Innholdsfortegnelse for January - February 2018 i Grit

I was a junior in college when I purchased my first dog. I say first — we always had dogs growing up, and I even purchased a bird dog at one point who wasn’t much of a hunter. She was nowhere close to as good as my brother’s German shorthaired pointer, Kate. But Cali, a golden retriever who I bought when I was 21 years old, was mine, my responsibility and my first very own dog. Man, has she seen a lot in her years. At one point, my wife and I counted up the homes that she’s lived in with me, and the number was somewhere around 10 — less than the years she’s been alive, but not by a very wide margin. Moves, roommates, not always having the…

A Taste for Change DAYTON, Ohio — The Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association will hold its 39th annual conference February 15 through 17 at the Dayton Convention Center. “A Taste for Change” will feature educational workshops and keynote speakers on sustainable farming, homesteading, gardening, livestock, and more on Friday and Saturday, as well as Food and Farm School courses on Thursday, and a trade show spanning all three days. In addition, there will be networking and reception times, local food available, and activities for kids. See the full schedule and register for the event at www.Oeffa.org/conference2018.php. Covering All Ground WISCONSIN DELLS, Wisconsin — Gear up for spring with the 2018 GrassWorks Grazing Conference, “Covering All Ground,” January 30 through February 1. The 26th annual conference will feature demonstrations and…

350 grams (11⁄2 to 13⁄4 cups) tepid water,unchlorinated500 grams flour (about 4 cups, depending on type of flour) (I recommend at least20 percent unbleached bread flour)150 to 200 grams (scant 3⁄4 cup to scant 1 cup) starter or pre-ferment10 grams (scant 2 teaspoons) sea salt 1. Refresh starter or make pre-ferment 8 to 12 hours ahead. 2. In large bowl, mix together water and flour. Let stand for at least 20 minutes. This hydrates the grain and starts the process of gluten formation, making hand-kneading easier. 3. Add starter or pre-ferment and salt. No need to mix it all in, kneading will take care of that. 4. Knead dough. I leave the dough in the mixing bowl, turn the bowl with my left hand, while kneading with my right. I…

The sun was not an hour high when Linus Rawlings came upon the trail of the Ute war party. The high walls of the narrowing valley of the Rio Grande barred all escape, and Linus knew he was in trouble. A man of infinite patience, he was patient now, sitting his line — backed buckskin in the dappling shadow of the aspens. Behind him trailed three packhorses carrying his winter’s catch of furs, while before him the mountain slope lay bright with the first shy green of spring. Nothing moved along that slope, nor in the valley below, only the trembling leaves of the aspen. Linus, never one to accept the appearance of things in Indian country, remained where he was. Against the background of the aspens he was invisible…

1. A good farm dog should obey their handler. Nothing is more frustrating than a dog that will not listen or come when it’s called, and when working around livestock, it can be downright dangerous: for the livestock, the dog, and the handler. If your farm dog is more of a companion animal than a herding or guarding dog, make sure it is well trained enough that even when exposed to livestock, the livestock is not so distracting that any attention to the handler goes out the window. Spend a little time in a controlled situation making sure your dog understands the rules. 2. A good farm dog can be aloof with strangers and even bark loudly at them, but should never be aggressive. This is especially important if you…

▪ Temperature extremes ▪ Poor nutrition or a change in feed ▪ Dehydration ▪ Handling and sorting — even for nonpainful procedures such as shearing ▪ Tagging ▪ Castration and other painful procedures such as branding, dehorning, teeth cutting ▪ Weaning ▪ Birth ▪ Breeding — of particular concern for breeding males in a herd, who generally fail to eat and rest as much as they should during breeding season ▪ Predators ▪ Introducing new livestock ▪ Remember that disease can also be caused by vitamin and mineral imbalances, toxicities, and parasites, and that vaccination cannot protect against any of these problems…

Not every open door lets everything in. Not every closed door keeps everything out. Dutch doors are designed so the top half can open leaving the bottom shut, letting air and bugs in, but keeping animals out. Screen doors are designed to let air in, but no bugs, and only when they’re shut. Got it? Screen doors are traditionally thin and lightweight. In part this is because they don’t need to be thicker. Screening weighs next to nothing, so the door is only holding up its own frame. They also need to be thin to fit the outside of a jamb already occupied by a full-size door. The trouble with thin, though, is obvious — thin means flimsy, and making a durable screen door is something of a trick. I…

Seeking Homestead Mentor. I moved from fertile western North Carolina to the rocky Ozarks to pursue my dreams of homesteading, but so far I’ve failed miserably. I’m looking for a mentor and pen pal who can help with knowledge and encouragement. I hope to repay this kindness with friendship and the eventual fruits of my labor. I am dedicated to turning my little homestead around and making good progress in the coming year, beginning with a focus on the garden and chickens. Amanda Mack 4636 Highway 72 Centerville, MO 63633-8311 Tractor Parts. I am interested in purchasing some tractor weights for my Allis-Chalmers 3050 tractor, but haven’t had any luck finding them. The item number of the weights is not available, but is listed in the manual as Front Weight…

▪ Maple tapping time is just around the corner. Have you ever considered taking up this fun hobby but wonder how it all really works? I’m so excited to share with you everything we’ve learned about sugar making. I know you’ll find it to be a great outdoor family activity, and I think you’ll see that it is much simpler than you may have previously thought. Best of all, your reward will be one of nature’s sweetest treats: pure maple syrup. What kind of trees can I tap? The best maple syrup comes from sugar maple or hard maple trees, because their sap has the highest sugar content. You can also tap soft maples, birch, or box elder, but the end product will taste a bit different and the boiling…

If the starter in this article is out of your comfort zone, try using a pre-ferment. This is a lot like a sourdough starter, with two important distinctions: It’s made with commercial yeast, and is usually made within hours of when you are going to mix up your bread dough. For most breads that I make, the pre-ferment would be mixed 9 to 16 hours before I am going to mix my dough. It is amazing how much flavor this adds to even plain white bread. Many of the white breads of Italy are made with a pre-ferment called biga. In France, the pre-ferment is called poolish. Other common names for pre-ferment are “sponge” or “barm.” BIGA RECIPE 0.75 grams (scant 1⁄4 teaspoon) instant yeast60 grams (1⁄4 cup) warm water200…

Pot pie is the subject of numerous spirited kitchen debates, dividing cooks between the “pot” camp and the “pie” camp. “Pie” cooks hold sway across much of the country, maintaining that chicken pot pie is an actual “pie” filled with a thick stew of chicken, corn, peas, and potatoes, topped with a pie crust or biscuit topping, and baked in the oven. “Pot” cooks, on the other hand, call the above dish “chicken pie,” pointing out accurately enough the lack of a “pot” involved. You can bet dollar for dollar a “pot” cook is Pennsylvania Dutch, or at least learned to cook in Southeastern Pennsylvania or Pennsylvania Dutch Country. They maintain that pot pie, also called slippery pot pie, or “bott boi” in Pennsylvania Dutch, is more of a thick…

Starting seeds indoors at home — this simple idea probably causes the greatest mix of either anxiety or eternal optimism of any aspect of gardening that I’ve helped people with in my years of growing vegetables at home. In reality, it warrants neither end of the spectrum. In many cases, it’s not quite as easy as so many kindergarten teachers have made us believe in our “green bean in a plastic cup” experiments in school, but at the same time, with some basic knowledge, some do’s and don’ts, and a bit of good preparation, it’s certainly no reason for anxiety. I’ve started hundreds of plants indoors in the dead of winter: I’ve been successful, and to be honest, I’ve failed a few times as well, but I’ve gained a good…

Bacteria are single-celled microorganisms that can reproduce on their own. Bacteria can be killed by antibiotics, which are medications that directly affect bacterial cells but do not affect animal cells. Many common bacterial diseases can be prevented with vaccines; vaccines that protect against bacterial infections are called bacterins. Unlike bacteria, viruses cannot reproduce on their own. Viruses consist of genetic material (DNA) in a protective capsule, and reproduce by finding a host cell in another organism, such as an animal, and tricking that cell into making copies of them. Viruses cannot be killed by antibiotics. While there are some antiviral medications, they are very non-specific, quite expensive, and not available for use in animal production. The most effective means of preventing viral infection is through vaccination. Many viral infections lead…

Soap - makers love to tell the story of how ancient Romans first “discovered” soap by burning animal sacrifices on Mount Sapo, and how the creeks at the bottom of that mythological mountain were the best places to do laundry. They’ll tell you that the water, ash, and animal fat on those sites accidentally created the soap that filled the creeks. The reality is that the Romans didn’t actually make soap. They traded for it with the Celts, who dominated the market because of their access to abundant limestone and seashells, from which they produced slacked lime to make a caustic soda lye (sodium hydroxide). After years of professionally making all-natural goat’s milk soaps to sell at our local farmers market, I decided to develop a self-sufficient soap-making process based…

1. LEAF LETTUCE. Because we eat so many salads and because it’s so quick and easy to grow, I rely on leaf lettuce to fill in any unexpected empty spaces in the garden. A quick sprinkling of seed results in a generous harvest in just a few weeks. What could be easier? Plus, with such an array of leaf colors, shapes, and textures, lettuces are as pretty as they are productive. 2. ARUGULA. Arugula is another workhorse in the garden. It tolerates the unstable weather of early spring and late fall, and it grows so quickly that it’s also known as “rocket.” 3. BUSH BEANS. Many bush bean varieties are ready to harvest in just 50 days, making them ideal for succession planting. We start sowing seed directly in the…

Wild Things The fruit, nuts, grains, and vegetables we enjoy today are descendants of wild plants. Early Americans depended upon edible wild plants to supplement their diet. The forests, meadows, and stream banks provided a cornucopia of fruit, roots, and leafy greens. The fruit of wild cherry and sweet Juneberry trees or shrubs were eaten fresh or made into preserves. Dandelions, lamb’s-quarter, and chicory were used for fresh salads and potherbs, and the roots of groundnuts and Jerusalem artichokes made a tasty potato substitute. Today, lovers of edible wild plants can be found searching fields for wild strawberries or scouring the roadsides for a feed of fiddleheads. But one of the best places to find tasty wild edibles may be in your own backyard. They are weeds. Emerson defined a…

Hoop House Cover Cropping Keeps Soil Fertile Anne and Eric Nordell like their hoop houses, but they are also believers in crop rotation and cover crops. That’s what prompted them to come up with easy-to-move “portahoopies” with space in between for cover crops. They recently outlined the pioneering system they have used for 25 years. “We grow produce in the tunnels for two years, followed by two years of cover cropping,” they say. “This simple rotation reduces weed pressure while preventing the buildup of salt and disease in the soil.” Their gardens are laid out with alternating 18- foot strips of hoop houses and cover crops. The cover crop strips are planted, mowed, and tilled with a team of horses. Every two years the hoop houses are moved laterally onto…

I am frequently asked if it’s true that sourdough starter somehow inactivates the gluten in wheat flour. A number of studies suggest this is true. In controlled lab conditions, bread dough inoculated with certain strains of lactobacillus and then fermented for many hours has been shown to indicate much lower levels of gluten than before fermentation. These studies all conclude that more research is needed, however. I also wonder, if the gluten is essentially neutralized, how does that bread dough then rise during fermentation and baking? If you have celiac disease, you must avoid all gluten. However, in recent years, gluten has become the scapegoat for a laundry list of ailments, spawning a multibillion dollar industry of gluten-free products. The companies making these products, for the most part, have made…

▪ Avoid auction marts and stockyards for purchasing animals when possible — purchase directly from producers that don’t buy a lot of animals from off farm, but keep a healthy herd of their own. Enquire about their health management program prior to purchasing animals. ▪ Ensure your animals have proper nutrition and consistent access to clean water. ▪ Avoid temperature stressors by providing shade and cool areas in the summer, and windbreaks and bedding in the winter. ▪ Quarantine new animals for two to three weeks before introducing them to the herd — this means not just a separate pen, but no fence-line contact or shared water source. ▪ Always practice proper workflow — youngest to oldest, healthy to sick, and always disinfect equipment and footwear after being used on…

Quality spices can be expensive, as a quick tour of the spice rack at your local grocery store will prove. There are a variety of reasons for their costliness. Some spices only grow on remote tropical islands. Others require jungle-like conditions, specific soil types, or specialized pollinators to produce a crop. Poor weather or a rapidly growing market can also inflate the price tag on a jar of spice. Even cheap imitations and fillers can make you pay dearly for the good stuff. And sometimes the price tag is so big because the harvest is so small. That’s where saffron comes in. Not only is saffron one of the most expensive spices, ounce for ounce, it’s also one of the most expensive foods, edging out even truffles and caviar. Saffron…

1. PLAN IN ADVANCE. Although I can’t claim to be a super-organized gardener, I’m always sure to order enough seed for a full year of succession planting. If stored properly, most seed will easily keep for several years. Even if you don’t use it all that first season, you can save the rest for the future. 2. START MORE SEEDLINGS. By mid-May, my warm-season vegetable seedlings have been planted in the garden, and the space under my grow light is empty. But it’s not time to unplug for the season. Instead, I start planning for succession crops and fall and winter harvests. I begin by planting more cucumber seeds, which are relatively quick-growing and will supply a second crop of crisp cukes for a late-summer harvest, just when the first…

While green plants cannot constitute the sole diet for pastured poultry (geese are one exception), it is important that the vegetation they do consume have a high level of digestible nutrients. If it does not, there is little reason to make pasturing part of the diet. Common plants found in a pasture or open-growth area contain more nutritional value than most people realize. Let’s take a quick look at some of these. ▪ AMARANTH OR PIGWEED. This ubiquitous plant is everywhere. There are too many species to list here, but it is one of the most nutritious and palatable plants for a poultry pasture. If you have these in your poultry pasture, be glad. On a dry-weight basis, the leaves contain th meet or exceed the nutritional levels of most…