Is Recession Preparing a New Breed of Survivalist? [Survival Today

Yahoo ran an interesting article this morning indicating a rise in the number of survivalist communities cropping up around the country. I have been wondering myself how much of the recent energy crisis is causing people to do things like stockpile food and water, grow their own vegetables, etc. Could it be that there are many people out there stockpiling and their increased buying has caused food prices to increase? It’s an interesting theory, but I believe increased food prices have more to do with rising fuel prices as cost-to-market costs have increased and grocers are simply passing those increases along to the consumer. A recent stroll through the camping section of Wal-Mart did give me pause - what kinds of things are prudent to have on hand in the event of a worldwide shortage of food and/or fuel? Survivalist in Training

I’ve been interested in survival stories since I was a kid, which is funny considering I grew up in a city. Maybe that’s why the idea of living off the land appealed to me. My grandfather and I frequently took camping trips along the Blue Ridge Parkway and around the Smoky Mountains. Looking back, some of the best times we had were when we stayed at campgrounds without electricity hookups, because it forced us to use what we had to get by. My grandfather was well-prepared with a camp stove and lanterns (which ran off propane), and when the sun went to bed we usually did along with it. We played cards for entertainment, and in the absence of televisions, games, etc. we shared many great conversations. Survivalist in the Neighborhood

http://www.sharingsustainablesolutions.org/?p=820

Developing an Aquaponic System

My interest in aquaculture and aquaponics started when I was a young boy. I had aquariums full of various kinds of tropical fish all over the house. My mother wanted to use dechlorinated water for our house plants and she reasoned that my aquarium water had no chlorine and that it may have some helpful nutrients. The results were unusually wonderful growth and absolutely beautiful house plants.

In the mid 80’s, I began working for a fabrication company that specialized in aquacultural plastics. As I looked at the aquaculture industry, I realized that plastics and aquaculture were a natural match. One of the nice advantages we had while developing our system was the ability to quickly modify the plastic products we were working with and this helped to accelerated our research and development. We worked with several different kinds of liner material and settled on PVC. We have used this successfully for tank liners, ponds, raceways, ocean containers for hatching, and various other functions. We were also able to weld rigid PVC into various shapes for use throughout our system. One of our areas of emphasis was small recirculating systems which could be used by schools and small commercial growers. After many improvements in quality, our emphasis fell on keeping it simple. The Fisheries AquaRanch? was the result.

In the early stages of our Aquaculture program, a friend would bring us house plants that she seemed to kill very quickly. The first one she brought was a dried up, half dead Philadendrium. Just for the fun of it, we put it in the fish house and hung it above one of the tanks. Several times a day we would fill the pot with fish water and let the excess drip back into the tank. In less than one week we saw dramatic improvement and, in fact, the plant nearly took over the fish house! Many of the people who came to visit our facility would ask for a cutting of the monster Philadendrium because they thought it was a speacial plant. Since then, we have successfully grown a number of different house plants this way.

Developing a System…

About ten years ago we began working with Byron High School and assisted them in starting their aquaculture, and later, their aquaponics programs. Since then, Byron’s Agriculture program, featuring aquaculture and aquaponics, has grown to accommodate over 400 of the 525 students in the high school.

While developing a system for aquaponics we have tried a number of different methods and configurations. Many of them work well but there are several features we feel work the best and provide the most efficient operation and lowest initial investment. The first of these is a solid, stand-alone aquaculture system that is easy to clean and maintain. An aquaculture system should be able to grow fish at close to 1/2 pound per gallon of tank water by itself. Obviously, more nutrients are produced by a heavier population of fish. However, if you do have a densely populated fish tank with your bio-filtration totally dependent on the plants, there could be major problems if something goes wrong with the plants.

The fish produce ammonia which is toxic to themselves, especially in its unionized form. Beneficial Nitrosamonas Bacteria convert ammonia to nitrates which are also toxic to fish and can cause brown blood disease. Another beneficial bacteria, Nitrobacter, then convert the nitrites to nitrates. In an aquaculture system, nitrates will continually build up, but most fish can tolerate high concentrations of nitrates. I’ve pushed some systems well over 300 PPM nitrates with no adverse effects to the fish. The wonderful news about fish water is that nitrates are a very available form of nitrogen to plants.

The System…

After experimenting with several different plant growing method, I realized that I like grow beds because of their simplicity and economics. A large part of the growbed can be assembled on site using local materials. As a base, plywood sheets (4 x 8 x 3/4 work well. For the sides, I use 2 x 6 lumber. Depending on available space, you can work out the exact length.

To hold the water, use a PVC liner. It is a tough material yet flexible and easy to repair, plus fittings can be glued right to it. A PVC coated mesh can be glued over the opening to the return drain to stop debris from leaving the growbed. Stands or something like saw horses can be used to hold it off the ground at a gentle angle of about 2 for every ten feet. Course perlite is a good growing medium. It is light weight and can be changed periodically. I recommend 1/2 vinyl tubing to carry the water from the fish tank to the growbed because it keeps flowing with very little clogging.

Two Designs…

We set up two different growbed designs to compare which we liked better. They both worked but each had advantages and disadvantages. In the first design, the water from the fish tank was pumped through it and it drained back into the tank. This worked very well with the advantage that it provides much more bio-filtration in the culture tank, giving the water more denitrification, degassing, and oxygenation as it goes through the growbeds and back to the tank. The disadvantage comes when you need to treat the fish or plants for disease or parasites.

In the second design, the slurry water from the tanks was pumped into a reservoir that sits below the growbeds. This slurry reservoir needs to be continually aerated because it is rich in nutrients and aerobic bacteria. Not aerating this water would result in ammonia being generated and a smelly anaerobic mess. The water is then pumped through coarse perlite and back to the reservoir. After 2-3 days, the ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, and CO2 drop and the dissolved ozygen increases at which time you can safely return the water to the fish tank. With either of these methods, virtually all of the water from our aquaculture facility can be utilized and reused.

What We’ve Grown…

With these growbeds we have successfully grown a number of edible plants including 4 varieties of basil, 4 varieties of leaf lettuce, chives, parsley, and swiss chard. We also had great results with about 20 different ornamental plants including marigolds, zinnias, and citronella. We had moderate success with tomatoes and worked with several other fruiting plants that grew well but did not fruit due to the lack of phosphorous and potassium in the water from our fish tanks. I believe if we had supplemented these elements the plants would have set and produced fruit.

AquaRanch Industries, LLC
PO Box 40 - 320 West Gridley Rd, Gridley, IL 61744
phone: (309)747-2152, fax: (309)747-2243
email: myles@ringgerfoods.com
www.aquaranch.com
copyright 2000 - all rights reserved

Permission given to bagelhole for posting

http://www.sharingsustainablesolutions.org/?p=304

Activated Charcoal Medicinal Tips
What is it good for?

If you’ve ever been poisoned, you know what charcoal powder is, because that is normally what Emergency Rooms administer for an antidote in most such cases. Like many healing substances that cannot be patented , the vast resource of credible data about the healing virtues of activated charcoal remains inaccessible to most. We hope to scratch the surface. Charcoal, like similar useful substances provided for in creation, has not just one healing application, but is believed to produce beneficent results in several instances of family health, and is therefore a
product that no house should be without. Let us attempt to discuss just a few.

Charcoal is a clinical absorbent. That means that it absorbs inorganic matter. That is why they use it in water filtration. But it does the same thing anywhere. On a bee sting; on a snake bite; in your stomach
when you have the flu. Don?t take it with any pharmaceutical medication, however…… it will absorb it! (On second thought……) Activated charcoal is obtained by blasting the burning charcoal with oxygen, which
increases its surface area, and hence its ability to absorb inorganic matter and toxins, enormously. When I speak of charcoal in this article, I am speaking of this activated variety. It will be perhaps necessary to
point out that just because something has charcoal in it does not mean that it will therefore be safe to ingest.. Charcoal briquettes, for instance will make you sick if you ingest them.

Activated charcoal is an extremely effective remedy for nearly all poisonings ……Tylenol, Aspirin, barbiturates, chemicals, etc.. Since Charcoal binds nutrients very poorly, an iron tablet overdose will be
little helped by it. Strong acid or alkali substances are also best treated by neutralizing the substance with something of the opposite ph. Common household substances would be Vinegar, which is acid, for an alkali poisoning such as lye; or Baking Soda, which is alkali, for an acid poisoning such as a hydrochloric acid poisoning. Though such poisonings are rare, when they occur, it is a great comfort to have the cure at once on hand, and the knowledge of how to administer it, without dependence on a derelict and self-serving medical community.

But Charcoal has a much greater value in the treatment of very common ailments. It works wonderfully, where the allopathic medical community has no remedy to offer whatever, such as in the case of the brown recluse spider bite. This bite can cause a large area of the flesh to die and fall off, and cause gangrene, and other complications. If the
bite is on a finger or some area where there is not much flesh, it can necessitate an amputation, for obvious reasons. Timing is everything here. If the bite is recognized quickly, the effects can be greatly mitigated, often leaving only a scar. But if the person waits a couple of days, then the results will be less impressive, but still better nothing ……the standard allopathic treatment. This works best if used in conjunction with Melaluca oil, for some reason, alternating between the two. As we would suspect, then, Charcoal will work very well for bee stings, or ant stings. In all of these conditions the method of treatment is the Charcoal Compress, which will be described shortly. Charcoal is also of great benefit in Snake Bites. The clinical experience for using this treatment in this case is not worth mentioning; but empirical evidence strongly suggests is effectiveness in treating such cases. An Arkansas couple reported the following experience: Their 1 ? year old child was bitten by a Copperhead on the chest. There was swelling in the area, and the child was in extreme pain. They called their doctor, who advised them to get to the E.R. ASAP! But they were 60 miles of winding roads away from the nearest hospital. The doctor told them to use charcoal compresses, changed every ten minutes and get to the hospital. By the time they arrived the swelling was totally gone, and the child was sleeping. As a precautionary measure the antivenin was administered anyway. It should
be noted here that the compress should cover the whole extremity, and
charcoal should be taken internally as well.

Departing for just a moment from our subject, it will be of interest to the reader to learn that electric shock can also cure snake bites. I know….. it sounds weird. It sounded weird too to a medical missionary, (an invention of this ending age), until he ran out of antivenin, and had people coming to his South American clinic with lethal snake bites.
He had heard of this remedy, and had counted it a fable, but he had people in his clinic who were going to die anyway, and so he tried it. Much to his chagrin it worked. To this day they don?t have a clue why it works, but it absolutely must be DC power. NOT AC. That means that you take the spark plug wire from your car or boat motor, and touch it
to the bitten area, and crank the engine, or pull the cord, or whatever, and it will shock the area with DC power. I read this man?s article in some sort of Christian magazine, and it all seemed quite reputable.

Charcoal also works satisfactorily for Poison Ivy & Poison Oak, because it absorbs the toxic oils which cause the infection. Combining some French Green Clay with some Charcoal and Water and applied to the infected area works well. Fresh Plantain mashed up and applied to the infected area also works well. What works best, though, is to wash the area with isopropyl aclohol every time it gets itchy, so as to wash off
the oils before they spread.

Charcoal is also a phenomenal treatment for Diarrhea & Vomiting, either from food poisoning, or from infecting agents such as the flu. Finding a satisfactory treatment for nausea and vomiting is a great trial for most. When the flu bug comes into a house it usually means a great deal of suffering. I don?t need to consult the books here, but can speak from experience, that charcoal can utterly relieve these symptoms. I am not a doctor, and I don?t mean to act like one, but Charcoal has relieved great suffering in our house! Again, TIMING here is everything. When you
FIRST start feeling nauseous, AT ONCE get up and take some charcoal, (2 tbs. In 8-12 oz. of water, and drink it), and that will simply be it. It will all be over. You will get the flu, you will feel weak, you will feel like going to bed; but you won?t be vomiting, and having diarrhea, which are by far the worst symptoms of this malady, and the next day you
should be fine. As you would expect, it doesn’t taste like chocolate milk. It is basically flavorless, but the texture is less than appealing.

But most people seem to wait until they are good and sick, and then try to get better. Charcoal still works here. You WILL spend some time before the toilet, however. You stir in two tablespoons of charcoal into 8-12 oz. of water, and drink it down. If you are already sick you will usually throw it right back up within seconds, or atleast within 10
minutes. But just repeat the treatment, and wait to see what happens. You will usually throw up two times, and hold down the third. The only time that we have gone over three doses is when the intestines have been stopped up and could not receive the treatment, and when these are cleared, (by whatever means, enema, etc.), the cure should be effective. Charcoal has also been used in Uterine infection. A pencil is made by boiling water, starch, and charcoal together until thick, and this is formed into strips on a pan and let cool. These are then inserted
through the cervix into the uterus. This is said to have cured Endometritis, but required more than one pencil. Just how this procedure is performed is unknown to me. Perhaps it could be beneficial when used as a douche in some cases.

Charcoal is also the best possible agent for whitening the teeth. Just brush with it, and that’s it! I should note that we have had our teeth look grey for a short time afterwards, but not to worry….. it goes away. Repeat treatments as necessary.

Charcoal has many other uses. I am getting much of my information from a book entitled, Rx Charcoal by Drs. Calvin & Agatha Thrash, which we sell in our home business. It explains many other uses, and the ones I
have mentioned it explains in much greater and authoritative detail. These would include, Eye & Ear conditions; Infections; Inflammation; Chronic Relapsing Pancreatitis; Kidney & Liver Failure, Cholesterol regulation, Diabetes, and others.
How Do I take Charcoal?

There are several ways. Ranging from most to least common, it would probably look like this: Charcoal in water, taken orally; Charcoal compresses, taken topically; Charcoal bath; Charcoal Enemas; Charcoal
pencils; Intravenous Colloidal Charcoal. As nearly all treatments employ the former three methods, we will speak only of those.

Before describing these methods, allow me to make the admission that charcoal is unavoidably messy. No matter how careful you are it will always make a disaster. But when you witness its healing effects and the weal to your household to break free from the monetary drain of the not so great physicians, this problem will seem infinitesimal. To get around this people often buy charcoal in capsules, but they pay dearly for it, and buy it thus in an amount that would be grossly insufficient for a compress, but only for oral administration. Buy it bulk.

The Compress. The first thing that should be said is that any charcoal compress MUST remain wet in order to work. If it dries out it will effect absolutely nothing. The idea of a compress, then, is that you
make a mixture of charcoal and water, (sometimes of charcoal, water, and starch to thicken it), and then spread it over the area requiring treatment. The Thrash?s recommend spreading ? in. of the mixture on a paper towel, and then placing another paper towel on top of this, (presumably the paper towels are wet), placing this on the treatment area, and then wrapping with plastic wrap to hold in the moisture. This method is a very clean way to apply charcoal, but our (non-professional) opinion is that better results should be attained by placing the charcoal mixture directly on the skin, and then covering with the wet paper towel, the plastic wrap, etc.. This is much messier, and doesn’t seem to keep the moisture in as well, but it does keep the mixture in more direct contact with the skin. For poison Oak, try adding some
French Green Clay to the mixture. Warning: If you use charcoal to draw out toxins from a festering wound, be advised that it CAN permanently tattoo the patient.

Charcoal bath. In some cases where there is a general poisoning, such as in a bee attack, or in a bee alergy case, charcoal can be of great use by taking a cup or two and putting it in the bath tub, and soaking the patient in it. One lady who got into some bees, and who was greatly allergic to bee stings used this treatment, and felt so great that she got out. Within minutes she could hardly breath. This method also underlines the necessity of having more than 100 capsules on hand! I should also here again mention the fact that I have never found a remedy that worked faster or better for the common bee sting, (one sting, no allergies), than simply mixing a little charcoal and water and putting
it right on the sting. Within about 10 seconds there is major relief, and within about 30 seconds there is almost total relief. you have to keep in on, though, for about five or ten minutes.

The best remedies are those provided immediately by God to man, and charcoal is definitely once such remedy. While activated charcoal is obtained by employing some rather modern methods, (blasting it with oxygen while burning), and is about four times as effective as non-activated charcoal, it remains that it is but a wood based charcoal, and such as you can get from chewing on any stick put in the fire! Cool it first!

The companion article to the Y2K gardening one is also excellent. Jackie Clay, as usual lays things out pretty clearly.

http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles/clay56.html

Grow open pollinated seeds
for self-reliant gardening

By Jackie Clay

In the past I’ve grown hybrid vegetables, mostly the varieties that have been developed to produce early yields. Because of this, I was able to grow things like sweet corn in northern climates. However, from a practical point of view I am dead set against them if you intend to incorporate them into a “self-reliant” gardening plan.

While these hybrids can taste good, I’ve found that most have been developed for commercial traits such as ease of shipping, holding saleable color and flavor for long periods, and for ensuring the simultaneous ripening of entire fields of a vegetable to facilitate mechanical harvesting.

The one big negative is that hybrid seeds do not produce true reproductions of the mother plants. This makes buying new seed every year a necessary, expensive, and for someone who wants to become self-reliant, a dangerous practice.

Monsanto has gone one step further in developing the “Terminator Gene” in field crops, which renders the seed produced in a farmer’s field sterile.

So, what happens if something unforeseen happens and we cannot afford to buy seed, or seeds just are not available when they are direly needed? The last year I grew hybrids —for market gardening—my seed bill ran over 150 dollars for three acres.

As a hard-core gardener, I believe in not only storing up at least a year’s supply of food in the pantry, but growing and saving open-pollinated seeds for future planting. This allows me to be in control of our garden.

Open-pollinated veggies

There are several common complaints about open-pollinated vegetables. The first is that they don’t taste as good as hybrids. This is just plain wrong. For the last five years my family has been gathering and growing traditional, heritage varieties, largely from the Native American tribes of the U.S. and Mexico. With our family’s Indian roots, we initially did this out of curiosity, but we continued when we discovered some great tasting produce. Our ancestors had cultivated these vegetables for generations for exactly that reason. But, besides taste, most have had other benefits such as productivity, tenderness, winter storage, and hardiness.

Take my Hopi Pale Grey squash as an example. Five hills of squash produced two wheelbarrows heaped full of squash that are sweet and fruity tasting. They are much better than the plain-old hubbard or butternut squash. They are not stringy, but moist and tender. And they last in storage for better than a year. By storage, I mean minimal care, under-the-bed storage. In fact, I have three right now under our clawfoot bathtub that are a year and four months old and will taste great when we get around to eating them. On the other hand, where some hybrids excel in sweetness and lasting ability in the fridge, they’ve lost such flavor traits as “corny” taste and tenderness.

A second complaint is that open-pollinated vegetables don’t grow big. This is often true. But while some hybrids, such as pumpkins and tomatoes, do get very large, our family would rather have such qualities as winter storage capabilities, intense flavor, and tenderness that are found in open pollinated varieties.

A third complaint is that they aren’t as uniform. And this is absolutely true. Open pollinated varieties are not uniform. But as a home gardener, I don’t necessarily want all my broccoli to mature at once and I don’t need all my squash to be exactly the same size and shape. In fact, one of the delights of growing Native American squash is that they are different, often one from it’s brother on the vine, lending beauty to the oft-drab squash patch.

Saving seeds

Anyone can save their own garden seeds. Saving seeds takes very little effort and costs nothing after the first seeds are purchased. And you cannot only save your own seeds, you can pass them on to friends, relatives, and those in need.

The gift of food-bearing seeds is seldom taken lightly. Seed saving dramatically cuts gardening costs. Once you establish your own family seed bank, you will quickly notice that the cost of raising your family’s food has shrunk to a tiny amount.

Growing open-pollinated varieties also allows you a vast choice in old-time traditional vegetables. You won’t believe how many open-pollinated varieties are available from both growers of family heirlooms and seed houses, nationwide. While our family limits our choices to Native American crops, you can grow all sorts of ethnic vegetables that are open-pollinated. These include African, Italian, Amish, Russian, Greek, regional U.S., and many other vegetables. Every culture has its own.

Most open-pollinated varieties were developed over generations for hardiness in hostile climates, and growing through drought, wind storms, hail, and flooding. They had to adapt, and that adaptation produced extreme hardiness.

Basics for seed savers

Vegetables come in two types. The first is annuals such as corn, beans, and peas, which you plant each year and harvest seeds from in that same year. The other is biennials like cabbage, cauliflower, onions, and beets, which you plant one year, but the seeds are not harvested until the following year.

Saving seeds from biennials takes a little more work since, in most climates, the plants to be saved for seed must be heavily mulched in the garden row or they must be stored in a root cellar over the winter so they can be replanted the following spring.

Gardeners must take care to keep their seed stock pure as some vegetables will cross-pollinate, creating a hybrid of uncertain productivity. The safest method to keep seed stock pure is to grow only one variety of each species, that is, one sweet corn, one pepper, one squash, etc. But few of us actually do this, opting for a few “cheater” strategies instead. For instance, I’ll plant a flour corn with late maturity dates alongside an early sweet corn. And, as they pollinate weeks apart, both remain pure.

Remember that some vegetables, such as corn, are wind-pollinated, and will cross with the neighbors’ corn or local field corn if their pollination dates are the same.

We grow several different peppers, both sweet and chile. I get by, avoiding cross-pollination, by making little “houses” over seed plants to prevent insect and wind cross-pollination. As peppers also self-pollinate, this practice gives us pure seed from many different varieties. The peppers destined for the table and pantry are not so protected, as we do not save seed from them and the cross-pollination does not affect them the first year.

For such crops as squash, of which we grow several kinds, I choose one squash of each of the four squash families. Generally, these will not cross-pollinate, giving us a great variety of squash each year.

You can check out which crops will cross by looking at their scientific name in a seed catalog. Crops with the same name will cross. Luckily, though, many are largely self-pollinating, and minimal spacing is required to keep seed stock pure. Beans and tomatoes are two common examples of such “easy” crops.

Seeds must be mature to save. Thus, save a few cucumbers from the pickle jar, leaving them to get huge and yellow; let several peppers stay on the vine until they get red; let summer squash mature until they look like garden submarines; allow a few stalks of sweet corn to get hard and dry.

Some seed may be saved from the vegetables you harvest to eat. These include winter squash, pumpkin, watermelon, muskmelon, dry beans, and sunflower seeds.

Mold and birds are the two biggest enemies of the seedsaver. All mature seeds must be kept from molding once they are harvested. And many birds, even your own chickens and turkeys, will open and gobble very mature produce to eat both the meat and seed. Some crops, such as sunflowers and amaranth, are also very tempting to your feathered friends, so when they are bearing fruitful seeds, it’s best to slip a pillow case over them, tying it loosely around the stem.

While most seeds are simple to harvest, requiring only stripping out of the mother fruit, some, such as tomato and cucumber, require a different approach, as it is too time consuming to get the seeds separated from the pulp. With these crops, pick ripe fruits, scoop out the seed-bearing pulp into a bowl or jar, add enough warm water to cover them, and place in a warm area such as the back of your counter for a couple of days. The pulp ferments and lets go of the seeds. After this happens, carefully rinse the fermented pulp-seed mass through a colander and soon only the seeds will be left. Spread these on a cookie sheet or pie plate and let them dry in a protected warm area.

When the seeds are very dry, place them in paper envelopes, then in an airtight glass jar. I usually skip the envelopes for large seeds such as corn, beans, peas, squash, and pumpkins, but I leave the jar top off a few days in a warm, dry place to complete the drying. The tiniest bit of moisture will cause mold in your seeds, ruining them.

Seed storage life

Generally, stored seeds will last for years. I’ve seen charts in seed catalogs and other literature, giving minimal storage dates for seeds, such as three years for sweet corn, a year for carrots, and so on. But I’ve got 10-year-old sweet corn seed that germinates at 90%, and I’ve planted beans that were over 700 years old and they sprouted and grew well. Heck, they’ve found wheat seeds in Egyptan tombs and planted it and it has sprouted.

So, you should keep your stored seed as fresh as you can, using the oldest seed and replacing it with new seed, but don’t worry if it gets a little old. Only onion seed is finicky, lasting for just a year or two before losing germination ability. Carrots, beets, and parsnips can be short-storers too, lasting about two to four years.

Run a germination test

When in doubt, run your own germination tests before planting in the garden. To conduct it, sprinkle a few seeds on a wash cloth, lay it in a pie plate, and soak lightly with warm water. Keep it warm and moist until germination occurs—from two days for some varieties up to three weeks for others. If only a few seeds germinate, they are too weak and no good. If half or more germinate, plant thickly and they’ll be okay. If most of them pop roots, your seed is in great shape.

If, as a self-reliant gardener, you get in the habit of raising your own seed, you will never be caught with your seed supply low. And once you start experimenting with all the neat open-pollinated varieties, you’ll truly be hooked and you’ll find that saving seeds from these old-time jewels is not only provident, but a lot of family fun. Our eight-year-old homeschooled son, David, can tell you a lot about cross-pollination, seed saving, and “having to” eat up a sloppy, delicious watermelon, just to get the seeds.

Many more great articles can be found at:

http://www.backwoodshome.com/

http://www.sharingsustainablesolutions.org/?p=505

Primitive Cooking Methods

There are two very important elements to successful primitive cooking. First you must have something to cook. For this you may want to consult our booklets entitled “Primitive Survival Techniques” or “Primitive Hunting & Fishing Technologies”. Cooking in the wilderness can be accomplished very effectively if you use their head. Plan out what you intend to do and then look around you. There are plenty of natural materials in a natural setting to provide whatever you will need, whether it be for your fire or utensils or shelter.

There are many techniques to cooking in the wild, some require you to production some sort of primitive tool or container and some techniques that require no other utensils. For these you would utilizing only the fire and the coals. In most cases, unless you are toasting, browning or reflection cooking, which requires the fire itself, everything else that you prepare will require no more than the heat of the coals. Cooking over an open flame, which will burn the outside of what you are cooking and still leave the inside unpleasantly uncooked, is one of the most common mistakes made by the novice outdoor primitive food preparer. Flames are much hotter than coals and much more inconsistent in heat their distribution. You will have far less control over your heat.

Furthermore, all woods do not burn at the same rate. A quick thumbnail hint is that hardwoods burn slow and hot, soft woods burn cooler and faster. You should also avoid using pine wood to cook with. It will make a quick and hot warming fire but it should never be used as a cooking wood. Whatever you are cooking you need to have plenty of coals. For this reason it is a good idea to keep a fire going producing coals while you use another area of your fire ring or a separate fire ring or pit to cook in where you may constantly transfer coals as needed, thereby, keeping an adequate supply of hot coals on hand. You can avoid getting burned with about five minutes work making yourself a coal stick. To do this find a green stick about 4 “ in diameter and about 3-4’long. Split this down the middle from one end about half way. At the bottom of the split, tie off the stick with rope, string, bark, sinew, whatever. This will keep the split from continuing down the length of the stick. You now have a tool that is springy and it will stir coals, pick up coals or add wood to the center of your fire, all without getting you burned. Add additional kindling or wood as needed to keep the fire burning well.

Your cooking success will be more assured if you plan on what type of fire will serve you best for what you are trying to cook. Never build a fire larger than you need it to be. There are many choices of fire pit styles and each has its advantages over others depending on the materials at hand and what you are planning to prepare. Some of these are as follows:

DANGLING

This is the best fire for small animals such as a rabbit or squirrel.

Over the top of a basic pit fire, build a dangle rod or tripod. Then wrap the body of your prey with string, twine, sinew, etc. You may even want to wet this cord before securing it to the animal. Leave enough cord to allow your prey to dangle near or over the fire. By giving it an occasional spin you will find that this allows the meat to turn and therefore cook evenly. Be smart here however. You don’t want it to dangle close enough to the fire for it burn the string and/or scorch the meat. It is also a good plan if you use a reflector in conbination with the dangling method. You may also wish to catch the drippings for making gravy or for flavoring of some of your other creations.

FLAT STONE COOKING

A flat stone either pre-heated in the fire or placed over two other stones and hot coals raked beneath much like a grill, will make a fine griddle for cooking hotcakes, eggs, meat or anything that you would normally cook on a griddle. This works best if you have an extra good source of hot coals and you preheat the stones well first. If you utilize some grease or fats from your prey on the top of the stone first, this will minimize the sticking which so often aggrevates novices in this type of cooking.

HOT ROCK COOKING

For hot rock cooking you will need a container of some sort. A burn and scrape bowl, a tightly woven basket coated with rawhide glue or pine pitch that will hold water or a gourd bowl. Liquid is then placed in the container f or stew or for purifying and rocks are heated in the fire You will need several of these, about the size of a large egg. Do not use rocks found in or near to the water. These may hold water within them and they may well explode when you are heating them. You will also need some sort of hot rock handling device like the coal stick spoken of earlier. When the rocks are nice and hot place them one at a time into the water with the thongs. The heat in the rocks will be transferred to the water, gradually causing it to boil. You then remove the rocks from the liquid, place them back into the fire, so they will heat up again. You continue doing this until your dinner is served. You may wish to manufacture a simple basket with a handle to place the hot rocks in to lower them into the liquid with, thus making them easier to remove. If you are using naturally secured water you should purify it. You can easily purify water by boiling it for at least five minutes.

SPIT COOKING

A spit is a green stick used to skewer your meats or vegetables and then held over the coalsin some manner. You may do this by hand or support the spit with two forked sticks. You may also us this method in conjunction with the dangle method. The easiest way is to secure the bottom of your forked stick a stone or stuck or simply stuck into the ground. You may even use this method to bake bread. Take the dough and form it into what looks like a snake and then coil wrap it around the stick. Bake it over the heat of the coals. Just remember to turn it often you are only browning it. When cooking meat you may encounter the problem of the meat not turning with the stick, as you turn it. A simple solution to this problem could be to drill two or three small holes in the middle of the stick you are using to skewer with. Whittle two smaller sticks that will fit through the diameter of the holes you just drilled snugly, pointing them on one end. Then you can skewer your prey and pierce the body through with the two smaller sticks, through the drilled holes and through the other side of the meat you are cooking. Now, it will turn. You can also bind the meat with cord to keep legs and wings from dangling and falling into the fire as they cook.

PARCHING

Nuts, berries, seeds, grasshoppers, tubers and such may be parched in a basket or bowl by shaking them round in a container with some hot coals. These may be eaten or ground up and added to stews. Many of these items may also be ground into a flower from which you might make a dough. This is also a good method for long term storage of these items.

REFLECTOR COOKING

Remember, you are primitive cooking so you must utilize what nature provides. This may be as simple as several short logs stacked on top of one another to the height of two to three feet and staked on each side to keep from tumbling down or it could be constructed to have three sides thus utilizing more heat. The reflector should be placed behind the prey being cooked. In this way the prey being cooked will be between the reflector and.the fire, thus reflecting the heat of the fire and cooking the prey thoroughly. The reflector method can be used in conjunction with many of the other cooking methods. In addition to its value as a cooking method, the warmth it can provide you by situating your shelter between the fire and the reflector, thus reflecting some of the heat back to you.

DIRECT COAL COOKING

To cook using this method you place your items right on the bed of coals. A great many foods may be cooked by utilizing this method If you use hardwood coals then you will have very little to no ash to stick to your food. Bread dough prepared by flattening it into pancakes or rolling into balls and placing these directly on the coals. When the outside is browned thoroughly, remove them from the coals and break them open. After you have let them cool a bit you may eat the bread from inside. The outside is usually too burned to eat by the time the inside is done but the inside should be very tasty. Steaks may be laid directly on the coals and turned frequently. Laying meat directly on the coals really sears and seals the meat’s natural juices in and makes it one of the juiciest steak you’ll ever eat. Tubers, such as potatoes can be cooked this way. You should bury them in the coals. Poke them from time to time to see if they are tender, thus done. Don’t let the hard feel of the outer layer deceive you though. The longer they stay in the coals the thicker this outer layer will get, as it burns. Corn on the cob, soaked in the husk and laid on the coals steams corn very well. Some folks like to take bark or tanned deer hide and soak it. Then the items desired to be cooked are placed onto the bark or skins and then the top of the skin or another layer of bark is placed on the top. This method will keep your food more tender, but it does take longer to cook and is really rough on the skins.

THE ORIENTAL STEAM PIT

This is a favorite method of the Orientals even today. A steam pit is nothing more than a pit dug large enough to hold the items your planning to cook. Line the pit with stones and build a fire in the pit. This will heat the rocks surrounding it. After you have a good bed of coals, remove the bulk of the fire and most of the coals. The remaining coals are then covered with a layer of ash and/or wet grasses. Place whatever you are cooking on the top of the grass and then pile more grasses over this. Wet this slightly, not enough to cool the rocks down, just enough to cause steam. Grasses taken from marshy areas seem to work best for this as they are used to the water and will not break down so rapidly when wet. Then, seal the opening of the pit with a flat rock and place dirt all over the structure. You do not need not be constantly attending this type of fire. Thus you can set this up in the morning, spend the day hunting, hiking or fishing and have a tasty meal awaiting your returen. It is very important to not open the pit until the food is done. So, you will need to get a reasonable estimate of the necessary cooking time before you utilize this type of cooking system. You need not worry about food over cooking in the steam pit for it is cooling down the whole time it is cooking. Also, since it is buried you need not worry about animals eating it before you get to it. This is also one of the best ways to maintain the nutrition content because this method will steam in all of the vitamins as well as all the flavor.

PLANK COOKING

Meat or fish may be cooked on a board or plank by securing the meat to the board by tying it or pegging it in some manner. Then simply place the board near the fire, with the meat side facing the fire until it is done. Do not pine. Do not use a commercially produced slab of wood. Use what nature has left for you. This way you can be sure to avoid the tonix elements of the wood to transfer into the meat plus pine will give your meat a funny and to me an unpleasant taste. You may use the reflector method in conjunction with this type of preparation.

CLAY COOKING

Cooking meat by covering it with clay and baking it in the coals has the effect of a clay oven or kiln and it will steam the meat until it is tender and juicy in its own juices. To use this method acquire some good sticky clay or mud, and smather it over the entire item you are cooking. Good clay can be found in river banks or in shallow holes near consistent water sources. If you take a moment to remove the sticks, stones and other items from your clay you will have a substance that will be easy to work with and will be less likely to shatter when it is heated. Punch a hole with a small stick through the top of your clay mound. This will allow the steam to escape, thus again minimizing the possibility of a shatter. Place it directly into hot coals and cover it with more coals, in effect, bury it in coals. But, be careful not to cover up your steam hole, which of course eliminates the reason for the hole in the first place. You may wish to place herbs and spices in the body cavity. Any animal you skin and eviscerate should be covered with some non-toxic leaves like yucca or grape leaves before covering it with clay. In the case of a fresh, wild fish or fowl, you need not even remove feathers or scales as these will pull off as you remove the clay. It is also not necessary to eviscerate fresh, wild fish or fowl for the entrails cook into a tiny ball in the body cavity that is easily raked out when it is finished cooking and does not taint the flavor of the meat. Don’t do this with domestic fowl like chickens. The work entirely different than wild fowl.

SMOKE RACK

Lash together two tripods that will stand independently. Now lash as many horizontal poles across the front and back as you will need to cook on. There is no need to make this rack any larger or taller than you will need for the amount of meat you have to cook. Now lay strips of meat you wish to cook along the length of the poles draping them down over either side of the pole. Fish cook up really well on this type of rack. Just cut fresh fish open, eviscerate, spread open and breaking the backbone in several places. Do not skin them as the skin will help to hold the meat together as it cooks. Lay the open fish over the rack with the meat side out and skin side down. The rack should be placed near your fire where the meat will catch the smoke coming off of the fire, but not too close, you don’t want to burn up your rack. As your fire burns down to coals, place a layer of the coals beneath the rack, also. This is a slow cooking process that smokes the meat and flavors it to perfection and the smoke will help keep away the unwanted insects while it is cooking. You may also cook the meat to the point that it dries into jerky. This is the best way to preserve your meats for later use. Dried fish is not all that tasty, but dried fish may be ground, bones and all, into a fine powder that can be added to stews later for the added nourishment.

It is a good idea to know how hot the fire or coals are that you wish to cook on. There is a simple method for determining the temperature of the fire or coals. Hold your hand over the spot that you intend to cook at about three inches above. Count how long it takes before you feel the need to move your hand away because it is too hot. Just as when you were a child count one-one thousand, two-one thousand etc. If you move your hand at or before one-one thousand, you have a very hot fire of between 450-500 degrees. Two to three counts and you have a 400-450 degree hot fire. Four to five is a moderate, 350-400 degree fire and six counts or more is a cool fire and probably not much value to you as a cooking fire.

In summation, just because you are utilizing primitive cooking methods, this doesn’t mean that you cannot enjoy a nutricious, palatably pleasing dinner. A little experimentation will pay off fine dividends before you try to impress your friends and neighbors. The first key is preparation. The second is consistancy and the third is patience. If you have these three keys in proper place you will be pleased with the results.

Biointensive Mini-Agriculture

Posted By auke On March 22, 2009 @ 2:41 pm In Production | No Comments

For home gardening it means: less work, less irrigation, improved soil, higher yields and no poisons. There are unlimited opportunities in market gardening, mini-farming and mini-ranching. People can have a comfortable income, a high quality lifestyle, provide a great service and a great way to raise children. A lady took a BIMA course, went home to Alaska, prepared her land and grossed $20,000 the first year. Then had a six months winter vacation! Houston with over one million people has almost no vegetable production in the five surrounding countries.

BIMA allows people to feed themselves on a local basis that provides total community food security and is a proven food production system that is ecologically sound, economically viable and socially responsible.

It creates a healthy soil for growing healthy plants to provide healthy food to feed healthy people [KH]. For the human population to be healthy, we need to consume healthy foods [organic] which come from healthy animals eating healthy plants grown in healthy soil [C Scheaffer, VMD/holistic].

Food Production: Agriculture is in a crisis worldwide. The Green Revolution is not ecologically sound, economically viable nor socially responsible. It makes farmers depend on, even an economic slave to, agribusiness and multinational corporations, CargillMonsanto, ConAgra, NovartisADM and others. Their goal is to control the world’s food supply from research to production to consumer by controlling seed, fertilizers and chemicals. These seed must have chemicals sprayed on them to produce and seed can not be saved for the next crop. Other corporations are beginning to market irradiated food which may be dangerous to our health. [Request: ÒWho Will Feed The WorldÓ by email, 12 pages of articles; www.nfu.org; www.moffa.org; www.inmotionmagazine.com; AGRIBUSINESS EXAMINER -Monitoring Corporate Agribusiness. Free from: Avkrebs@earthlink.net [1]] The Congress, President, USDA [^partner in a GEg patent?; 30,000 grants; onjy 34 for organic, family farming], most land-grant colleges and most ag extension services are part of the problem rather than part of the solution and uses our tax dollars. The world’s farmers can produce all the food the world’s population requires, regardless of how high it goes, using BIMA.

^000200000B1100000AEE^B0B, ÒUrban Ag has the potential to provide many benefits to cities - in nutritional improvement, hunger reduction, income generation, enterprise development and environmental enhancement. The poor and unemployed can grow their own food. Farming converts degraded and unkept vacant lots into healthy, green areas. Waste [grass, leaves, trees, sawdust, manure, food waste] can be composted and used on the farms as well as recycled water. City governments must recognize the potential of urban agriculture and accord it the status given to other industries and economic activities in the city.Ó Urban Ag Network, urbanag@compuserve.com [2]. Books: Urban Agriculture - Food, Jobs and Sustainable Cities; A Patch of Eden, H P Hynes; www.cityfarmer.org. Urban gardening is very important socially, economically, esthetically and recreationally. Cultivating Havana: Urban Agriculture; 1999,Food First

Urban Micro-entrepreneurship: Most urban agriculture is directed by NGO’s but there are unlimited opportunities for private BIMA all over every city. Employment is limited and most are low pay. Urban homesteading and BIMA are a realistic option: socially and financially. Book: Entrepreneurial Community Gardens, G Feenstra, 1999.

Economic development is a major concern for most towns and cities. BIMA is very effective economic development. It benefits local people. Thirty experienced families can sell $40,000 each in the local farmer’s market. That is Òcreated wealthÓ. That is $1,200,000 added to the local economy each year. This wealth stays in the city rather than being sent to a corporate office somewhere; even abroad.

Rural: There is a grassroots movement back to family farming. BIMA is the answer and is being used by the many Ônew’ people entering agriculture as well as innovative farmers. Web: //sunsite.unc.edu/farm-connection; www.cfra.org.

Micro-entrepreneurship: Employment opportunities are limited and most are low pay. BIMA is a realistic option: socially and financially.

Organic: Gardeners and farmers have been organic since the beginning of agriculture until the discovery of certain chemicals in WW II [to kill people then, insects now]. No one has the right, moral or legal, to poison the air, soil or water. ÒOrganic gardening and farming is more than avoiding chemicals. The organic method requires a change of attitude and a different thought process.Ó [H Garrett, DMN; www.whitehawk.com/dirtdoctor]. Organic does not require the purchase of any outside inputs except seed and maybe organic fertilizer. The present generation knows nothing about raised beds or organics because their fathers and grandfathers have used chemicals since the 1950s. Therefore, they must be taught. [Read: From The Good Earth, M Ableman; Web: www,purefood.org; www.foodsecurity.org]

Note: A salesman sales chemical fertilizers, insecticides, herbicides, etc to a farmer and gets paid by the chemical company from the sale. Promoters of organic gardening and farming have nothing to sale.

Raised beds: They have been used in Asia [Indonesia, China, Vietnam, PNG], Latin America [Mexico, Guatemala, Bolivia, Peru], Europe [France] and USA [NE Indians] for centuries. I saw a few while living in Guatemala. Because of chemicals they were abandon but there is a worldwide movement back to using them. 80,000 km2 are being restored in Peru/Bolivia. They work.

Everyone should use and I teach:

A. Organic, biointensive, double dug, permanent raised beds with green manure/cover crops/mulch/-compost. This can double or even triple the yields while reducing the labor by half compared to traditional gardening. This works [USA: Chadwick Garden & market garden, Ecology Action, MOA, NFRDC; Mexico, ECOPOL; Philippines, IIRR; Kenya: Manor House Ag Center; Chile: Centro de Educac^on y Tecnolog^a; Vietnam: VACVINA] and the proof is there for all to see.

B. Organic, biointensive, permanent raised beds using no-till, green manure/cover crops/mulch/-compost. This works and the proof [Honduras: COSECHA, CIDICCO; Japan: M Fukuoka,; IIRR: Philippines; Chile, CET; USA: M Cain, AR] is there for all to see.

BIMA boasts two advantages no other production system can claim. First, it is easier on the soil than mechanized methods. Second, it is the least expensive method in terms of capital outlay. For very small farms [mini-farms] this method is not only economically viable but superior to the alternatives. Jeff Rast, Center for Small Acreage Farming, Countryside Magazine, Nov/Dec 98.

Only hand labor with hand tools are used but with sufficient land use power hand tools, scythes, wheel hoes with implements, push planters and spreaders, etc. A plow [moldboard, rototiller, etc] is never used. [Read: Plowman’s Folly, E H Faulker; Weeds-Control Without Chemicals, Walters. Video: Necessity of Organic Resides, R Parnes]. Transportation can be a bicycle, tricycle, quadracycle [pickup and/or passengers] with trailers. [Info: address above].

C. Organic, permanent raised beds [80Ó-100Ó wide] with green manure/cover crops using no-till machinery. Axles are extended to fit over the beds so the wheels run in permanent tracks. This works and the proof [Morrison, USDA/ARS, TX; Deep Bed Farming Society, CO; S Groff. PA; EPAGRI, Brazil] is there for all to see. [Video: No-Till Vegetables, S Groff]

D. Agroforestry: Trees [food, oils, chemicals, medicinals, spices, beverages, crafts, lumber, forages, firewood, windbreaks, industrials, etc] should be a planned crop. www.winrock.org; www.treesftf.org; www.unl.edu/nac.

1. Forestry: Forest must not be cleared but manage-harvested for natural crop production using raised beds for specific crops. This works and the proof [Brazil: Instituto de Permacultura da Bahia, Costa Rica, IANI] is there for all to see.

2. Alley Cropping: Raised beds between rows of trees. This works and the proof [USA; Nigeria, IITA; Philippines, IIRR, BMRLC; Costa Rica, IANI] is there for all to see.

Without a water system, bucket drip irrigation should be used. A kit [US$25 ppd] irrigates 200 feet of vegetables by filling a five gallon bucket each morning and each evening. Two kits will irrigate enough vegetables for a family of seven on a vegetarian diet during the dry season. [Kenya]. Can be adapted to irrigate trees, etc. [Video: Third World Irrigation Update, free with first kit or $5 ppd.]

Financing: Requirements for beginners: handtools, seed, fertilizer, water, misc for $400 or less. Micro-loan programs [no collateral required. failures-2%], cooperatives, ag incubators, foundations may be needed. Contact: The Intervale Foundation, 802-660-3508 fax 3501

Cooperative: tools for loan, purchase in bulk and sell, rent land, farmer’s markets, library, training classes, micro-loans, savings bank, rent value-added processing plant, etc for members only.

Land: Use land, free, owned by individuals, companies, churches, governments, schools, non-profits and the tax office [Repossessed land in Lubbock TX may be farmed free]. People will donate land to non-profit groups. The food bank in Lubbock TX has been given: various vacant lots, 25 A orchard; 5 A. farm and Jan 99, 48 A urban farm.

BIMA can produce flowers, dyes, vegetables, nuts, fruits, trees, grains, fibers, herbs, spices, medicinals, oils, teas, sweeteners, fragrances, seeds, ornamentals, industrials [lubricants, brooms, gums, waxes, oils, rubber, emulsifiers, chemicals, paper], forages, feed grains, farm animals. Market gardening has a average gross sales of $8,000 per acre with a few as high as $30,000 with value-added. A family with 2-15 acres can earn a very nice income.

Schools/Youth: Most young people do not know enough about agriculture to know whether they are interested in it or not. They should have some exposure to all of it. Should feel close to nature. 1. Gardens: Every school [primary, junior high, high school] should have a gardening project in every classroom. Foodworks, VT; Mountain School, VT; www.connriver.org/mountainschool. Home Schoolers should have a cooperative garden. [Yellowrose School, TX; request: BIMA-Youth; Our Wonderful Youth; www.ahs.org; www.national.org.

2. Market Garden/Mini-Farm: Every high school should have a BIMA training program as a career choice. [not part of Vo-Ag/FFA]; www.cityfarmer.org; AR - anp@iocc.com [3]; Chicago HS for Ag Sciences; Read: Entrepreneurial Community Gardens,: Growing food, skills, jobs and communities. Freenstra, McGrew, Campbell, 1999.

3. Mini-Ranch/Dairy: Many students will not garden but prefer livestock. It is a rich educational experience to witness mating, birth, maturing, dying and having to nurture animals. Read: Explorations in Urban Animal Ag, HPI

Training: BIMA should be offered in all youth detention centers, prisons and jails [C Marcum, SF County Jail, CA]. Others: homeless [Homeless Project, Fresh Start Farms, HGP, CA], gang members [video: City Farmers, Survival in the Urban Landscape, 412-528-4839], welfare-to-work, etc. Most people want to work; not take handouts. They should be trained as should those seeking new careers, second jobs or part-time work. They have a choice of micro-entrepreneurship or employment.

1. Market Garden: One food bank offers training for up to three years.

2. Mini-Farm: Training in additional crops and value-added.

3. Mini-Ranch/Mini-Dairy: Some people prefer livestock. [St Anthony’s Dairy, vallcorn@rp.net.net [4]]

URBAN:

1. Home Garden/mini-ranch: Every home should have a garden to produce food for the family and forage for small animals for meat. This assures that the family, especially the children, do not consume chemicals. With experience, a family can grow all their vegetables on 1000 ft2. Additional beds can be used for forage for small farm animals.

2. Market Garden: High value, labor intensive crops are grown.

3. Mini-Farm: Additional crops requiring more land but less intensive labor. Some of these crops are particularly adapted to value-added.

4. Mini-Ranch: Use raised beds for forage/grain. Small animals are in pens which are over the beds and moved down the beds daily for grazing or cut and carry. HPI has a bee project in Chicago. Houston has hundreds of livestock. [DMN, Nov 98]. If neighbors do not complain, the city authorities probably won’t. Raise quiet animals [no roosters], keep clean [no odors] and give each neighbor eggs or meat or vegetables every month. Mini-ranching requires a little more investment and land but less labor.

5. Mini-Dairy Farm: Raised beds for forage/grain. HPI has a dairy goat project in Chicago. There is a goat dairy in downtown Houston. Use milk goats, dairy sheep and miniatures.

RURAL:

1. Market Garden: Has more acreage and uses larger hand tools or power hand tools. The farmer who is willing to change can find a very profitable niche.

2. Mini-Farm: Larger scale. Grow volume and/or industrial crops which require more acres.

3. Mini-Ranch: Raised beds for forage/grain. Small animals are in pens which are over the beds and moved down the bed daily for grazing or cut and carry. Small livestock includes miniature swine [40#] and beef [15 meat and dual purpose breeds]. There is a demand for organic, farm raised meat, eggs, raw milk, etc.

4. Mini-Dairy: Use raised beds for forage & grain. Space for large dairy animals. [cattle, water buffalo, goats, sheep] Grow all feed. 50 cow dairy supports two families [CISA, PA].

Marketing: There is a nationwide, grassroots movement to buy local, buy fresh, buy organic. There are many ways to market but the following are the best.

1. Farm stand or curbside stand: Customers coming to you is low cost marketing. People will drive to a farm to buy fresh food.

2. Farmer’s Markets: The US government issues funds to families which must be used only for fresh fruits and vegetables and used only at a certified farmer’s market. The USDA grants permission for farmer’s markets to operate on government property. Put them in housing projects. Web: www.ams.usda.gov/directmarketing

3. CSA-Community Supported Agriculture: Customers pre-purchase shares of produce.

4. Value-added: Use family labor to process in some way what is grown to increase the selling price. Examples: solar dried fruit/vegetables, jams/jellies, crafts, milk/cheese, dried flowers, etc. [equipment manufacturers: Cecoco, Japan; milk processing, rafy-s@pladot.co.il [5]].

5. Cooperatives: Enalbles the mini-agriculturists to work together to do what they can’t do individually in marketing and/or value-added processing. [example-cheese making, jelly, etc]

BIMA Workshops:

Gardens/Mini-Farms workshops of 1 -4 days are available anywhere at anytime. They are practical and how-to. I take two reference books [English, Spanish, French, German, Russian, Hindi, Arabic] to donate, drip irrigation samples and order free magazines [Spanish, English, Portuguese] if there is a library. Demonstrate raised bed construction, mulching and drip irrigation. Show videos/slides and networking. Display: books, periodicals, newsletters, tools.

The only opportunity to learn practical, how-to BIMA is in my workshops or in TN [gardening or mini-farming] on-farm workshops [five days each] in June. Contact for info. Ken Hargesheimer

I ask one favor of every person who gets this; pass it on to as many others as possible to encourage them to use organic gardening and farming. Encourage the schools to teach it.

Request: BIMA-A Sustainable Farming System; BIMA-Info & Ideas [five pp], BIMA-Third World, BIMA-Youth, Bucket drip kits by Email or SASE.

Can you imagine the beauty of your community with all vacant lots/land in mini-agriculture, wildflowers, wildlife, forest, prairie, stream riparians
Tropical Small Farms

We must remember that one factor of the “Green Revolution” around the world was mass migration of small property-owners to the cities to swell the slums ( Sao Paulo Brazil now has 15 million people, at least half of which are rural refugees). So when the Industrial Agriculture mega-business people talk about “feeding the starving millions” they omit to mention that these millions are starving because they were forced off their lands by an agricultural model which was too expensive and too destructive for small farms to hold up under. Our experience in Brazil mirrors what is said here about the small farm. We have seen examples of successful small farms of 3-4 hectares of agroforests ( which is the appropriate model in the tropics) earn US$300-400 per month, with practically zero costs other than family labor. This means a comfortable margin of profit which permits a very good life indeed. Marsha Hanzi. Instituto de Permacultura da bahia Brazil. hanzibra@svn.com.br [6]

* Gaviotas - A Village to Reinvent the World, Alan Wiesman
* Entrepreneurial Community Gardens Freenstra
* Natural Pest Control Andy Lopez Andy@invisiblegardener
* Garden-Ville Method Malcolm Becyk
* Organic Manual Howard Garrett
* Organic Gardener’s Composting Steve Solomon Out of print, Reprint in Fall 99
* Farmer’s Earthworm Handbook David Ernst
* How To Grow More Vegetables Than You Ever Though Possible on Less Land Than You Can Imagine, John Jeavons bountiful@zapcom.net [7] Spanish, French, German, Russian, Arabic, Kiswahilli
* Plowman’s Folly E H Faulkner
* Weeds: Control Without Poisons Charles Walters, Jr
* Growing Produce Family Style R Yoder 330-852-4687 [market gardening]
* Rebirth of The Small Family Farm Gregson, Box 2542, Vashon Island WA 98070, $10 ppd
* Solar Gardening Poisson 800-762-7325
* Cold Weather Gardening Frank Ours Box 371, Parson, WV $7 pp.
* From the Good Earth M Ableman
* Four Seasons Harvest, Eliot Coleman
* Winter Harvest Manual, Eliot Coleman
* New Organic Grower, Eliot Coleman
* You Can Farm: The Entrepreneur’s Guide, Joe Salatin
* Salad Bar Beef, Joe Salatin
* Pastured Poultry Profits: Joe Salatin
* One Straw Revolution, M Fukuoka, Japanese
* Natural Way of Farming, M Fukuoka, Japanese
* Road Back To Nature, M Fukuoka, Japanese

GARDENS/MINI-FARMS NETWORK

TTU: BS-Agriculture; Ecology Action: BIMA Workshop 97

TX: Lubbock, Dallas, Hereford, Nazareth, Happy, Amarillo

MS: Oxford; FL: N Ft Myers

Mexico, Rep. Dominicana, C^t^ d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Honduras Box 1901, Lubbock TX 79408-1901

Tel 806-744-8517; Fax 806-747-0500; minifarms@aol.com [8]

Workshops in organic, biointensive, raised-bed gardening, market gardening, mini-farming, mini-ranching worldwide in English & Spanish

Article printed from Sharing Sustainable Solutions: http://www.sharingsustainablesolutions.org

URL to article: http://www.sharingsustainablesolutions.org/?p=840

URLs in this post:

[1] Avkrebs@earthlink.net: mailto:Avkrebs@earthlink.net

[2] urbanag@compuserve.com: mailto:urbanag@compuserve.com

[3] anp@iocc.com: mailto:anp@iocc.com

[4] vallcorn@rp.net.net: mailto:vallcorn@rp.net.net

[5] rafy-s@pladot.co.il: mailto:rafy-s@pladot.co.il

[6] hanzibra@svn.com.br: mailto:hanzibra@svn.com.br

[7] bountiful@zapcom.net: mailto:bountiful@zapcom.net

[8] minifarms@aol.com: mailto:minifarms@aol.com

http://www.google.com/search?q=Biointensive+Mini-Agriculture&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

Food Forest Across America

Posted By auke On March 5, 2009 @ 12:11 pm In News | No Comments

Food Forrest Across America
For Erik Ohlsen, a Californian based Permaculture teacher and designer, 2009 is shaping up to become a year like no other.

“I run my own Permaculture contracting business and am about to launch a Food Forest campaign for 2009” he said. Erik’s dream is to encourage people to roll out a Food Forest systems across America.

“My vision is to educate communities as to the whole system benefits of food forests from, climate change to relocalization of food sources and creating oases of human settlement in our communities. To do this we will help students and interns design and install these systems.”

“We’re going to install Food Forests like a brush fire, and we can.” he says.

The start of a Food Forest. Erik is
standing in infiltrating water of a swale.
Notice green cover crop sprouting

“I have seen Geoff Lawton’s Food Forest DVD [1]” said Erik.. “As a Permaculture and food forest designer, I just wanted to see how Geoff organizes his food forests. Honestly I was blown away by the video. The first time I watched it I actually had a hard time going to sleep because I wanted to go out into my property and start planting like crazy. I just moved into a new house and am currently designing a food forest there.

“Geoff’s video serves as a great reminder of how easy it can be to put in a food forest. He helps to take fear away from doing wrong and empowers viewers to get to work! This work is crucial for our global communities and the food forest video feels like a real catalyst for people to realize just how important and accessible this information and this strategy is.”

Erik’s desire to make a positive contribution to the planet started when he was in his teens.

“At the age of nineteen I became aware of crises going on in the world.” He said “I learned about the risks of genetically engineered seeds, mainly the Terminator seed developed by Monsanto. I got together with some friends and we decided we wanted to do something to help save the world. We started an organization to give heirloom seed gardens away to our community and abroad to build a safety net of heirloom seeds and produce food locally. We called our organization Planting Earth Activation.(PEA) We gave over one hundred suburban and urban gardens away in two years. We were pioneers of the volunteer based garden campaigns that now are sprouting up everywhere with Victory gardens and Food not Lawns etc.”

A fruiting Pink Lemon, the flesh inside
is actually pink!

Erik has been involved in Permaculture for the last 10 years.

”I just taught my 15th PDC this January in Cazadero, California” he says. “I’m a guest instructor for most of the PDCs that take place in Northern California.”

So what is Erik’s vision for a Food Forest Campaign?

“First let me share what I think the full expression of a food forest can be. Beyond the staple ingredients of a food forest; water harvest, tons of leguminous trees and plants, Fruit and nut trees, wildlife habitat, growing mulch and building soil, I also see some additional elements we can message as part of a food forest. Chickens, outdoor kitchens, greywater, gathering and celebration spaces are all elements that I think can be part of a full expression of a food forest. Combining the kitchen garden with the food forest with the social needs of humans seems like a great way to message a new aesthetic for landscapes.

Peach Poppy guild designed by Erik Ohlsen

“I believe that a key factor to halting energy decent and global warming is re-localizing community resource needs on a global scale. Food, water, social interaction, fuel, and energy, these can all be produced or managed locally. As a landscape contractor I see the aesthetic that people here in the Suburbs of US towns want. This cultural aesthetic of landscape is destructive, energy consuming, and pretty much useless. My goal is start a paradigm shift in the way that people view the aesthetics of landscapes and empower land owners to see their precious land as a functional part of their lives, a base of their resource needs and a solution to global scale issues (i.e., Climate Change, environmental destruction, etc.)

Eric’s Food Forest developing in it’s first year

“Once our campaign is underway and we are able to generate funding, we will stack an intern training element. The goal here is to train as many permaculturists as possible to be confidant designers and installers of these systems. As we change the community aesthetic, the market for food forests should begin to reach larger and larger scales. For this we will need many experienced Permaculturists to take on these projects. One part of this goal is to help the Permaculture movement get out of the cycle of always offering advanced training to inspired students that cost a lot of money. We want to be able to offer affordable training to people and eventually paid jobs. We need to get the PC movement out of the money rut and help provide right livelihood for those that want to make a career out of Permaculture. This point is very important to me and I am working on a couple other projects we are calling The Permaculture Skills Center and The Permaculture Business Alliance to also provide for this need in the community. Those projects will also help launch and supplement the Food Forest Campaign although the campaign will begin through my business Permaculture Artisans.

“Along with all of this is transitioning rural farms and orchards to more diverse and perennial food forest systems. This is already happening as part of my business and we will push for more and more of this in our campaign.”

A growing system

But how would one launch a campaign like this with limited funds?

“On the whole we will go wherever the funding takes us” says Erik. “Funding is the limiting factor. We are poised to plant food forests as many and as fast as we can with good design and lasting installations.”

“I have students practically knocking down my door to want to work with Permaculture Artisans. I’d like to give everyone a job planting food forests if I can. I now have a small group of highly trained installers that can train others when the money is there to bring more on.”

So what sort of skills is Erik looking for?

“At First I think I will need an admin and marketing team that can do some start-up work on a volunteer basis. Maybe 6-8 volunteers, 4 with good computer skills, 4 with good people organizing and Permaculture design skills.”

“It would also be great to have a couple of experienced fundraisers since the more money we can raise the more we can install food forests in communities that desperately need them and the more we can train new installers.”

Erik’s other dream is to take over vacant city lots, and transition public parks to food forest systems that provide a plethora of resources for local communities and wildlife.

“I have no doubt we will get there as the realities of re-localization campaigns and energy decent [2] kicks in” he says.

If you can help or need to know more about the Food Forest Campaign contact Erik Ohlsen directly erik (at) permacultureartisans.com or phone USA 707-332-8100.
Or visit www.permacultureartisans.com [3]

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URLs in this post:

[1] Geoff Lawton’s Food Forest DVD: http://permaculture.org.au/store/food_forest_dvd.htm

[2] energy decent: http://permaculture.org.au/2008/11/17/staring-at-the-future-from-the-top-of-the-slippery-slide/

[3] www.permacultureartisans.com: http://www.permacultureartisans.com/

Great Garden Tips

Posted By auke On March 22, 2009 @ 2:39 pm In Production | No Comments

Bees or Wasps in the HouseSpray the insect with hair spray. The spray will stiffen their wings and they will plummet to their death.

Black Flies or GnatsWater soil with a mix of 1 teaspoon of ammonia and 1 quart of water. Do this every 3 days for 3 weeks.

Alcohol SpraysUse for aphids, mealybugs, scale, thrips and whitefly control. Mix ? cup Isopropyl alcohol (70%) with 1 cup water and spray on leaves and pests. Alcohol can burn the leaves of certain plants. African Violets and Apple trees are sensitive to alcohol sprays. Test a few leaves on your plant before you spray the whole plant.

Caterpillar Deterrent Citrus SprayCaterpillars don’t like the taste of citrus, it’s bitter chemicals run the caterpillars off.To make a citrus spray, grind up the rinds and seeds of any citrus fruit. Soak over night in 2 cups of water. Strain out the pulp, add 2 t liquid soap to mix. Spray on plants.

Garlic Oil SprayUse for control over aphids, cabbage loopers, earwigs, June bugs, leafhoppers, squash bugs, and whiteflies. * Mince 1 bulb garlic * soak in 2 t mineral oil for 24 hours * mix 1 pint of water with 1 T liquid soap * add garlic mix to water and soap * Mix throughly * Strain out garlic and place into a jar for storage Use 1 to 2 T garlic oil mix to 2 cups water. Spray plants covering all leaf surfaces.

Fire Place AshesUse wood ashes from your fire place to control any soft bodied bug such as pear slugs and regular slugs. Sprinkle the powder where ever these creatures travel. The powder dehydrates the slugs and they die.

Low-fat For AphidsTo control aphids apply nonfat dried milk, mixed according to the box, onto the leaves of your plants. The aphids get stuck in the milky residue and perish.

Slug TerminatorSpray slugs with a mix of 1 part vinegar and 1 part water to terminate your slugs. Mix vinegar and water into a trigger sprayer and spray directly onto the slug. They will die almost immediately. Also spray the ground around your plants and any hidden slugs will come out of the sprayed soil and die.

Drunken SlugSet a shallow pan of beer (the darker the better) out into the garden where the slugs hang out. They can not resist the taste of beer and crawl in and drown.

Slug trapUse a plastic pop bottle to catch slugs. Remove the lid, cut the pop bottle just below the curve of the neck all the way around. Invert the neck piece and staple it inside of the main piece. Throw in some slug bait or some beer and set in the garden where the slugs are doing the damage. The slugs can crawl in but don’t crawl out.

Slug StopperSprinkle a ring of moth crystals around the base of your plants to keep the slugs from eating your plants. The slugs as well as cats, dogs and raccoons will stay away from these plants.

Weather Forecasting CricketsYou can tell the outside temperature in Fahrenheit by counting the number of chirps made by a cricket in 14 seconds then add 40 to it.

Earwig CatcherEarwigs like dark, tight places to hide in during the day. Lay some corrugated cardboard out in the garden where you have had earwig damage. The earwigs will climb into the cardboard to hide during the day. Collect the cardboard and burn it.

Codling Moth BrothTo catch codling moths, use a mixture of 2 parts vinegar and one part molasses. Place this mixture in a tin can and hang it in the apple tree. Clean out the moths and place more mix in the can when needed.

Fly CatcherTo catch flies, place a piece of meat in a jar. Using a quart jar, place a small piece of meat and ? inch of water into the jar. Punch a few holes big enough for the flies to crawl in, into the lid of the jar. Screw on the lid and set in a good fly location. When the fly crawls in, it can’t get out. Clean out the jar when the smell gets to strong or it gets full of flies.

Yellow Sticky TrapsTo catch white flies, gnats and aphids use STP motor oil treatment or honey. Smear motor oil treatment or honey onto bright yellow plastic and place it amongst your plants with bugs. When the plastic gets full of bugs, wipe them off and reapply STP motor oil treatment or honey and set the trap out again.

How to Get the Skunk Smell off of Your Pets * 1 quart 3% Hydrogen Peroxide * 1/4 cup baking soda * 2 teaspoons baby shampooMix up solution. Thoroughly wet dog and shampoo in. Let sit for 5 minutes then rinse. Be sure not to get the solution in the dogs eyes. The percentage of Hydrogen Peroxide is not strong enough to bleach the dogs hair.

Protect Your Grapes from the BirdsJust before your grapes ripen when the birds start to get into them protect your crop with plastic grocery bags. Punch each bag full of air holes. Slip a bag around each bundle of grapes and staple to hold bag in place.

Spank Your Fruit TreesFor more fruit production, take a rolled up newspaper and spank the day lights out of the trunk of your fruit trees. This action loosens the cambium layer and more sap will flow up to the tree producing more fruit. This is for more fruit the following year.

Mini GreenhousesWhen you first place your seedlings out you will want to protect them from to much wind, sun or frost. A gallon milk jug with the bottom cut out and the lid off is the perfect mini green house for setting out your plants. If it is going to frost, just put the lid on for the night. If the jug keep blowing off, cut off the top of the handle. Next run a stick through the handle, this will secure the jug to the stick. Push the stick down into the ground to anchor it. The wind will not pick it up now.

Mini Shade HouseWhen first setting out seedling the can be wind burned or sunburned. To help the acclimate your plants to the great outdoors you can protect them with a mini shade house. Cut out a 18 inch by 24 inch piece of woven fence material, being sure to leave the extra wire that sticks out when you cut it. Bend it into the shape of an arch. Cut a piece of burlap 20 inches by 26 inches. Hook the burlap over the ends of the fence material. Set the whole unit over your transplanted seedlings. Leave this over them for a week to harden off your plants. This is great for working people because you never build up heat under this covering so you don’t have to take it off during the day if the sun shines to hot.

Dress up Your GardenUse old panty hose for tying up your plants. The panty hose are strong and will not cut into the tender stems.Another use for old panty hose is to place them over the heads of your cabbage. As your cabbage grows the panty hose will stretch.

Canned CornTo keep birds and squirrels from eating your corn, place aluminum pop or beer cans on your corn ear. Prepare the cans by cutting off the tab end. Next punch air holes all the way around the can. When you see birds or squirrels getting into your corn, slip a can over each ear until it is ripe.

Eggshell PlantersEggshells make great plant starters. When you crack your egg, just take off the tip of one end. Rinse out the shell and poke a small drain hole into the bottom of the shell while it is still wet. Fill shell 3/4 full of potting soil and plant seeds. When it is time to plant out just crush the egg shell and plant into the ground. The egg shell adds lime to help feed the soil and plant.

Mildew on Your PeoniesSprinkle your peonies with cinnamon to stop molds and fungi. Tokyo researchers have found that fungi will not grow in the presence of cinnamon.

Clothespin for RosesTo avoid being stuck when working with roses, use a spring type clothes pin to hold the stem instead of your fingers.

Baking Soda SprayUse baking soda to control fungal diseases, especially black spot on roses.Dissolve 1 t baking soda in 1 quart of water, add 1 t liquid soapSpray entire leaf surfaces of plants every 3 days for 21 days. Reapply after every rain.

No Room for a Garden?If you want to grow a tomato plant or a cucumber plant and you have no room. Get a bale of straw, poke some holes in it and pour compost into the holes. Plant your vegetables right into the bale. Water when needed. The decomposing bale will feed your vegetables all season.

Soak Your Feet or Feed Your TomatoesEpsom salt is great for getting your tomato plants to produce large crops of tomatoes. It also helps to prevent blossom end rot. Use 1/4 cup around the base of each tomato plant every year.

Easy Sowing of Small SeedsSeason salt or spice shakers are great to use to sow small seeds. Place your tiny seeds in the shakers with some fine sand and shake away. The sand helps to evenly distribute your seeds so they don’t end up in one pile.

Quick Sprout CarrotsSoak your carrot seeds in a glass of warm water for 24 hours. Drain off water and place carrot seeds evenly on several wet paper towels. About ? inches apart. Layer the paper towels in a glass baking dish. Place a sheet of plastic wrap between the layers. Cover the whole dish with plastic wrap. Place in a warm location for about a week. When you start to see little white sprout coming out of the end of the carrot seed it is time to plant them. Place the paper towel in the garden row. Cover lightly with soil and water lightly. Your carrots should be up in a few days.

Rid Your Sidewalks of Weeds and GrassTo kill weeds and grass in unwanted places such as the cracks in your side walks, pour boiling salt water directly onto the weeds or grass for an instant kill.

Hammer Those Tough WeedsFor those hard to pull weeds, hook them with the claw end of a hammer and pull.

Pickle Those WeedsTo kill weeds in areas that you don’t plan to plant anything you can use a solution of vinegar and salt. * 1/4 cup vinegar * 2 t salt * 1 quart water Spray weed until soaked. Heat of the day is best.

Fizzy BubblesTo clean the dirt and stains out of the crevices and cracks of your hands. Drop two denture tables into 2 cups of warm water. Soak your hands for 15 to 20 minutes. It will also remove the dirt from under your nails and will also soften your hands.

I invite you to use this guide as a first step in developing you own garden survival list. Mentally walk through the garden season and list all of the items you use. If any of them are “modern appliances” you will need to think of a man powered replacement or back up system. Contact your local county extension agent and find out what pests lurk in your neck of the woods. Get the supplies you will need to eradicate the pests that will plague your garden. Find a gardener to buddy up with. There should be several experienced gardeners in your area. Go ask them some questions. Find out when they plant, what they plant, what pests they deal with, what kind of fertilizer they use, be sure to take notes. Most gardeners love to talk about their gardens. Go to the library and find some books on gardening. The ones you like have the book store order for you. Fore thought and preparation is the key. It is very possible for us to feed our families from our garde

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Vegetarian Meals for Meatlovers

Posted By auke On March 17, 2009 @ 3:16 pm In Preparation | No Comments

Trying to introduce vegetarian meals to your family?

There are many health benefits to the vegetarian diet, both to the individual as well as to the planet. Incorporating vegetarian meals into your diet is actually quite easy, even if you’re used to a heavier, meat-based diet.

The recipes on this page are hearty and substantial, and chosen to appeal to even the most die-hard meatlovers.

Nutburgers

An all-time favorite meatless burger. The nutburger is tasty, satisfying and filling, without leaving you with the heavy feeling after eating a beef burger. And it’s healthier too!
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
2 eggs
1 cup toasted wheat germ or cooked rice
1 cup parsley, finely chopped
3 stalks celery, minced
1 onion, minced
1 cup walnuts, finely chopped
1 green or red pepper, finely chopped
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp basil
2 tsp curry powder
Mix all together in a big bowl, drop batter into patties in hot olive oil in skillet. Use just enough oil to cover the pan bottom. Cook until golden brown. Serve on a bun just like a hamburger, with red onion slice, lettece tomato slice……the works!

Irish Colcannon

1 bag frozen hash browns with peppers………… Nutmeg
1 medium onion ……………………………………….6 eggs
1 C milk …………………………………………………1 C. Shredded cheddar
1 large bunch of fresh kale

In a 9×13 pan, spray with a vegetable cooking spray. Set oven to 375°.
Clean kale, and remove stems. Chop onion, fry in small amount olive oil until brown. Add kale & stir until kale is slightly cooked. Add salt and pepper to taste, and 1 tsp nutmeg.
Remove from heat. Spread frozen Hash browns in bottom of sprayed casserole. Add milk. Top with kale and onion mixture. Make 6 ‘wells’. Break an egg into each well. Top casserole with shredded cheddar cheese. Bake until eggs are set. Time varies by oven, usually 35-40 minutes.

Thank you Kathy McD for this recipe.

Tofu Tamale Pie

Freezing, thawing and squeezing tofu makes it more chewy and meat-like in texture, and also makes it absorb more of the juices in the dish. Some tofu brands lends themselves to this process better than others, but since not all tofu brands are available everywhere, one has to figure this out by trial and error. Denver brand tofu works well with this method, Melissa’s brand not so much. White Wave extra firm tofu has a good, meaty texture - just dice it and toss it in.

1 lb tofu (firm or extra-firm): freeze, thaw, squeeze out and cut or tear into bite-size pieces.

Saute together until soft:
1 TBSP olive oil (extra virgin cold-pressed)
1 large onion, chopped; 1 large bell pepper, chopped;1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced

When these are almost soft, stir in the prepared tofu in bite-size pieces and:
1 (15-oz) can tomatoes, chopped; 1 (15-oz) can tomato sauce
2 TBSP chili powder, 2 tsp ground cumin, 1/2 tsp oregano
1 cup (1/2 can) black olives, sliced; 1 (10-oz) package frozen cut corn; 1 (6-oz) can green chilis
Pour into a 9 X13 oiled baking dish. Preheat oven to 350* F. Prepare cornbread topping, below.

Cornbread Topping:
Mix together in a bowl:
1 cup cornmeal, 1 cup whole wheat flour, 2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt
Stir together and pour into the dry ingredients:
1 cup soymilk, 2 TBSP oil, 1 TBSP honey or sweetener of your choice

Pour this over the filling in baking pan and bake about 45 minutes, or until cornbread is browned.

From “Tofu Cookery” by Louise Hagler. Thank you Laurie for this recipe!

Tofu Loaf

This tofu loaf is an excellent meatloaf substitute, and is also good sliced and fried for sandwiches the next day.

Preheat oven to 350º F, and mix together the following ingredients:

1 lb tofu, mashed
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/3 cup parsley, chopped
1/4 cup onion, chopped
or 1 TBSP onion powder 2 TBSP soy sauce
2 TBSP nutritional yeast (optional)
1/2 TBSP Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp black pepper

Oil a loaf pan with 2 TBSP oil. Press the tofu mixture into the oiled loaf pan and bake for about 1 hour. Let cool 10 minutes before removing from pan. Garnish with catsup and parsley. Sprinkle generously with paprika on the top of the loaf before putting it in the oven.

From: Tofu Cookery by Louise Hagler

Grilled Polenta with Portabello Mushrooms

Portabello mushrooms are a great meat substitute. The portabella mushrooms in this recipe give the meal a hearty taste one associates with meat-based meals.

1/2 cup polenta (coarsely ground cornmeal)
1 15-ounce can vegetable broth or 2 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup water
4 large portabella mushrooms
1 TBSP olive oil 2 TBSP soy sauce
2 TBSP balsamic vinegar
2 TBSP red wine
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 roasted red pepper, cut into thin strips for garnish
Combine the polenta, vegetable broth, and 1/2 cup of water in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring frequently, until very thick, 15 to 20 minutes. Pour into a 9 x 9-inch baking dish and chill completely (at least 2 hours). To grill, cut into wedges, brush or spray lightly with olive oil, and cook over medium-hot coals until nicely browned.

Clean the mushrooms and remove the stems. Prepare the marinade by stirring the remaining ingredients together in a large bowl. Place the mushrooms upside down in the marinade and let stand 10 to 15 minutes. Turn right side up and grill over medium-hot coals about 5 minutes. Turn and pour some of the marinade into each of the cavities. Grill until mushrooms can be pierced with a skewer, about 5 minutes longer. Serve with grilled polenta. Garnish with roasted red pepper strips, if desired.

Note: Many other vegetables are delicious grilled as well. Grilled zucchini, eggplant, sweet potatoes, peppers, or asparagus would make great accompaniments.

From newcentury.vegsource.com/. (Thanks Laurie for the suggestion!)

Vegetable Fajitas

This is a favorite - quick, easy and satisfying.

1 onion
1 each: red, green, yellow bell pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
8 ounces mushrooms
several broccoli crowns, cut small
6 TBSP olive oil
2 TBSP chili powder 3 TBSP lime juice
fajita seasoning
lemon pepper
guacamole (recipe below)
vegan sour cream (recipe below)
flour tortillas

Slice onion and peppers into strips. Remove mushroom stems and slice the mushrooms thickly. Combine in a bowl, add the crushed garlic and mix slightly.

In a seperate bowl, mix the oil, chili powder, lime juice, fajita seasoning and lemon pepper and pour over the vegetable mixture. Stir well and set aside for an hour or more.

After the vegetables have marinated, heat a frying pan or wok until very hot. Add the marinated vegetables and stir-fry over high heat for 5-6 minutes, until the mushrooms and peppers are just tender. Spoon the filling onto each tortilla, garnish with guacamole, sour cream (and if desired, picante sauce or salsa) and roll up. Makes wonderful leftovers (if there are any!)

From “Vegetarian: The Greatest Ever Vegetarian Cookbook” Edited by Nicola Graimes

Easy Guacamole
5 - 6 avocados
2/3 of a jar of organic salsa
fresh cilantro (about half of a batch)
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
fairly generous dash of cayenne

Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend till fairly smooth. Season to taste.
Refrigerate in airtight container.

Thank you Laurie for this recipe!

Penne alla Cecca

This recipe is very easy, and fast to make. It’s a great meal for summer, too — not heavy or hot, but filling and refreshing! Great with tossed salads and bruschetta or garlic bread…

Drop 5 large tomatoes* into boiling water for 1 full minute. Peel, seed and chop (or use 1 28-ounce can organic diced tomatoes.) Put tomatoes into large bowl with:

1/2 cup olive oil
one garlic clove sliced in half
2/3 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1 tsp (or to taste) - hot red pepper flakes

Let sit for a couple of hours, then remove the garlic. Boil one pound of the pasta of your choice, drain and toss with the cold tomato mixture. Serve immediately.

Note: This recipe can be doubled, because the leftovers are so good! You can make it easier to fish the garlic halves out later by sticking a toothpick through them before adding them to the mixture.

Adapted from the Linguini alla Cecca recipe in the book “Heartburn” by Nora Ephron. Thank you Laurie for this recipe!

Hearty Bean and Pasta Stew
1 c. onions, chopped
1/2 c. chopped green pepper
16 oz can diced tomatoes
15 oz. can black beans, rinsed
15 oz. can kidney beans, rinsed
15 oz. can pinto beans, rinsed 4 oz. shell macaroni
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp basil
1/8 tsp pepper
3 oz. salsa (or more to taste)
3 c. water

Saute the onions and green pepper in olive oil. Add tomatoes, water and beans and bring to a boil. Add pasta, oregano, basil and pepper and cook 10 mins. Add salsa and heat until it’s warm.

Thanks Joanne for this recipe!

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The Sustainable Kitchen

Posted By auke On March 17, 2009 @ 3:18 pm In Preparation | No Comments

Whatis a Sustainable? Kitchen?It is a combination of field equipmentthat use as little fuel as possible and yet provides many of the conveniences ofa regular kitchen including well cooked meals. It will function for months oryears under adverse conditions. In sunny areas, the heart of a sustainable?kitchen is the Solar Cooker.

What makes up a sustainable? kitchen??The basic stove is one or more Solar Cookers with dark pots or canning jars having tight lids, supplemented at night or on cloudy days with small wood fires and a “hay box” to provide retained heat cooking.? It includes some long term method of starting fires, such as flint and steel since a supply of matches may be exhausted. A water pasteurization indicator (WAPI), a separate solar cooker for pasteurization, and storage jars for safe water make up the pasteurization unit. In addition, the sustainable? kitchen may include water heaters? as well as food drying capacity. If located in a house, it may include a home food producing garden and long-term planning for planting and maintaining mature, fast-growing firewood trees around the home.

Whatis a Solar Cooker? Cooking is done by sunlight falling ondark surfaces and changing to heat.? The heat is trapped around the pot and flows into the food that becomes gently yet thoroughly cooked.? A solar cooker uses free energy delivered to your yard every sunny day. The domestic solar designs are safe due to the materials and design used in construction?coupled with the low operating temperatures. It is clearly safer and cheaper when compared to gas, electric, propane, or kerosene or wood. There is no smoke or pollution using a solar cooker.?There are many different designs of solar cookers, some quite elaborate and quite excessively hot.?

Safe,inexpensive, simple solar cookers for household use most frequently are one of two basic kinds: solar boxes and solar panels. Solar cookers are a convenientway of producing good meals without? heating up the house or buying fuel even when there is no emergency. Solar Box Cookers are? well insulated boxes usually with one large window flat or almost flat in the top, with an adjustable reflector in the lid.

Solar cookers with slanted glass windows and multiple reflectors are another form of solarbox. In either form, there is a black metal tray inside the cooker. Solar Panel Cookers are single pot cookers and can also pasteurize by boiling.?They can cook much the same as a SBC but food may need to be stirred or rotated to provide even cooking. They are relatively quick to make, use little material and can be easily stored or transported.

Solar panel cookers?have four or five flat panels, approximately 13 by 16 inches, are covered with a reflective surface, usually kitchen foil. They are arranged so each panel throws reflected sunlight onto a centrally located dark pot or darkened jar. The dark pot goes on a low rack in a closed baking bag in the center of the brightspot. The combination achieves cooking temperatures.

What kinds of food can a solar cooker prepare? Meat roasts, barbecues, beans,casseroles, bread, cakes, cookies, grains and cereals, vegetables.?A large Solar Box Cooker (SBC) holds up to 4 pots providing the variation we are accustomed to in our meals. It can cook up to 15 pounds at one time and the food tastes good.

A Solar Panel Cooker (SPC) generally handles one pot or one small baking tray at? a time. An enlarged, especially designed SPC hybridized with propane can do pressure canning, pressure medical sterilization or can cook very large quantities needed for emergency feeding stations.?This form of SPC can cook on sunlight alone or with an integral propane booster.? It saves significant quantities of propane when the sun is out and in emergencies can produce cooked meals at night or during stormy weather.

What else can solar cookers do? One standard sized SBC can pasteurize 3 gallons of water in Arizona in half a day of full summer sun…longer and less quantity in the off seasons. The water can be pasteurized in pint or quart canning jars that also provide longer term safe water storage. The canned jars of pasteurized water provide both a pasteurized drinking vessel and safe water and they can be taken from the shelf ready to go.

The SBC can substitute for a boiling water bath in canning acid foods or preparing infant formula usually processed by boiling. A SBC can be made specifically to sterilize baby diapers, clothing for incontinent people and other contaminated materials. For animal lovers,combinations of bulk grains can be cooked and added to favorite foods for dogs or cats providing both low cost food and free processing.

During wet or cloudyweather the SBC can be used as a retained heat, “fireless” cooker.?And any form of solar cooker can destroy noxious weed seeds and insects prior to composting.?? How is retained heat cooking connected to solar box cookers? The same insulated box can be used for both methods, making it?doubly useful.

Whatis retained heat cooking? Using either solar heat, wood fire, or other conventional fuel, food is brought to a boil and simmered for a few minutes in a pot with a tight lid. Unless it is already in a SBC, it is moved to a SBC without disturbing the pot lid and letting steam escape. The pot is then surrounded with insulating pads, towels or cushions. In the insulated oven box with the heat sealed in, the food continues to cook for up to 4 hours with no further fuel costs or attention.

The specific times needed for common foods are listed in the attached reprint on “Retained Heat Cooking.”This reduces fuel costs or use of gathered fuels when solar cooking is not possible and can be used during the night or on cloudy days. In addition, foods can cook in retained heat cookers while traveling.

How does the small wood fire fit in? Food can be cooked either by conventional fuels or solar energy. If using wood, gathering every little bit of wood takes time and energy that might better be spent on other tasks.? Also, wood supplies may run out in a long-standing emergency unless used very conservatively. Small wood fires utilize very little wood to do a great deal of work.

How do small wood fires differ from regular camp fires? A minimum of wood is utilized. Four or five 1/2 inch thick sticks four or five inches long at a time are sufficient.The flame is concentrated in one spot directly underneath the pot. Pans are placed directly over the flame which is channeled upward toward to center bottom of the pot by an insulation smoke stack. Potential fuels include small twigs,lumber ends, pine blocks, twists of newspapers, strips of cardboard, dry corncobs, pine cones etc.

Whatis an emergency wood stove? There are many different designs of small, efficient single pot? woodstoves. They provide lots of air for good combustion and may be insulated around the outside so the hot flame is concentrated on the bottom of the pot. (See the material on small woodstoves.)

How do you use a small wood stove. Select an area safe for fires. This maybe out of doors in a bare spot protected from the wind.? If planning for emergency use, a sheltered spot should belocated. It may be in a fireplace or a wood heating stove if the door and firebox are large enough to allow stove and pans to be handled.?

A well-ventilated garage, hooded window,?or greenhouse can be used for cooking during storms.In using the gallon can-in-can design,situate the emergency stove firmly in a safe place. Place a small amount of crushed newspaper or dry weeds and 2 to 3 small sticks in the firebox. Set it alight while holding it slightly slanted to encourage an initial good air flow.As soon as flame is established, set the stove level and place a U-shaped piece of rebar for a grate. Place the food pot on top and start cooking. Lift off the pot briefly to feed new wood as needed. Fire will need to be tended continuously until ready to be packed in the retained heat.

When using the ?Rocket? form of small wood stoves, the pot need not be removed as wood is fed in through the airway at the bottom.Work through the menu. Cook the food that will take longest first. When it has been simmered long enough, place it ina soot sack or wrapped in paper into a SBC or other “hay box” taking care not to open the lid. Carefully surround it with insulation. When packing a second pot, be careful not to chill the first one. ?????

?How is the flint and steel used to make fire? In less than a minute, starting with everything stored near the stove, flame can be produced. It takes a piece of flint, tinder and a scratcher, which can be a piece of hacksaw blade filed smooth, a knife, or other similar metal blade.?One good flint obtained through outdoor recreation outlets can be used to start fires for many years. The tinder is any very light, easily inflamed material such as loose cotton or lint from a clothes drier. Pull apart a small fluff of tinder and place it on a nonflammable surface.? Brace the bottom of the flint against the surface at the edge of the tinder and firmly scratch the flint downward several times. It should throw a spark 1/4 to 1/2inch long.? The tinder should burst into flame and burn briefly but long enough to ignite a torn edge of a small roll of paper or very thin piece of wood to use as a “match”. Cotton from a single plant will servefor a very long time. Some loose cotton is available in cotton balls, some is used to package medicines. Test commercial “cotton” and discard whatever will not ignite with a spark. Store tinder in a closed container after drying well in a solar oven.

How may the soot be handled to keep the kitchen clean? Use an old cloth, sack or paper bag to wrap each pot before placing it in the retained heat cooker. In addition, have a designated area, either covered with newspapers or with a surface easily cleaned, for setting pots down after food has finished cooking.?Before starting to wash sooty pots, rub each pot bottom with ashes and newspaper, or sand and weeds, etc.?Or place a pot bottom under a very small dribble of water and scrub. Remember only the soot causes staining, the baked on black resin does not need to be scrubbed off until the use of the pot for small wood fires is over.

In a Sustainable Kitchen in a sunny area, SOLAR COOKERS ARE THE PRIMARY?COOKSTOVE with small wood fires and retained heat methods as asecondary sources.28-Aug-98source:http://solarcooking.org/sustainable-kitchen.htm

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Cheese Making
Cheddar Cheese:

To make a 1 1/2 pound cheese, combine 2 gallons of whole milk with 3/4C of Buttermilk, let mixture set at room temp. overnight to ‘ripen.’ Next day warm the milk gently in a double boiler to 86 Degrees F and mix in one cheese rennet tablet dissolved in a glass of cool water and let the mixture coagulate undisturbed. When the milk curdles (about 45 mintues), cut the curds into 3/8 inch cubes. Mix the curds and allow to stand for 15 minutes,then heat again, slowly to 100 degrees F. Cook for about an hour until a piece of cooled curd retains its shape when squeezed. If it crumbles,it needs more cooking. Drain the curds for a few minutes and rinse out the double boiler, then cheddar the curds.
To Cheddar the curds:

Return them to the double boiler, spread over a rack lined with cheesecloth. Cover and reheat to 98d.F for 30 to 40 minutes until the curds form one solid mass. Remove the curds, cut them into strips 1 inch. wide and return them to the pan. (NO HEAT)Turn the strips every 15 to 20 minutes for an hour. Cut the strips into cubes and gradually mix in 1 tablespoon of salt, being careful not to bruise the curds. Let them stand for 10 minutes, put them into a cheesecloth, and press them an hour. Remove the cheese from the press, unwrap it, dip it in warm water, and fill in and smooth off any cracks or uneveness. Rewrap in a clean cheesecloth and weight with 40 pounds for 24 hours, then remove and let cheese dry for four to five days in a cool,airy location. Turn cheese twice a day during this time period and wipe it dry each time with a clean cloth. When a hard, dry skin has formed, rub it with oil or seal it with paraffin. Cheddar can be eaten after 6 weeks but is best if aged six months or more. American Cheese is actually a mild variety of Cheddar cheese.

TIP

Coating cheddar cheese in parafin is an axcellent way to preserve it.
Colby

Making Colby cheese involves the unusual steps of adding cool water to the curds after they are cooked. The result is a mild, moist porous cheese. Because of its high moisture content, colby does not keep well. Use pasteurized whole or skim milk. Heat 2 gallons of milk to 88d.F and add 1/2 cup of buttermilk. Stir and let sit for 30 minutes. Dissolve 1/4 cheese rennet tablet or 2 1/2 junket tablets in a glass of cool water and add to the milk stirring well. Allow to coagulate (about 30 mins.) then cut the curds into 3/8 inch cubes. After mixing the curds for 10 minutes, heat gently to 98d.F, increasing the temp about one degree every three minutes. Continue to cook at this temp. for 40 minutes, then slowly add cool water until the temp lowers to 80d.F and remains stabilized at this point. Turn off the heat and gently mix the curds for 15 minutes. Drain the curds and mix in 6 tablespoons of salt. Put the curds into a cheese hoop or mold and press them lightly for half an hour, then add more weight for an hour and a half. Coat with paraffin when the surface has dried or rub with vegetable oil or salt. Ripen in a cool place (40-50d.F) for two or three months.
Small-curd sharp cottage cheese

The key to either of the ‘cottage’ cheeses is to heat the curds gently and gradualy. Cottage cheese is made my allowing the milk to coagulate, or clabber, without rennet. Heat a gallon of skim milk to about 72 degrees F, and add 1/2 cup of buttermilk. Stir thoroughly then cover the milk and let stand undisturbed in a warm place for 16-24 hours until it coagulates. You can use raw milk, but because of the risk of unfavorable bacteria developing, you will probably have better results with pastuerized milk. Do not let the temperature drop below 70F during clabbering. When the milk has clabbered, cut the curds into 1/4 inch cubes, mix and let rest for 10 minutes. Then slowly raise the temperature to 104F increasing it by 5F every five minutes. Continue to cook at 104F for 20 to 40 minutes or until the curds feel firm. The curds should not stick together when squeezed, and the inside of the curds should appear dry and granular. If necessary, raise the temp. as high as 120F. When the curds are cooked, drain and rinse them. Add a teaspoon of salt for every pound of curd. For a creamed cottage cheese add 4-6 tablespoons of sweet or sour cream.
Large Curd Cottage Cheese:

Is made with rennet. Heat 1 gallon of skim milk to 90F (NO HIGHER), and add 1/4 C. of buttermilk. Dissolve 1 1/4 junket tablets or an eighth of a cheese rennet tablet in a glass of cool water, add it to the milk and let stand at 90F. Test the milk for coagulation after a few hours. When the milk has coagulated, cut the curd into 1/2 inch cubes, allow to rest for 10 minutes, then heat to 110F by raising the temp. 5F every five minutes. Test as for small curd cottage cheese, and raise the temp as high as 120 if the curds are not ready. Drain, rinse and cream as for small-curd cottage cheese.
HINTS

When rinsing cottage cheese, first remove cooked curds from heat. Drain through cheesecloth, allow to stand for a minute or two, then lift up the corners of the cheesecloth to make a ‘bag.’ Dip the bag several times into warm water, rinse for two minutes in ice water to chill the curds and let the water drain off.
Farmers Cheese

Is made by using the cottage cheese recipe above, except you use whole milk rather than low-fat. After coagulation cut curd into 1/4 inch cubes. Heat slowly to 104F. and continue to cook until curds reatin shape after being pinched or pressed with the fingers. Drain, rinse and pour into an oblong shape in a clean, folded cheesecloth. Wrap cloth over and press lightly with a board.
Cream Cheese

Combine 2 C. heavy cream w/2 T. buttermilk. Suspend the mixture in a clean cheese cloth over a bowl for 24 hours or until the cream thickens. The longer you leave it suspended, the drier the cheese will be. Season with salt or herbs for taste if you wish.

For a tangy cream cheese and with less fat, use yogurt in place of the cream and Buttermilk.
ASSORTED RECIPES & TIPS
Herb Rice

* 1 cup uncooked long-grain white rice
* 2 beef or vegetable boullion cubes, crushed to powder
* 1 teaspoon green onion flakes,li>1/2 teaspoon each: rosemary, marjoram or oregano, and thyme leaves
* 1/2 teaspoon salt or celery salt

Curried Rice

* 1 cup uncooked long-grain white rice
* 2 chicken or vegetable bouillon cubes, crushed to powder
* 1/2 to 1 teaspoon curry powder
* 1 teaspoon dried minced onion
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
* 1/2 teaspoon parsley flakes
* 1/2 teaspoon salt or celery salt

. In a large mixing bowl, stir all the ingredients for either rice and pour into a sealable container.

To Cook: In a large saucepan combine either the Herb or Curried Rice mixture with 2 cups cold water. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, stir once and cover. Simmer for 14 to 20 minutes, or until the liquid is absorbed. Each mix makes four servings.
Salmon or Tuna Dinner

* 1 package macaroni and cheese
* 1/2 cup milk
* 1 (6 to 7 ounce) can tuna or salmon, flaked
* 1 (10 1/2 ounce) can, undiluted, Condensed cream of mushroom soup
* 1 can peas (same size as soup can)

* Stir macaroni into 6 cups (or whatever you feel is necessary to make noodles) boiling, salted water (1 tsp. salt)
* Boil rapidly for 5-7 minutes, until noodles are tender.
* Drain macaroni. Add 2 tablespoons cheese powder packet, margerine or butter, milk and soup. Stir.
* Gently stir in tuna or salmon and peas (or green beans).
* Heat to serving temperature.

Unbelievably Easy Fish Chowder

* 4 tbsp unsalted butter
* 2 medium onions, thinly sliced
* 3 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
* 1 quart fish stock or clam juice
* 2 pounds cod, haddock, or halibut, cut into 1-inch chunks.
* 2 cups milk
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
* Paprika, for garnish
* Oyster crackers, to serve on the side

1. In a Dutch-oven or pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring, until they are softened and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the potatoes and cook, stirring, until they are well coated with the butter.
2. Add the fish broth or clam juice to the pot and bring the mixture to a simmer. Simmer, partially covered, for 7 minutes. Add the fish chunks and reduce the heat to low. Cover the pot and let the fish cook in barely simmering broth until it is just done to taste, about 5-7 minutes longer. Stir in the salt and pepper.
3. Serve the chowder garnished with a sprinkle of the paprika and the oyster crackers on the side. Serves 6.

Tomato Basil Soup

* 4 cups tomatos (fresh or canned) peeled,seeded and crushed
* 4 cups tomato juice or chicken stock
* 1 cup heavy cream
* 12 to 14 leaves fresh basil
* 1 cup butter
* salt pepper

In large pot, bring tomatos & liquid to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring often. Remove from heat and pour half into a blender. Add 1/2 of the basil, cover and blend, starting with lowest setting and working up to highest. Blend for 1 minute or until smooth & pour into medium sized bowl. Repeat with rest of tomato mixture. Pour blended soup back into pot and bring back to boil. reduce heat to low adding butter and cream. Simmer for 10 minutes stirring often. Salt & pepper to taste. Serve with fresh French or sourdough bread. Makes 8 servings Makes 4 cups
Salsa

* 1 pound diced ripe tomatoes
* 1 finely diced small red onion
* 2 seeded and finely diced jalapeno peppers (if you like it hot…leave the seeds in)
* 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
* 1 clove minced garlic
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon pepper
* 1/4 teaspoon sugar

Combine in a large glass bowl and let stand for 30 minutes for flavors to blend. Can immediately if you’re going to put it in the pantry.

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Medical Tips

Posted By auke On March 15, 2009 @ 12:02 am In Folklore | No Comments

MINOR BRUISES, SPRAINS, BANGS, PAINS
Forget about beefsteaks, apply ice or anything that’s really
cold. No ice? Try a package of frozen vegetables. Give it a few bangs with a hammer to shape into a useful shape. Many people suggest adding a grated onion and potato to a bowl of warm water for soaking your sore hand or foot. Pro athletes use the potato trick to relive minor swelling and soreness of injured fingers. Simply cut a large enough hole in the potato, plunge in your sore digit, and watch the starch in the potato do the trick.

Got a headache? Cut out a small piece of a regular brown paper bag of the type you bring home the groceries in. Dip in vinegar (white vinegar seems to work better) and place on forehead Your minor headache should be gone shortly!

One off-beat remedy that may work at times simply requires that you flail your arms vigorously for several minutes. Most headaches are caused by constriction of blood vessels inside your head. By moving your arms as described, you reduce some blood flow, and may reduce swelling of affected vessels that give you the headache in the first place. Stop if you feel any discomfort, increased pain or get light-headed.

CONSTIPATION

Try a small glass of cooked cabbage or carrot juice. Not too
tasty? Grapefruit juice also works well as does prunes,figs,
oat bran, over ripe bananas, avocados, raw apples, sauerkraut and beets. A small daily salad works well as does daily exercise. Foods that are known to cause constipation include alcoholic beverages, food with refined white flour, most spicy foods, all dairy products and chocolate.

DIARRHEA
Drink a glass of room temperature water mixed with a good sized teaspoon of cornstarch. Repeat after three or four hours.

Another effective if unpleasant looking remedy is allowing a
grated apple to brown, then slowly eat it. What happens is the pectin oxidizes and you’re getting the same ingredient found in many over-the counter diarrhea medicines.

One of the oldest remedies for diarrhea is blackberries. Try blackberry wine, or blackberry jam. About two ounces every three hours should give relief. A just barely ripe banana, white rice and any flavor Jell-O also provides an effective home cure that tends to work by soaking up excess water in your intestines and stops diarrhea naturally - without harsh medications.

HEMORRHOIDS

Two effective treatments are lemon juice or witch hazel. Rub a small amount in the affected area with a cotton swab before going to bed. Each treatment may sting slightly. Also try rubbing in the oil from several vitamin E capsules.

HICCUPS

Try dill tea. All it takes is a teaspoon of dill seeds added to a cup of fresh boiled water. Try breathing into a paper bag for a couple minutes. Eat several antacid tablets high in calcium. Last but not least slowly drink a large glass of water.

EVERYDAY INDIGESTION, MOTION SICKNESS

One of my mom’s favorites and it really works is a few drops of oil of peppermint dissolved in a half a teaspoon of sugar. Also try peppermint tea, or a peeled and grated potato strained through cheesecloth, added to water. Drink slowly.

Certain fruits have enzymes that calm down the most upset stomach. Try mango, kiwi fruit, papaya or fresh pineapple.

Gas can be a problem. To relieve, try ginger or anise tea. If you like beans but they cause you problems try cooking them with a few slices of potato which seems to remove to gas, and has no affect on the taste of the beans.

To control nausea, pick up and sniff a newspaper. An ingredient in the ink will quickly clear up that sick to stomach feeling for many people. Also try sucking ice cube or ice chips.

For motion sickness try a half a teaspoon of ginger powder in a glass of water.

THE COMMON COLD

American spend billions of dollars every year trying to fight off the misery of the common cold. Want to try something different? Garlic is said to work wonders. Take a large clove, peel and keep it in your mouth. Bite down every so-often to release the natural juices. Replace with a new clove every four or five hours. Your cold symptoms are reported to be to gone in twenty four, to forty eight hours.

Your nose all stuffed up? Try eating some hot or spicy foods
which should open up those blocked nasal passages and you won’t have the rebound effect of taking too many nose drops!

Not hungry? Try a few minutes of vigorous exercise. The increased oxygen demand of your body will almost certainly cause you to breathe deeper and help open-up your blocked nasal passages naturally. Chest congestion can be effectively cleared up by any of the over-the counter vapor medications, or try breathing a mixture of hot vinegar, or white wine. Breath in the vapors for a few minutes, and you should get relief!

Coughs and sore throats can be controlled with several home
remedies. A classic required a large lemon. Start by slowing
roasting it until it just splits open. Now take up to half a
teaspoon of honey with the juice from the lemon. Repeat at
hourly intervals until the cough is under control.

SORE, TIRED OR SMELLY FEET, SPLIT FINGER NAILS

Every one’s feet take a beating. Here’s a few tips for common problems. Rejuvenate tired feet by pampering them with a soothing bath in a mixture of barley or millet. Use about two cups in ten cups of water. Slowly bring to a slow boil, once it gets to a soup like consistency take off heat, let cool. When at a comfortable temperature pour into large container and soak your feet for a half hour.

Ingrown toenails cause a lot of pain. This tip can work wonders! At bedtime put a lemon wedge on the sore toe and secure inplace. By morning, the juices should soften the inflamed skin enough to allow you to trim the nail away from the skin it worked its way into. Trim toe nails flat do not round corners to help prevent reoccurrence.

Corns can be rubbed with castor oil or with a vitamin E capsule. Repeat daily for two weeks and you should be able to easily get >rid of your corns.

Know someone who got really smelly feet? Try this. Let four to six tea bags steep fifteen to twenty minutes in a large bowl. Transfer to a good sized basin, add enough cool water to just cover your feet, let soak for half an hour. The tannin in the tea should get rid of the bacteria that cause the odor. Wash feet well after use to avoid staining. Repeat several times a day for a couple of weeks.

For broken nails rub an onion or garlic juice several times a day. Try eating almonds and lots of green vegetables.

Brittle nails may be a sign of iron deficiency and some serious diseases.

HAIR CARE DANDRUFF CONTROL

For split ends comb in a mixture of warmed castor oil mixed with olive oil into your hair. Wrap with a towel, leave in place for half an hour. Shampoo with an added egg yolk. Add half a cup of apple cider vinegar to a gallon of cool water. Rinse. Rinse withclear water to remove all traces of previous substances.

If your hair is thinning, try increasing you intake of foods
high in sulfur. Cabbage, brussels sprouts, turnips, cauliflower as well as raspberries and cranberries are all high in sulfur Supplement your diet with foods high in the B vitamins. Give your hair holding power with flat beer. The smell goes away in a day or so!

For dandruff, wrap one or two ounces of fresh ginger root and an ounce of camomile flowers in a piece of cheesecloth. Drop in a gallon of water and boil for ten to fifteen minutes After you shampoo, massage mixture into hair, rinse lightly.

Another popular method requires only apple cider vinegar. Rinse your head completely with the warmed liquid. Cover your head with a towel or shower cap, leave in place for half an hour. Rise completely. Repeat three times a week till dandruff is gone.

Finally, try rubbing peanut oil into your scalp. Rise with fresh lemon juice. Leave for twenty minutes. Rinse well to remove all traces of mixture. Repeat weekly till dandruff clears up.

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Arthritis

Posted By auke On March 15, 2009 @ 12:02 am In Folklore | No Comments

Arthritis, one of the oldest disease known to mankind, is the inflammation of one or more joints. It occurs in all races at all times. Decline in joint function generally begins at age 30. No one really knows the exact cause of this painful and disabling disease. However, there are two theories:

1. Infection
2. Body’s own defenses go out of line and attack its own tissues

Also experts believe that emotional stress plays a veryimportant role in the cause of arthritis. The most severe case of this crippling disease is RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS. Factors relating to it are fatigue, shock, injury, and exposure to cold and dampness. At times nodules may show up under the skin, around the elbows, wrists and fingers, and occasionally on the ankles. The control of this particular type of arthritis may require the cooperation of a physician, a
physical therapist, an orthopedic surgeon, and often the physician who specializes in psychosomatic diseases.

Rest is considered one of the most essential factors in treatment which includes emotional rest. Diet need not be too restrictive, but should be rich in animal proteins, calcium and iron adequate in vitamins. At present, many arthritic patients have been taking aspirins as a temporary pain-reliever with good results in some cases. Some patients also are given physical treatments with heat and water (bathing and whirlpools), finger-tip massaging, and other methods which an expert physiotherapist may use. Remember this - PEOPLE DO NOT DIE OF RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS BUT RATHER WITH IT!

Since so many people in this country (over 150,000 a year) are afflicted with this excruciating, deforming disease, many HOME REMEDIES have been tested and used with some degree of effectiveness. Listed below are 50 OLD-HOME-FOLK REMEDIES that have been tried by various people for treating arthritis in general and rheumatism.

1. Mrs. G. had arthritis for years until she found relief taking alfalfa tea twice a day.
2. Mrs. O. got relief by taking therapeutic doses of vitamins.
3. Mrs. B. found relief by taking a tablespoon of fruit pectin in a small glass of cranberry juice every morning.
4. Another lady found relief by gently exercising the afflicted joints in tub full of hot water.
5. After learning self-control and how to avoid emotional upsets, Mrs. L. found that her pain had greatly lessened.
6. Mr. G.M. found great relief when he corrected his constipation.
7. Mrs. J.G. was greatly relieved when she eliminated sugar, white flour, macaroni, pie, cake, and sweet drinks from her diet.
8. Mrs. H.B. prepared a drink which helped her and consisted of four raw finely sliced beets soaked in a quart of berry wine for one day. She drinks one small glass before meals, three times a day.
9. Mrs. G. W. recommends dissolving 4 teaspoons of blackstrap molasses in one quart of cranberry juice and drinking one glass everyday. She also says 100 aspirins dissolved in a pint of rubbing alcohol will relieve sore joints when rubbed on three times a day.
10. Mrs. P. takes equal parts of epsom salts, cream of tartar and ground rhubarb root, mixes, fills gelatin capsules, and takes one after each meal.
11. Mrs. E.M. says two parts pure olive oil and one part kerosene makes a wonderful liniment to bathe afflicted joints.
12. Mr. L. gives this poultice for swollen joints: 2 tablespoons mullein, 3 of granulated slippery elm bark, one of lobelia, 1 teaspoon cayenne. Mix thoroughly. Use boiling water to make paste. Spread on cloth and place on swollen joints. He also recommends oil of origanum, oil of lobelia, oil of capsicum, mixed with coconut oil for a good rub.
13. Another says rub the aching joints with hot vinegar before going to bed.
14. Add one tablespoon cod liver oil to the juice of one orange, whip and drink before retiring.
15. Two teaspoons apple cider vinegar and 2 teaspoons of honey dissolved in a small glass of warm water taken once or twice a day brings relief.
16. Steep six ounces of sassafras root in fifth of whiskey for 24 hours. Take one tablespoon three times a day before meals.
17. Steep 1 cup alfalfa seed in 1/2 gallon boiling water for 20 minutes. Strain, put in jar, take small glassful three times a day.
18. Mix camphor, methyl salicylate. eucalyptus oil and menthol to make a rubbing mixture for aches and pains.
19. Mix fresh carrot juice with equal parts of lemon juice. Take one large spoonful everyday.
20. Mrs. C. says Knox gelatin is good.
21. Mrs. T. wraps afflicted joints loosely with thin plastic for relief.
22. A lady recommends bone meal and Vitamins A, D, and C, 3 times a day.
23. Mrs. A’s hands are better after she started drinking sarsaparilla tea.
24. Mrs. O. got relief by taking Butazoldin tablets.
25. Mrs. H. takes one tablespoon of fresh lime juice in two tablespoons of water nights and mornings.
26. Mrs. M.B. says 1 oz. of oil of wintergreen, 3 oz. chloroform, and 12 oz. of rubbing alcohol makes a good rub.
27. Mrs. L.N. says cucumber juice controlled her arthritis.
28. Contributors to arthritis are: overwork, exposure to wet, cold weather, infectious diseases, poor diet, mental strain, etc.
29. After heat treatment, rub down the sore sports with a mixture of 1/2 cup of wintergreen mixed with 1-1/2 cups camphor and soap liniment.
30. A Canadian says to mix equal parts of the following herbs: black cohosh, genitian root, angelica, colombo, scull cap, valerian, rue and buckthorn bark, and take one heaping teaspoon in a cup of boiling water. Let steep, and drink three 1/2 cups per day.
31. Drink plenty of water to keep the body clean. Keep an optimistic outlook. Avoid depressive thoughts and nervous
tension. A healthy body and mind resist diseases.
32. Sunshine, sunbaths, and deep breathing of fresh air are very important.
33. Eat plenty of fresh vegetables and fruits, but exercise moderation when eating highly acid fruits.
34. Avoid cocktails, coffee, and tea. Drink plenty of fresh water instead. Select wholesome foods, eat slowly and chew thoroughly.

:
35. Moderation in eating, avoiding overweight, and thorough elimination are excellent prevention practices.
36. Good living habits, an optimistic attitude, avoiding tension, strain, and stress are good preventative practices.
37. Mrs. P. finds relief by alternating hot and cold compresses on the painful area every 5 minutes.
38. A 72-old man said cooked apricots without sugar helped him a lot.
39. Eating too much meat, which contains uric acid, is very bad for joints.
40. Avoid fat foods, fried foods, pork, uric acid, starches, sugar, sweets, carbonated drinks, salt, pepper, spices, hot
sausage, hot peppers, pickled meats, alcohol and strong acid drinks. Use acid fruits moderately.
41. Get plenty of rest, have the right kind of posture mattress, cover with warm comfortable blankets, get plenty of fresh air and sunshine. Take deep breathing exercises and walk often for exercise amd good health.
42. Mrs. P. says that fasting for two days a week relieved her pains.
43. Mr. S.P. finds relief in keeping his system clean and taking herbs like wild oregon grape, birch, bitter root, bark burdock, elder, skunk cabbage and wintergreen.
44. Mrs. F. finds relief mixing 3 lemons and 3 tablespoons epsom salts in one pint of warm water and taking one teaspoon morning and night.
45. Mrs. M.R. obtained use of her arm again after taking 3 shots of B-12.
46. Mr. D. believes cod liver oil is the best old time remedy for joints.
47. J.K.L. found relief by taking plenty of calcium, vitamin D, iodine, vitamin B, and cod liver oil.
48. Sleeping pills and alcohol just make things worse says M.R.D.
49. A woman in Canada takes 3 wild cherry roots, 3 burdock roots, 3 oregon grape roots, washes them, chops, covers with a gallon of water, simmers for 30 minutes, strains liquid into bottle and takes a half glass every morning before breakfast.
50. A good rub is made from 2 oz. each of eucalyptus oil, oil of wintergreen, rubbing alcohol and witch haze. Mix, shake, rub on ache.

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