Archive for the “General” Category
If you are new to the wonderfully healthy and economical past time of gardening, this list might be interesting to you. For all those who have been gardening for ages already, maybe you enjoy checking what this lady thinks is essential, and add what’s missing, from your own experience 
Via: baltimoresun.com
 By Susan Reimer
Use the right tool for the job” was the motto of my father, the woodworking hobbyist.
My mother, however, used the same cast-iron skillet to cook just about every meal.
I am their daughter, the gardener, and I don’t think you can have too many garden tools, even if you find yourself using your garden knife for just about every job.
Since this is the time of year to take stock of garden hardware and draw up a spring shopping list, let me offer my list of essential garden tools.
Every gardener has a trowel and a pair of pruners. What follows are items that make the garden’s toughest jobs easier.
•A garden cart.
•A mulch fork.
•A perennial shovel.
•Gardening knife
•A gardening-gear organizer.
•Garden kneeler.
•Pruner holster.
•Rain barrel.
•Gloves.
•EasyBloom plant sensor.
Explanations and estimated price of all listed items you can find here
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So here is a study that tells you, basically, that living in the countryside, close to nature, as a producer, instead of a synthetic, stressful environment where people live as consumers only, will prevent addictions, will even cure addictions, will be the best you can do for your children and yourself. The addictions of our times are manifold, and they are inflicted on people purposefully in order to increase profit. Think melamine in infant formula, think MSG…
But things are even worse than this. Our environment poisons us in more than just chemical-enviromental ways. It is artificial, synthetic, and somehow deep inside we recognize this but cannot do anything about it.
The study reviewed in this book review tells us about the obviously cruel and inhuman conditions that the vast majority of people live under, even in their middle class suburbs:
The root causes of addiction, then, must run deeper than any individual pathology: they must be sought in a larger story of cultural malaise and ‘poverty of the spirit’ that forces individuals, often en masse, into desperate and dysfunctional coping strategies.
Get out of the system, get out into the countryside, before it is too late, for your children’s sake, and read this review, or the book The Globalisation of Addiction itself, from the beginning:
Via: nthposition online magazine
by Mike Jay
Bruce Alexander is best known – though deserves to be much better known – for the ‘Rat Park’ experiments he conducted in 1981. As an addiction psychologist, much of the data with which he worked was drawn from laboratory trials with rats and monkeys: the ‘addictiveness’ of drugs such as opiates and cocaine was established by observing how frequently caged animals would push levers to obtain doses. But Alexander’s observations of addicts at the clinic where he worked in Vancouver suggested powerfully to him that the root cause of addiction was not so much the pharmacology of these particular drugs as the environmental stressors with which his addicts were trying to cope.
To test his hunch he designed Rat Park, an alternative laboratory environment constructed around the need of the subjects rather than the experimenters. A colony of rats, who are naturally gregarious, were allowed to roam together in a large vivarium enriched with wheels, balls and other playthings, on a deep bed of aromatic cedar shavings and with plenty of space for breeding and private interactions. Pleasant woodland vistas were even painted on the surrounding walls. In this situation, the rats’ responses to drugs such as opiates were transformed. They no longer showed interest in pressing levers for rewards of morphine: even if forcibly addicted, they would suffer withdrawals rather than maintaining their dependence. Even a sugar solution could not tempt them to the morphine water (though they would choose this if naloxone was added to block the opiate effects). It seemed that the standard experiments were measuring not the addictiveness of opiates but the cruelty of the stresses inflicted on lab rats caged in solitary confinement, shaved, catheterised and with probes inserted into their median forebrain bundles.
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Posted by: Rose in General, tags: root cellar
If you need storage that keeps your food cool without using electricity, a root cellar comes in very handy.
There are a tremendous amount of different designs for root cellars out there – check out this site, for example: Root Cellars
Their link to the garbage can root cellar is broken though, so here are some basic instructions to this particular type of root cellar:
Via:survivaljunction.com
“Consider burying a galvanized garbage can in the ground to create your own “root cellar.” The root cellar keeps potatoes, carrots, beets, turnips, and apples through the winter. Bury the can upright with 4 in. or so of the top protruding above ground level.”
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This is worth reading… Hopefully many people have learned from their family history, or will learn from these people’s memories… Prepare, people !
Via: CNN.com
 Memories of salvaging and stealing to avoid going hungry are part of the legacy of the Great Depression. Some iReporters say they can’t help but look at the current economy and feel the past holds lessons for the present.
“Even ladies didn’t shy away from hard work,” says Sheila Elrod. Her grandmother is shown at a cotton loom.
Pam Van Hylckama Vlieg says her grandfather tried to steal chickens after being laid off from coal mining.
Donna LeBlanc of Waxia, Louisiana, says she carries no credit to this day as a result of the frugality and self-reliance instilled in her by her family. Her husband keeps the couple’s credit card and maintains a zero balance.
The Great Depression meant scary times for many households as a period of economic downturn spread throughout the world. Historians trace its start to the “Black Tuesday” stock crash on October 29, 1929, and argue that the resulting global desperation set the stage for World War II.
LeBlanc said her grandparents were fortunate that they didn’t have investments and could grow — or catch — their own food during the Depression years.
Her grandfather Lester was a “Cajun cowboy” often seen wearing a cowboy hat, and her grandmother Ida was a resourceful woman who spent much of the 1930s working as a store clerk. LeBlanc, always told never to keep credit card debt, heard frightful stories from Ida. iReport.com: See a photo of the happy couple together after all these years
“She remembered vividly the barrels of flour, the bolts of cloth and the hunger in the faces of people as they begged for store credit,” LeBlanc said. “The store must have been at least marginally successful, because my grandmother was able to purchase, a piece at a time, a complete six-person setting of Gorham Chantilly silverware for her trousseau, linens and even a Lane cedar chest to house her treasures.”
The couple would catch wild hogs, feed them corn for a year and eat them once the wild taste was out of the scavenging animals. They also took advantage of available squirrel meat, a common food in the South at that time.
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Posted by: Rose in General, tags: heating, news
Via: Cleveland.com
 Q. What are the most important considerations?
A. Know the square-footage of your home, or the room to be heated, to get the right size unit for that space. Buy the highest quality that you can afford, and have the unit installed by a professional who knows the system and can make sure the clearances are correct, the chimney system is proper, and the installation is in accordance with the owner’s manual.
Q. Wood-burning stoves are commonly made from cast-iron, welded steel, soapstone or porcelain. Is there an efficiency and/or price difference among the materials?
A. Steel stoves are typically least expensive, and heat is released from steel quicker, so it cools down more quickly.
A cast-iron stove is the next step up in price. It releases heat more slowly, which means it stays warm longer.
Soapstone is usually the most expensive. The material releases heat slower than cast-iron.
Porcelain stoves are cast iron with a colored porcelain finish.
Q. What’s the price range of wood-burning stoves, and what do you get for the least and most expensive?
A. The least expensive start at about $800 and are small, heating less than 1,000 square feet.
Full Report
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Via: thedailygreen.com
Save Money and Get Happier
by Jeff Yeager
One of my all-time favorite movies is the 1979 classic Being There, starring Peter Sellers. The late Sellers (of Pink Panther and Dr. Strangelove fame) plays Chance the Gardener, a simple minded but lovable manservant who lives his whole life cloistered in the estate of an elderly patron, only to be abruptly thrust into the outside world upon his master’s death. Sellers’ clueless character is eventually heralded as one of the great economic minds of his time, pointing out through his innocence and simple thinking the follies of the self-deceived “real world” he encounters.
If you’re a simple cheapskate like me, you’re probably feeling a lot like Chance the Gardener these days. I know I am. With the recent and ongoing implosion of the U.S. economy, quite honestly my phone has been ringing off the hook with questions from reporters writing articles about getting frugal — and fast — in order to weather the hard times that are upon us.
I guess we’ve entered the Age of the Cheapskate, and frugal folks like me, who know far more about hedge trimming than hedge funds, are the new financial oracles. Chance the Gardener, take a bow.
While I’ve never claimed to be a mastermind of high finance (a critic once said that I am to the community of personal financial pundits what paint-by-numbers is to the art world), I’ll wager that the most effective solutions for making it through these complex financial times may in fact be the simplest. I’m not talking about on a macro-economic level, with its nearly trillion dollar federal bailout of credit markets, but on a personal level, in your own life.
When asked for personal financial advice for surviving — and even thriving — in these troubled economic times, I keep coming back to a single word: Simplify. Almost without exception, whenever you simplify your life, three things happen. It usually costs less, it’s nearly always better for the environment, and — here’s the best part — it inevitably makes you happier.
Simplify. Drive less by consolidating trips, telecommuting, shortening your work week, walking or bicycling. Stay at home more with family and friends, making your own fun rather than paying to be entertained. Cook more meals at home and eat lower on the food chain. Consider downsizing your house, moving closer to where you work, or living in — and heating! — only part of your home in the wintertime. De-clutter your life and boost your finances by selling stuff you don’t use or no longer want. Do more things for yourself rather than pay others to do things for you, and maybe then you can even cancel your gym membership.
How is any of that about sacrifice or hardship? It’s all about living a better life — and living lighter on the planet — by consuming and spending less. Ghandi said it best: “Live simply so that others may simply live.” I agree, and think Chance the Gardener would too.
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Via: washingtonpost.com
As gardeners, we are at the forefront of the new Green Revolution.
 Thirty years ago, most home landscaping consisted of lawn, foundation plantings, a few trees, and perhaps a bed for flowers or vegetables. Plants were chosen for their color when flowering and their availability at garden centers. Maintenance included mowing, fertilizing, spraying, pruning and watering.
But we now know that native plants can endure without synthetic chemicals or fertilizer, or much watering or labor, once established. And that insects that depend on native plants are important food for birds.
Knowing this, gardeners can take steps to promote sustainability in their landscapes. It involves how you use your property — everything you own. Here are some key steps that will help you to create a sustainable gardening culture and promote renewable energy:
· Use plants, trees and shrubs that are native to your area. They are already adapted to local growing conditions.
· Keep the soil in good condition with homemade compost and mulch, saving energy by using on-site materials.
· Collect rainwater to irrigate plants and to clean your tools, deck, patio and car.
· Control your use of pesticides and herbicides. Employ natural remedies such as soap sprays and hand-removal of weeds. Use the least toxic methods of control. Encourage beneficial insects such as ladybugs and parasitic wasps. Research the techniques of integrated pest management, use them in your landscape.
· Recycle materials on your property, including compost and masonry. Pots, pans and teapots make great containers for planting. Scrap lumber can have another life as fencing material. Carryout containers are perfect scoops for potting soil and fertilizer and save you a trip to the garden center. Plastic jugs with holes punched in the bottom will water your plants during dry spells.
· Increase food production. Plant more fruits, berries and vegetables so you can eat locally and seasonally, decreasing the need for food to be transported from all over the world. Make your edible plantings as beautiful as flowerbeds by training them on trellises, arbors or other structures. Mix in beneficial flowers, such as marigolds, which are natural insect repellents. Don’t forget herbs.
· Encourage diversity. Install a wide variety of flora that allows plants, birds and insects to cohabitate.
· Use all spaces to install greenery, including patios, porches, balconies and window boxes, to reduce your carbon footprint even further.
· Use less energy. Disturb the land as little as possible. For example, heavy machinery uses fuel. Create berms for sound protection and privacy. Plant swales to reduce rainwater runoff, which can cause water pollution. Use plants to provide shade to reduce cooling costs and windbreaks to reduce heating costs. Make use of muscle power and not horsepower as much as possible. Even small devices, such as hedge trimmers, waste nonrenewable energy.
· Make garden chores more efficient. Take time to compost, mulch, plant and harvest.
· Take responsibility. Educate yourself and others. Investigate community resources, such as community gardens. Evaluate practices used in your garden, and decide whether they are environmentally responsible.
· Evaluate any feature or plant before installing it on your property by asking if it will require a lot of water, fertilizer, pesticide, electricity, gasoline or other fossil fuel. If it does, alter the plan to make it more sustainable and energy-efficient.
Sustainable landscapes are practical. They save energy, money and labor. Creating them may take a little more thought and effort at the beginning, but the end results will better sustain all of us.
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Via: NaturalNews
A new study that was recently published sheds more evidence to what many have been saying for a long time, that DNA does not control the body or predestine you to being overweight, ill, sick, weak or anything else, but that the majority of our health and destiny lies within our own power.
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Via: iTWire
An American study has shown that Old Order Amish adults–who have a gene that gives them a higher risk to be obese–reduce that tendency to gain alot of pounds by doing one thing. Can you guess what it is?
 It is known to the scientific community that the Amish eat a normal diet that is high in fat, calories, and refined sugar. All three groups would normally doom any American from maintaining a slim-and-trim waistline.
However, the Amish keep from getting overweight and/or obese by doing what many of us have removed from our lifestyle.
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We saw one of the male praying mantises again today, and it has grown quite a bit ! We think it grew so fat on our Japanese beetles for they have disappeared completely out of our garden already. Well, have a look at the pictures if you like… I rotated two of them, and you know what, these insects look rather otherworldly if you rotate the picture.
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We are using this book a lot… Maybe you will find it useful too if you are new to the whole homesteading business or are just looking for something that sums up everything you need to know in times such as these…
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It might behoove us to learn how to cook without pots and skillets, not necessarily because we find doing the dishes a pesky chore, but because there might be no skillets and pots to cook with soon. Be prepared, people !
This article has originally been published in Countryside Magazine.
By Tom C. Tabor
Montana
Food always seems to taste better when it has been cooked in the outdoors and especially while camping. What can possibly be more tantalizing than the aroma of a good steak being charred to perfection over the campfire? Or, maybe your favorite might be an ear of corn that has been browned and roasted right there in the campfire and accompanied by a superbly baked golden brown potato with copious amounts of melted butter running down the sides. But in many cases these outdoor culinary delights come with a downside-black, greasy, sooty mess on your pots and pans. Nevertheless, you need not restrict your dining to scorched hot dogs and marshmallows drooping from an alder stick. There is a way to cook these great dishes without the mess.
In order to prepare a steak in an easy and succulent way without the need of a pan or grill a little preparatory work is called for. First, you will need a block of firewood that has a clean, flat surface. The best piece of wood has a flat area on one side, possibly 10″ to 12″ across. From the end of the block it should be close to a perfect 90 degrees, or to say it another way-looking from the end of the block it would appear like a 1/4 of a circle. It’s probably better to prepare this block at home, because two or three holes will need to be cut along the top edge of the block. The easiest way to accomplish this is with an electric drill before leaving home, but in a pinch the holes can be carved out with a sharp knife point. I simply make it a point to have a “cooking block” with my camping items at all times.
The holes must be large enough to firmly hold short lengths of limbs or sticks having a diameter around 1/2 inch. The branches should be a little larger than the holes in the block and about six inches long. Green branches are best as they are less likely to catch fire. Once cut they should be sharpened on both ends and stripped of bark.
A word of caution is probably called for here; you should use only the species of wood that you are thoroughly familiar with. If you should happen to be unfortunate enough to select, say cascara wood for example, as a source of your cooking block or sticks you could receive more than just a good meal. Cascara contains a natural cathartic and if used, you may spend much of your time in the bushes clutching tightly a roll of toilet paper, or maple leaves (whichever you prefer). Maple, willow or alder will work fine.
An interesting side note about cascara is that some people believe that black bears understand about the effect of ingesting cascara bark and when coming out of hibernation actually seek out a cascara tree in order to eat the bark. By doing so this provides an easy and effective way to “clean themselves out” after their long winter’s sleep.
If your wood is dry-it should be thoroughly wetted in order to discourage it from catching fire. You might even want to submerge the block in a nearby stream, as long as the stream is clean and unpolluted, or douse it thoroughly with water. Next, you should drive the stakes tightly into the holes, after which your meat can be impaled or pierced and allowed to hang. The block is then placed around the outside edge of the fire. The radiant heat emitting from the fire will cook your steak to perfection. For the most even cooking have your fire hot and arrange the cooking block as perpendicular as possible to the heat. You will need to watch it closely because grease will run off and sometimes attempt to catch fire. Once browned on one side the meat should be turned over. The bottom will probably cook quicker, so it is a good idea to rotate top to bottom as the meat is turned.
For side dishes, how do baked potatoes and roasted corn on the cob sound? A large potato wrapped in two layers of tin foil and placed in the coals will cook thoroughly in about 45 minutes, if your coals are good and hot. In order to accomplish this the campfire should be started well in advance of dinner time. You should have a roaring, hot fire going at least an hour before you plan to start cooking. This will produce the necessary coals needed for cooking. Once a good bed of coals exists the fire should be pulled apart and a hole dug under the fire. The potatoes can then be put into the hole and covered with the coals. The fire should then be rebuilt over the top.
Corn on the cob can be cooked in the same manner as the potatoes. In order to do this the ears should be carefully opened and the silk removed. The corn husk should remain attached. Once the silk has been removed the ears can be washed. Don’t worry about extra water on the corn-it will simply help to steam the corn in the cooking process. After washing, the husk should be pulled back into place.A pat of butter inside will help keep the corn moist while roasting and add greatly to the flavor. Now wrap the individual ears in two layers of tin foil and place it in the coals to cook. With a good hot bed of coals corn will generally roast in about 20 minutes. It is important to keep in mind that in both the case of the potatoes and the corn they should be covered thoroughly with ashes and coals in order to keep them from scorching.
Kids always love to cook hot dogs and marshmallows over the fire, but have you ever tried to cook an egg in a similar manner? This is great fun, especially for the kids. In order to cook an egg, first wash an egg, then use the point of a knife to carefully carve out a small hole on each end. Next, insert a small branch, twig or wiener stick through one hole and out the other. The egg can now be roasted much like you would a hot dog or marshmallow over the blaze. Cooking an egg by this method will usually take five to seven minutes and will taste similar to a boiled egg, but with a smoky favor.
The smoky flavor of campfire cooking is nothing short of a culinary triumph, but possibly even better than the succulent edibility of these dishes is the fact that there are no greasy pots and pans to deal with afterwards.
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There are not only unwelcome critters in the garden, but also very welcome guests and residents. Beside the many birds that visit our garden regularly, we now have a new resident: a praying mantis !
Since they are notorious for their voracious appetite, we hope that our little friend will get fat on flee beetle, potato beetle and later in the year, Japanese beetle, and then leave many egg sacks behind so that next year, a whole bunch of praying mantises will hopefully live and prey on bugs in our garden area.
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Welcome to CountryLivingSkills. The goal of this blog is to provide you, esteemed reader, with old time skills our grandmothers and grandfathers still knew, but that are forgotten for the most part by us and our children. But since we have to seriously consider famine in the Western world these days, there is little that is more urgent than learning again how to live without a grocery store just down the road. For the health and safety of your family, wise up !
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