Innholdsfortegnelse for March - April 2017 i Grit

How to Grow Truffles “European white truffles (Tuber magnatum) can cost as much as $3,600 a pound — making them ounce for ounce the most expensive food in the world. Since most folks can’t afford to buy truffles by the pound, they buy Black Diamonds, a small packet of shavings from French Black Perigord Truffles (Tuber melanosporum) that sell for a few hundred dollars. The native truffles that grow in the Pacific Northwest of the U.S. are not the same as European truffles, nor do they command the same high price.” Learn to grow truffles (www.Grit.com/truffles). Potbelly pigs, like other breeds, can be butchered for meat. We raise potbelly pigs for food. My breeders are around 200 to 250 pounds, and the ones that size we part up. The smaller…

THE FOUR EASIEST VEGETABLES TO GROW Anyone who has spent hours picking beetles off potato plants or grieving over the devastation of blossom end rot on tomatoes may well wonder: What are the four easiest vegetables to grow? For those who would prefer to do practically no work between planting and harvest, we suggest the four following vegetables. Radishes are among the first crops harvested from the garden, some varieties maturing in less than three weeks. Since they grow so quickly, radishes need no fertilizer other than what is scratched into the soil at planting time. When seedlings emerge, thin them to 2 inches apart. Beets are another easy-care root crop. Both greens and roots are loaded with nutrition. Thin the young beets to allow room for the root to…

Fishing Line Used to Stop Deer “We live back in the hills of Vermont, where deer are a real problem for gardeners,” says Gerry Hawkes, Woodstock, Vermont. “For the past 15 years or so, we’ve had excellent success keeping deer out of our garden by simply stringing a single strand of 30-pound-test monofilament fish line around the perimeter at midthigh height. Deer can’t see the line to jump it, so when they unexpectedly bump into it, they are spooked away. The 30-pound line is strong enough to keep from breaking, yet still hard for deer to see. “Each spring, before we plant and put up the line, we see lots of deer tracks through the tilled soil of the garden. As soon as we put the line up, there are…

AMONG THE SEASON’S many other tantalizing attributes, spring is a herald to long-awaited fresh produce — from fragrant herbs to tender greens — and nowhere is spring produce fresher than straight out of your garden or at your local farmers market. If you’re purchasing from a farmers market, look for stands that sell organic produce. However, don’t forfeit fresh, local food for imported organics from the grocery store. Those juicy, ripe strawberries grown by the farmer whose name you know might make a much better pie than the organic straw- berries picked early and shipped in from another country, depending on how high of a priority buying organic is for you. GRIT.COM Whip up delectable springtime fare with wild ingredients after you take the family foraging (www.Grit.com/foraging). These recipes showcase…

The cost of raising one pig from weaning to slaughter will greatly depend on how fast you want to get there and by which path you take. Recall that the first 6 to 8 weeks, the cost of the piglet is included in cost of keeping the breeding pair. Typically 230 to 250 pounds is a good slaughter weight. After 250 pounds, the hog adds fat at a greater rate, so the conversion of feed to meat is not as efficient. Some people do want more fat for cooking or soap-making and will wait until the hog reaches 300, 400, 500 pounds or more. Based on a 250-pound slaughter weight, a hog will be ready for slaughter 6 to 8 months from birth (4 to 6 months from weaning). The…

Feathered fowl give us great joy for their beauty, antics, and delightful songs, so much so that we often want to attract them to our yards and gardens. The first things that come to mind might be planting elderberries or other alluring vegetation and building wooden birdhouses, but what about making a special birdhouse from the fruits of a plant you grew from seed? Gourds, which are often colorful and unusually shaped, are just right for this. One gourd in particular is especially great for birdhouse production, and this is the appropriately named “birdhouse gourd.” GRIT.COM If you’re looking for a woodworking project to attract bluebirds, we have easy DIY plans (www.Grit.com/bluebird-house). There are many types of gourds in the cucurbit, or gourd, family, Cucurbitaceae, but our focus will be…

GROWING UP around farm communities in the Northwest, I always enjoyed country drives during the summer and fall. Roadside markets were plentiful, full of fresh produce, and sales were most often based on the honor system. Many times I remember skipping from the car to a market stand where a bag of corn or a box of strawberries was exchanged for a couple dollars. For a kid, it was like winning the lottery because you always knew that produce was going to be fantastic. I dreamed of one day operating one of those farm stands; it’s possible at that young age I was more excited about the idea of creating a stand with a neat sign than actually growing the food to sell. Later in life, those memories followed and…

TO ME, ST. PATRICK’S DAY is a special holiday. First of all, it’s my Grandma Mary’s birthday. Every year while she was alive — unless I screwed up and forgot, which I’m happy to say was rare — I would call her around midday to wish her happy birthday. Grandma was the most selfless person I’ve ever known, and after telling me she was fine and all she was doing was sleeping and eating, we’d talk about how all the different cousins were getting along, and then about baseball, spring training, and my cousins playing professionally. I always looked forward to making that call, hearing her voice, and getting to tell her I loved her — and hearing her return the sentiment. Secondly, the holiday serves as a harbinger of…

I read your “Feeding the Fire” editorial. I have been cutting and splitting firewood since I became a teenager. I earned my spending money that way. I agree that there is nothing like wood heat. It warms the soul. There were times in my working career when I did not have the opportunity to do so because of working internationally. But I have always come back to heating with wood. I will turn 75 next month, and still look forward to the hum of a chainsaw and using a splitting maul. Yes, I don’t even use a hydraulic splitter. You learn to “read the wood” in all those years. We have enough dead standing wood on our property to last a thousand years. Mother Nature makes it faster than we…

National Organic Standards Board Meeting DENVER, Colorado — Have a comment you’d like to share about the current climate of the organic food production industry? Submit your proposal to share a written or oral comment for the upcoming National Organic Standards Board meeting by March 30 for your opportunity to have your voice heard. The meeting is also open for the public to sit in on Wednesday, April 19 through Friday, April 21. Find more information about the meeting, including the venue location and start times, and learn how to submit your request to comment at http://bit.ly/2jwuvQ3. Tomato Grafting KUTZTOWN, Pennsylvania — Learn all about the ancient art of grafting. Join the Rodale Institute for their workshop on grafting tomatoes April 8. Great for beginners and those more experienced in…

5.1 percent ABV 44 IBUs (International Bitterness Unit) Yields 5 gallons. 2 pounds 5 ounces US 2-row pale malt 7 ounces crystal malt (40 °L) 4 ounces crystal malt (60 °L) 4 pounds 2 ounces light dried malt extract 1 ounce Centennial hops at 10 percent alpha acids 1 teaspoon Irish moss 1⁄4 teaspoon yeast nutrients 2 ounce Cascade hops at 5 percent alpha acids, divided 1 ounce Cascade dry hops 11-gram package Fermentis US-05 dried yeast 5 ounces corn sugar, to prime bottles for 21⁄2 volumes of CO2 1 In your brew pot, heat 1 gallon water to 161 F. Place crushed grains in steeping bag, and submerge in pot. Use a large spoon to break up any clumps of malt. Temperature should settle around 150 F. Keep mash…

DAIRY GOAT. I’m searching for and would like to purchase a 2- to 5-year-old Toggenburg dairy goat, preferably without horns. I’d also like to buy two Toggenburg bottlefed babies. Gerald Waddell 5490 Horseshoe Trail Drive Stover, MO 65078-1594 CREAM SEPARATOR VALVE. Somehow we lost our 1929-1931 #3 McCormick Deering Cream separator valve and spout. If anyone has one or knows where I can get one, please contact me. I am willing to pay a small fee and postage. Linda Brown 14020 25 Mesa Road Delta, CO 81416-7809 HOMESTEADING MENTOR. I’m looking to move into a rural area and start a small homestead within the next two years. I’m looking for a mentor and pen pal interested in mentoring me through the process, and hopefully we can build a great friendship.…

WHEN I WAS A CHILD in the 1950s, we got dressed up every Easter Sunday and went to my paternal grandparents’ for dinner. Dressing up meant matching Easter dresses for my sister and me, along with bobby socks and patent leather shoes. We wore a dressy little jacket, called a topper, and an Easter hat. We even carried a little purse and wore gloves. My brother wore a suit and tie, and my parents dressed up as well. Dinner was always served later in the day, and the spread consisted of turkey with kielbasa and sauerkraut. As we grew up, got married, and had children of our own, we started going to my parents’ house to celebrate Easter dinner and continue with the tradition. Now our children are grown with…

When my wife and I purchased our rural land, we had several plans to develop and enhance the property. We discussed gardens, food plots for wildlife, and even the possibility of planting a vineyard. Sitting around the dinner table, we drew maps with the locations for our projects on paper, and even laid out plot sizes. A 3-acre vineyard would allow us to plant a few hundred grape vines of different varieties, and we designated spots for a couple of 1-acre food plots for wildlife. We also wanted a garden — a big garden — for all sorts of vegetables that we never had room for in town. After staring at the layout of our upcoming projects, a sudden wave of reality set in. We had designed more than 5…