cliffs covering most of

Seeds are started on the porch before they’re moved under row covers in the garden. Countryside & Small Stock Journal, May/June 2014 79

Chickens are a big part of the homestead for the Miller family.

woodstove for heat. We use TunL- covers (www.Burpee.com, W. Atlee Burpee & Co., 300 Park Ave., Warm- inster, PA 18974; 1-800-888-1447) in the garden when we put early plants in the garden. We sell baked goods at the Appo- mattox Farmers Market April through October. Mom does the baking on her wood cookstove and a gas stove; I make the icing and wrap. During our busiest months we make 20 loaves of bread—white, honey wheat and sourdough; 16 plates of cinnamon rolls; 16 dozen dinner rolls (white and honey wheat); and up to 40 pies. We bake a variety of pies—chocolate chess, coconut, peanut butter, lemon meringue, apple, blueberry, raspberry, cherry, strawberry-rhubarb, sugar-free, and any special orders. Mom also makes butter pound cake, chocolate pound cake, marble pound cake, apple dapple cakes, cookies, and whoopee pies. All of our fruit pies have homemade filling. We also garden spots that we use for us and ers, 12 bantams, one Buff Orpington sell produce, jams and jellies. for market. We grow various types of (Clara Cluck, on nest above, claims We can all of our food for the year, lettuce, spinach, Swiss chard, peas, 12 eggs as “hers”), 25 Cornish Rocks including meats. We sew all of our potatoes, corn, onions, cow peas, for meat, and are waiting on a vari- clothes; Mom enjoys quilting in the lima beans, string beans, squash, ety of other layers and guineas. We winter. We make our own homemade zucchini, eggplant, rhubarb, straw- sell eggs from home and at market lye laundry soap, use kerosene and berries, raspberries, and this year we and are getting $2.50-$3 for a dozen. LP gas lamps, as well as a wringer have added thornless blackberries. I Our chickens are raised in moveable washer. We do not have a tv or radio. will sometimes start cucumbers for coops (chicken tractors). The boys Books are a great activity, if you can a jump-start. This year I am trying have raised two doe goats, which we find time. We sing hymns while we huckleberries. We keep busy with hope to breed soon. Our five ducks work if we want music; or we can pulling weeds! hatched out three ducklings, but un- always listen to the birds. We do not use any harmful chemi- fortunately Mr. Black Snake gobbled The boys’ last project was build- cals, but neither are we organic. I’d them and strangled one mommy ing two moveable chicken coops. I say we are “all natural.” Currently duck. Needless to say, Mr. Black helped and thoroughly enjoyed it. I’m using a fish fertilizer and love it. Snake didn’t enjoy them for long. The next project will be bluebird We also collect extra milk to spray on Our next big purchase will be a houses. the gardens. hoop house. Right now I use our bay We are always busy, here on Boun- We have about 20 Red Comet lay- window to start seedlings, using the tiful Blessings Farm! r 80 The laughter of girls is, and ever was, among the delightful sounds of earth. — De Quincey Country neighbors: she and I made dirt cake for dessert, which turned out delicious. (Ed. note: This is a chocolate cake, usually styled to look like a dirt bucket.) Afterwards, we took a ride through the woods and I Friends meet through remember her saying that Louisiana had so many trees. I suppose I’m not used to a comment like that because Co u n t r y s i d e I have been around wooded areas my whole life. It made me wonder what By Sh a n n a h O’Qu i n , a g e 23, Lo u i s i a n a the scenery looks like in the part of California she lives in. I suppose that y dearest friend and I did The next day we went to Honey means it is my turn to visit her next not meet in grade school, Island Swamp and she was able to and ride her horse, Cherokee. Though Mthrough church, or even in see alligators up close for the first she is from California, she is a regular person. Our friendship started and time and learn about swamp life. I cowgirl! grew between a distance of 2,294 remember it poured rain right at the That last night we stayed awake miles by means of a pen, paper, and end of our tour and everyone raced until the early hours of the next day, U.S. postal stamps. My grandmother to find shelter, but Gabrielle actually trying to fit in as much bonding time knew I had wanted a penpal for a while and was excited to inform me when she came across penpal ads in Co u n t r y s i d e . Reading through all the ads, I came across Gabrielle from California and decided to write her. It wasn’t long before I received a reply and here we are a decade later still corresponding! Through the years we always wrote about how neat it would be to meet someday, but I always imagined it happening at a much older age. However, early in 2013, Gabrielle mentioned to me that she may be going to Tennessee that summer, and it may be possible that she could fly to Louisiana the week before. After further planning, everything fell per- Shannah (above left) and Gabrielle indulge in a beignet, a fectly into place and New Orleans treat, and tour the swamps, left. her flight landed at Louis Armstrong enjoyed it, saying as we could before having to take her New Orleans Inter- it doesn’t rain that to the airport. Before leaving, we both national Airport on much in California. opened our very first letters to each July 10, 2013. Needless to say, she other and read them. It was so neat T h a t d a y w e took her time “es- to recall the letters that started our picked her up and caping” the rain. friendship. gave her a tour of the French Quarter, On her last day before having It may not be a common way for a rode through Bourbon Street, and to leave, we went shopping around friendship to start and grow, but I am grabbed a beignet at Café Du Monde. Bogalusa, Louisiana. I knew she was truly blessed to have met her in such Crossing over the 24-mile causeway looking for something with a fleur- a unique way through Co u n t r y s i d e , I recall us taking pictures of the sun- de-lis on it, so we went to McMillan’s and finally be able to meet in person set over Lake Pontchartrain and she Nursery and found cute earrings after so many years. I am positive was amazed at how long the bridge and some postcards by artist Tabitha we will meet again and I am looking is. That night we dined at Outback Steele. Later that evening we had a big forward to several more decades of Steakhouse in Covington before ar- barbeque and invited several family correspondence with my best friend, riving home. members over to meet her. Together, Gabrielle. r Countryside & Small Stock Journal, May/June 2014 81 Equipment that works as hard as you do. Remove Stumps FAST and EASY! ELIMINATE Landscape Eyesores with a DR® STUMP GRINDER. • EXPAND lawn areas. • OPEN UP ﬁ elds and meadows. • BLAZE new trails. • REMOVE mowing hazards.

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Operation “Cowbegone”

By Ke n Da v i s

t was time. They had grown on our good grass and hay for two years, and their day had come. Christo- Ipher and Columbus were headed to slaughter. Operation “Cowbegone” was a great success! It all started after dark with mud 10 inches deep, Christo- pher and Columbus (the beefs), a borrowed cattle trailer (tags two years out of date as a Pike County Sheriff was so kind to point out), our Chevy pick-up, the tractor, Deb (my wife), Ron (our cattle partner), cattle gates and Old Milwaukee beer! After he got off work (hence the dusky sky) Ron took our pick-up to collect the borrowed cattle trailer while Deb and I prepared the tractor and barn for Christopher and Columbus’s mentum is the key! Well, things were not happening at last evening with us (on four legs that is). the rear of the barn (while Christopher and Columbus The challenge was the ground wasn’t really ground, were watching us with wonder), so I took the trailer it was a sea of squishy mud that saturated my regular through the backyard across the old cattle fence we had work boots and forced me to extreme measures by yet to clear out and guess what? I got the tractor hung putting on my military “Mickey Mouse” extreme cold up on the old fencing and I had to stop (not good) and weather boots (which are probably the best boots ever wait until Deb and Ron cut the fence and hauled it out made for cold squishy environments), and reconnoiter- of the way. I got the three ring circus moving again and ing the environment for the trailer either at the front of took it through the backyard, around the end of the the barn or the rear of the barn through the sea of mud. house and back to the driveway, leaving ruts that we For the past several weeks, we had moved them out now trip over with every trip to the barn. I was afraid of their pasture and had them confined to their own the tractor and borrowed trailer were going to end up comfy stall out of the weather with fresh water and all as permanent landscape fixtures until spring because the hay they could ever want (I even left the barn light the mud was so deep. on at night so they could keep up on their reading after his time, I tried backing the circus up to the front the sun goes down). Uncomfortable with the truck Tof the barn and we considered ourselves blessed in the mud, the tractor was clearly the best choice to the tractor/trailer didn’t get stuck. However, the guid- handle this chore. ance was a challenge because the trailer was floating o, when Ron returned (and darkness had fallen on the mud and still going wherever it wanted to go. I Sfully), we hooked up the trailer to the tractor and got the thing situated close enough to the barn that we off I went around the barn to the back where I discov- could extend gating around it to make a chute to get ered that the mud was just a bit deeper there than we the cows through. After arranging the gating and the had anticipated, and another puzzling phenomenon swing gate on the trailer, the challenge of convincing appeared. The trailer pretty much went wherever it Christopher and Columbus they really wanted to load wanted with total disregard for where I wanted it to themselves onto the trailer began. go; I ended up driving all over the area trying to get Deb was armed with a bucket of sweet feed and that thing going straight and not stuck in the mud. Mo- shaking the bucket convincingly to get the cows’ inter- Countryside & Small Stock Journal, May/June 2014 83 est. Christopher was the first to go and with her drib- apologized for not noticing the tag. He told me that if bling the feed and holding the bucket under his nose, anyone asks, I’m up from Kentucky. They must have he was fairly easy to lure onto the trailer. We ushered some exemption from re-registering cattle trailers in him to the front and closed the divider and presto, Kentucky. loaded cow! On a positive note, we have two less mouths to feed olumbus was a different story. He wasn’t as gull- and Angus beef in the freezer! Yum! r Cible as Christopher and wasn’t having anything to do with it. (Did I mention it was dark?) Anyway, with flashlights and thumbs (thumbs are the only reason why we were loading them and not the other way around), Columbus finally decided the entice- ment of sweet feed was sufficient and stepped onto the Capture Your trailer. Unbeknownst to Deb, Ron had tied the swing door open with a ratchet strap, and she couldn’t get it unhooked in the dark fast enough for Columbus, who Countryside... decided to leave. Ron kept him between his pen and Co u n t r y s i d e is proud to present an on-going the trailer while Deb loosened the door. Then she had photo contest. Send us photos from your home- to hold it to keep it from opening wide and letting him stead—livestock, grandchildren, garden, barn, loose in the yard. He finally decided our poking and etc.—and we may share it with Co u n t r y s i d e read- prodding to get on a strange trailer wasn’t happening, ers! Each issue’s “Featured Photo” will receive a and he tried valiantly yet futilely to escape—he tried FREE Co u n t r y s i d e t-shirt! to hurdle the gate right at my spot and thank heavens I E-mail your photo(s) as jpeg attachment(s) to was able to keep the gate from moving because he was [email protected] with “Capture Your just inches away from knocking it down and going on Countryside” in the subject line, be sure to include a walkabout forevermore. Finally, we convinced him your name, mailing address, phone number and a the trailer was the only way to go and got that door brief description. Or mail photo(s), including your shut with him secured in the trailer! Yeah! Drinks all name, mailing address, phone number and a brief around! description, to “Capture Your Countryside,” 145 I was able to maneuver the tractor/trailer to solid Industrial Drive, Medford, WI 54451. See page 96. ground where we unhooked the tractor from the trailer Any photos received will become the property of Countryside and hooked up the truck again, and off we went to the Publications and can be used at anytime. Countryside Publications retains the right to publish and/or reproduce any and all photos sub- hamburger factory. This is the reason why small farm mitted in future issues or publicity, with or without mention of source. raised beef and pork is so good—it’s the challenge of getting animals who know where they are going, and who are used to being petted and kept, onto the trailers and getting them to the processors intact. Don’t forget—thumbs! The critters are often smarter than we Countryside Publications give them credit for and will find a way to outsmart you every time. Thumbs make the difference! Fundraising Program ack to the polite Deputy Sheriff. We were taking Bthe moos to the burger production facility about 4 magazines to sell to make money 20 miles away, and I noticed a car traveling a little too for your club or organization! close to the trailer. He dogged me for several miles and then slowly went around me and kept at my truck The magazine of modern homesteading The Voice of the Independent Flockmasters bumper for a while. From there I could see the light & Small Stock Journal sheep! May/June, 2010

bar and knew he was a local deputy sheriff. After a bit Volume 31, Number 3 Hogs “ • NO deadlines on the tF l e ” BIG Demand Homestead For Your Wool? (probably long enough to run our plates), he took off pg. 50 Breeds That Pay Solar Panels: Onions: Truffles Their Way pg. 42 • NO inventory Buy or Build? of the Poor and we continued on our journey. This was puzzling Double Your Acre-Yields Volume 5, Number 4 With Managed Grazing Plus:August/September, 2010 pg. 34 • Gardening with “tanks” Backyard• The trouble with twins • Surviving from the land . for sure, as I know I was a good five miles under the • NO risks and much, much, more inside..

small-flock poultry $4.99 U.S. www.sheepmagazine.com PoultryDedicated to more and better Plus: • Quick Ways To Make Good Money With She ep • USDA Treachery Pro ved! speed limit. All trailer lights were working so there and much more insid • NO hidden costs Dairy Goat Journale... A Dream Realized Vol. 90 No. 1, January/February 2012 Started with the Coop was no problem there. We got the moos to the facility, CAE Prevention • NO deliveries for Identify and Foil & Management dropped them off and headed back home. a Poultry Predator Is Essential Lessons from Living with you to make! Guinea Fowl The Best Dairy Udders: I pulled into a gas station for some gas and pulled Breed Focus in This Issue: White Serama Sound & Functional Phoenix Long Tail Bronze Turkey Silver Appleyard TrainDuck Your Goat up right behind a Sheriff cruiser. I asked Ron to go in, $4.99 US www.backyardpoultrymag.com to Pull a Cart!

Plus: pay the cashier and politely ask the deputy to move his • Can goats reduce poverty? • Visit Misty Meadow Dairy • Be a good breeder And much, much more inside! car before we left. The deputy comes out, recognizes . . the rig and tells me the trailer tag had expired two Contact Kelly Weiler for details: years prior. I explained about the borrowed trailer and 1-800-551-5691 • [email protected] 84 No persons are more frequently wrong, than those who will not admit they are wrong. — Rochefoucauld Country neighbors:

Revisiting self-reliance

By Da w n Ba l d w i n universe is full of good, no kernel of ering his voice for effect: “Once your nourishing corn can come to him but Self has claimed its authentic home, hen I was 16, I fell in love through his toil bestowed on that plot celebrate, grieve not. Resist the siren with Ralph Waldo Emer- of ground which is given to him to call of conventionality and the safer Wson. till. The power which resides in him drudgery it promises. Your trust in You think I’m kidding? Oh no. I is new in nature, and none but he conformity is what restrains you. It would never speak lightly of such knows what that is which he can do, is the barometer of your self-defined passion. Yes, it was 1982. And yes, nor does he know until he has tried.” failure. Leave it behind, as the hair Ralph died in 1882, but no matter. --Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1841 your mother cut from your brow so He had that je ne sais quoi that makes If we met over tea, how would he you might see!” a long-dead philosopher irresistible respond when I quoted his 173-year- With all due apologies for put- to a teenage girl. This teenage girl. I old words back to him? What would ting words in his mouth, I can’t help appreciated Henry David Thoreau, he say to a woman on a remote Al- but imagine him “getting” me. Old but Emerson’s bombast I found, in legheny mountaintop farm in 2014? infatuations die hard. retrospect, frankly sexier. A woman struggling with many of And the fact is, I might not be In Humanities class, when I the practical survival issues well- here on this mountain ridge if I’d learned that Socrates wrote: “The known to the 19th century, coupled never read the words he penned unexamined life is not worth living,” with something nearly as insidious over a century and a half ago. Words I couldn’t contain my relief. Perhaps and unstoppable as a plague of small that have never ceased to remind I wasn’t crazy after all! Then I met pox: The expectation of electrons- me I’m not alone, even as they prod Emerson, my Ralph Waldo, and noth- on-demand, of pumps that move me never, never-ever to settle for the ing’s been the same since. water at the flip of a distant switch, well-traveled road. Emerson said things I barely dared of worldwide communication at Looking back, it’s pretty clear think. He said: “Know thyself: Every the click of a piece of plastic called I was destined to find him. Grow- heart vibrates to that iron string.” a mouse. ing up in post-MLK-assassination “Society everywhere is in conspiracy I imagine his bemusement at the Memphis, the daughter of parents against the manhood of every one of peculiarities of my plight. But even who established a hazardous waste its members.” “Whoso would be a more, I feel his nodding recognition recycling business in the heart of the man would be a nonconformist.” of my struggle with Expectation and African-American ghetto, I learned I was certain he intended “man” its corrosive impact on my sense of early not to define what I was capable to be inclusive of “woman.” After all, Self. He wouldn’t take any of his old of. Which is to say, I learned not to put he hung out with Emily Dickinson words back, not for a moment. But an arbitrary limit on it. Limits didn’t and Louisa May Alcott. Wherever what would he say? matter. Coping with the situation was Ralph wrote “man” I assumed him to “The woman who stakes claim what mattered. Enduring was what be speaking, unequivocally, to me. to a mountaintop and endeavors to mattered. And my favorite essay, the essay carve her life upon that rocky earth This is not to say that everything that spoke most clearly to the girl would do better to build an Ark and I’ve endeavored since has been a trying to rationalize the profoundly wait for the Flood than expect the roaring success. It is to say that once conflicted external realities of her life solace of regular society to carry you’ve learned early that there’s with a blooming sense of iconoclasm, her away from the Self she seeks. no point in limiting what you can was “Self Reliance.” The valley and the ridge are joined endure, then there’s little sense in “There is a time in every man’s by the land between them, each rod limiting what you can attempt. education when he arrives at the of which, once advanced, cannot Trite as it might sound 173 years conviction that envy is ignorance; be foresworn save by the liar or the after RWE wrote it: How does one that imitation is suicide; that he must fool!” Can you hear it? know what it is she can do until she take himself for better, for worse, as Warming to the subject, he might has tried? This 47-year-old woman, his portion; that though the wide lean forward over our teacups, low- like that girl who first read RWE 30+ Countryside & Small Stock Journal, May/June 2014 85 Introducing the DR® Tow-Behind Trimmer/Mowers. NEW FOR 2014!

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Try a DR® at Home 83247X © 2014 FREE SHIPPING for 6 Months! DRtrimmer.com/tow FOR A LIMITED TIME. 86 A man who is ignorant of foreign languages is ignorant of his own. — Goethe years ago, sees little point in living life sheltered from the discovery of what she can do. I also know something else, taught me with incomparable efficiency by my Memphis childhood. There is no certificate of competency, no graduate degree, no class grade that would somehow qualify me for living here, on this Allegheny Mountain. No im- primatur from an ultimate authority that would give me special dispensa- tion in dealing with the weather or the wilderness or the wild animals or the manifest difficulties of off-grid life. To be sure, various societal authorities have endowed me with their seal of approval, but unless backed by my personal integrity, my steadfast belief in my ability to see it through, of what worth is such a seal? It is worth nothing. When snow falls and the generator stops working and there is no communication with the outside world short of a 15 mile drive, no diploma is gonna bail me out. No government agency or local Country neighbors: utility either. I’m on my own. Left to my own wits and my own, perhaps, previously untapped capacities. Capacities I must be willing to tap. Fearlessly so. A matter of time This was RWE’s most important point. What society authorizes you to By Te r r y Ri d g w a y do is one thing. Societal authoriza- Te x a s tion creates a feedback mechanism that I would call “co-dependence.” Introduction: (RWE might call it conformance.) In My arrival in the country was the goal I had worked for all my life. Some may society, you can only do what you wonder why a goal is so difficult to reach when it appears everyone is trying to climb do if you’re authorized a priori from higher and higher to achieve their goal, never asking themselves when they will an external authority. Such authority recognize they have reached the top. I believe the “top” is a mental image produced must continue to support you in what by the imagination of each individual. Some will never reach this plateau because you do in order for you to continue to they refuse to stop the climb. I was one of the lucky ones; I stopped climbing and believe you are worthy and capable knew I had arrived. of doing it. When I first moved to this property 41 years ago, I was still “city” and it took What you can do by pushing years of hard labor, heartaches and backache for me to arrive to the point that I knew yourself to find out if you, indeed, I no longer was considered “city,” I had paid my dues. can do it (regardless what the outside authorities say) creates a different pring was coming and I was already planning what I was going to plant sort of feedback loop. in the garden. I would visualize the rows of beans, onions, lettuce, rad- I really don’t think RWE would Sishes, beets, broccoli, cabbages, carrots and potatoes would go in. The mind if I call it Self Reliance. r thought of taking these to the county fair and they being judged the finest in every category, made me realize I had a long way to go before I could take Dawn Baldwin owns and operates anything into the house, much less to a fair. Brightside Acres, a small organic farm First I had to get rid of all the Johnson grass. It was about four feet high on a mountain in Pocahontas County, and covered the entire garden. Under the grass I could see lots of rocks and West Virginia. knew they too, would have to be removed. People had told me not to cut the Countryside & Small Stock Journal, May/June 2014 87 grass because it would come up again Later in the week I started look- front of the first pile of rocks. I had from the roots. You were to pull up ing at the largest garden tractor done it. I knew how to back a trac- each piece by hand and get the root on the market. I asked all kinds of tor and trailer. Why it was so hard, out of the ground. I found a piece of questions; this was going to be an I never understood. It had taken me old carpet and went out one Saturday important piece of equipment for me all day to accomplish this and the morning. Right where I entered the and I wanted to make sure I bought only way I would justify the time garden through the gate was where what I needed. I talked to some of spent was to remind myself I had to I laid the carpet to sit on. This was my men friends about tractors. The learn all by myself. If I could figure where I had to start, since the rest one I decided on was large, but it that out, I decided I could figure looked like a jungle. I started pulling handled easily and I was assured a anything out. Little did I know at the grass and after about an hour I woman could operate it. I also bought that moment all the figuring I had got to my feet and looked ahead to a trailer, which could be attached in my future. what was in front of me. This was to the back with a disc, plow and Once I got the trailer into the my first mistake, because the amount cultivator. garden I found it necessary to use of weeds appeared to be the same as he morning the tractor was de- my bucket again. This time I filled it was an hour ago. I learned a very Tlivered, I had been waiting, it from my rock piles and dumped valuable lesson. When pulling weeds, seemed, for hours. The deliveryman them into the trailer. I was repeating I could never look forward; always showed me how to start it, where the what had already taken me weeks to look behind, then I could see what brake and clutch were, and how to do. After the trailer was full (the tires I had already accomplished. That attach all the extra pieces of equip- would be nearly flat on the ground), I satisfaction gave me the energy to ment I had purchased. When he left would drive out into the pasture and continue to move forward. I attached the trailer and headed for remove all the rocks with a shovel. I carried this lesson over to my the garden. I was going to move the On one of my many trips I tried to job in the city, for no matter how rocks out of there so I could start figure how many rocks I was actually much work accumulated, I never planting before spring was over. moving from one place to another. I got upset. Once you get started, just As I approached the gate opening stopped and got a pencil and paper always look behind at what you have to the garden I realized I needed to and started adding. The garden was accomplished, knowing that it was back in so I would not run over all 75' x 75' and I had piles about every just a matter of time and you would my piles. I turned the tractor around eight feet, so I had roughly nine piles be finished. I tried to convey this to so the trailer was lined up with the in the front and nine down the side, other employees, but I decided if gate opening and started backing. added together gave 81 piles of rock. they had never pulled the amount Several times I nearly knocked down There were five buckets in each pile, of Johnson grass I had, there was no the post holding the gate, since the estimating a bucket held about 50 way for them to understand what I trailer wouldn’t back straight. After rocks. So, 50 x 81 piles came to just was talking about. trying to back up for over an hour over 4,000 rocks. Since I picked them fter I had pulled all the Johnson I was exhausted and knew I would up once to put them into piles, and Agrass (which took me about never get that trailer into the garden. now I was picking them up again to four weeks), I was ready to tackle I drove out into the large pasture move them to the pasture gave me the rocks. There were so many rocks and climbed down off the tractor. I a total of 8,000 rocks with my hand- you could barely see the dirt. I started picked up some rocks I had brought prints on them. picking up the rocks in a bucket, and out from the garden and laid out hen I went to work after a when the bucket was full I would what I thought were the dimensions Wweekend off I was always walk out in the pasture and empty it. of the garden gate and the size of the so thankful no one asked me what After several trips, I realized this was path I was going to back into. All I had done the previous two days. not the way to do it. I would be piling afternoon I kept practicing, and I dis- I think if I ever mentioned I moved rocks for years. I decided I would fill covered if I turned the steering wheel 8,000 rocks they probably would the bucket and then dump the rocks in the opposite direction of where I have thought I moved one too many. in a pile. Each pile would have five wanted the trailer to go, I could back What I did at home I never shared buckets in it, and then I would move up through my gate opening. Why with those at work. If they didn’t on and start another pile. The only this took me so long to figure out, I live in the country there was no problem was that after I had picked don’t know. I headed back to the gar- way I could explain my weekend all the rocks, I had 81 piles to move. I den and the gate. I lined the tractor activities. They were “city” and I was decided this would require a wheel- and trailer up with the opening, put “country.” barrow, and after filling it about half the tractor in reverse and started my Sometimes, looking backwards is full (2/3 of a pile), I pushed it out backward entrance into the garden. the only way to move forward. I had into the pasture. After the first trip I went straight through the opening, given so much of myself, but I had I knew I couldn’t move all of the missing the piles of rock that were received a beautiful life in return, and piles, I needed help—machine help. on each side and stopped exactly in one I will always treasure. r 88 Insanity destroys reason, but not wit. — Emmons Country neighbors: A smile comes to my face when was a wonderful time to be a boy. I think of one misguided excursion Trapping small critters remained that brought us face to face with the a hobby for a number of years. I was law. It was our common practice, at a kind hearted, loved animals, and rather tender age of 10 or 11, to take saw them as pets, not captured wild Growing our rim fire .22 rifles into the woods animals. A chipmunk I placed in a in search of rabbits and ruffed grouse. wire cage in the basement would The legal age being 14, our youthful surely become my friend. I remember looks and demeanor caught the atten- going over to the local grocery store, up rural tion of a passing state patrol car one owned by the parents of one of my day. It went something like this: friends, and asking for cast away A state patrol car, rounding a bend orange crates; wooden orange crates in the highway, came to a quick halt had just the right type of lumber in the on seeing us young boys with rifles required to make an old-fashioned in hand crossing the highway. Like box trap. Add a few small nails, some wild snowshoe rabbits, scurrying into screen, and youthful ingenuity and the brush to escape a predator, we a very nice trap would be born. A 1950s scrap of hard bread is all that was ran as fast as our young legs would By Mi k e Di s h n o w carry us up into the woods. We did needed for bait and chipmunks and Wi s c o n s i n not stop until we had crossed the first squirrels abounded in the rocks and pole line, deep in the woods in our strip of trees and brush bordering the he little village of Michigamme, in young minds. Like bunnies, we hid highway. When school was in session the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, in the thickest thicket we could find I would come home and go down to Twas a wonderful place for a boy to and waited. When all was quiet and check my traps, not uncommonly grow up in the 1950s. Many a venture it was obvious that our pursuers had finding a squirrel or chipmunk. My we embarked on, all of them outside not taken to the chase, or had given mother would lobby for their release in nature. There were no computers it up, we went on our merry way in after a few days as I became disil- or electronic games to play. quest of small game. We laughed and lusioned that they were not happy In the farming country, where congratulated ourselves on our fleet- in my care. We would make the five- Finnish immigrants had attempted ness and woods skills; there is a glory mile drive to our lake cottage and to farm in the early 1900s, lying in being young and male. release them there. just beyond the west end of Lake nother friend of ours, crossing ake Michigamme, a beautiful Michigamme, ran the Spruce River. Athe highway, in the same time- Lstretch of water nearly eight miles A friend of mine had an uncle who frame, was not so lucky. He was long and seven miles at its widest lived on an old farm that was near not as skittish and did not run when point, was only a couple of blocks this stream. Across the 40 behind the same patrol car spotted him. He from my house. We learned to swim the barn, a trail led to this wonder earned a ride in the squad car to at an early age and spent innumer- with native Brook Trout lurking in his house, and a stern talk ensued able hours down at the lake. The its shadows and under the banks. with his mother present. His mother men in town placed a swimming The Spruce River was a favorite promised to bring up the issue with dock off shore for the town kids destination in those preadolescent her husband when he returned from and we frolicked and dove from days when we had not yet discovered work that evening and placed the this floating platform at all hours girls. A good day wading over the rifle in the closet. Our friend said he of the day and into the evening. rocks and through the mud flats of wasted a whole hour that afternoon ot far from the swimming dock the Spruce trumped all. These were waiting for his mother to allow him Nwas an old airplane dock at- the finest days of our youth. to venture out with the rifle again. tached to the shore. This dock was These were the years of roaming On returning home that evening his permanently placed and was there “the hills” across U.S. 41 from the father admonished him to “wise up” waiting for us in the spring, unlike town. We tramped into the wild and and look both ways before stepping the swimming dock that was taken stopped at the first pole line (electric) on the shoulder of the highway. up in the fall. A real feat of manhood until we matured in our woods navi- In those days, we read books was to be the first to brave the cold gation to the point that we ventured about Roy Rogers, Gene Autry and waters in late May or early June. on to the second pole line and be- Red Ryder, roamed the woods of I remember psyching myself up, yond. Both pole lines paralleled U.S. Kentucky with Daniel Boone, and running to the dock’s edge, never Highway 41 north of Michigamme. I served at the Alamo with Davy stopping and cascading into the very lived on Railroad Street, which was Crocket. Television had not arrived cold water. I would begin clawing a good stone’s throw south of the in Michigamme and video games had for the surface the moment my body highway. not replaced Monopoly and cards. It streaked underwater and setting some Countryside & Small Stock Journal, May/June 2014 89 kind of speed record reaching and Country neighbors: breaching that dock. It was jolting. e cavorted and schemed and Wplayed summer, fall, winter, and spring in the hills and forests surrounding our little town. Sum- Super fly mer usually brought the construction season and most years a new and improved hut would appear Saturday up in the hills. Most were of simple lean-to construction made with saplings and the nails we pilfered By Ca s s a n d r a A. Jo h n s o n consumption and of course, stock from our garages and basements piling by canning all summer long. at home. We often lined the insides he hardest thing I have to do each I was blessed one summer to stay at with cardboard from old boxes out- day is to leave the farm to go to home on the farm and farm. It was a side the local grocery store only to Twork. You see, the farm wraps me happy summer that clearly identified be disappointed after the first good in great comfort beyond explanation. to me the need to hold an off-the-farm rain storm. Our disappointment was I bask in its beauty and splendor, its job for now. The day will come when usually fleeting as by then we were quiet comfort and rhythm. we are both here every day to manage on to a new location, further back in Now, this Saturday morning, one the farm tasks. the woods or a new endeavor entirely. of the few that I have off, I can watch Today I am not at work but omewhere along the line someone, the farm while I get a few household snuggled in old stained jeans, my feet Slikely my grandfather, Old Mike, chores done. The cattle are out graz- wrapped in hubby’s thick socks for taught me about snaring rabbits. Not ing on a hay bale in the gentle falling added warmth. We both don frayed only was this illegal, many of our lo- snow. I watch them from the kitchen and stained shirts covered with cal men kept beagle dogs to hunt the window while I hand wash the morn- sweatshirts colored with swatches swamps for bunnies. They abhorred ing dishes. Their backs covered with of spilled bleach or paint. If I venture snares because they feared the small white. One stubborn dairy goat doe outside today I will climb into my beagle dogs would fall victim. This is in the thick of the group. She will muck boots. Not only are these boots did not deter me. It only made me not miss out on her share of the hay, perfect for farm chores, but they are more conscious of where I set the although she was given some in the ideal for snowdrifts. Our clothes snares; I kept away from the swamps pole barn with the other goats. The remind us of days past, scrubbing, where I knew the men hunted. Again, remaining does stay in the barn out of scraping, and cleaning animal hous- there was the strip of brush near U.S. the wet cold stuff. The outside group ing or tending to livestock births or Highway 41. I did not enjoy the suc- also contains two donkeys: Jack and wounds. We look like raga-muffins, cess with snaring that I had come to Jenny, of course. And Jack gives and so do our farming neighbors expect as a result of my prowess with warning bucks and stomps with his and friends. Perhaps this dress is a box traps. None-the-less, the day did back legs when the others get too common uniform among those who come when I caught my first snow- close to his portion of hay. farm. shoe hare. Proud as punch I walked I must leave nearly every day to a Of course I rescued a dog from the up the street, rabbit, still in the snare, job that I am so lucky to have and that shelter. We already had two dogs. The hanging from my hand, a bunch suits me well. I am currently work- first, a sweet and gentle beagle called of friends in tow. My mom nearly ing at the local county animal shelter. Penny, the dog I always wanted as had a heart attack. “Why don’t we When I am there, I am delighted to be a child. The second dog, a hyper simply announce your success in the taking care of the lost and abandoned and loyal blue heeler named Bandit, Daily Mining Journal?” she quipped. dogs and cats. It is hard to leave the which I desired after buying the farm. I wonder if the kids now days shelter when the day is done, hard And the third, a comedian and a ever venture down to the strip of to say good night to those adoring Heinz 57 named Joc. My boss caught trees near the highway, let alone faces. But I do drive home quickly. the renegade who was on the run as a into the wilds north of the highway. It is always so good to be back on stray. It took two weeks and a female I suppose the critters are happier in the farm. dog that lived in town near a French their native environment than in the We both work to support the feed restaurant for my boss to finally catch basements of Michigamme in small bill, the equipment repair bills and all up with him. Still doing dishes, I homemade cages. But, I suspect the other incidentals that are ongo- watch as Joc, a yellow retriever mix, that I have remembered those days ing to the farm. We grow 200 tomato bounces through the snowdrifts like and happy times much longer than plants and 70 green pepper plants in a deer and heads over to the grazing today’s kids will remember the latest the spring in two plastic high tunnels. group of livestock. Through the cattle Our 75 x 65 garden is for our own panels he barks relentlessly trying video game. r 90 Language was given us that we ight say pleasant things to eacch other. — Boveem to tease them all, to no avail. Joc has The shelves are full of super early to- barked and teased them too often for mato seedlings. The light in this room them to take any notice at all. Joc does is perfect. Perfect for watching the his best to keep things interesting on morning sun wake up the barnyard the farm every day. and perfect for sewing and growing After paying the farm bills and vegetable seedlings. The dining table doing a couple loads of laundry, it’s is an oval one in the middle which no surprise to my husband, as he seats four to six people, and in the comes in out of the cold, that we will corner opposite my sewing worksta- lunch on egg salad sandwiches and tion is a small desk with the comput- coffee. The chickens have been layer. Farm bookkeeping is done there ing overtime and won’t stop. After a or, while I sew, my husband comes in couple of years of not having enough out of the cold to warm up and play eggs to sell our customers, I finally some rounds of Solitaire—often with came up with a good group of hens a beagle on his lap. While I sew, the that lay religiously every day. We two other canines lounge lovingly at keep a heat lamp on during the cold our feet. Once I piece and sew some winter months but have turned off of my quilt together, I must gingerly their light in an attempt to reduce this step amongst our dog buddies to get mass production of eggs during these to the ironing board. Again, I don’t shorter days. They haven’t let up yet know how this all started, but ap- and so I give dozens away at work parently everyone around here likes and cook with eggs constantly. totes in several loads of wood and the sound of the sewing machine Because the farmhouse we bought distributes a nice amount of debris humming along. came with its own supply of house- throughout the house. Now I know, Beyond the view of the pasture, flies, I must now vacuum the floors I could have waited to vacuum, but out this window, I can see the snow and windowsills. The floors get this seems to be our special ritual. swirling down and piling up in the swept or vacuumed because the dogs And so I put on a smile and my coat hayfield. Our neighbor owns the field are constantly shedding, but the win- to help gather in a few armloads of but lets us make some of our much- dowsills get vacuumed for the flies. I wood for the woodstoves in the bed- needed hay on it. Quiet and beautiful, have tried to no avail to get the flies room and living room. After all, we pristine and magical, sometimes a to relocate. The house is more than do live on a farm and some hay, dog small herd of deer or flock of turkeys 100 years old with windows that hair, wood chips and dirt on the floor will mosey on through on their way were installed perhaps 25 years ago. is expected. At least I can vouch that it to the state forest that meets at the Oh, they are big name, double paned is clean under all that. I am excitedly hay field’s edge. windows, but I suspect the instal- waiting to sew the whole time we tote At 4:00, a few lights start getting lation could have been better. The in the wood. turned on; we are still seeing more sunny window frames harbor nests I have nothing to show for it, but I snow than sun. Not much sewing and after trying every remedy known love to piece quilts. For some reason, I has gotten done yet, but my husband to man, I have given up my battle keep giving the quilts away once they leaves the computer to suit up with a with the flies. Instead of fighting are completed. While I am putting couple more layers of clothing to go with them, I have removed the win- a quilt together, I think of someone feed and water the menagerie. I now dow screens and open the window out of the clear blue and while I am must start the process of cooking our to let them out! Our old farmhouse sewing I realize this quilt belongs to supper and start a fire in the wood- sits smack dab in the middle of our them. Today I am on the last border stove in our bedroom. It was a good little 10-acre farm. The only thing on of a quilt that will be sent to my sister Saturday off. I know underneath the it that doesn’t have poop on it is the in Montana who will do the quilting hay and chips of wood, the floor is driveway. In the spring my husband with her long arm machine, and then clean and we have plenty of wood will haul poop across the driveway it will go to my 93-year-old father, to help keep us warm. Although the to the garden and the hayfield, so it who is in a nursing home in Florida. clothes on our backs are stained, the too will have poop on it soon. My I can’t wait to send it to him! laundry is done and is cleaner than husband has reminded me that with I don’t recall when the tradi- it looks. It feels so good to be home two barnyards, the chicken coop, the tion started or how, but sewing has and on the farm. And right now, as turkeys, a pigpen and the pastures become a family affair. My sewing I stand at the sink under the kitchen that surround the farmhouse; this fly machine sits on a portable table in window and scrub last year’s dirt off issue is to be expected. the corner of the dining room for the a garden dug potato, when I look up After I empty the vacuum canister same reason we installed three rows to look out, I see only one fly in my on to the compost pile, my husband of shelving onto the window frames. kitchen window. r 91 Countryside & Small Stock Journal, May/June 2014 91 Equipment that works as hard as you do.

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Try a DR® at Home Call for a FREE DVD and Catalog! for 6 Months! Includes product speciﬁ cations and factory-direct offers. SHIPPING TOLL Call for details. FREE 888-213-0395 92 Since we cannot get what we like, let us like what we can get. — Spanish Proverb throughout May. Mars remains in cal conditions. Tornadoes, floods or Virgo, visible in the south well after prolonged periods of soggy pasture Poor Will’s dark. Jupiter stays in Gemini as the are likely to occur within the follow- evening star throughout May, fol- ing windows: May 3–14 and May Co u n t r y s i d e lowing Orion into the sunset. Saturn 17–24. travels with Libra into the far west at dawn until May 10. After the 10th, it The Ephemeris for June Almanack is visible in the evening, rising in the east and moving along the southern The Phases of the Cherry Pie Moon ~ for ~ and the Cicada Moon horizon. June 2: Apogee: The moon’s weak- est position, farthest from Earth Late Spring The Stars June 5: The Cherry Pie Moon en- The corn and soybean planting ters its second quarter at 3:39 p.m. & star, Arcturus, is reaching toward the June 12: The moon is full at 11:11 center of the sky before midnight, p.m. Early Summer watching over the final seeding of June 14: Perigee: The moon’s most those field crops for the year. When powerful position, closest to Earth 2014 Arcturus lies in the west after dark, June 19: The moon enters its final corn will be just about ready to be cut quarter at 1:39 p.m. for silage. When Arcturus appears on June 27: The Cicada Moon is new By W. L. Fe l k e r the eastern horizon before dawn, it at 3:09 a.m. will be time to bring in all the rest of June 30: Apogee The summer winds is sniffin’ round the the corn and the soybeans. bloomin’ locus’ trees; The Sun’s Progress And the clover in the pasture is a big day The Shooting Stars Summer solstice for 2014 occurs fer the bees, The Eta Aquarids are active on on June 21, at 6:51 a.m. EDT. The sun And they been a-swiggin’ honey, above May 5 and 6. Find them after mid- enters the middle summer sign of board and on the sly, night in Aquarius above the south- Cancer at the same time. eastern horizon. The dark moon Tel they stutter in theyr buzzin’ and should favor meteor viewing, and stagger as they fly. the early morning of May 5 should The Planets — James Whitcomb Riley Venus keeps its position as the produce the most meteors. morning star throughout June. Mars and Jupiter are evening stars through- The Ephemeris for May Holidays and Special Occasions out June. Saturn is visible in the eve- The Phases of the Tulip Moon and for Gardeners, Ranchers & ning along the center of the southern the Cherry Pie Moon Homesteaders horizon. April 29: The Tulip Moon becomes Early May through the new at 1:14 a.m. The Stars May 6: The moon enters its second Middle of June: Market to consumers who are The handle of the Big Dipper has quarter at 10:15 p.m. Apogee celebrating the graduation of a child started to rotate toward the west, May 14: The moon is full at 2:16 from high school or college. marking the time that chiggers and p.m. Japanese beetles appear along the May 18: Perigee: The moon’s posi- th May 5: Cinco de Mayo: Lambs 40 Parallel. In the east, the Summer tion closest to earth and kids may be in demand for the Triangle is rising, bringing all the May 21: The moon enters its final Hispanic market around this date. lilies into bloom and ripening the phase at 7:59 a.m. raspberries. May 28: The Cherry Pie Moon is May 26: Memorial Day: Have new at 1:40 p.m. your lamb and chevon at local markets for Memorial Day cookouts and Holidays and Special Occasions The Sun’s Progress picnics. for Gardeners, Ranchers & On May 21, the sun enters Gemini Homesteaders and lies within just a small fraction of June 29: Ramadan begins: Adver- its summer solstice position. Meteorology tise your farm to the Halal market in Cool fronts are due to cross the preparation for the close of Ramadan The Planets Mississippi on or about May 2, 7, 12, on July 28. Venus will move retrograde into 15, 21, 24, and 29. Full moon on May Meteorology Pisces throughout the month, keep- 14 and new moon on May 28 could Cool fronts are due to cross the ing its position as the morning star contribute to unstable meteorologi- Mississippi on or about June 2, 6, 10, Countryside Magazine Ad 2007 0710-1452 Oct 2007

Countryside & Small Stock Journal,93 May/June 2014 93 15, 23 and 29. Major storms are most at home ™ likely to occur on the days between June 5–8, June 13–16, and June 24–28. in nature Full moon on June 12 increases the rom seaside getaways chances for freezing temperatures to mountain retreats, along the Canadian border. New F moon on June 27 could contribute to the Pacific Yurt goes unstable meteorological conditions where you want to be. in conjunction with the June 29 cool front. Call today for a brochure: 1.800.944.0240 The Almanack Daybook email: [email protected] www.yurts.com May 1. While the moon is still dark, fight armyworms and corn borers. 2: The waxing moon favors the planting of all flowers and vegetables that will bear their fruit above the ground. The waxing moon is also fine for the harvest of strawberries and spring vegetables. 3: Plan to have all your corn and soybeans planted by the time the first thistles bloom. 4: As conditions permit, sow seeds No One Knows Yurts Like Pacific Yurts™ for forages that will provide as close COS514.qxdWorld’s L e a2/13/14ding Ma n u9:44fact uAMre r Page 1 Cottage Grove, Oregon to year-round grazing as possible. 5: Spring pasture now reaches its brightest green of the year, and haying is underway in the southern states. 6: Since the moon may exert less influence on ocean tides and on human and animal behavior when it comes into its 2nd and 4th quarters, it might make more sense to perform routine maintenance on your livestock and pets today or about May 21. 7: Major planting of peppers, cantaloupes and cucumbers is taking place when you see spitbugs hang to the parsnips. 8: Spring rains and humidity increase the risk of internal parasites in livestock. 9: When mock orange, peonies and wild raspberries bloom, move your livestock to pasture. 10: In the Northeast and Upper 514 Midwest, it’s time for tulips, azaleas and rhododendrons. 11: The cold front that arrives around this date is one of the last frost-bearing fronts to move across the nation. 12: All the clovers come into 94 The contented man is never poor; the discontented never rich. — George Eliot bloom, along with the small black ish clipping your goats for summer. medic, purple vetch, and the weedy The cut will help keep them cool, yellow and white sweet clover in all and you’ll be contributing to a better but the northernmost states. situation for weight gain and stable 13: Spring wheat is just about all health. planted in the North, and all the oats 2: The June 2 front can still bring should be in the ground between a light freeze at higher elevations, Denver and New York. but apogee today (the moon’s posi- 14: Tidal lunar influences have tion farthest from Earth) is likely to been shown to be greater at full and soften that high pressure system due new moon times. You might expect to cross the Mississippi this week. more trouble with your herd, spouse 3: Placing blackberries and rasp- or children, today and about May berries along your hedgerows offers a 28. simple way to offer healthful brows- 15: The May 15 cool front and the ing material for your livestock. next two high-pressure systems are 4: The waxing moon favors the often followed by the Strawberry continuing harvest of strawberries Rains, the wettest time of May in the and spring vegetables. lower Midwest and the Mid Atlantic 5: Stabilize the feed schedule of states. the animals that you’ll show this 16: In the western states, new bur- summer, increasing the grain in their rows of prairie dogs may cause prob- Park in California at the same time rations. lems in your fields and pastures. that the canola and winter wheat 6: The June 6 front is associated 17: Now blueberries are flower- crops are about ready to be harvested with a four-day period during which ing along the Canadian border, and in the Midwest. there is an increased chance for tor- strawberries and wild black raspber- 24: Alfalfa weevil infestations nadoes and flash floods. ries bloom in the Ohio Valley. become more common when elder- 7: Protect yourself against chig- 18: The moon’s position today berries start to bloom. gers: they’re biting now. (powerful perigee closest to Earth) 25: By today, winter wheat could 8: Gather cherries, mulberries, increases the likelihood of turbulent be at least a foot high across the cen- and black raspberries in the mild June weather. tral states, and is turning pale golden days. Fertilize asparagus and rhubarb 19: Army worms and corn bor- green below the Mason-Dixon Line. as their seasons end. ers appear in fields throughout the 26: Think ahead to breeding time, 9: Protection from the weather, country this month. And in southern and finalize all spring culling. plenty of water and adequate supple- gardens, squash bugs and Japanese 27: Sometimes half of all the ments may help to reduce heat-relat- beetles are out in force. nation’s tobacco plants are in the ed weight loss in livestock. 20: The days surrounding the cold ground by this date. 10: The sunniest June days usually front that arrives near this date are 28: In the West, shear your sheep occur between now and the 26th, and some of the most turbulent of May, when the winter rains end. Treat your the first major heat wave often devel- often marked by rain, tornadoes and whole flock for ticks when you’re ops across the central states. high winds. The May 21 system also done. In the Gulf of Mexico, the end 11: If your animals have been out brings the threat of frost along the of May is usually ideal for shrimp in the sun for a long period of time, Canadian border. fishing. and they are starting to pant and are 21: Lunar lore suggests that the 29: The earliest corn is six to unsteady on their feet, they could waning moon is best for planting all twelve inches tall along the 40th Paral- have sunstroke. the rest of your crops that will pro- lel, soybeans three to four. Blueberries 12: Pollen from grasses reaches duce fruit below the ground. are setting fruit in the Northeast. its peak in the central portions of the 22: Also use the waning moon for 30: As warmer weather changes United States. hunting potato leafhoppers, cucum- the growth patterns of bacteria 13: Check the nutrient content ber beetles, mites, bean-leaf beetles, around the farm, keep udders neatly of your livestock’s forage. Provide fleas, lice, ticks, screwworms and fly clipped, and be sure to disinfect them supplements when necessary to pro- maggots. The last two phases of the before milking. mote peak fitness. moon are also efficacious for worm- 31: Spring wheat is just about all 14: Plan to shear the scrotum of ing and spraying for external para- planted in the North, and the oats are your rams and bucks for hot weather, sites, for weeding and for mulching. in the ground between Denver and and keep them in a cool place with 23: Blackberries are in full bloom New York. lots of shade. in the Northwest, and dogwood trees June 15: Dry conditions typically pre- are open around Sequoia National 1: This week is a good time to fin- vail in mid June, and the period Countryside & Small Stock Journal, May/June 2014 95 between the 13th and the 26th is his- cornfields start tasseling in the na- Answers to the March-April torically one of the best times of the tion’s midsection. month for fieldwork. 29: Middle summer typically be- Sckrambler 16: Increase the water supply to gins near this date and lasts through ONOM: MOON your flock as pastures dry out and August 10. Within that period, ap- TASR: STAR feed contains less liquid. proximately one hour is lost from the LOSECITS: SOLSTICE 17: Watch for mold in the hay stall day’s length along the 40th Parallel, RALIB: LIBRA in the feed storage area when humid- and the year turns toward autumn. RGVIO: VIRGO ity levels rise dramatically toward the 30: The final weather system of AECNCR: CANCER end of the month (after the June 28th the month is often followed by the ARYDH: HYDRA cool front). Corn Tassel Rains, a two-week period NMGIIE: GEMINI 18: Flea beetles, damselflies and of intermittent precipitation that ac- KYS: SKY leafhoppers become active and crick- companies the Dog Days of middle OOINR: ORION ets sing as locust trees flower and summer. IGB PPDIRED: BIG DIPPER snapping turtles lay their eggs. CORSIOP: SCORPIO 19: Consider expanding your pas- PLANTE: PLANET Lunar feeding patterns for SARM: MARS ture acreage. Parasites are often fewer people and beasts in livestock when animals have more UENVS: VENUS land on which to graze and browse. The following weekly key to lu- UAIUQRSA: AQUARIUS 20: Prune shrubs and trees that nar position shows when the moon GASEPUS: PEGASUS flowered earlier in the year. is above the continental United SECSIP: PISCES 21: The waning moon and the States, and therefore the period dur- TTIGASSIURA: SAGITTARIUS dry days of late June are especially ing which all creatures are typically NUS : SUN favorable for beginning the winter most active. The second-most-active wheat harvest, for completing the times occur when the moon is below The May-June Sckrambler the earth. If you are the 3rd, the 9th, the 43rd, first cut of alfalfa and beginning the nd second cut. the 68th, the 99th or the 142 person Date: Moon Above; Moon Below 22: The darkening moon is also to return your correct Sckrambler May 1–6: Afternoons; Midnight right for all kinds of animal care (es- solutions by my deadline to Poor to Dawn pecially worming and spraying for Will, P.O. Box 431, Yellow Springs, 7–14: Evenings; Mornings external parasites), for weeding and OH 45387, you will win $5. There 15–21: Midnight to Dawn; After- mulching as well as insect hunting. should be no typos in this puzzle, and noons 23: The June 23 high-pressure no typo prize will be awarded. If you 22–28: Mornings; Evenings system is typically cool and dry, and happen to find a typo, however, you May 29–June 5: Afternoons; Mid- it is often followed by some of the may simply skip that word without night to Dawn sunniest days of all the year. As the penalty. Send your entries by regular 6–12: Evenings; Mornings next June front approaches, however, mail (postcards preferred) to Poor 13–19: Midnight to Dawn; Af stability can be expected to give way Will at P.O. Box 431, Yellow Springs, ternoons to storms. OH 45387. The names of any winners 20–27: Mornings; Evenings 24: Be sure grain is kept in clean whose correct responses are received 28–30:Afternoons; Midnight to o u n t r y s i d e containers and secure from summer after my deadline to C will Dawn rodents. appear in a later issue. 25: Cattails are almost fully devel- ROCW KWHATHGIN oped. May apples should be ready to Winners of the March-April LOLWASS Sckrambler BORNI harvest in the woods. Blackberries WHETIBBO IEEKLLD have always set fruit, even in the As of my deadline to Co u n t r y - EOHPBE EAAHPSTN coldest years. Black walnuts are at s i d e , 71 correct responses had been LERTSEK EKIRSH least half their full size. received to the March-April Sck- LANCARDI 26: Between now and the end of rambler. A prize of five dollars was IEFLCKR the first week of August, average promised to the 2nd, the 12th, the 49th, BBLRDUEI temperatures vary just one degree in the 83rd, the 99th and the 155th to re- FISHKINGER most of the nation. turn the correct Sckrambler solutions OWCIBDR TARLINGS 27: The Cicada Moon is new today. by my deadline. The 2nd was Debbie RGKCLEA Many people plant turnips and beets Mack of Burlington Flats, New York; ARROWPS th for fall harvest as well as for fall graz- the 12 was Jade Meador of Hardins- VEOD ing under this moon. burg, Kentucky; the 49th was Barbara ALKR 28: Summer blueberries are being Beargeon of Denver, Colorado. The picked along the Great Lakes, and other prizes went begging. Copyright 2014 – W. L. Felker 96Capture Your Countryside... and share it with us!

Co u n t r y s i d e is proud to present an on-going photo contest. Send us photos from your homestead— livestock, grandchildren, garden, barn, etc.—and we may share it with Co u n t r y s i d e readers! Each issue’s “Featured Photo” will receive a FREE Co u n t r y s i d e t-shirt! E-mail your photo(s) as jpeg attachment(s) to [email protected] with “Capture Your Countryside” in the subject line, be sure to include your name, mailing address, phone number and a brief description. Or mail photo(s), including your name, mailing address, phone number and a brief description, to “Capture Your Countryside,” 145 Industrial Drive, Medford, WI 54451. Any photos received will become the property of Countryside Publications and can be used at anytime. Countryside Publications retains the right to publish and/or reproduce any and all photos submitted in future issues or publicity, with or without mention of source. Featured Photo

My 25-year-old rose bush in front of my farm house. — Irene Ladd, Maine

My two-year-old daughter, Anna, with her daddy and Bella, the newborn lamb. Bella was born on Anna’s second birthday, so it was a special day for all of us. — Aimee Gagnon, Maine Countryside & Small Stock Journal, May/June 2014 97

These adorable babies are the first chick and duckling hatched here in spring! — Grace McCain, Oklahoma

I was visiting some friends who live rather wisely and thoughtfully on their homestead on Galiano Island, Bris- tish Columbia. One early morning, as the fog was lifting, I sat quietly with my friends’ dog, watching the sun rise over the nearby cove. I was struck by the beauty and solitude of it all. I suspect it was just another ordinary day for the dog. — Tyler P. Amy, Pennsylvania

This is my Alpine doe, Princess, looking very amused after licking my husband’s face. She was being particularly af- fectionate that day and I snapped the photo at the perfect moment! — Angela and Russell Perkinson, Virginia

I wanted to share a photo of my beautiful geese Rhett, Scar- let and Ashley with you. My geese roam on my grandma’s farm and lay big beautiful eggs each spring. They love to Here is a photo of my beautiful daughter on our wagon. scare people—but actually they are quite a friendly greeter This was taken on our homestead that we’re remodeling and let me know when somebody comes down the lane. and getting ready so one day, hopefully, we can move to it They are much better than a watch dog! — Darlene Skid- and start a more simpler life. — Dion Byrd, Mississippi more, Maryland 98

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106 The way to do research is to attack the facts at the point of greatest astonishment. — Celia Green to stay in her enclosure when I tried to lock her in at planting time. She generally won. Had a predator finally outwitted her? Or, even worse, was it one of the Little Chickens, purchased last Easter as chicks and lovingly raised by my son and me? I rushed to investigate. A little chicken! I could tell by the feathers it was one of the three Golden Comets. But which one? And where were the other four? All five had been out free ranging because, at this early point in spring, the garden was mostly unplanted. Now, however, there was no sign of any of them. Had the survivors been scattered? Were they too traumatized to come home? Had the murderer gone on a killing spree and taken all of them? There was no time for speculation, though; there was laundry to be hung and a bag of onion sets to be planted. I got to work, thinking dark thoughts about what a true bummer of a Mother’s Day this was turning out to be. Even so, I couldn’t stop myself from pausing occasionally to gaze hopefully around the yard. Nothing. The last onion was planted and all hope was lost when I looked up one more time and saw them. Standing on a hillside, silhouetted against the sky like the heroes in a low-budget Western, there they were— all five chickens! They wandered down to investigate my work. The backside of one was a little ragged, but they were otherwise none the worse for the wear. I scrambled to find my husband, yelling, “They’re alive! It’s a Mother’s Day miracle!” “That’s great!” he replied enthusiastically. (He could now scratch “Find replacement chickens to console grieving wife” off his to-do list.) Nevertheless, he was properly supportive, and all was well once again. This Golden Comet hen is named Louise. Photo courtesy of To this day, all five chickens burble contentedly and Marietta Mallon, South Portland, Maine peck at insects in the enclosure of which they’re no longer allowed to leave. I felt a bit guilty about their After chores: imprisonment at first, but I’ve concluded that the 25 by 25 foot space is hardly a Chicken Penitentiary. Even Minerva seems to have learned her lesson and is no longer obsessed with escaping. The four younger The Mother’s Day chickens produce eggs almost every day, and Eleanor occasionally lays one when she’s feeling ambitious. This world is full of much bigger miracles—unlikely Miracle rescues, strange coincidences, inexplicable events. Walt Whitman, however, raises a good question in By Re b e cc a Wh i t e Bo d y his poem “Miracles.” He asks, “Why! Who makes much of miracles? As to me, I know nothing else but h, no,” I murmured, clutching my laundry bas- miracles….” He goes on to list ordinary sights and “Oket and staring in horror at the trail of chicken events that are, when you think about them, truly feathers that began by the garden and ended abruptly amazing; he includes everything from eating dinner by the clothesline. The trail was so long and the feath- with his mother to watching bees swarm around a hive, ers so copious, that I couldn’t imagine any one of my to seeing his own reflection in a mirror. He concludes, five chickens surviving this attack. But which one was “To me, every hour of the light and dark is a miracle,/ it? Eleanor, the matriarch who defied her age by laying Every cubic inch of space is a miracle…What stranger eggs despite her advancing years? Minerva, the Chick- miracles are there?” en Whom No Pen Could Contain? She’d been engaged I will never again eat an egg without reflecting on in a battle of wits with me for several years, refusing how very right he is. Countryside & Small Stock Journal, May/June 2014 107

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