Posted on 02/09/2009 12:36:11 AM PST by nw_arizona_granny
Chocolate Malt Cupcakes-—Buttercream Frosting
Posted by: “RUSSIE-—— >^..^<”
DOUBLE CHOCOLATE MALT SHOP CUPCAKES WITH CHERRY VANILLA BUTTERCREAM
CUPCAKES
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup milk
2/3 cup malted milk powder
1/2 tsp espresso powder
2/3 cup oil
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup chocolate chips
CHERRY VANILLA BUTTERCREAM
4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened
1 tbs vanilla
3 tbs heavy cream
2/3 cup tart cherry preserves
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 cupcake pans with 20 paper liners.
2. CUPCAKES-—Whisk together flour, cocoa, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt until blended.
3. Beat milk, malted milk and espresso. Add oil and eggs beat until blended.
4. Add flour mixture to milk mixture, beat until smooth. Add sour cream and vanilla beat until combined. Stir in chips.
5. Divide batter among muffin cups. Bake 17 min. or until done. Cool cupcakes in pan 2 min. Remove cupcakes and cool completely.
6. BUTTERCREAM-—Beat powdered sugar and butter until blended. Add vanilla and cream beat until light and fluffy. Beat in preserves until incorporated.
7. Frost the cupcakes. Garnish the top of each cupcake with a malted milk ball or maraschino cherry, if desired and serve. MAKES 20 CUPCAKES.*
Pork & Chickpea (Garbanzo Bean) Chili
Posted by: “RUSSIE-—— >^..^<”
PORK & CHICKPEA CHILI
1 pound ground pork
2/3 cup sliced green onions
1 tbs minced garlic
1 pound 13 oz can chickpeas, rinsed
15 oz can hominy, rinsed, or corn kernels, drained
2 cups green salsa
2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp salt
1. Cook pork, green onions and garlic in a skillet, breaking up meat until pork is no longer pink.
2. Stir in chickpeas, hominy, salsa, 1/3 cup water, cumin and salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer covered 15 min. Serve over rice. Garnish with sliced radishes and chopped cilantro, if desired. MAKES 6 SERVINGS.*
Re: essential oils
Posted by: “amanda”
i use a mix for my kids, as a chest rub for colds, similiar to vicks, but
all natural. organic olive oil 2tbsp, a few drops peppermint oil and a few
drops eucalyptus oil. I’ve noticed that I do have to “shake” the container
that the mix is in to re vitalize the oils. but other then that, it works
wonders.
Glop Shnop a twist on bean soup
Posted by: “mawmawggrannie”
Ok silly name but really very good. My DH’s friend fixed this for us last week end.
cook a large onion till transperent in a skillet!
put 2 smoked sausage links sliced thin in a dutch oven
for every 2 links add a Large can of kidney beans so 4 links would be 2 large cans of kidney beand and so on.
simmer till thickened like chilli and serve over Cooked rice.
I wasn’t impressed when I was told the recipe but tried it and liked it!
Lemon Herb Grilled Chicken
Posted by: “mtwitchcat”
LEMON HERB GRILLED CHICKEN
fresh lemon
1/8 cup canola oil or other light flavored oil
mixed fresh and dried herbs including: oregano, basil, rosemary,
lemon balm, sage, thyme, savory, tarragon
1 t salt
1/2 t pepper
3 cloves garlic, divided
1 onion, quartered
1 whole chicken
Juice lemon and set aside. Reserve remaining peel/rind.
Whisk together lemon juice, oil, herbs, salt, pepper and 1 clove
chopped garlic. Taste and adjust as desired.
Smash remaining 2 cloves garlic and insert in chicken cavity. Add
onion and reserved lemon peel.
Rub oil mixture over chicken and under skin.
Add chicken to a large ziploc bag and add any remaining oil mixture.
Seal and refrigerate overnight. Remove from fridge about 30 minutes
before grilling.
Preheat grill over medium low indirect heat (about 325°).
Grill chicken for 2-3 hours, or til cooked through. Let chicken rest
at least 10 minutes before carving.
Peabody Hotel Vanilla Muffins
Posted by: “mtwitchcat”
Peabody Hotel Vanilla Muffins
These are fabulous....
Source: Peabody Hotel, Memphis, Tennessee
2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 cup butter
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Beat sugar and eggs together. Add remaining ingredients. Mix well. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes. Line muffin cups with paper cups. Makes around 24 muffins
Roast-—with Mushroom Gravy
Posted by: “RUSSIE-—— >^..^<”
EYE ROUND ROAST WITH SHIITAKE GRAVY
2 tbs oil
3 pounds eye round roast
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp + pinch pepper
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 pound sliced shiitake mushrooms
1/3 cup dry red wine
1 tbs flour
1/4 tsp nutmeg
14 1/2 oz can beef broth
1. Heat oven to 450 degrees. Brush 1 tbs oil over roast and season with salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Roast 30 min. turning over halfway through. Reduce temp to 350 degrees and roast for an additional 20 min. or until 130 degrees on a thermometer or until desired doneness. Remove from oven and allow to rest, tented with foil, 10 min.
2. Heat remaining oil in a skillet. Add onions and mushrooms and cook until lightly browned. Stir in wine and cook 1 min.
3. In bowl, whisk flour, nutmeg and pinch of pepper into broth. Stir broth into onion mushroom mixture. Simmer 1 min. or until thickened.
4. TO SERVE-—Slice the roast as thinly as possible. Serve gravy on the side with mashed potatoes, if desired. MAKES 8 SERVINGS.*
Sweet Chili Popcorn & Butterscotch Popcorn (2 Recipes)
Posted by: “RUSSIE-—— >^..^<”
SWEET CHILI POPCORN
3 tbs confectioners sugar, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1 tbs chili powder, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper or more to taste, 1 1/2 tsp paprika. MAKES 9 TBS.* Toss 2 1/2 tbs mixture with 1 bag popcorn.
BUTTERSCOTCH POPCORN
8 butterscotch hard candies finely crushed. Toss with 1 bag popcorn.*
Chicken Breasts-—with 4 Different Toppers
Posted by: “RUSSIE-—— >^..^<”
CHICKEN BREASTS WITH 4 DIFFERENT TOPPERS
BASIC RECIPE
2 tbs flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, tenders removed
1 tbs oil
1. Mix flour, salt and pepper in a plastic food bag. Add chicken, shake to coat.
2. Heat oil in a skillet. Add chicken and turning once cook until golden and cooked through. Remove to a platter, cover to keep warm.
3. Using same skillet, leave in any fat, proceed with (TOPPER) as directed. Serve over the chicken. EACH RECIPE MAKES 4 SERVINGS.*
APPLE THYME-—Saute 2 sliced unpeeled apples until lightly browned. Remove. Add 1/2 cup each chicken broth and apple cider and 1/2 tsp dried thyme to pan, boil until slightly syrupy. Stir in 1/3 cup each sour cream and sliced scallions. Off heat, stir in apples.
MEDITERREAN-—Drain two 6 oz jars marinated artichoke hearts, save marinade. To skillet, add artichokes, 1/2 cup chicken broth, 1/4 cup halved pitted kalamata olives and 2 tbs marinade. Bring to a simmer. Add 6 oz bag baby spinach and cook stirring until spinach wilts. Stir in 2 cups diced plum tomatoes, simmer 1 min.
SWEET & SOUR-—Saute 1 cup each chunks red and green bell pepper until tender. Add 1/2 cup ketchup, 8 oz can undrained pineapple chunks in juice and 1/4 cup each light brown sugar and cider vinegar. Bring to a simmer, cook 2 min. Spoon onto chicken, top with sliced scallions.
LEMON CAPER-—Saute 3/4 cup sliced red onion until golden. Stir in 1 cup chicken broth, 1 tsp lemon zest and 2 tbs lemon juice. Cook 4 min. Off heat, swirl in 1 tbs each butter and capers and some chopped tarragon or parsley.
To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SimplfyMeWithTipsAndHints/
My oldest built a trebuchet in wood shop that throws rocks and marbles about 20 feet.......he wants to build a bigger version for the backyard that could defend the yard..................
Check out his YouTube video on my blog:
http://hunkerdownusa.wordpress.com/
My eldest son built a trebuchet only about four feet high on our farm, when he was about 14. The thing could throw logs, rocks and anything you like. It was so dangerous and threw things with such force, my husband made him dismantle it in case the younger boys hit anything with it accidentally. (Like cars)
It might be a good idea to have one as a silent defensive weapon if TSHTF.
Jane
[snipped, is end of article]
The new law, which is set to go into effect June 1, 2009, will force
anyone selling property in Cook County to provide a thumbprint from
their right hand.
“No more so than any law abiding citizen walking down the
sidewalk should be fingerprinted; just for selling my house, that’s
ridiculous,” said Gerald Cain of Land Acquisitions, Inc.
Cain has been in the real estate consulting business for decades. He
says the law is intrusive and threatens to create fraud when it’s
designed to prevent it.
Is this a precursor to The Mark?
Link: http://cbs2chicago.com/local/Mike.Pu....2.957819.html
[There they go, calling all who didn’t vote for them the Militia, ala clinton style....granny]
myer sent you a video: “Secret State Police Report: Ron Paul, Bob Barr, Chuck Baldwin, Libertarians are Terrorists”
help center | e-mail options | report spam
kerrymyer has shared a video with you on YouTube:
Secret State Police Report: Ron Paul, Bob Barr, Chuck Baldwin, Libertarians are Terrorists
http://inflation.us/
The title is a bit misleading... but if you aren’t worried about the general direction of this gov’t then you need to Wake Up!
The MIAC report specifically describes supporters of presidential candidates Ron Paul, Chuck Baldwin, and Bob Barr as militia influenced terrorists
http://www.infowars.com/secret-state-police-report-ron-paul-bob-barr-chuck-baldwin-libertarians-are-terrorists/
http://www.blacklistednews.com/news-3601-0-8-8—.html
Confirmation:
acptulsa
Posts: 10,413
I just called the number listed for Capt. Hull on that official website and had the authenticity and text of that memo confirmed. I spoke to Lt. John Hotz.
This was not the toll-free number. I dialed (573) 526-6115. He confirmed that his department did issue such a memo on 2/20 and quoted me the part of the memo that mentions Ron Paul. It matched what we see.
http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=183388&page=2
© 2009 YouTube, LLC
Just in case the video didn’t come through...
Here’s the link to it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WK1fxcq5kpc&feature=email
-Lynda
To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HunkerDown06/
A friend of mine had told me one time, it would be so easy to start
something biological in the US using
rest stops because of the high traffic. She was just back from Iraq and had
been taught the methods terrorists
might use to dispense chemicals etc.
http://enews.earthlink.net/article/str?guid=20090313/49b9e850_3421_1334520090313-76160997
MONTGOMERY, Ala. - The Alabama Department of Transportation is keeping the
Interstate 10 welcome center in Baldwin County closed until it gets test
results on a suspicious substance found in a soap dispenser. Department
spokesman Tony Harris said Friday the department is waiting on tests as a
precaution.
The center was closed Monday because of an unusual odor in the men’s
restroom and because the liquid soap in a dispenser in that bathroom had an
unusual color.
continued...........
[I found this lurking in a Yahoo Group, I checked it is real, the top paragraph is from the group....]
To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HunkerDown06/
There is a really sick game taking place in the United States right now
called Swatting. If people have a grudge against someone or even if they
just want kicks they call 911 to the police and describe horrendous
situations happening at a house. I don’t know how
they do it as far as the technology to conceal the real source of the call,
some sort of device.
That is not to say LEOs don’t really mess up bad too frequently hiting the
wrong houses.
Dorothy
To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HunkerDown06/
[There have been some arrests for this game and you will hear the Police talk about it at times on the scanners..granny]
http://enews.earthlink.net/channel/NEWS/
Business News: more headlines
OPEC calls for end to overproduction
VIENNA - OPEC ministers have called for an end to overproduction by some members as they sought to slice nearly a million barrels per day from world supply and boost prices - but without further shocking the anemic global economy.
Insurance giant AIG to pay $165 million in bonuses
2 Alaska lawmakers seek review of pipeline license
Will the stock market rally stick, or vanish?
G-20 pledge sustained action on financial crisis
Health and Lifestyle News: more headlines
Obama: Food safety system a health ‘hazard’
WASHINGTON - The nation’s food safety system is a “hazard to public health” and overdue for an overhaul, President Barack Obama said Saturday as he filled the top job at the Food and Drug Administration.
USDA approves shot for cows aimed at E. coli
Study: Some heart patients undoing drug benefits
Safety net health centers struggle to meet demand
At A Glance: Recent Pharmaceutical Acquisitions
Strange News: more headlines
Hood not so good? Ancient Brits questioned outlaw
LONDON - An academic says he’s found evidence that Britain’s legendary outlaw Robin Hood wasn’t as popular as folklore suggests. Julian Luxford says a note discovered in the margins of an ancient history book contains rare criticism of the supposedly benevolent bandit.
Vt. hunter busted for bolting antlers on dead doe
Postcard arrives in Ohio 47 years late
Wash. man caught in HOV lane with unbuckled dummy
Man unwisely tries to rob Tae Kwon Do studio
[Needs light, made me think of planting by the moon...granny]
Different types of seeds have different requirements. Some seeds, such as
lettuce seeds, need light in order to sprout. Some seeds, such as pepper
seeds, need extra warmth in order to sprout. Some seeds, such as columbines,
need to have a period of cold before they will sprout. So putting the
seedling trays in the refrigerator for a few weeks will actually increase
their germination rate. The type of seed will determine whether it is better
to start it in a warm place, or whether it will be just fine in the south
facing window. Generally, the guidelines on the seed packages should provide
any information that is out of the ordinary to maximize germination rate.
Most things don’t require any specialized treatment, and should do just fine
being started in a sunny south facing window, so long as you keep the soil
sufficiently damp for germination to take place. If they don’t, you should
be able to contact the company that sold them for a more detailed
description of planting requirements. Some companies provide a planting
guide that contains the specific information, usually in with the invoice.
Linda
You can check out the Rutgers extension fact sheet on vegetables grown in containers:
http://njaes.rutgers.edu/pubs/publication.asp?pid=FS055
Mary,
You want them facing south and on as much as possible east to west axis. Stand in your yard at different times of the day to see which areas get the most sunlight. There are meters you can buy and stick in the ground and it will tell you how many hours of sunlight, never used one. I would get a compass if you are in doubt which way is north. Good luck on your garden.
HTH
Dan in Ct. Zone 6A Gardening must be a sin because whenever I am having this much fun, someone shows up and tells me I am going to h***.
To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ediblecontainergardens/
Smart Grid: Government spying targets Rural America
By admin
I’ve been reading the stimulus bill. When I saw the term Smart Grid on page 232 of the “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009,” I stopped reading so fast I almost gave myself whiplash. If you haven’t heard about Smart Grid, listen up. Smart Grid is closely related to the National Animal Identification System (NAIS), and both programs are designed to spy on Americans. Even more disturbing than the purpose of these government-condoned intrusions into our lives is the fact that the Obama Administration feels that Smart Grid is so important that it had to be funded in the stimulus package—which is supposed to be used for emergencies only. What’s the emergency? Why does Smart Grid need to be implemented within 60 days of the bill passing? Here come the answers, and none of them are good.
What is Smart Grid?
Smart Grid is part of a global initiative to manage information, all information. This is not some dire fictional prediction; it exists right now, right here in the United States, and thanks to President Obama, the Secretary of the Treasury can lend the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA), a division of the Department of Energy, $3.25 billion to implement Smart Grid:
“(B) the Secretary shall, without further
appropriation and ‘without fiscal year limitation, loan to the Western Area Power Administration, on such terms as may be fixed by the Administrator and the Secretary, such sums (not to exceed, in the aggregate (including deferred interest),$3,250,000,000-in outstanding repayable balances at anyone time) as, in the judgment of the Administrator, are from time to time required for the purpose of [...] In carrying out the initiative, the Secretary shall provide financial support to smart grid demonstration projects in urban, suburban, tribal, and rural areas, including areas where electric system assets are controlled by nonprofit entities and areas where
electric system assets are controlled by investor- owned utilities.
Ostensibly, Smart Grid is about energy efficiency and climate change. This intelligent power grid gathers information about individual energy use via sensors embedded in the transmission lines and in homes and businesses. The government, via WAPA, will know what temperature you keep your home or business at. If you keep your domicile warmer or cooler than the temperature approved by the federal government, you pay more. To some, this is an acceptable arrangement, until they discover what else Smart Grid can do.
What’s in your closet?
According to IBM, one of the two corporations which will receive most of the money (the other is GE),
The world is becoming instrumented. By 2010, there will be a billion transistors per human, each one costing one ten-millionth of a cent.
The world is becoming interconnected. With a trillion networked things—cars, roadways, pipelines, appliances, pharmaceuticals and even livestock—the amount of information created by those interactions grows exponentially.
All things are becoming intelligent. Algorithms and powerful systems can analyze and turn those mountains of data into actual decisions and actions that make the world work better. Smarter.
Did you catch that? Smart Grid will allow the government to collect information about you, your habits, and possessions. All they need are a few sensors to know what is in your refrigerator; how long you spend in the bathroom; if you smoke in your home; if you drink alcohol in your home; and how many people are in your home or business at any one time. Science fiction? Don’t bet on it. IBM knows different.
And if the above statements aren’t enough to get you thinking, how about this:
Nanotechnology e-textiles for biomonitoring and wearable electronics-
If current research is an indicator, wearable electronics will go far beyond just very small electronic devices or wearable, flexible computers. Not only will these devices be embedded in textile substrates but an electronics device or system could ultimately become the fabric itself. Electronic textiles (e-textiles) will allow the design and production of a new generation of garments with distributed sensors and electronic functions. Such e-textiles will have the revolutionary ability to sense, act, store, emit, and move – think biomedical monitoring functions or new man-machine interfaces – while ideally leveraging an existing low-cost textile manufacturing infrastructure.
Here’s the scenario: you buy a pair of socks, using your credit or debit card (cash is already being discouraged). Because of Smart Grid, your house will be able to read the bar code on those socks as you bring them through the door and add them to a list it keeps of your clothes; size, price, origin, when worn, etc. The computer that controls your home’s thermostat and lights also controls your wardrobe, budget, social habits, and even your eating habits. The refrigerator reads the bar codes on your food. Someone with access to that information knows when you eat, what you eat, what you paid for it, and how long something has been in the fridge.
If you’re like me, and do a lot of canning, you’re probably thinking, “so what?” That’s what my initial thought was. It can’t read a bar code if there isn’t one. Hmmm. What if your home’s computer believed that based on how many people live in the home there’s not enough food being purchased? How long do you think it would take the electronic nanny to notify child protective services or other authorities?
Again, this isn’t science fiction. It’s happening right now in South Bend, Indiana, and Florida and California. Now that President Obama’s spending package has been pushed down our windpipes, effectively choking off any opposition, look for development of an electronic super nanny by Big Brother. This is change we can believe in? It’s change alright rural America, and it’s coming for you. Notice on GE’s page there are no pictures of urban or suburban dwellings, only a rural home? An oversight? Not according to Alan Keyes.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Keyes in the summer of 2008. He told me then that rural people should understand that there is a concerted effort to remove all control from rural areas and concentrate it in Washington D.C. After reading about the billions of dollars the White House has allocated to watching its rural citizens, I’d say he hit the nail on the head. We are the targets; the lonely little home on GE’s website might as well have a bull’s eye on the roof. Dr. Keyes told me the Illuminati who are running D.C. are worried about rural people because we are exposed to less media than our urban counterparts: we’re harder to control.
Apocalypse now
One of the largest components of Smart Grid is already being implemented by the USDA; it’s called the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) it requires farmers to implant a RFID tag into the body of all of their livestock–cows, pigs, goats, chickens, sheep, all livestock. The NAIS threatens to destroy small-scale family farms. If you’re not familiar with the NAIS, here are a couple of resources: Downsize DC, NAIS: Too little too late? and NAIS: Let’s do some fuzzy math. Coupled with Smart Grid, the NAIS strengthens the ability of Government officials to control rural Americans as completely as they control people in the cities.
Remember, President Obama believes implementing Smart Grid is urgent. He wants the program to expand quickly, with all of us on the thinking grid by 2011. All of us. Resistance is futile.
US Gov’t Follows Stalin’s Example-Seizes Nation’s Food Supply
By J.Cook
Russian peasants struggle to find food.It’s not as if they didn’t see it coming; they did. In fact, published reports suggest that as early as 1929, Russia’s rural population had begun to stockpile food, fuel and other provisions to the extent that most of them had at least a 60-day supply of essentials, including firearms and ammunition. They knew. So did Stalin. His minions came in the dark of night, seizing farms and whole villages, demanding that the rural residents surrender their provisions or die. And so it begins again.
This time, it’s not Stalinist Russia, but the good old United States of America, and the Government is becoming increasingly worried about the rural population. History is repeating itself:
Think what happened to the Stowers is just a fluke, a miscommunication? Think again. There’s a new bill working its way through Congress-The Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009.Read it closely. What happened to the Stowers is only the beginning. The Obama Administration is coming for rural America.
Strategic Ambiguity-The Secret Weapon
Strategic Ambiguity is a communication technique used to assert control over a large group of people without specifying exactly what the parameters of behavior and expectations are,e.g. “Change We Can Believe In.” Remember it? Change is something different to everyone, making it perfectly ambiguous. The Obama Administration is once again raising this coldhearted control technique to new levels. The Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009 is purposely vague, leaving it opened to interpretation by the Government’s newest agency-The Food Safety Administration. The new agency has broad powers, powers that would allow them to order raids like the one on the Stowers against all small-scale family farmers and rural communities. Stalin would be impressed.
GunBroker.com Online Gun Auction
The new agency is charged with “protecting” the Nation’s food supply, because, as readily admitted in the bill, the USDA and FDA have completely failed when it comes to ensuring the integrity of the food supply:
1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSES.
—Congress finds that—
recent ongoing events demonstrate that the
food safety program at the Food and Drug Adminis
tration is not effective in controlling hazards in food
coming from farms and factories in the United
States and food and food ingredients coming from
foreign countries, and these events have adversely
affected consumer confidence;
So, the Government, up until this point, has failed miserably, and these geniuses think we need yet another government agency? It would be laughable, if it weren’t for the power it gives the Government to seize control of individual stocks of food, homemade food, homegrown food, and any other food “processed” anywhere in America. You see, this bill is so ambiguous, the term “processor” could literally mean a kitchen with a pressure canner or dehydrator in it. In fact, “processor” could even mean a hunter cleaning a kill.
This is how power is seized from the people and handed over to Government. The law is ambiguous enough to allow tyranny in the name of safety–”We’re from the Government; We’re here to help.” Don’t bet on it. The rural population in twentieth century Russia knew better.
Who could be against protecting the food supply? The problem is that’s the reasoning Stalin used to declare war on Russia’s landowners. They were labeled as hoarders and ordered to turn over their food supplies to the Government to feed the hungry masses. Why were the masses starving? Because of Stalin’s nationalization of the banks and then the farms. Do you see similarities here, rural America?
Lydia Scott over at The Campaign for Liberty did a magnificent job of breaking down this proposed law that would ostensibly protect the Nation’s food supply. It’s time to pay attention.
Would you surrender your food if ordered to do so by the Government?
* Yes. A thousand times over, yes.
* No.
* What food? I don’t know nothin’ about no stored food.
* Yes. The Government would not ask for it if they didn’t need it.
* Yes. We should share with each other.
* No, and I’ll defend my property if I have to.
View Results
[After I had read a historical article on Russia, I found this one here and it fits, will post the other in a minute, and No the site has no relation to this one, I just happen to have them both open, from some newsletters I was reading.
Check out this site, it has other articles of interest to us.
granny]
http://michaelbunker.com/journal.html
Fathers and Sons, a novel by Ivan Turgenev
Many of you know that I am an eager student of Russian history and literature (mainly history, Russian literature can be great, or horribly long, sad, and almost unreadable - eg. Tolstoy). So I was pleased to find an Easton Press heavy leather collectors edition of Fathers and Sons at a book store in San Angelo recently.
I love the collectors editions of the Easton Press books, with their luxurious leather, gold edged pages, and the ribbon book mark sewed into them. So I bought the Turgenev book for two reasons... One, I had never read Turgenev, and I hoped he wasn’t another Tolstoy, and Two, as I said, I love the Easton Press books. Well, I turned out to be well pleased on both accounts.
Being a student of Russian history and having read Solzhenitsyn’s Gulag Archipelago (I am currently reading AS’s Lenin in Zurich) it was very interesting to me to get some insight into where and when the first shadows of the new destructive thinking and the predecessors of Socialism and Communism made their entry into Czarist Russia.
The book takes place in the middle 1800’s in rural Russia and examines the stresses and conflicts between the liberals - those who wanted some modest changes to the Aristocratic and somewhat Fuedal system in Russia, like the freedom of the serfs, etc. - and the new Nihilists or “freethinkers” who accepted no authority on faith, who believed nothing except that destruction was good and anything traditional, sentimental, or based on faith, was bad.
This book is very valuable for those of us today who are traditionalists and conservatives, because we can see parallels when we examine the different parties and thoughts in play today. Most remarkably, the book examines what happens when a false dialectic or Hegelian dialectic is forced upon the people. Let me explain...
In Russia, you had the Aristocratic or Fuedal Agrarian system, which somewhat produced stability and material comfort for most people (there was plenty of food, western goods, and an almost European system of culture). There was a ridgid caste system, but most productive serfs and peasants had plenty and were comfortable.
The liberals wanted to ease away from the Aristocratic traditional system, but they wanted to do so slowly. They wanted to free the serfs and peasants and hire them back as working hands on the farms who would pay rent for their own sections of land.
The conservatives soon learned, though, that most of the serfs and peasants, if left alone to work their own land in exchange for rent, would not work at all. The peasants became abusive of their new priveleges, and many of them basically became lazy and drunken rotters. The old conservative system had bailiffs who could enforce a work ethic and who punished laziness and sloth.
Under the new system, the farms became unproductive and many farms failed. The nihilists, socialists, and eventually the communists, took advantage of the failing system (failing because of the changes made by the liberals) to push for even more drastic social and economic changes. Those drastic changes would eventually become the system we know as the Communist Soviet Union.
Unhappily, Amerika is on the same type of road. Anyway, the book is an interesting study of an Agrarian system which is on its way to destruction, and a very interesting look at the cultural and generational divides that are put in play by “new learning”, when young men and women are sent to colleges to read books by ne’er do wells and theorists who really don’t know anything at all.
Today, millions of young men and women become skateboarders and motorbikers or skiers in the X-games because they have thousands of hours to waste getting good at playing a game. In the mid-1800’s and following, millions of youth were given thousands of hours to do nothing but read destructive books and theorize. The death and destruction rampant in the 20th Century was the inevitable result.
Ok, more later.
Y’all be cool,
Michael Bunker
[You will want to check out the rock smokehouse he is building, it is above this article, lots of photos......granny]
http://michaelbunker.com/journal.html
The Sopka MBS 857 Wood Cook Stove
Back in February I reported to you that I had bought an inexpensive Serbian wood cookstove and I promised a review of it.
The Model I purchased was the MBS 857 marketed here in the U.S. by Sopka Inc. out of Ohio.
As I mentioned, as far as Wood cook stoves go in America, the MBS 857 is fairly inexpensive, and those of us who realize that heating and cooking fuels may soon be very, very difficult to get, know that having a cooking/heating unit that operates on readily available wood is just a good idea.
The MBS 857 is a mid-range and mid-sized wood stove. If you are in the market, and you are willing to pay more or desire to pay less, Sopka has models that are bigger and fancier, and they have a few models that are smaller and cheaper.
Let me first say that, being a former salesman, I am a service and sales guy. I pay attention to how the company treats the customer, and let me tell you that I have rarely had a better buying experience when buying a large item online than the one I had with Sopka.
The owner contacted me multiple times throughout the sale and delivery period to tell me what to do and what to expect. He personally made sure my stove was tracked and delivered on time. He called me after I received the stove to make sure I got it, and he called me again after I posted my first blogpost about the stove to thank me for sending business his way (keep that in mind, it will come up later).
We have been very happy with the MBS 857, and many of the other folks in the community are sold on it as well. It is true that the firebox is small, but the unit heats quickly and efficiently and uses very little firewood. It cooks evenly and Danielle and Tracy have been very excited (after cooking in a propane stove for years) to produce cookies and breads that aren’t burned on the bottom and raw in the middle. Cooking on the stove top is easy and the three part top makes it simple to find the perfect heat for whatever you are cooking.
The upside to this cookstove is that it is inexpensive... you will only pay a little bit more than you would pay for a new propane stove, but you get the added benefit of heating your kitchen as well.
This stove would be ideal for a summer kitchen if you already have a sustainable way to heat your house or cabin. The unit itself does not get warm at all except out of the front of the unit. In fact, we will be moving our stove about 10 inches closer to the wall because we learned that the unit produces very little heat out of the back of the stove. This is ideal. It produces a good amount of heat out of the front of the unit, which is where you want it, and if you are just using the unit for heating, you can increase the heating effect by opening up the stove. The only downside to the MBS 857 (which is also an upside) is the small firebox.
This is not a unit you can pile a bunch of wood into and have it heat your place through the night. That’s just not going to happen. If this is going to be your primary source of heat, and you have a small structure, you will be getting up every few hours to put wood on the fire.
For our cabin this means that we likely will be buying a separate, inexpensive wood burner for when we need added heating. Remember, this unit is made for cooking primarily and is not really a whole house or whole cabin heater.
For our cabin, it does a great job of heating up our kitchen porch, and it has made working in the kitchen a pleasure during those cold days. Like I said, it seems to me that the MBS 857 would be perfect for a summer kitchen, and in fact, if you do high volume cooking or canning in a summer kitchen, you could put in 2 or 3 MBS 857’s for the price of one of the usual Lehman’s type wood cookstoves.
Anyway, give Sopka a call and when you do, make sure to tell them that Michael Bunker in Texas sent you.
http://www.homesteaderlife.christianagrarian.com/2006/11/27/manure-pile-squash-in-your-garden/
Manure Pile Squash In Your Garden
A while back, when we were fencing off the 50 acre lot for some end of the season grazing, we stumbled on a huge cache of squash. Sometimes in the winter months, when the snows “rump deep to a tall Indian”, we have to make manure piles instead of spreading them on the fields.
On the remains of one such pile we found squash vines as big as my arms(says more about my arms than the vines) growing all over. As we dug around we found huge green turbins. We hauled a bunch home and left some for the wild critters. Best squash we had all year, in fact thats what we cooked on Thanksgiving.
This has inspired a new idea for the squash garden spot. Last year we grew the cukes and summer squash on layers of composted hay, and it worked well. Winter squash are real N eaters and thats why they do so well in manure piles. This fall, better be quick before we get a bunch of snow, I’m going to haul up some half composted manure from one of last years piles and spread it in a row. It will be as wide as the spreader spreads it and a foot thick or so. Then I’m going to cover it with mulch hay, probably unroll a round bale right on top of it. Then I can plant the winter squash right in the half composted manure and free up more space in the regular garden spot. I figure ever 2nd year or so I’ll put more manure on it and cover with another layer of hay or straw.
I find myself doing more and more variations of the “layered compost-heavy mulch” method of gardening. It is a quick way of expanding the garden and I’ve never been disappointed in the yeilds.
I suppose you could just make it really easy and plant on the manure piles themselves. Our piles are all over timbucktwo and the wild critters would eat more than we would and in a dry year watering them would be a real pain, so I’m moving the piles closer to home.
http://www.homesteaderlife.christianagrarian.com/2009/01/13/how-to-grow-more-vegetables-a-reveiw/
How to Grow More Vegetables–A Reveiw
I’ve finished reading How to Grow More Vegetables, than you ever thought possible on less land than you can imagine and thought it was worth writing about.
John Jeavons’ book has been on my “to read” list for some time. The folks at Path to Freedom recommend this book and they have always impressed me with the large volume of food they produce on a very small land base. This book is about growing food using the GROW BIOINTENSIVE method.
This methods foundation is Double-Dug Raised Beds, Composting, Intensive Planting and Companion Planting. The method places a great emphasis on creating a truly sustainable “closed system” approach to gardening. This is one reason I find this book to important, as we are working on creating a food system here that uses less imported inputs.
Organic farming may be healthier and better for the soil, but it is not any more sustainable in the long run than chemical farming because all that happens in most systems is replacing chemical inputs with organic inputs. These inputs still come from somewhere else and still cost money. With the imploding economy, it might not be to far into the future when we just can’t afford to truck in kelp or green sand from half way across the country. At some point it seems we might exploit these resources the same we have oil. I can also see the farmer/gardener being a slave to organic input companies just like other farmers are slaves to chemical companies.
This book shows how to eventually make a garden system that is totally self-sufficient in its fertility. This requires adding some organic inputs the first year or so and then growing your own compost material within the system, capturing the trace elements and minerals and returning them to the same soil.
I was already a firm believer in intensive planting in wide rows and this book backs up what I’ve learned to be true. I have never considered the “double dug raised bed” before but after reading this book we are going to try to make at least a few of them this year and see how they compare to our old wide row beds.
Anyone that has attempted to grow all the food for a growing family knows that time and space are always a negative factor. Anytime we can grow more food in less space we are that much closer to our goal.
The methods in this book claim (and have the data to back it up) that it can use 67% to 88% less water and 50% to 100% less fertilizer than conventional methods, all while producing 2 to 6 times more food and build the soil up to 60 times faster than in nature. All of this means you can reduce by half the amount of land needed to grow food compared to conventional methods.
This book also has many useful charts and references and even gets into the effects of moon phases on growing plants (something often perverted by the pagans but useful to know). This book and these methods have helped many people in 3rd world countries become food independent without becoming slaves to purchased inputs.
I read a lot of gardening books and recommend very few of them. This makes my very short list of garden books that you must have on your shelf. People who are serious about growing a lot of food on a small area will really get a lot out of it. People who have gardened for years can also find much value in this book if they are willing to think outside the box a little.
http://www.growbiointensive.org/grow_bio.html
GROW BIOINTENSIVE®:
A SUSTAINABLE SOLUTION FOR GROWING FOOD.
Grow Biointensive
© 1995 Jim Bones
We have dedicated our research to rediscovering the scientific principles that underlie millennia-old traditional farming systems. These have guided us to the eight essential aspects that are the foundation of GROW BIOINTENSIVE:
* Double-Dug, Raised Beds
* Composting
* Intensive Planting
* Companion Planting
* Carbon Farming
* Calorie Farming
* The Use of Open-Pollinated Seeds
* A Whole-System Farming Method
Most life in nature occurs at the interface of soil, water, air and sun. GROW BIOINTENSIVE soil preparation practices create growing beds with more surface area to maximize the effect of nature’s life processes. Double-dug beds, with soil loosened to a depth of 24 inches, aerate the soil, facilitate root growth, and improve water retention. The health and vigor of the soil are maintained through the use of compost. Close plant spacing is used to protect soil microorganisms, reduce water loss, and
maximize yields. Companion planting facilitates the optimal use of nutrients, light and water, encourages beneficial insects and creates a vibrant mini-ecosystem within the garden. A focus on the production of calories for the farmer and carbon for the soil ensures that both the farmer and the soil will be adequately fed and that the farm will be sustainable. The use of open-pollinated seeds helps to preserve genetic diversity
and enables gardeners to develop their own acclimatized cultivars. All of the components of this system must be used together for optimum effect and to avoid depleting the soil.
GROW BIOINTENSIVE mini-farming techniques make it possible to grow food using:
* 67% to 88% less water
* 50% to 100% less fertilizer
* 99% less energy than commercial agriculture, while using a fraction of the
resources.
These techniques can also:
* Produce 2 to 6 times more food
* Build the soil up to 60 times faster than in nature, if properly used
* Reduce by half or more the amount of land needed
Ecology Action has been a small 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization since 1972.
http://www.growbiointensive.org/news-0502-agnotes.htm
The following information comes from “Fellowship among plants” by Tim Jenkins in the September/October 2004 issue of Organic NZ. This is the first of a three-part series in which the author “outlines the results of experiments in companion planting at Lincoln University’s Biological Husbandry Unit”:
Experiments with the traditional intercropping of corn, beans, and squash “showed that corn still yielded 90% of normal yield in this mixture, beans 20% and squash 60%, meaning that one hectare of intercrop would yield the same as around 1.7 hectares of crops on their own.” The beans help fix nitrogen and climb up the corn stalks. Squash shades the soil to conserve moisture. The diversity of the three plants lowers “the potential for epidemics.”
Broccoli/Lettuce: “Planted at the same time in alternating rows, the lettuce is ready faster and takes advantage of the space and other resources available before the broccoli has formed a tall canopy. This also helps reduce the potential for weeds.”
Carrots/Beets/Onions: The onions help “repel plant pests such as the carrot rust fly” in its first flight and “subsequent flights are likely to have reduced problems as long as onions were present from early in the season. Beetroot provides shelter for the soil, reducing weed issues and providing habitat for beneficial insects.”
Clover Understoreys: “White or red clover can be sown at the same time (or oversown once a slow-growing crop species is sufficiently established) with many horticultural and broadacre crop species such as cabbage, cereals, sweetcorn and maize.”
Oats/Clover: “As heads start to form in the oats, clover oversown establishes well in the partial sunlight. After oats are harvested as forage, the clover will grow rapidly. Advantages of this system are improved clover establishment, faster turnaround to harvesting a second forage crop, nitrogen fixation by the clover, essentially replacing that used by the oats, no cultivation requirement after the oats before planting the clover, and maximising sunlight utilization during head formation and after the oats have been harvested.”
From “Cold Storage of Garlic Bulbs Allows Spring Planting” in the August 2004 issue of HortIdeas:
Garlic bulbs are generally harvested in the summer, stored and then planted in the fall. However, this is not possible for all circumstances. “Researchers in Colorado have shown that spring planting of garlic is feasible. The key requirement for keeping garlic bulbs in good condition into the spring months is storage at a temperature close to 27°F. After such storage for up to nine months, when the bulbs are returned to ambient temperatures, they have the firmness and taste of freshly harvested bulbs for a period of two months or more. The bulbs should be cured normally before they are stored at 27°F.”
This comes from the Summer/Fall 2004 issue of Agrarian Advocate, the newsletter of Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF), P.O. Box 363, Davis CA 95617.
CAFF is offering Hedgerows for California Agriculture to download free from its website www.caff.org. This 72-page resource guide is written by Sam Earnshaw and based largely on his field experience. “A hedgerow is a line or group of trees, shrubs, perennial forbs, and grass planted along field edges, fence lines, drainage channels and property borders. A hedgerow can also be installed to connect riparian or other valuable habitat areas, creating a corridor for animal movement.” Earnshaw “says that farms and ranches around California are planting hedgerows as part of their overall management strategy. They provide year-round habitat to beneficial insects, control soil erosion, and enhance water retention.” The manual is not yet available in hard copy.
This information comes an article on evaporative cooling from Appropriate Technology, Vol 30, No 3:
In low-cost alternatives to refrigeration for storing fruits and vegetables, “the basic principle relies on cooling by evaporation. When water evaporates it draws energy from its surroundings which produces a considerable cooling effect. Evaporative cooling occurs when air, that is not too humid, passes over a wet surface; the faster the rate of evaporation, the greater the cooling. . Generally, an evaporative cooler is made of a porous material that is fed with water.” One of the examples of this type of cooler given in the article is called the Zeer, which is simply a smaller pot placed with a larger pot with sand in between. (The article doesn’t specify, but we assume this is wet sand with a cloth over the top pot.) Experiments done in the Sudan found that this cooler could keep tomatoes and guavas for 20 days as opposed to 2 days without the cooler and carrots for 20 days instead of 4. The article illustrates several other low-tech coolers.
From “California’s Sleeping Monster” by Deborah K. Rich in the Winter 2005 issue of onearth:
“Selenium, an element common in soils that once lay beneath ancient oceans, is harmless when left undisturbed. But changes in soil chemistry caused by agriculture can turn it into an environmental hazard. . As it enters surface water, selenium moves up the food chain with devastating effects. The most dramatic results of selenium poisoning are embryonic deformities and death among wetlands birds.” In 2003 the state of California told Central Valley farmers they had to lower selenium rates in their irrigation and drainage waters or face drastic repercussions. One farmer “began to capture and recycle his drainage water, directing it to a designated area of his farm.” He discovered work on phytoremediation done by a USDA researcher, and the two of them decided the farmer “should try planting canola, which absorbs soluble selenium into its roots and transfers it to its stems, leaves and seed.” The canola seed is now used to produce biofuel to run the farmer’s tractors. Since selenium is an important trace mineral in the diet, and “dairy cows are at particular risk of selenium deficiency,” the researcher “found that feeding canola seed meal to dairy cows was another safe way to increase the selenium content of their blood.”
From “Natural Fire Ant and Insect Control” by Malcolm Beck in the November 2004 issue of Acres U.S.A.:
The author’s friend noticed that where he sprayed liquid separated from cow manure, fire ants disappeared. The author himself had had the same experience with cowfeed molasses. They “mixed the two together and found that it even killed a few other pests. A friend of mine who owns a chemical company suggested we add orange oil, a food-grade product pressed from orange peels.” They got permission from the Texas Department of Agriculture to market the product. However, it was so successful that pesticide companies had the EPA put a stop to the sales.
From “Growing Superior Winter Squashes” in the March-May 2004 issue of Maine Organic Farmer and Gardener:
One grower asked if side stems of squashes in the field (winter squash) should be removed. Rob Johnston, Jr., chairman of Johnny’s Selected Seeds in Albion, Maine, answered that squash plants are “pretty self-restricting. As soon as they get the amount of fruit that their photosynthetic capacity can handle, they’ll stop setting fruit.” So he advised against removing side shoots.
This information comes from “How to Grow Clean Celery” by Hans Schaper in the November/December 2004 issue of Organic NZ:
The author points out that “while celery is definitely one of the more difficult crops to be grown organically . it can be done very successfully.” It needs “very fertile soils with good drainage . a good supply of rich compost . and plenty of water. . It is important to ensure that the seedlings never dry out.” (The author raises his seedlings in his propagating house.) “When the plants are about 8 cm tall with a sturdy root system, they can be planted out with minimal disturbance.” He plants his 20 cm apart. “Observe a minimum of a four-year crop rotation to avoid any buildup of diseases.” He harvests his celery early to lessen the losses from septoria. “Septoria is recognized by round brown spots on the leaves. These spores can spread through the crop very quickly. It is advised to remove any diseased leaves as soon as there are any signs of the disease.”
From the November-December 2004 issue of Les Quatre Saisons (the French equivalent of Organic Gardening magazine), page 25:
For storage of dry beans, put them in the freezer for 24 hours or put unpeeled garlic in each sealed container. Another article in the same issue, pages 39-41, describes an insect hotel to provide a variety of resting spots for all sorts of beneficial insects, including syrphid flies, bees, ground beetles, and lacewings. The article has good photos and directions for construction.
http://www.growbiointensive.org/news-0502-news.htm
These are excerpts from a report written by Cindy Conner, certified basic-level GROW BIOINTENSIVE teacher in Virginia:
My rice harvest was fun. Everyone is amazed that I could grow rice, although they shouldn’t be that surprised since we had another VERY wet year. The rice had to sit until after Christmas until I had time to figure out how to hull it. I made a hulling plate to replace the stationary grinding plate on a Corona grain mill. . The plate is made of 1/4” plywood covered with rubber taken from the top of a barn boot. I used Gorilla glue to attach the rubber to the plywood. I used a curved file to bevel the edge slightly around the hole where the grain comes out, so it would fall away from the plate and not get caught where the rubber meets the wood. To make mounting on any table easier, I attached the mill by its clamp and by bolts and wingnuts through its holes, to a board that measured 9”x9”x3/4”. I can take it anywhere and clamp it to a table using C-clamps on the board.
In December I completed another idea I’d been thinking about. I divided my chicken pen into 3 pens. .
Now the chickens come into the middle pen which is now a compost pen. It is filled with leaves and will get lots of things we normally put in a compost pile, including goat manure.
The other 2 pens will be grazing pens based on the Balfour method John Seymour mentions in his books. . I broadcasted rye, knowing it would grow when the temperature warmed again. . We have just had another frigid week, but the chicken pen is green (under the snow and ice). Before this project it had turned to mud. I will probably broadcast white clover in there this spring for a permanent grazing crop.
My plan is to grow comfrey along the fence on the inside of the pen, plant vine crops along the fences and put a fruit tree in each grazing pen.
I have noticed that when given the choice, chickens always run to the fence rows to seek out bugs and such. Hopefully the grazing pens can provide them with interesting things to eat, and since their movement into them can be limited as need be, the plantings won’t be devastated.
City Slicker Farms
A bold grassroots non-profit in West Oakland, California, is spreading seeds of change. City Slicker Farms builds and maintains backyard vegetable gardens for low-income residents of West Oakland. To date they have installed over 80 raised-bed gardens.
Once gardens have been installed, interns work with families for up to three years, helping them raise food from the beds. Other programs include helping their community by providing gardening workshops, and community composting, where residents can drop off kitchen scraps to create soil amendment.
City Slicker Farms also organizes and supplies a Saturday Farm Stand offering seasonal organic produce, eggs, honey, herbs and vegetable starts for residents to grow their own food at home.
Sliding-scale pricing means that no one is turned away for lack of funds. City Slickers Farms operates five productive Urban Farms throughout Oakland, the largest of which is the Center Street Farm. At over 3,800 square feet, the Farm is home to chickens, ducks, bee hives, 11 fruit trees, a medicinal herb garden, an outdoor kitchen with a wood-fired oven and BBQ, a composting operation, a Biointensive market garden yielding over 2,000 pounds of produce per year, a wildlife habitat perennial border, and a shaded seating circle used for workshops, meetings and events. For information on these programs and more visit
http://www.cityslickerfarms.org/
[43,560 sq foot is one acre, so they are producing 2,000 pounds on less than an acre. True, in Calif. it is a year round garden.....granny]
http://www.growbiointensive.org/news_0808_news.html
[From August 2008 Newsletter]
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An excellent article, “Monocultures, Monopolies, Myths...and the Masculinization of Agriculture” (aislingmagazing.com) by Dr. Vandana Shiva, expresses great concern over the alarming trend of biotech companies to patent ancient seed as their own invention. Dr. Shiva summarizes, using as an example, “the neem which our mothers and grandmothers have used for centuries as a pesticide and fungicide. ... This phenomenon of biopiracy through which western corporations are stealing centuries of collective knowledge and innovations carried out by third world women is now reaching epidemic proportions. ... Delta and Pine Land (now owned by Monsanto) and the USDA have established a new partnership through a jointly held patent for seed which has been genetically engineered to ensure it does not germinate on harvest thus forcing farmers to buy seed at each planting season. ... The patriarchal minds behind these innovations would stunt nature so they themselves profit economically while biodiversity, longterm sustainability and indeed small farmers’ lives are destroyed.”
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Another excellent article, titled “The Way We Live Now. Why Bother?” by Michael Pollan, came by way of email in April. Pollan describes how Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” scared him, but how puny he felt the suggestions for change were at the end of the movie. He muses, “There are so many stories we can tell ourselves to justify doing nothing.” In this long article he talks about Wendell Berry and Adam Smith and the ways we’ve built our current society on fossil fuel. Then Pollan gets into his own solution to climate change, which is to plant a vegetable garden. He points out this uses “the original solar technology: calories produced by means of photosynthesis. … Photosynthesis still works so abundantly that in a thoughtfully organized vegetable garden (one planted from seed, nourished by compost from the kitchen and involving not too many drives to the garden center) you can grow the proverbial free lunch—CO2-free and dollar-free. … Consider too your compost pile, which shrinks the heap of garbage your household needs trucked away even as it feeds your vegetables and sequesters carbon in your soil. … You begin to see that growing even a little of your own food is, as Wendell Berry pointed out 30 years ago, one of those solutions that, instead of begetting a new set of problems, … actually begets other solutions. You quickly learn that you need not be dependent on specialists to provide for yourself—that your body is still good for something and may actually be enlisted in its own support. … At least in this one corner of your yard and life, you will have begun to heal the split between what you think and what you do, to commingle your identities as consumer and producer and citizen.”
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This information comes from “Matters of Scale” in the March/April 2008 issue of World Watch magazine. It lists the amount of water (in gallons) required to produce the following:
o A 10-minute shower: 25
o A slice of bread: 10.6
o An apple: 18.5
o A hamburger: 634
o A glass of wine: ¼
o A glass of beer: 19.8
o A cup of coffee: 37
o A glass of milk: 52.8
o A cotton shirt: 713
o An Indian-made Tata Motors Nano automobile: 16,510
o A U.S.-made Chevrolet Malibu: 511,042
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So many articles making the rounds these days have to do with global warming, the global food crisis, and biofuels. However, genetic engineering and GMOs are still lively topics. Joshua Machinga sent us an article, “How Media Is Pushing GM Crops,” by John Mbaria, in the May 26, 2008, issue of The East African newspaper. This long article includes an overview of global reaction to GMOs and then states, “Last week, the Chicago Tribune reported that the United States government is using the prevailing global food crisis to promote the use of genetically modified crops, particularly in Africa. Recently, the paper said, the US had proposed a $770 million package to ease the global crisis. However, Bush had subsequently directed the USAID to spend $150 million of the money ‘on development farming, which would include the use of GMO crops.’ The paper also reported that the Bush administration has been trying to ‘persuade European nations to lift their objection to the use of GMO crops in Africa.’ … Indeed, biotech multinationals appear to be designing GM varieties specifically for particular African countries. For instance, on May 3, 2006, the head of Monsanto’s Kenyan subsidiary, Kinyua M’Mbijiwe, revealed that the US-based giant had developed a GM maize variety for the Kenyan market.”
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This next article (www.yourtv20.com/greenlife/26179704.html) was emailed to us by Moses Mukongo, another of our African colleagues, but it concerns GMOs much closer to (Ecology Action’s) home: The Straus Family Dairy Farm was established in Northern California in 1941. “In 1994 the farm became the first certified organic dairy west of the Mississippi River. … Last year Straus began testing his purchased certified-organic feeds. He found that one out of every three batches of certified organic corn had some contamination from GMOs, ranging from trace levels up to 6 percent contamination. Straus decided to act, starting a non-GMO program that requires all feed and ingredient suppliers to submit the results of a strip test analysis prior to shipment of the feed or ingredient. ‘I started this program in order to safeguard my livelihood as an organic farmer,’ said Straus. ‘Our requirements are causing other companies to sit up and take notice.’”
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The Spring 2008 issue of The Community Farm mentions a new film promoting local, organic agriculture. The short film from Chris Bedford, “The Organic Opportunity: Small Farms & Economic Development”, tells the story of Woodbury County, Iowa’s innovative economic development campaign centered on the development of local organic agriculture. The film is designed to be used with Chambers of Commerce, economic development organizations, elected officials, farmers, and consumers—anyone interested in discovering the positive impact a local food system grounded in organic agricultural practices can make on a community’s economic, environmental and physical health. The 26-minute film can be ordered for $30 from localharvest.org.
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We’ve been hearing from various sources that more people than ever are growing food in their backyards. These two articles from the May 15, 2008, edition of the Christian Science Monitor agrees that this is so:
o From the article “As Food Prices Shoot Up, So Do Backyard Gardens” by Alexandra Marks and Patrik Jonsson: “With gasoline prices soaring and food costs not far behind, the number of Americans planning to grow their own backyard vegetables this year is up sharply. Gardening organizations, seed wholesalers, and local nurseries are all reporting hikes in the number of people buying vegetable seeds and starter plants. Food prices rose 4 percent in 2007 and the U.S. Department of Agriculture predicts they will rise another 4.5 to 5.5 percent in 2008, which means the current boom in grow your own culture will most likely gain even more momentum. The trends of landscaping are shifting with sales decreasing in ornamentals and lawn care and sharply increasing for fruit trees, seeds and vegetable starts. For those without backyards, in many communities, there is the option of community gardening in designated neighborhood green spaces, and most community gardens across the nation are experiencing longer waiting lists than ever before.”
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Of course it is not just the United States experiencing hikes in food costs. The second article, “New crop of gardeners in plush London suburbs,” by Mark Rice-Oxley highlights the community gardens in Kingston, England. One gardener commented that when she first broke ground on her plot four years ago, “the place was almost derelict. Now there is a waiting list of 30 for plots.” The homegrown low-mileage diet is a revived passion with great abundance and delicious rewards: sun-warmed tomatoes straight off the vine, working side by side with family and neighbors, sharing seeds and crops, and helping to ease the burden on the pocketbook.
http://www.growbiointensive.org/news_0808_agnotes.html
Creating Soil
“Creating World Class Soils” by John Todd appeared in the Volume XXV, Number 1, 2007 Annals of Earth. The article is mentioned in the Annals of Earth website but does not seem to be accessible there. We are reprinting the first paragraph and recommend that those interested in learning more secure a copy of that issue. “Soil formation is an extraordinarily complex geochemical, biological, ecological and diverse process. In recent decades new discoveries have made it possible to create rich and fertile soils in relatively short periods of time, measured in years rather than decades or centuries. To achieve rapid soil formation requires a number of concurrent strategies which, taken together, can produce excellent soils that, in turn, can support intensive agriculture, animal husbandry and agro-forestry. These strategies include soil remineralization, composting by utilizing newly discovered nutrient bind methods, the application of compost tea to soils and crops, and the incorporation of terra preta or dark earth techniques into soil building.”
Several reports to read:
http://www.growbiointensive.org/news_0805_news.html
The 5-Bed Unit: 2006-2007
by Dan and Margo Royer
Notes : Data Analysis : Design Changes : Garden Changes
Notes and Observations
This was a challenging season for our main-season crops, as it was an unusually cool summer. Our corn and amaranth struggled. We harvested more calories from 12.5 sq ft of tomatoes than 50 sq ft of corn!
This was a hard year for corn. The seedlings started out well but we continually found weak plants that needed to be supported. They grew inconsistently inside and outside the mini-greenhouses. (This was a garden research crop, experimenting with corn on 12-inch and 15-inch spacing both inside and outside of a mini-greenhouse.) All the corn was interplanted with pinto beans. We transplanted some cosmos seedlings at the edge of the bed to help keep the corn worms away.
Our main-season amaranth was planted on 18-inch centers, leaving a lot of soil exposed. In an effort to provide more cover we broadcasted buckwheat into the amaranth. This seemed to provide more moisture retention and might be worth repeating.
Sweet potatoes were an interesting endeavor. We pampered them, keeping the mini-greenhouse (MG) lid on until the sun had warmed the air in the MG and closing the lid earlier in the evening than we might otherwise. We tried to water with warm water, but that didn’t always happen. Periodically, we pulled the vines up from the ground to prevent them from sending down roots from stem nodes. The vines looked great, and we did enjoy eating our meager harvest.
Cayenne was harvested when the peppers were uniformly bright red and hung to dry. They are waiting to be ground or mashed into powder. There were some small, green peppers on the plants at the end of the season. The plants seemed to produce well and could have produced longer with more warmth.
The parsley grew lushly at first, but ran into trouble mid-season, encountering the voracious appetite of gophers. We did not get a complete harvest; however, it did pass the GROW BIOINTENSIVE intermediate yield level and produced the best yield in the 5-Bed Unit relative to the index!
The leeks were beautiful. Based on a shift in how much leaf was edible, we seemed to hit peak yield in mid-December. The leeks were still good as of December 28, but there was less edible weight. Because this is an income crop, we will need to convince our market to eat the greens!
We planted a catch crop of broadcasted amaranth (after the potatoes were harvested) and took the time to thin it, transplanting some of the seedlings into the gaps to better cover the bed. This seemed like a good time-investment that provided the benefits of both broadcasting and transplanting.
We were able to eat from our catch crop beans (planted after the winter grain was harvested), some as dry beans and some as shell beans. Because we pulled them out of the bed hurriedly before a rain, we didn’t shell the beans immediately and didn’t get any data on how many calories we were able to harvest. It became clear that getting the catch crop planted in good time is a key to a successful catch crop (in both biomass and caloric terms).
Watching grains we transplanted this fall spread out to cover the bed, we learned that we did not harvest potatoes thoroughly enough. Potatoes volunteered themselves all over the grain bed. This is challenging because complete potato removal at this stage seems like a large disturbance for the grains. Fortunately, the persistent volunteers were removed by the first frost.
As we compiled our data, we realized we need to perfect our record-keeping practices. For instance, we found many tasks for which we neglected to record the time invested, as well as some tasks grouped together by bed instead of separated by crop (which is more helpful). We also wanted biomass figures for some of our crops that we did not take dry samples for mid-season. This first year of record-keeping has given us a lot of insight into how to better organize and record our data.
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Data Analysis
Beds: Due to the beds selected in the garden, our 5-Bed Unit measures 583 sq ft. The beds are a little larger than 100 sq ft each. The design behind the unit is 25.01 beds, using GROW BIOINTENSIVE intermediate yields.
Calories: Our 5-Bed Unit produced a total of 56,138 calories. The design provides 2,129 calories per day. At this rate of calorie-consumption our 5-Bed Unit can feed us for 26 days. As 23.3% of the full design, it was projected to feed us for 85 days at intermediate yields.
Extrapolating to the full design, 240,825 calories were produced, one-third of the calories planned for in the design (777,232). With these crops, these growing conditions, and this rate of production, 80.7 beds would be required to meet the calorie goals of this 25-bed design. This is not surprising to us, as the mini-farm design is based on the intermediate yields in How to Grow More Vegetables, and the challenging soil and climate of the Research Garden inconsistently produce yields at the intermediate level. We suspect that, had we grown this 5-Bed Unit at our partner site, the Golden Rule, the yields would indicate that the design could be grown in fewer than the planned 25 beds.
Biomass: Total calculated dry biomass for the unit was 134.86 lb. (This is a small increase over the 133.9 lb published in the February 2008 Newsletter. As we crunched more numbers and rechecked our data, we realized we had not included the biomass from the amaranth for income.) The biomass yield is 23.13 lb per bed, between the beginning and intermediate biomass goals of 15 and 30 lb per bed. (We did not take dry samples of some of the crops; therefore, we do not have dry biomass figures for all the biomass produced.) The best yields came from the fava beans.
60/30/10: To meet the low weight-to-eat goals, the design is heavy in 60% crops and low in 30% crops. Considering Bed-Crop-Months, the 5-Bed Unit comes to 76/8/16. (60/30/10 is a design concept unique to GROW BIOINTENSIVE that emphasizes a healthy balance among crops that produce biomass and calories, considering both how area-efficient and weight-efficient crops are for calorie production. The 60/30/10 ratio is a guideline to minimize the growing area and maximize the sustainability of the process. See How to Grow More Vegetables and Ecology Action’s Booklet #31: Designing a GROW BIOINTENSIVE Sustainable Mini-Farm for more explanation.)
Time: We spent 83.4 hours working in our 5-Bed Unit from February through September. We recorded the time spent on most activities and were able to estimate the times for activities that happened before the unit began or happened so regularly we didn’t record time spent each day. Examples of the latter are planting the fall 2006 compost crops and regular harvesting and vegetable cleaning. The 83.4 hours do not include watering or building compost. Watering is a task that is site-specific and will be different for each garden. However, it would be interesting to follow in our own climate, a project for next season. Because we did not build compost piles specifically for the 5-Bed Unit, this is a number we will not be able to fill in.
Comparing crops based on hours spent per 100 sq ft shows that the most time-consuming crops were peppers, parsley, and EBOs. Corn and beans were the least time-consuming. Note that the income crops are all fairly time-consuming. Here is a look at a few important diet crops:
Crop
Hours/100 sq ft
Calories/hour
B67 Peppers, Cayenne
29.9
368
B67 Sweet Potatoes
8.4
1,301
B38 Potatoes
7.1
3,238
B26 Pinto Beans
9.7
648
B36 Corn
4.3
534
Cayenne peppers, though very weight-efficient for calories, were not time-efficient this season. It is a good thing they are only a small part of the diet! Sweet potatoes and potatoes are in the middle as far as hours they demand, but they are the most productive crops for calories produced per hour. This makes potatoes important when considering both area- and time-efficiency. The pinto beans highlight this truth about potatoes, as they required 37% more time per 100 sq ft, but produced only 20% of the calories per hour. Corn is of note because of the few hours invested per 100 sq ft. The calorie yield was low due to a poor corn harvest; however, in a good year it seems corn could be notable for time-efficient calorie production. Of added interest, is the caloric benefit that interplanting corn with pinto beans creates on a per-bed basis. We interplanted all of the corn with beans, but did not look closely at the combined numbers this season.
Extrapolating 83.4 hours to the complete 25-bed design, it would take 357.9 hours of work (excluding the tasks noted above) to produce. The numbers are too new and incomplete to permit any statements about how many hours it takes to grow a complete diet. This is an exciting direction of research that will be valuable to continue.
Income: We did not market any of the income crops. These income numbers are completely theoretical. They are based on the direct-sale figures Margo calculated in 2006 and assume the ability to sell all the produce and seeds (see Form 8). The seed and plant yields are actual yields.
The total income produced by the 5-Bed Unit could have been $1,383.75. The chart below presents the income breakdown.
Crop
Seed or plant yield
2006 Sale Price
Income Potential
B39 Amaranth (seed)
0.22 lb
$2/packet
$1,084 (542 packets)
B39 EBOs
18.98 lb
$1.88/lb
$35.68
B39 Leeks
18.30 lb
$2.19/lb
$40.07
B26 Tomatoes (seed)
0.03 lb
$2/packet
$224 (112 packets)
These calculations assume 11,000 tomato seeds per oz and 35,000 amaranth seeds per oz (mean from HTG). A tomato seed packet has 47 seeds, and a packet of amaranth seeds has 227. Each packet will plant a 100-sq-ft bed.
The income crops produced more poorly than the diet and biomass crops. A theoretical income of $1,383.75 is a production level of $2,050.00 per income bed. The 25-bed design anticipates $12,170 per income crop bed (this assumes intermediate yields and ability to market all the seeds). The unit produced 17% of the design goals. The income potential cannot be extrapolated to the full 25 beds, because the proportion of income beds in the 5-bed unit is greater than the proportion of income beds in the 25-bed design. (Margo did not allow for this difference in proportion when writing the article “The Royer-Miller 5-Bed Unit” for the February 2008 print Newsletter. The listed income goal for the 5-Bed Unit is not adjusted for proportion, hence the difference in percent of goal achieved.)
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Changes to Consider: Design
As the design continues to evolve, we want to consider adding the following crops to the diet:
* Wheat
* Fava beans, dry
* Leeks
* Kale
* Parsnips
The fava beans will be advantageous as a carbon-and-calorie crop, maybe allowing the elimination of exclusive pinto bean beds. The goals of edibility (each crop weight and total weight) and small space will determine if we are able to make these additions. Complexity is increasing in both the diet and the garden through these changes.
We also need to increase the calories produced, possibly through more raisins, as discussed in the overview.
In this climate, sweet potatoes are a challenging crop to grow. We would consider eliminating sweet potatoes if this were to be our long-term home.
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Changes to Consider: Garden
We want to warm the soil for the sweet potatoes before planting and intentionally water with warm water, as well as keep the MG warm through later opening and earlier closing. We might want to trellis the sweet potato vines for the purpose of keeping the soil covered and allowing more sunlight to get to more leaves (more photosynthesis, therefore more storage root enlargment). This will also prevent the vines from rooting at stem nodes.
We made notes of some of our observations and learning during the growing season; however, we could have done more of this. When we prepared this report, it took some thinking back. It would be advantageous to record the items we will want to remember for future growing seasons.
We want to establish a procedure for recording our time-investments. This might mean making a column or space on the log sheet, possibly the back, for recording the time of each task. Our calendar system was OK, but we would often forget to take the extra step of making notes in another location. Moving this to the standard log sheet will streamline and simply the process. This efficiency will hopefully lead to more complete data. In addition, we recognize the need to simply be more dedicated to recording the times and will emphasize this next season.
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