Innholdsfortegnelse for November - December 2015 i Grit

Featured Comment “When I first started gardening terra nova Gardens, I couldn’t find a single worm in the soil. It was a very black, rich soil, but a little wet and sticky. after about 1,500 bags of yard mulch over the course of two years, the worms have invaded the garden big time. they were just naturally attracted to the deep mulch that composted into the soil. It was a nice side effect from the mulching.” — Nebraska Dave on “Squirm Wrangling 101” Backyard Bees Whether you’re a beekeeping beginner or a seasoned veteran, Keeping Backyard Bees is a new website dedicated entirely to the keeping of these favorite pollinators. From crafts and recipes to dIY articles, read all things beerelated at www.KeepingBackyardBees.com. You’ll find inspiring articles on installing a…

CYCLAMENS FOR THE HOLIDAYS For a unique alternative to the traditional holiday poinsettia or Christmas cactus, and an attractive easy-care houseplant that will bloom continuously throughout winter, you may want to consider giving florists’ cyclamens (Cyclamen persicum) a try. These plants offer an array of showy, brightly colored flowers in white, vivid red, pink, purple and bicolor. Given the right conditions, cyclamens brought in to bloom for the holiday season will continue blossoming for two to three months. As each flower fades, remove the entire flower stalk from where it attaches to the tuber by giving it a sharp tug. The trick to growing healthy cyclamens is to keep them in a cool room with bright light and good air circulation. Day temperatures of 60 to 68 degrees Fahrenheit and…

from our friends at FARM SHOW ® Loading Arm Makes Splitting Easier Ed Hollmen, Marion, New York, wanted a log splitter that would be easier on his back, so he designed and built a heavy duty vertical splitter that’s equipped with a log loading arm.   “It makes splitting logs a much easier job, because very little lifting or bending is required,” says Hollmen. The splitter stands almost 10 feet tall and weighs about 2,000 pounds. A 12-volt winch is used to raise and lower the 5-foot-long loading arm, allowing Hollmen to stack logs from ground level and then raise the arm for use as a table. When he’s done splitting logs, the arm folds up vertically for transport. “The loading arm can easily pick up a 24-inch-long, 24-inch-diameter log,”…

THE HOLIDAYS ARE PRIME TIME for desserts – cakes, cookies, candies and more grace buffets, dining room tables and coffee tables everywhere. When serving dessert to your guests, though, why not add pie to that list? We found a number of old-fashioned pie recipes in the Grit archives Try one, and let us know the reactions of your family and guests. Email jteller@grit.com with reviews, comments and recipes of your own, and they just might show up in a future issue! Editor’s Note: A recipe in our March/April issue was missing ingredients. For the Navy Bean Cookies, please add 1 teaspoon baking powder and 1 teaspoon baking soda. With this recipe, every pie will win rave reviews for its flaky and tasty crust. CLASSIC PIE CRUST SINGLE CRUST: 1⅓ level…

Homesteaders rely on tools every day. Firearms are an important addition to the belts of those who have chosen to do for themselves. When used safely and properly, firearms can perform a multitude of tasks that no other tool can. We have mauls for splitting the wood. We have wheel hoes to tune up the garden rows. We have knives to butcher the meat, and wrenches to fix the equipment. Our guns fill the freezers, as well as protect our families, homes and livestock. Each and every job is important. A homestead firearm lineup doesn’t have to include dozens of guns. In fact, a handful of carefully chosen tools can perform a majority of the tasks at hand. When choosing the proper homestead guns, there are three major considerations: gathering…

■ My horse meets me at the gate. ■ My horse tends to be curious about new things rather than skeptical or spooked. ■ My horse is more playful. ■ When I am with my horse, his head is down, his neck, lips and ears are loose, and his eye is soft. ■ My horse lays down in my presence. ■ As you seek to bond with your horse, remember that a trusting relationship does not develop overnight. It is similar to human relationships, which form gradually and mature over time. With both human and horse, we must be willing to slow down, be flexible, control our emotions, and be positively predictable. The more we better ourselves, the more trustworthy we become, and the faster these bonds will grow. Go…

Picture it: You’re wrist-deep in loose soil when you feel something slide across the back of your hand. Eeeuwww. Your knee-jerk reaction might be to yank yourself back from the soil – your skin isn’t the only thing that’s crawling. Pity the first person who noticed an earthworm at his or her feet. He surely jumped in fright – the creature looked like a snake, only smaller. It wiggled like a snake, only sort of. Birds and rats ate them raw, but it was no gustatory treat. She must’ve wondered how it got there, but today’s scientists aren’t even sure: Because earthworms’ soft bodies aren’t conducive to leaving fossils, there’s just no way of knowing. Oligochaetologists – specialists who study worms – theorize that earthworms came ashore well after the…

WHEN I WAS A BOY, my family eagerly anticipated state-fair season, and the fair that we most often wound up attending was the Minnesota State Fair. That event was so huge, and my mom often entered jellies, jams and even pies – more often than not, bringing home a ribbon. But that was not why I anticipated the trip. Once we were through the gates, I was left to my own devices to wander the grounds. Once I’d had a quick run through the machinery area, I would head to the poultry barns. And when I’d had sufficient clucking, crowing and chicken smell, I’d head over to the cattle barns, find a bale of straw to sit on, and eat the sack lunch my mom had packed me. And as…

Wichita Farm & Ranch Show PARK CITY, Kansas – Don’t miss viewing the latest technologies in farming and agriculture at the Wichita Farm and Ranch Show, November 10 through 12 at the Sam Fulco Park in Park City, Kansas. Looking to upgrade your small-farm facilities? Get your questions answered by experts. See livestock handling and horse training demonstrations. Parking and admission are free. Visit www.Tradexpos.com/wichita-farm-ranchshow for directions and more information. Franklin County CiderDays FRANKLIN COUNTY, Massachusetts – Crisp apples and sweet cider are fall favorites for many, and the Franklin County CiderDays offers ample amounts of both. Head to Franklin County, Massachusetts, on November 7 and 8 for all things apple cider, including hard cider. Participate in workshops, cheese and cider pairings, and a CiderDays Locavore Harvest Supper. Go to…

MY INTRODUCTION TO FARMING began with a grandmother who buried eggshells in house-plant pots placed on urban windowsills high above the street. She couldn’t explain why it worked – it just did. Farming isn’t only about planting, growing and harvesting. It’s also about the enrichment of the soil, and this practice can be applied to growing something as simple as a potted geranium. As a young woman, I learned about composting and soil building that helped produce vegetables and flowers in several subdivisions – years before I actually owned a piece of land large enough to farm. We chose a location for our garden that had been such in an earlier time. It was a gently sloping, south-facing piece of land ringed by old apple trees, Concord grapevines that stretched…

■ Michelle Roth, Punta Gorda, Florida, remembers a dip her great-aunt brought to family gatherings. It was made with cream cheese, Thousand Island dressing, and possibly sweet pickle relish. “The dip was not creamy, like a sour cream dip, but stiff like cream cheese,” she writes. Do you have a favorite dip recipe – for fruits, veggies, bread, crackers or chips? Does your family like a particular sour cream dip? Or perhaps you’re the one everyone asks to make a cream cheese dip. If so, would you share your recipe? ■ Bernadine Hardin, Hot Springs, Arkansas, hopes someone has a recipe for Cathedral Cookies. She says they are sometimes called Stained Glass Window Cookies, as they contain miniature colored marshmallows in the dough. What’s your favorite cookie recipe? What cookies…

CHAINSAWING: IS IT ART, OR SCIENCE … or magic? The feel of a good, sharp chain sinking down through an oak log spewing a steady spray of chips certainly feels magical, especially when the saw is perfectly tuned. But if the only time you experience this magic is with a new chain, maybe it is time to tune up your sharpening skills as well. Actually, there is no magic to it … just science, and a little math – geometry, to be precise – and precise it must be. The actual cutting takes place at the tip of the blade, so it must be perfectly formed. The rest of each tooth removes the chip of wood so the next tooth can do its work, and so on. Those links between…

I’VE ALWAYS WANTED to build a backyard smokehouse – primarily for smoking sausage, but also for smoking bacon, ham, cheese, poultry and venison. My goal was to construct a smokehouse with a lot more room than the smaller ones you can buy from big-box stores. After spending some time talking to local farmers and collecting ideas on the construction process, and reading about different designs, I rolled up my sleeves and set about building a cement block smokehouse. Following are the general steps I performed to make an 80-inch-by-96-inch cement block smokehouse on my property. Step 1: Prepare ground for the footer The area I selected for the smokehouse was filled with roots and rocks. I dug the footer by hand, and mixed my own footer cement. Make sure your…

One of the most exciting things about living on your own farm is being able to have your own livestock. Taking pride in watching your animals grow up healthy and well cared for, and the satisfaction of producing your own milk, meat, wool or other necessities, are unique pleasures of farm life. Cattle can be one of the most rewarding livestock to have on the farm. If you are starting a new farmstead venture, or if you’ve been thinking of adding a few head of cattle to your existing farm, here are several things to keep in mind, along with five breeds worth considering. Climate Cattle can be relatively easy to keep. They don’t require lavish barns and expensive feed, as long as their basic needs for shelter and nutrition…

GERANIUMS. I’m looking for a source for two specific geranium plants: Patricia Andrea with salmon tulip-flowered blossoms and Springfield Violet with deep violet single blossoms. Julia Sullivan 1212 Second Ave. S., Apt. 17 Moorhead, MN 56560-2966 PEN PALS. I am a 30-year-old wife and stay-at-home mom looking for pen pals. I enjoy sewing, gardening, reading, fishing and cooking. Jennifer McMullen 485 Shiloh Road McRae, AR 72102-9700 SEEDS. I am looking for Job’s Tears seeds, which grow on stalks similar to cane. Once mature, I use them to string jewelry. Linda Rector 3770 N. Brick Church Road Hagerstown, IN 47346-9606 NEW FRIENDS. I am a new subscriber to Grit. My daughter, Melody, is 31 and basically house-bound because of chronic health issues. She likes hummingbirds, lighthouses, albino animals, polar bears, cats…

WHEN WE THINK of one-bowl suppers or meals, it’s usually a starch like pasta, rice or mashed potatoes as the base, topped with a mélange of meat and vegetables. These days, lots of folks are looking to replace those carbs with lighter fare, like vegetables, prepared in creative ways – and not lose out on taste and heartiness. Whether weight loss is your goal, or you’re just trying to eat more vegetables, these recipes will help you lighten up these easy one-bowl meals and inspire you to try your own creations with cauliflower, spaghetti squash, zucchini and butternut squash as your bowl “base.” Another simple bowl “base” is shredded cabbage. Top it with just about any hot vegetable or meat sauté, which will soften the cabbage and fill you up…

Almost all horse lovers share one thing in common: We dream of riding like Annie Oakley, galloping over rolling hills, or dashing through forests on our fearless mounts in perfect harmony with our horse and the world. Unfortunately, these dreams sometimes go unrealized, instead turning into nightmares. As our horses behave instinctively like prey animals, we lose confidence, desire, and sadly sometimes our health in pursuit of our dreams. This can be the result of failing to build a trusting relationship that is the bedrock on which the bond between you and your horse rests. Only a horse that trusts its rider can make the dream a reality. Why it’s important Why should I want my equine partner to trust me? If having your dream realized isn’t enough, there are…

No discussion on chainsaws is complete without a few words on safety. Take it from the pros, and smart amateurs, and invest in a logger’s helmet, chainsaw chaps and steel-toe boots. The helmet includes a hard hat, hearing protection and face protection. I can tell you firsthand that wood chips can get in your eye, even when wearing regular prescription glasses. In my case, it was made worse because the chip was also covered with chainsaw bar oil. It put me out of business the rest of the day. Chaps have fiber that get tangled in the chain and stop it before it can do major damage. A friend of mine, who had never bothered with safety gear, once showed me the scar on his right leg, which had more…