Mother Earth News

young, though “she of course didn’t tell Spontaneous Fermentations 7 Add sauerkraut and cacao nibs (if us-
the kids it had sauerkraut in it until we ing), and stir to mix in thoroughly.
had eaten it.” In our “Dosa, Idli, and Other
Spontaneous Fermentations of Beans 8 Pour cake batter into the two pre-
Leigh didn’t follow a family recipe, and Grains” webinar, fermentation pared pans.
but she directed me to one published revivalist Sandor Katz demonstrates
online by Canadian food blogger simple traditional techniques for us- 9 Bake for 30 minutes, then stick a
Bernice Hill, on her website Dish ‘n’ the ing fermentation to make beans and toothpick or fork into the center of one
Kitchen (www.DishNTheKitchen.com). grains more nutritious and delicious. of the cakes to see if it comes out clean.
Because I am constitutionally unable Dosas are South Indian crepes; idlis If so, remove the cakes from the oven; if
to follow a recipe, I have adapted hers, are South Indian steam breads from an not, bake for another 5 minutes.
and I offer this as a guideline for you to almost identical batter. Sandor demon-
adapt further. strates the processes for these start to Allow cakes to cool on a rack until
finish, and also shows and discusses they’re cool enough to handle. Then,
Spread jam between the layers; I other similar methods for ferment- remove from the baking pans and peel
thought marmalade worked especially ing beans and grains. Learn more at the parchment paper from the bottoms
well, but any fruity jam would be great. Online.MotherEarthNewsFair.com. of the cakes.
Leigh served it covered with a fantastic
chocolate balsamic glaze — her recipe Chocolate Balsamic Glaze 10 For the glaze, combine the balsamic
for that is included. A simple chocolate vinegar and sugar in a saucepan, whisking
icing or whipped cream would be fine • 2⁄3 cup balsamic vinegar them together and heating until it is hot
as well. but not boiling. When the sugar is fully
• 3 tablespoons sugar dissolved, remove from heat and whisk in
As for the sauerkraut, I recommend the chocolate until it is melted.
simple and plain kraut without addi- • 11⁄2 ounces bittersweet baking choco-
tional ingredients beyond finely shred- 11 Place one layer of the cake on a
ded cabbage and salt. Time frame: late, grated or cut into small pieces serving plate or cake stand, spread jam
about 2 hours, including cooling time. on top of it, then place the second layer
Yield: 2 layers of an 8-inch round cake. 1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees on the jam. Pour the glaze over the top
Fahrenheit. and sides of the cake. Enjoy!
Ingredients
2 Prepare two 8-inch round cake Sandor Ellix Katz is a fermentation
• 3⁄4 cup, room temperature pans: Rub butter on interior surfaces,
• 11⁄2 cups sugar dust with flour, and line bottoms with revivalist and self-taught experimentalist
parchment paper.
• 3 eggs who lives in rural Tennessee. His
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 3 Cream butter and sugar together
using a whisk or electric mixer until explorations in fermentation developed
• 21⁄4 cups white flour mixture is smooth.
• 1⁄2 cup cocoa powder out of his overlapping interests in
4 Add eggs one at a time, mixing each
• 1 teaspoon baking soda one in until smooth. cooking, nutrition, and gardening. He
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
5 Add vanilla and mix until smooth. is the author of four previous books:
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt 6 In another bowl, combine dry ingre-
dients, then sift slowly into the butter- Wild Fermentation, The Revolution
• 1 cup sauerkraut, drained and sugar-egg mixture, mixing well with a
squeezed of excess juice, and very spoon or spatula. Add 1 cup water, a little Will Not Be Microwaved, The Art
finely shredded a time, as you stir it into a smooth batter.
of Fermentation, and Fermentation
• 1⁄2 cup cacao nibs (optional)
• 1⁄2 cup jam of your choice to spread as Metaphor. Learn more at www.

between the layers WildFermentation.com. This excerpt

is from Sandor Katz’s Fermentation

Journeys by Sandor Ellix Katz (Chelsea

Green Publishing), available below.

Recipes, Techniques, and Traditions from Around the World

For the past two decades, fermentation expert and bestselling author Sandor Katz has traveled the world, both teaching
and learning about the many fascinating and delicious techniques for fermenting foods. In his latest book, Sandor Katz’s
Fermentation Journeys, Katz takes readers along with him to revisit these special places, people, and foods. This cookbook
goes far beyond mere general instructions and explores the transformative process of fermentation through detailed de-
scriptions of traditional fermentation techniques, celebrating local customs and ceremonies, and profiles of the farmers,
business owners, and experimenters Katz met on his journey. This title is available at Store.MotherEarthNews.com or by
calling 800-234-3368. Mention promo code MMEPAMZ5. Item #11213.

50 MOTHER EARTH NEWS June/July 2022

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Equip Yourself for Your

Permaculture
Farm
Learn how to integrate permaculture practices
with the right machinery to improve soil quality,

decrease disease, and save water naturally.

Permaculture garden beds
are designed to be raised
and follow the natural
contour of the land.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP RIGHT: ADOBE STOCK/KALIANTYE; ADOBE STOCK/MICHIEL; ADOBE STOCK/NOMADKATE; PAGE 52: MIKAEL MAYNARD By Jeff Meyer Don’t leave your beds bare; always be thinking about what comes next, and plan accordingly.

The Johnny Appleseed Organic differences you’ll need to know about tanks, drip tape, and, when possible,
Village is a 15-acre (and growing!) permaculture farms before you get started. ponds, all of which help direct, capture,
experimental research center near and sink water runoff. Keeping water on
Jacksonville, Florida. We practice Climate 1 Garden beds aren’t straight. Instead, the property is a huge goal of permacul-
Farming, an innovative growing approach they’re slightly raised and designed to ture, not only because it saves a precious
that combines tenets of permaculture, follow the natural contour of the land, resource, but also because it helps prevent
syntropic agroforestry, and biodynamic which helps improve water management erosion and contamination of nearby
farming with the goal of sinking carbon and prevent erosion. waterways.
back into the soil while growing healthy,
vibrant crops. 2 Monocrops don’t exist in perma- 4 Bare soil is a major no-no of
culture. Instead, each planting area is permaculture. You’ll always need to be
We didn’t invent these techniques thoughtfully designed to include a vari- thinking ahead to what comes next,
(check out “Indigenous Roots of Climate ety of crops, cover crops, and companion whether that’s cold-season vegetables,
Farming” at www.MotherEarthNews.com/ plants. This diversity helps bolster disease cover crops, or heavy mulch. At our farm,
Climate-Farming), but we’ve combined control, pollination, and soil fertility. we have a detailed crop-rotation system,
them into a unique system that we believe and we also grow millet, rye, hairy vetch,
has the power to sustainably feed the 3 Permaculture farms make use of ir-
world while replenishing — rather than rigation canals, dams, gravity-fed water
depleting—our natural resources.

Putting these practices into place on
a small-farm scale has come with its fair
share of challenges and successes. We’ve
learned a number of lessons over the years,
including which pieces of machinery work
best for our needs, that we hope can help
any farmers who find themselves in a
similar situation.

Getting Started

First of all, take everything you know
about traditional row crops and toss it
into the compost. There are a few major

Permaculture gardens thrive on plant diversity, such as companion planting and cover crops.

WWW.MOTHEREARTHNEWS.COM 53

and other crops specifically to method. This involves laying a

“chop and drop” onto beds, black-and-white polyethylene

serving as a locally grown, tarp (black side facing up) over

mineral-rich mulch. mowed, damp land, typically

Because of these differences, after harvesting a field of crops

the first thing you’ll need to or culling a cover crop. This

do is take a good, hard look method captures the sun’s heat,

at your land—and prepare to which will then bake the veg-

move some soil around — so etation, bacteria, insects, and

you can get your permaculture weed seeds in the soil until they

foundation in place. Eventually, die. Then, you can plant a crop,

your permaculture farm will be such as a daikon radish crop, if

a low-to-no-till space. However, your Zone allows. The radish-

at first, you’ll most likely Tilling is one way to break up your soil and start gardening immediately. es’ large taproots will naturally

need to bring in a tractor and break apart the compact soil to

possibly an excavator to create irrigation Permaculture Equipment increase soil aeration and water infiltration.

systems and build raised, contoured beds. After you’ve built any necessary water- This is a wonderful way to prepare soil for

If possible, get a topical map of your catchment systemsthen you can begin to planting without tilling or spraying.

property that shows the contours of your prepare your soil accordingly. In addition to solarization, other meth-

land, including hills, ridges, valleys, and ods and tools have been created to speed

places where water may collect. This Land and Soil Preparation up your soil preparation process. ADOBE STOCK/CATHERINELPROD

map will be helpful to draw on and mark The first thing you’ll need to do is kill Tilling. To get started immediately, you

up with your garden plan. There’s also the grass, weeds, or other vegetation cur- can use a traditional four- or two-wheel

the iPhone app Theodolite that we’ve rently growing on your farm site. If you tractor to mow and then till the soil, break-

found extremely helpful for practicing can wait a few weeks before your next ing apart plant roots and uprooting current

surveying. planting, then you can use the solarization vegetation. A rear-tine tiller attachment

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54 MOTHER EARTH NEWS June/July 2022

will be helpful here, and BCS Land and Soil Maintenance

America (www.BCSAmerica. Weeding. In addition to

com) offers this attachment hand-held tools, the BCS

for its two-wheel, walk-behind power ridger is perfect for

tractors, which are a great size cultivating between rows

(and more affordable option) during the growing season,

for market gardeners. Tilling reestablishing paths, and hilling

can also follow solarization to soil for crops, such as potatoes.

help remove grass that may You can also weed with a flame

grow back. weeder as well as by adding

Shaping. After your soil biomass to the soil from cover

is broken up, you’ll need to crops and support species.

shape your contoured rows Breaking up soil. A power

and berms. BCS offers a swivel Make sure you have the right equipment to keep weeds at bay. harrow or disc harrow is a

rotary plow for its walk-behind more environmentally friendly

tractors that makes it easier to control he’s named “Peace Farming Technology.” option than tilling, because it breaks up

where the soil goes while you till, shooting (Learn more at www.Rhenustek.ch.) loose soil without penetrating so deeply

it to either the left or right. It also offers a Irrigation. Permaculture practices that it disrupts taproots and microbial

bed-shaper attachment that you can use involve creating small irrigation channels networks. Harrows are less invasive than

after tilling as a separate step. and ditches to keep water and nutrients on tillers, and we use them when preparing

Farming innovator Ernst Götsch has also the property. One helpful tool for doing land for seeding.

designed an all-in-one tiller, subsoiler, and this on a market scale is the subsoiler Preparing biomass. As I mentioned

MIKAEL MAYNARD bed shaper that’s designed to attach behind attachment for the walk-behind BCS earlier, mulching is an important part of

a four-wheel tractor. This new invention tractor. This will help dig small irrigation permaculture. You’ll need to be able to

is called a “Tree Line Preparer” and is part ditches in the rows between beds to sink mow down and, ideally, chop up crops

of a series of Climate Farming machines and store water near the plants. that you grow as biomass. The flail mower

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WWW.MOTHEREARTHNEWS.COM 55

from BCS is a great option Our permaculture consul-

for this step, and a manual or tant, Mikael Maynard, has

powered hay rake will help you a great story about how our

collect the biomass to transport chickens were able to prevent

to your beds. pest damage on the farm:

If you have a lot of trees on “I’ve seen papaya and guava

your property, then you may groves that were infested with

also want to invest in a chipper papaya fruit fly larvae,” she

or shredder, which will break says. “Part of the way to break

apart sticks, twigs, and small that cycle is to prevent the fruit

limbs into wood chips that can from dropping to the ground.

be used on paths or added to We integrated chickens into the

mulch piles. orchard to eat the fruit that fell

You don’t need to purchase Animals can loosen soil and add valuable manure to the compost pile. to the ground, and, with time,

all of this equipment at the we saw a noticeable decrease in

same time, and you could consider split- Animals on the Farm the larvae’s presence, along with healthier

ting the cost with other farmers in your A key component of permaculture and fruit.” This required very little work on

area and then taking turns using the Climate Farming is using animals to help our end, and it was a fully organic, totally

equipment when needed. break up the soil and provide nutrient-rich natural way to deal with a potentially dev-

manure for your compost pile. Both pigs astating pest.

Helping Hands and chickens naturally root and scratch the

As you work to establish your ground, turning and loosening the soil in Seasonal Employees

permaculture farm, remember that you the process. Our portable chicken tractors We learned that you may need to bud- MIKAEL MAYNARD

don’t have to do everything yourself! Here and movable electric fences on our farm get for extra labor during harvest season,

are some helpers to invite and employ on help move our chickens and pigs around because, unlike a traditional monocrop

your property. based on which areas need to be “tilled.” farm, you can’t use large-scale harvesting

56 MOTHER EARTH NEWS June/July 2022

machinery on the uneven rows also found Evernote (www.

and berms. You’ll need to har- Evernote.com) and Gardenate

vest more by hand, which takes (www.Gardenate.com) to be

longer. While this extra expense two software programs that

may seem daunting, keep in help with planning and taking

mind that you’ll save money on note of our rotation plans.

fertilizer, water, and herbicides Practicing permaculture on

and pesticides, since your farm a farm scale does take more of

will be healthier in general, and an initial investment in terms

you’ll be growing or capturing of money, time, and education.

most of your inputs on-site. In But after you’re up and run-

our experience, the expense of ning, a permaculture farm is in

seasonal employees has been a better position to deal with

evened out by the money we’ve Permaculture designer Jackson Richter assists during pruning season. extreme weather conditions,

saved in other areas. disease, drought, and other un-

You may also need to hire tempo- Finally, we’ve learned that it’s helpful to expected events that are costly to farmers

rary workers during pruning season. assign one team member to coordinate across the world.

Permaculture plantings, or guilds, are often companion planting, cover cropping, and

composed of a tree or shrub in the center seed starting. We nearly always have a

with smaller plants around the base to help batch of small seedlings in the greenhouse Jeff Meyer is the founder of Johnny

fix nitrogen, prevent erosion, and some- being prepped to replace whatever crop Appleseed Organic, an eco-village

times provide additional edible material. we’re about to harvest. These crop rota- and online store that provides

Because you’ll have so many small trees tions are great to plan, but it does take farmers and gardeners with resources

MIKAEL MAYNARD on your property, you’ll have more prun- some forethought, and it’s helpful if one to fight climate change. Learn more

ing and chipping duties compared with a person owns this task so they can keep at www.JohnnyAppleseed.com.

traditional market garden. all the moving parts organized. We’ve

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Circle #33; see card pg 73

WWW.MOTHEREARTHNEWS.COM 57

This article is available
online in audio form at
MotherEarthNews.com

It Takes a Village

One farmer finds rebellion in cultivating community aboveground and below.

By Meredith Leigh The Wisdom of Teenagers As my kids are coming into the tricky
territory of an integrated frontal lobe,
D o you remember the moment If this doesn’t somewhat resemble a however, I see them catching on. Things
you figured out that most things thought process you’ve had before, bear grown-ups do don’t make a lot of sense.
in the world are totally rigged? with me. I’m raising three teenagers at the Why do we go through these motions that
Made up? Kind of strange and potentially moment, so the majority of my conversa- don’t make us happy and serve systems
not worth your time? tions focus on the existential necessity of that we don’t necessarily agree with? When
middle school, high school, college, most it comes to this question — this broad,
I don’t. The world does a very good job vegetables, clothes that actually cover your sweeping, debilitating question — they
of tricking you into thinking your hunch skin … you get the drift. As a parent, I’ve want me to have reasons.
is a bad one, and so you spend a decent abandoned the need to have an answer
amount of time trying to prove to yourself for all of these questions. Long ago, when Until now, I haven’t given them any,
that you really do want to follow the path my son asked me why he has to wear un- mostly because I didn’t get answers ei-
most traveled in society. At some point, derwear and I couldn’t think of a reason, ther. That’s probably why after I went
you trust yourself enough to realize that I stopped trying to pretend that there’s a to college (because I was supposed to),
the fair share of society is a sham, and it’s reason for everything humans do.
time to start a homestead.

Community building is a key
part of homesteading success.

I promptly began leasing land and farm- Being part of a community is essential for learning new skills and sharing resources.
ing. I sold vegetables and meats directly
ADOBE STOCK/RAWPIXEL.COM; OPPOSITE: ADOBE STOCK/MONKEY BUSINESS to people who wanted something “better” terization of a lifestyle in the pursuit of carefully make, both as a parent and as a
than they could get at the standard food self-sufficiency, be it full-time, part-time, card-carrying truth teller on the nonsense
outlet. I began to participate in farm- with or without land, in the city, or in of society, is that the urge to opt out is
ing and homesteading circles, where the rural spaces. In this aspect, it can be use- not the answer. In fact, there really is no
refrain is consistently about how to opt ful, providing an umbrella term for many such thing.
out, create a different paradigm, and pro- activities and beliefs.
vide for oneself. Now, I travel around the In my own experience trying to re-
world, teaching people food and farming In other ways, it can be a limiting learn traditional or ancestral skills, own
skills and consulting with businesses try- term. Not only does its use gloss over the or lease land, beg or borrow resources,
ing to challenge the status quo. What I historical and modern injustices of land or make any kind of meaningful cultural
see, after two years of the pandemic, in theft, but it also often ignores the topical pursuit, I’ve found that none of it hap-
the midst of rising inflation, supply chain issues of land justice and the privilege to pens without community, both human
disturbances, climate change, and the be able to choose that lifestyle. Broadly and more than human. And in times like
persistent pressure of systemic inequity, speaking, homesteading also tends to be these, when I encounter more and more
is a growing background anxiety. More understood as an individualistic pursuit. people looking to hunker down, it feels
than ever before in my 20 years of seeking The Homestead Act itself marks a tragic important to note that without even try-
food freedom, there is a pervasive frus- moment in history in which Indigenous ing, the homesteader naturally relies on
tration, skepticism, and despair, leading common lands were stolen for private the principles and actions of community
to an even bigger and far-reaching urge property. Even when modern examples dynamics every single day. The home-
to become self-reliant. In my kids, I see acknowledge this shift as an outcome of steader who recognizes and actively tries
a desire to push against dependence, to colonialist thinking, they still manage to to build community is the truly success-
establish self-sovereignty, and to opt out mostly describe the act of leaving, go- ful example of a rebel. Grandma survived
of the things that aren’t working. ing off-grid, or checking out from both the Great Depression with her commu-
the limitations and the conveniences of nity, and you’ll have a better chance in
When I ask people why they want to modern society as an enviable and soli- the face of apocalypse if you’ve got allies
learn butchery, farming, soil building, or tary endeavor. all around you.
fermentation, one of the most common
answers is a desire to be more self-suffi- I think it’s positive that my kids are Modern homesteading, and probably
cient. They want to be less dependent on beginning to see that there are things modern parenting, suffers from its inabil-
globalized food and resource systems and about the “school to college to hope- ity to admit that when a person resolutely
to understand the way things are done, in fully well-paying job” pipeline that are opts out of one system, they enter into
case doing it themselves is the only op- questionable, just as I’m thrilled that an participation with another. We home-
tion they have. I see memes and online ever-growing portion of our population steaders, rogues, and truth-acknowledg-
arguments daily that assert that Grandma is seeing that the ways in which we meet ing parents would do better if we were
survived the Great Depression because she our basic necessities are fraught and op- more well-versed in articulating that in-
grew her own food, or that the best assur- pressive. But the argument I want to terdependence is the lifeline of the rebel.
ance in an apocalypse is a small farm, a full
larder, and an impressive array of skills (not
to mention firearms).

The Historical
Legacy of Homesteading

Homesteading, for lack of a better
term, holds a lot of different meanings.
The term originates from the Homestead
Act of 1862, which provided economic
incentives in the form of land owner-
ship to established and potential citizens
willing to move westward to expand
America’s colonialist pursuits. The land
that was made available to the settlers,
however, was stolen from the Indigenous
peoples who already lived there. The
term has since morphed into a charac-

WWW.MOTHEREARTHNEWS.COM 59

Interdependence definitely. In those fermented
pickles, communities of mi-
in the Soil crobes will begin to digest
the sugars in the carrots and
Let’s start at ground level. convert them into acids and
alcohols. The stewardship of
Any pursuit to grow one’s own microbial communities doesn’t
stop there. When those probi-
food is entirely dependent on otic carrots are later enjoyed,
their microbes will mingle
the health and maintenance with our rebel farmer’s gut
microbes, and when the com-
of soil. What participants in posting toilet is emptied, some of those
microbes will return to the soil.
conventional society might Where does all this knowledge that
instructs this rogue farmer about how
call “dirt,” good homesteaders to steward these amazing communities
come from? A community of neighbors,
recognize as a teeming world ancestors, culture tenders, and storytell-
ers, both near and far, who can help with
of mind-bending diversity. A sample of the microbes in the author’s compost. harvest, labor, and their celebration. A
life spent more intentionally and outside
The desire to grow life-giving of the status quo is realistically more of
a symbiotic, communal pursuit. While
food is to embark on a journey that will Of course, we’re going to eat this carrot. homesteading might be branded as self-
reliance, that conceptualization of it is
ultimately place the curious rogue farmer We’ll tell our social media followers how

in service to a community of bacteria, much better it is than the imported, or-

protozoa, fungi, nematodes, microscopic ganic grocery-store carrots and how much

arthropods, earthworms, and spiders. As better it is for our children’s health and de-

they go through their life spans and pro- velopment. As we thumb out the caption

duce their unimaginably tiny and fleeting on the phone’s tiny keyboard, the commu-

biological signatures, this potent army of nity of microbes in our digestive tract will

soil builders help collectively create hu- go to work, extracting the most nutrients

mus. Humus—that deep, rich soil—in out of that special carrot.

turn, provides all the resources to make a What if there are too many carrots? The

sweet, crunchy, and mineral-packed carrot ideal scenario would be one in which our MEREDITH LEIGH

that couldn’t have been produced without rogue farmer preserves them, making fer-

this community underfoot. mented carrot pickles that will keep in-

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Circle #28; see card pg 81

Sharing skills in community keeps knowledge alive and distributes labor efficiently.

MEREDITH LEIGH really a holdover of the colonialist cul- What I ask my clients now is this: How New
tural training many homesteaders want does it feel? Where do you see the most coop
to reject in the first place. radical community component at work in lights!
your system? I want to start there. Quite
Finding Community often, this can be a difficult conversation, Circle #31; see card pg 81
in a Pandemic because we will quickly discover that the
radical community component is missing
When COVID-19 first hit and my busi- entirely. But just as often, we find that it
ness model of teaching butchery, meat cur- is there, alive and well, just not named,
ing, and fermentation in community was acknowledged, and given credit for the in-
challenged by mandates to isolate, I began credible strengths it bestows.
to put my classes online. While this met a
growing demand from people around the This is the same message I want to give
world who had been asking for more ac- to my children. I’ll do everything I can to
cessibility, the thought that I would pivot validate that angsty teen hunch that things
toward an online school of my own mak- aren’t what they seem to be. And while
ing was a flawed one. The individualistic they figure out how to beat the game that
mentality is so pervasive that we often is school, I get to have a bigger and more
don’t notice it, but it can recreate the same exciting conversation with them: what
untenable circumstances that we wanted kind of community do they want to par-
to opt out of. As I began to learn about the ticipate in, and what sort of dependency
average person’s online experience, particu- do they want to practice? If we can begin
larly when it comes to education, and try to speak this language of interdependency
to make my voice heard in the noisy world and retrain ourselves in the way we reveal
of the internet, I realized that an individu- the world to our kids, we’ll be re-culturing
alistic pursuit was utterly doomed. I joined toward a better society, even when our
with fellow educator Kirsten Shockey to hands aren’t in the soil.
create The Fermentation School (www.
FermentationSchool.com), an online edu- Meredith Leigh has worked as a farmer,
cational platform for food-system and fer-
mentation education, where women work butcher, chef, teacher, nonprofit
together to lift all of their voices.
executive director, and writer, all in
While I’m giving and receiving to my
global community of women educators pursuit of a more sustainable food
at The Fermentation School, I’m back to
educating and sharing in-person as well. system.

MOTHER-Tested is so similar to traditional frying without
submerging the nutrients in oil. The fryer
The Power of uses little to no oil, and many recipes call
for olive oil, a much healthier alternative
Hot Air to the hydrogenated oils generally used for
frying foods. Fried foods negatively impact
Healthier recipes without sacrificing the crunch. our health in many ways, so switching to
a healthier option reduces trans-fat and ca-
By Christine Stoner vious dietary evils to go was fried foods. loric intake, and results in recipes that are FRANCISCO ZELEDON
Cleaning up our nutritional intake meant crispy on the outside and yet retain more
As the head of a family with fast- a lot of the comfort foods I grew up eating moisture than when fried traditionally.
growing children, teaching them were no longer on the table. I’d like to say
about proper nutritious consump- I didn’t miss them occasionally — but that Another plus is how time-efficient using
tion has been a top priority since the days would be a lie. an air fryer is. It’s quick and convenient
I spent purifying organic vegetables for with delicious results. There’s no constant
my first toddler to consume. Throughout Imagine my pure delight when I discov- monitoring. I don’t have to supervise it
the years, I’ve adjusted my family’s diet as ered there was a way to enjoy the recipes like I would when deep-frying something.
needed, thoughtfully crafting dietary spe- that are traditionally fried without soaking However, I can pause it to check the prog-
cifics as I became more educated on nutri- them in oil, increasing the fat and caloric ress and avoid overcooking a new recipe.
tion. Every helpful article or documentary content, and robbing them of moisture. I simply prepare the ingredients, set the
gradually modified the list of things I’d no It’s possible with an air fryer. That deli- user-friendly controls, and forget about it
longer bring into my kitchen or prepare cious, deep-fried taste and texture can be until the alarm notifies me it’s complete.
for my kids. One of the first and most ob- achieved without all the grease and nega- This appliance cuts down the time re-
tive impact on your health. The end result quired to prepare a warm and wholesome
home-cooked meal using healthy ingre-
dients that are thoughtfully purchased
to fit my family’s nutritional preferences.

Air fryers can be used to roast, toast,
grill, steam, and prepare frozen foods
meant to be fried or cooked in ovens.

MOTHER-Tested

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Unlike dining out or takeout, we know if and water. In addition, there isn’t any used pes are easy to follow, with preparation and
the ingredients contain GMOs or gluten, grease to dispose of. The air fryer has be- cooking time broken down, and include
are made from whole grains, are locally come my go-to kitchen gadget. labels to quickly spot which recipes are
sourced, are sustainably produced, or are vegetarian, kid-friendly, a taster favorite,
organic. To explore the versatility of my air fryer gluten-free, and more.
after unboxing it, I dug into The Air Fryer
Air fryers are extremely versatile and can Bible: More than 200 Healthier Recipes The recipe book provides tips for be-
be used to roast, toast, grill, steam, and for Your Favorite Foods by Susan LaBorde ginners to include safety precautions, how
bake or prepare frozen foods meant to be and Elizabeth Hickman. I started out to adjust cooking time to get the perfect
fried or cooked in the conventional oven simple and took a quick inventory of my crisp, and definitions and explanations of
in a fraction of the time. Results are much kitchen for anything that needed consum- ingredients to use for recipe success. It also
preferred to the microwaves for refreshing ing and began prepping. Using the index details how to cook in batches, because you
and reheating leftovers, especially pizza, in the back that is organized by ingredient, may need to adjust the amount cooked to
the food comes out crisp and hot — not I found recipes featuring sweet potatoes, serve a larger group. If you’re looking for
soggy. It can be used to prepare all types of chickpeas, apples, tofu, and to my sur- portion control in your serving sizes, this
foods including meats, vegetables, fruits, prise — pickles. When the timer alerted appliance is excellent for preventing pre-
and even baked goods. It can even cook me that it was done cooking, I had the paring too much. There’s even a section
whole eggs, instead of boiling them, which next recipe chopped, seasoned, and ready that clarifies the terms and techniques used
is a total time saver. I also discovered I can to go into the air fryer basket. Soon I had throughout The Air Fryer Bible.
easily make croutons and have control many healthy and flavorful new options
over the seasoning as well as the quality of for adding some crunch and variety back The Air Fryer Bible is so thorough, and
bread used to make them. If you are on a to our menu. I graduated to creating more the appliance turns out bite after consis-
gluten-free diet like me, you understand complex recipes and quickly threw togeth- tently toasted bite, I’m left with only one
croutons are a rare treat. er veggie burgers, jalapeño poppers, and question: Where has this gadget been all
granola with mouth-watering, crunchy my life?
The absence of hot oil popping means results.
no more ruined clothing or splattered mess Christine Stoner is the editor of Gas
left behind on the stovetop and counters. The Air Fryer Bible has over 200 recipes
The air fryer not only saves time on cook- from easy to complex. The book is divided Engine Magazine and works on various
ing, but the cleanup is a breeze. Only a few into categories to include Breakfast and
parts need to be cleaned and the interior is Brunch; Appetizers and Snacks; Breads; other titles within Ogden Publications.
coated with an excellent non-stick surface my personal favorite, Meatless Main
that wipes clean with a damp rag or soap Dishes; as well as many others. The reci- She has a passion for fitness, healthy

living, and sustainability.

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WWW.MOTHEREARTHNEWS.COM 63

Hometown Hacks Projects From Our Readers

Tips for Using a Take your water supply into
Manual your own hands—literally.

Learn how to live well with
hand-pumped water so

Water Pump you maximize
every drop.

Story and photos by Wren Everett

W hen we first moved to our home- Carry and store your water in solid, food-grade buckets. Clean them weekly to keep them sanitized.
stead, we replaced our failing
electric pump with a hand-powered water. From that experience, I offer these strength of your legs to move your body up
manual pump. Backward though it may four hard-won tips to help your own transi- and down while pumping the handle; your
seem, it was actually a huge step forward on tion flow smoothly. knees, not your back, should be doing the
our journey to off-grid self-sufficiency, giving bending. You should feel the burn in the tops
us both the exhilarating freedom and daily re- Use the right posture. One of my top pieces of your thighs. If your back starts to hurt,
sponsibility of handling our own water needs. of advice is to make sure your posture is cor- you’re likely doing it wrong.
rect while operating the pump. This is a les-
Having now pumped hundreds (and hun- son I learned the hard and painful way. For most of us, this is a non-instinctive
dreds!) of gallons since that decisive day, motion that will need to be learned. Search
I’ve learned a lot about using a hand pump. With only inexperience leading me, I first online to get an idea of how to do a body-
For those considering taking the plunge and started pumping water by pushing with weight squat, and then have someone observe
declaring their water independence, here are my arms or bending at my waist. Quickly, I you while you’re pumping water to help you
some of my best tips for living with—and wound up with a persistent lower backache, correct your form.
loving—a manual pump. one made worse every time I went back to the
well. Obviously, that wouldn’t work long term. Diversify your water sources. Even if you’re
But First, What Is Rescue came in the form of my husband’s a champ at pumping water, it’s still a lot of
a Manual Pump? much-needed input. He helped me correct work to draw the dozens of gallons needed
my posture to a strengthening form that to manage a day of homesteading life.
Simply put, a manual pump is a human- solved the backache and gave me a quick Thankfully, there’s no need to use your well
powered means of bringing well water to workout to boot! as the sole source of water. If your home-
the surface. Rather than relying on a motor stead has a pond, lake, spring, or creek, you
to move the piston within the pipe, water is Essentially, pumping water correctly re- can figure out a system that allows you to
moved by old-fashioned arm power. Laborious quires many of the same muscle movements tap those sources of water for your garden
as some may see it, I prefer to see it as se- as doing a body-weight squat. With your feet and livestock, saving the pumped water for
cure. As long as I’m able to pump the handle, oriented beneath each shoulder, use the
I know I can get water.

We use a Simple Pump. True to its name,
it’s a simple device that was relatively easy to
install in our existing well, and it’s been easy
to maintain ever since. It also has the modern
benefit of not needing to be primed. All the
work required to install this pump can be
done by two adults. Bison Pump also offers a
similar well-made product.

Make the Most
of Your Manual Pump

Switching to a manual pump totally
changed the way I think about and handle

64 MOTHER EARTH NEWS June/July 2022

From left: Pushing with your arms or bending at the waist will lead to back strain. A proper stance for pumping water should resemble a squat.

human use. (Check out “DIY Water Trailer” sunlight to keep them ready for action. Make at www.HumanureHandbook.com. Also, go

at www.Grit.com for inspiration on building a habit of cleaning all your buckets weekly. to www.MotherEarthNews.com and search

your own portable water system.) Reduce your water needs. The average “composting toilet” to find a selection of

And even if your homestead lacks a natural American uses around 80 to 100 gallons how-to articles.

water feature, you can create your own by in- of water a day. That mind-boggling figure is Try hand-washing your laundry. With

stalling a rain-catchment system. This can be untenable for those looking to establish their little more than a galvanized steel washtub,

as simple as a rain barrel attached to the roof own water security. Thankfully, no one actu- a scrub board, a washing plunger, and a

of each animal shelter, or as complicated as ally needs that much water each day; it’s clothesline, you can get your clothes cleaner

a cistern that can secure hundreds of gallons merely a result of modern convenience. than the machines do, with a fraction of the

of water each rainy spring. Popular choices When you move off-grid, water suddenly water. Granted, claiming the laundry back

for rain barrels include 55-gallon food-grade switches from a mindless resource to one into your own hands does take some time

barrels and 275-gallon IBC totes. Call around that requires you to be mindful. You’ll have to learn and adapt to the process, but if you

or browse through your local Craigslist; these to relearn how to wash dishes, laundry, and eliminate the washing machine from your

types of containers are surprisingly home, you’ll cut down on your water

easy to find, and they’re easy on the usage exponentially. As a bonus, you

wallet too. Transitioning to off-grid water can use the rinse water in your garden
Get good water buckets, and keep isn’t a task to take lightly, but once you’re done (as long as you don’t
use chemical detergents).
them clean. Of course, having a manu-
al pump is only one part of managing Learn the art of the sponge bath

a household’s water use. Getting that neither is it a burden, unless and revolutionize your ideas of what
water into your living space requires a it means to bathe. Ole Wik’s 1981

system too. This can take many forms, you choose to see it that way. MOTHER EARTH NEWS article “Sponge
but the simplest system is run by Bath: Keep Clean Without Running

lugging the humble 5-gallon bucket. Water” provides an excellent and

These buckets can be purchased detailed write-up on how to clean

new or found by the hundreds in the yourself thoroughly with 7 cups of

food-service industry. Just be sure to get food- yourself! You’ll have to approach toilets and water. Be sure to take his advice and make it

grade plastic; it’s specially made to not leach sinks with an entirely new perspective as well. a daily ritual. It’s a pleasant end-of-the-day

chemicals into liquids. There are many different methods for con- wind-down.

Three “house buckets” should be enough serving water, but here are a few suggestions Rather than letting endless streams of

to keep your home in good supply. Store one to help you on your way. water flow over your dishes as you scrub and

inside for use, and keep the other two filled Consider a waterless composting toilet sys- rinse them, fill and use both sides of your

and waiting in a back room or other nearby, tem. If you have ample cash for it, Nature’s kitchen sink. With a hot “wash” side and

enclosed location. Once one bucket is emp- Head makes a ready-to-install system. If a “rinse” side, you’ll get the dishes just as

tied, you can easily grab a full one without you’d prefer to go a less-expensive route, clean, but use a fraction of the water.

having to run back to the well. Just be sure you can easily build your own composting Transitioning to off-grid water isn’t a task

to fill the buckets again once you have a mo- toilet for a fraction of the cost. The details to take lightly, but neither is it a burden, un-

ment! It’s not fun to be in the middle of cook- of building, using, and managing your own less you choose to see it that way. While no

ing a meal only to find you have three empty toilet system are far beyond the scope of longer being at the mercy of a power outage

buckets and something sizzling on the stove. this article, but for those interested, I highly is just one of the many benefits of having a

Bucket maintenance is easy. Simply scrub recommend The Humanure Handbook by manual pump, the deeper benefits include

them with water, rinse them with a mild Joseph Jenkins. It’s available in print, but it’s a much more intense, daily gratitude for the

bleach solution, and allow them to dry in the also available in its entirety for free online gift of water.

WWW.MOTHEREARTHNEWS.COM 65

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Ask Our Experts

Welcome Hummingbirds
to Your Home

I’d like to attract lovely hummingbirds
to my backyard. What can I do to
entice them?

Of more than 300 species of hummingbirds, Native flowers, nectar feeders, and nesting material are all features that will attract hummingbirds.
only a handful are found in North America,
including the well-known ruby-throated hum- sugar; pure granulated white cane sugar is the sit outside, observing which wild blooms the ADOBE STOCK/DAVID POOL PHOTO
mingbird, which makes its way across the Gulf most common, but beet sugar is also safe to hummingbirds visit on their own.
of Mexico and northward for the breeding sea- use. When selecting new feeders to add to
son. Some hummingbirds, such as the Anna’s your home, remember to select ones that will Other features you can introduce include
hummingbird and the Allen’s hummingbird, be easy to take apart and clean. nesting material, hanging perches, or even a
will stay in the United States year-round. If shallow water source for them to bathe in. If
you live in an area that sees these beautiful If you find yourself on a busy schedule and you have the space, consider planting bushes
birds, you can welcome them to your home this know you won’t have time to mix up nectars that have fluffy plant fibers for the female to
year by providing a variety of helpful things for and keep feeders fresh and clean (sometimes take for her nest, or hang a nesting material
them, even in a small space, whether that be on a daily basis in hot weather), then consider station near your feeders that they can take
homemade nectar or nesting material. Here’s planting hummingbird-friendly native flowers natural materials from instead. Add humming-
how to begin, or even improve, your own hum- instead. Hanging plant pots are another way bird “swings” as perches near the feeders as
mingbird paradise! for those in small spaces to provide a natu- well, or provide a well-branched limb secured
ral nectar source. A simple online search or upright for them in the area. Providing a small
Hummingbirds consume insects as the sig- reaching out to a local gardening center or fountain with water, especially those that have
nificant portion of their diet, while nectar gives gardening club may help you determine which a pump that will mist or lightly pump the wa-
them energy. Leaving small spider webs will plants would be right for your area. Searching ter from the top, is a good way to keep the
not only allow the hummingbirds to possibly for native flowering plants and trees is a good birds cool while they have a water bath—and
consume the spider, but nesting females will option, because some beautiful plants we see it’s fun to watch too!
also collect spider silks to bind their nests to- at large stores are cultivated and crossed to
gether during the construction of a new nest or be appealing for humans and may not be high If you live in an area that doesn’t see these
refurbishment of old nests. Some people also enough in nectar content for hummingbirds. little birds, consider researching and making a
hang mesh bags with fruit peels outdoors to at- Another good practice I’ve learned over the charitable donation to an organization working
tract insects to an area for the hummingbirds. years is to take a pair of binoculars and simply to protect or restore their native habitats.

Providing man-made nectar is another — Fala Burnette
way to help hummingbirds, but putting out
a feeder is a real responsibility. In areas with
increasing development, as hummingbirds’
natural habitat is lost, it could be difficult
for them to find a natural nectar source. A
feeder with homemade nectar can be set up
even on a small balcony. To help keep the
birds healthy, change the nectar frequently
and keep your feeders well-cleaned. Red dyes
could be harmful to their health, and even
store-bought mixes that claim to be free of red
dye may still contain preservatives that are
unnecessary for these little beauties. Make
your own nectar using the 1-to-4 ratio (1 part
sugar to 4 parts water) and mixing until the
sugar is dissolved. Make sure to use the right

70 MOTHER EARTH NEWS June/July 2022

Ask Our Experts

Why You Need Small Chickens in Your Flock

I’m used to keeping bigger birds in my backyard flock, but Feed. Little chickens eat less. If you rely on commercial feed for

would small chickens be a suitable addition? your flock, that’s a huge bonus. I’ve often been astonished at how fast

Brahmas or Rhode Island Reds can go through a sack of feed. Smaller

Beginner backyard chicken keepers often get recommendations for chickens also produce less waste, which makes coop upkeep easier.

middle-to-large, hardy egg-layers, such as Rhode Island Red, Sussex, Fun. Small chickens make wonderful pets. They’re easy even for kids

or Plymouth Rock chickens. In our to handle, and around here, you’ll

years of chicken keeping, we’ve often see children with miniature

had many breeds, from bulky but chickens on their laps.

gentle Brahmas to dainty Silkies, Heat tolerance. I’ve observed that

but, like you, I was always biased smaller, lighter breeds tolerate heat

in favor of larger breeds. But last better than bulky birds do. Living

spring, with the unexpected gift of in a hot climate, we’ve always had

a few hatching eggs from a friend, to mist-spray our Brahmas on hot

we added some small hybrid chick- days to keep them comfortable,

ens to our flock. but smaller chickens just take it

Our mini-hens have just started in stride. Of course, for colder cli-

laying (even as the days were at mates, large birds with plentiful

their shortest!) and I absolutely feathering may be more suitable.

love them. Now, I think every back- Quieter vocals. Our small chick-

yard flock keeper, especially urban- ens make less noise than their

ites, should consider keeping some Small chickens eat less, take up less space, and make great pets. full-sized coop mates, and smaller

small chickens. Here’s why. roosters can have a mellower crow.

Benefits of Raising Small-Sized Chicken Breeds Some people report that their larger chickens bully the Bantams, so
they can’t keep the two together. I haven’t experienced this, but keep an

Space. If you have unlimited space for your chickens to roam, that’s eye on flock dynamics, especially if you plan to introduce adult birds to

great. But if you live in town and only have a little strip of space for a an existing flock.

coop and a small chicken run, keeping smaller birds will make your space Perhaps the main drawback of small chickens is their higher vulner-

less crowded. ability to predators. A stray cat won’t mess with a full-grown Plymouth or

Eggs. Small eggs are extremely convenient when you’re halving a recipe Rhode Island Red but can carry off a small Bantam in the blink of an eye.

and need, for example, 11⁄2 eggs instead of 3, or just need a bit of egg If you’re thinking of giving small chickens a try, some breeds you might

to brush some bread loaves. Small eggs are also flavorful and often have consider include Silkies, Sebrights, and Cochin Bantams.

a high yolk-to-white ratio. — Anna Twitto

What Can You Do With Thinned Pine Trees?

ADOBE STOCK/REDWINE2001 What can we do with all our thinned scape-scale mitigation project; the following resident living near a publicly owned mitiga-
pine? Does the wood have any value? is just a start. Much of what I found applies to tion area, you may be encouraged to pick up
other pines and conifers as well. thinned wood for your woodstove.
I’ve heard this question many times over the
years from fellow mountain dwellers and land Water-retention structures. Slash can be If you have a pellet stove or want pellets for
managers in the U.S. West, where we’re clear- made into soil water-retention structures, such animal bedding, you can turn slash into wood
ing trees and thinning stands around homes drift and exclusion fences, and log and fab- pellets. With access to a chipper-shredder, you
and towns to reduce high-intensity wildfires ric step falls. Rock is preferred, but where it’s can shred wood into mulch for compost and
and return to historic low-intensity fire levels. scarce, it can be combined with slash to make landscaping in wetter areas.
low-tech structures. For information on these
Curious, I began researching what people structures, look up Bill Zeedyk’s presentations; Homemade paper and products. Pine, spruce,
all over the globe have been doing with their Zeedyk Structures are named after him. Slash fir, hemlock, and a few other softwoods fur-
thinned ponderosa pines, which constitute a can also be processed into mulch and redis- nish 80% to 85% of all the wood used in
lot of our slash here. There are hundreds of tributed on the forest floor. the United States for papermaking — toilet
practical ways to use the gift of thinned wood paper, magazines, newspapers, books, card-
from around your own home or from a land- Fuel and mulch. Throughout the world, the board, and many other paper products. Some
first use for pine is fuel. If you’re a mountain sources say most of that is pine. You can do

WWW.MOTHEREARTHNEWS.COM 71

Ask Our Experts

Circle #43; see card pg 73 the same at home and make your own paper ADOBE STOCK/MARYVIOLET
from pine.
Versa™
Thinned pines also give us turpentine, res-
2-in-1 Tiller Cultivator ins, rosins, glues, and wood tar. Pine pitch can
be used for waterproofing, as a wood preserva-
THE TRUSTED NAME IN TILLING & DRILLING SINCE 1960 tive, as glue, and as fuel for torches.

www.getearthquake.com | 1730 Industrial Avenue, Cumberland, WI 54829 | 800-345-6007 You can also work thinned pine and other
Circle #3; see card pg 73 species into many handmade items, from per-
golas to pallets to picnic tables. Access to a
72 MOTHER EARTH NEWS June/July 2022 portable sawmill is useful for this, and owning
one can contribute to small-business income.

Sawdust. Wood shavings are valued as ani-
mal bedding and for landscaping in areas that
aren’t prone to fires. Wood straw can be used
for erosion-control mats, upholstery, swamp-
cooler evaporative cooling pads, and more. It
can be made quickly using a home band saw.

Arts and crafts. Ponderosa pine is perfect
for carving and woodworking. It can be made
into bowls, wreaths, needle baskets, and more.
“Pine skins” are a creative use of Eastern white
pine bark; the technique is adapted from age-
old traditions of bark cloth-making. Ponderosa
pine is also a favorite in the art of bonsai.

Biochar. Pines and other woods can be incin-
erated to produce a compost-quality, charcoal-
like substance. Forest managers are looking
into this for possible post-fire forest recovery.
It can also be a powerhouse soil amendment.

Edibles and medicine. The Native American
Museum notes that members of many Native
American communities ate ponderosa pine
seeds and inner bark and crushed seeds to
thicken soup and make bread. The resin was
sometimes chewed as gum to freshen breath.

Another traditional use of pine is in fragrant
and flavorful pine needle tea, which is high in
vitamin C and can be used to treat fevers and
colds. And some companies are going beyond
tea, experimenting with pine liquor and pine-
flavored desserts. For more resources on using
pine for these purposes, read the online version
of this post at www.MotherEarthNews.com.

— Pamela Sherman

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Country Lore Readers’ Tips to Live By

Homegrown, Home-Ground
Mesquite Flour

T he desert surprises me on almost a daily basis. I originally came 5-gallon bucket filled to the top with mesquite seedpods will yield
from a rainy climate where the soil was fertile, and everything about 1 pound of flour.
seemed to grow on its own. I didn’t fully appreciate this until I
moved to a Mediterranean climate where the soil wasn’t easily coaxed Grinding Your Own Mesquite Flour

into growing things. But that’s OK. Each place has its own attributes, 1 Allow the pods to dry thoroughly before processing. If they’re still

its own pros and cons. a bit green, be sure to dry them in the oven, a dehydrator on very low

One big pro of our new desert home is the mesquite trees. heat, or spread out in the sun for a few hours. Mesquite pods are com-

Indigenous peoples in the southwestern pletely dry and ready to process into flour if

United States used mesquite for many they snap when you bend them.

things—food and medicine, and a source 2 Break the dried pods into small pieces,

of wood for bows, arrows, sewing needles, and place them into the grinder of your

and other implements. They ground the choice. A grain mill works best, in my expe-

dried seedpods into flour using a stone rience, because it has the power to grind the

mortar and pestle, then mixed the protein- tough pods. You can also use a food proces-

rich, gluten-free flour with water and sor or blender, but be sure to start process-

formed it into cakes before baking them ing on low to avoid scratching the container.

in clay ovens. They also made mush with 3 The first grinding will produce a coarse

mesquite flour, or mixed the meal with wa- flour that contains pieces of whole pod and

ter for a nourishing drink. seed. Use a fine-mesh sifter or sieve to re-

Several species of mesquite trees are na- move the chaff from the flour. Set aside the

tive to the area spanning Southern California chaff for your compost heap. Keep grinding

to Texas, and from the Mexican border as and sifting until the pods have been milled

far north as Kansas and Missouri. Where I into a powder.

live in Arizona, the most common are honey Store mesquite flour in a lidded glass jar

mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa) and velvet in a cool, dark place. The flour should stay

mesquite (P. velutina). The latter grows on fresh for up to six months.

our property. Mesquite flour has an earthy sweetness.

Seedpods hang from our trees between Its flavor resembles that of chocolate.

June and September and are ready to har- Because mesquite flour is gluten-free, you’ll

vest beginning in mid-July. Ready-to-process need to mix it with wheat flour if you want

honey mesquite pods are light-tan in color to bake bread or other recipes requiring glu-

and should be picked when they’re dry and tinous flour. For example, a recipe that calls

brittle. Velvet mesquite pods look similar, for 1 cup whole-wheat flour can be altered

but are mottled-red. to use 1⁄4 to 1⁄2 cup mesquite flour, and

I don’t collect seedpods from the ground, the rest of the cup made up of whole-wheat

because they can harbor a mold that pro- flour. Feel free to experiment with your fa-

duces aflatoxin. This toxic substance is vorite recipes.

present after the pods get wet, so I also I make buttermilk pancakes with my

avoid picking pods immediately after a rain. home-ground mesquite flour by using 1⁄2

I choose pods that release from the tree eas- cup mesquite flour to 1 cup whole-wheat

ily; if they nearly fall into my hand, they’re flour. The mesquite flour imparts a kind of

ready to harvest. I also avoid those with mil- chocolaty, caramelly flavor that I find abso-

dewy or moldy coloring. lutely delicious!

I process only pods with little holes in If mesquite trees don’t grow in your area

them, which means the mesquite beetles but you want to try cooking with the flour, a

have hatched and departed. If there aren’t few companies sell mesquite flour online.

holes, beetles may still be inside—but Renée Benoit

don’t be concerned if you eat insects! A Mesquite seedpods will produce gluten-free flour. Hereford, Arizona

WWW.MOTHEREARTHNEWS.COM 77

Country Lore

FROM PLANT A Juicy Proposition I recently brought home a basket of mis- MARSHA ROGERS; PAGE 71: RENÉE BENOIT
cellaneous seaweed, rinsed it in the drive-
to plate My family operates a small jam and jel- way with a garden hose, and dumped it into
ly business. Jam tastes delicious, but jelly a 6-quart stockpot. I filled the pot with wa-
TO PANTRY is my favorite to make. Although produc- ter, added a lid, and set it aside to ferment.
ing a translucent jelly requires extra time
Spend time outdoors and effort, nothing can surpass the deep After a month, I noticed lots of little bub-
this summer. Grow, flavor of red plum jelly, in my opinion. bles and a funguslike fuzz floating on top,
prepare and preserve your so I cracked the lid to allow the flow of fresh
own healthy, natural food. One problem with jelly-making is that air. The fuzz disappeared within a few days.
And spend time enjoying it we always have a couple of cups of juice
with friends and family left over after straining out the fruit pulp. The seaweed had completely dissolved
Because we don’t want to waste anything after six weeks. I poured the nutrient-rich
in our household, we pour the extra juice fertilizer “tea” into recycled juice bottles.
into canning jars and process it in a water The odor was surprisingly mild. I apply this
bath. (The National Center for Home Food brew to my vegetable garden once a month.
Preservation at recommends processing The plants seem to love it!
pints of grape juice for 5 minutes at sea
level, or 10 minutes above 6,000 feet in Next time, I’ll cut the seaweed into small
elevation.) We don’t mix sugar or water pieces to speed up the fermenting process.
into our leftover juice.
Sherry Shahan
When we gather more fruit later, the Morro Bay, California
previously canned juice will give us a
head start on jelly-making. Additionally, Perfect Peppers Preserved
you can use the canned juice to flavor
homemade cakes, stir it into Greek yogurt My bell peppers usually all mature at the
with oats for a healthy breakfast, or simply same time. I wash and dry the best, cut
drink it. them in half, remove the membrane and
seeds, slice them into thin strips, place
Danielle Justus them on parchment-lined cookie sheets,
Yellville, Arkansas and then freeze them for an hour or two.

Gift from Neptune When the pepper strips are partially
frozen, I slice an onion into similarly sized
To some beachgoers, clumps of sea- strips and mix it with the peppers. Then, I
weed are a smelly eyesore. But I consider transfer everything to 1-gallon storage bags
them garden gold — an awesome gift from and place the bags in the freezer. The fro-
Neptune. Seaweed is a sustainable, free zen pepper-onion mix stays good for up to a
resource, and, depending on the type, it year, and I use it in fajitas, stews, omelets,
can be rich in protein, some vitamins and and stir-fries.
minerals, and antioxidants.
Margaret Nava
Rio Rancho, New Mexico

Shop anytime at Water from Air
LEHMANS.COM
800-438-5346 My plants and yard birds always need
water during summer’s hot, humid weather.
Let’s be social So, I place a container below the drip pipe
of my air-conditioning unit to catch the
Circle #23; see card pg 73 humidity the unit removes from the air.
The birds drink from this cool water all
day long. When the container is full, I use
it to water my hydrangeas. Then, I return
it to its original place beneath the unit to
continue to capture condensation. Nothing
goes to waste on my property!

Marsha Rogers
Morrison, Tennessee

Country Lore

Thwarting Rabbits DESIGNED. ENGINEERED.
REMARKABLE VALUE.
Wild rabbits like to eat my garden
plants here in the Pacific Northwest.
After a kind neighbor gave me several to-
mato cages, I upcycled them into cloches
by cutting them in half and wrapping
them in chicken wire. They work well at
protecting young plants.

Tammy Korolis
Redmond, Washington

FROM TOP: TAMMY KOROLIS; PAUL S. WARD Rainwater Catcher crawling everywhere inside our home, in- New from Worksaver!
cluding on the kitchen and bathroom cabi-
I keep a large pail directly beneath the nets. This year, by spraying the window ELECTRIC GRAPPLE
umbrella hole of the patio table on my screens daily with this concoction, we’ve FOR SUB-COMPACT
back deck. Quite a bit of rainfall is fun- had no wasps at all! TRACTORS
neled into the bucket during downpours,
enough to water my container flowers Amy Morin No auxiliary hydraulics to operate
and tomatoes most of the time. I secure Linwood, Massachusetts the clamp on a grapple?
a piece of mosquito netting over the top No problem with our advanced
of the bucket with clothespins to keep it Throwing Shade engineered Electric Sub-Compact
from becoming a mosquito farm. Grapple.
The sun is intense where I live in New • 12-volt linear actuator with 8-inch
Mary Veazey Clark Mexico, at 7,000 feet in elevation. By us-
Southwest Greensburg, Pennsylvania ing upcycled fake flowers, I’ve been able stroke operates the grapple clamp
to grow zinnias from seeds in pots for the • Includes wiring harness with
Ward Off Wasps first time.
pre-wired switch to control the
We’ve found an inexpensive, nontoxic I place the artificial flowers in contain- linear actuator.
way to eliminate yellow jackets from our ers planted with seeds or seedlings, or I • Designed for sub-compact tractors
home. We fill a 32-ounce plastic spray shove their stems into the ground next to up to 32 hp
bottle with cool water. Next, we add 50 new plants. Now that’s the perfect attachment
drops of organic peppermint essential oil for your tractor!
and shake gently. Daily, we open each The upcycled flowers provide protection
window and thoroughly spray the screen. for young plants from the sun, wind, hard Worksaver, Inc. Litchfield, IL 62056-0100
We used to have up to 50 wasps a day rain, sleet, and hail. I’ve found they also Phone: 217.324.5973
form a canopy to help with frost protec-
VISIT WORKSAVER.COM TO LEARN MORE
Tomato Motivation
Circle #48; see card pg 73
I was inspired by an article about a green-
house that supplied tomatoes to restaurants.
The staff trained their plants to grow up strings.
I decided this technique could be a timesaver
over tying plants to a stake.

Because I had several old, unused ladders
lying around, I decided to use them to make a
support system for my plants. I set up steplad-
ders at the ends of the row, and then zip-tied
an extension ladder across the top. I then tied
strings off the bottom of the extension ladder for
training the plants. This setup works great!

Paul S. Ward
Franklin, Ohio

8TǧP Country Lore
NS ǹǭǪ (
Stemming the Elderberry Tide

The hardest part about elderberry harvest used
to be getting the little stem off each berry. After
harvesting the heads, I’d immediately place
them inside a large, clean bag and pop it into the
freezer. Once frozen, the little berries would come
right off the large stems. But the tiny sticks were
still hanging tough.

I’ve since discovered a method for removing
the little stems. I place the frozen berries in a
large stockpot over medium heat, stirring with a
wooden spoon. As the berries begin to thaw and
break down, the stems will stick to the spoon! I
then rinse the spoon and stir again, over and over.

Sue Gay
Newport, New York

Clinically proven tion, and they’re a visual reminder to me Uncomplicated Composting
and dermatologist to water my seeds and seedlings.
recommended. Patented It’s easy to make a compost bin that
stabilized Vitamin C, Diane Turner you can move to a garden spot where
Probiotics & Rooibos Tijeras, New Mexico you'll want to spread compost sometime
brightens and evens tone. in the future.
Hand-y Stain Remover
82% Simply take up an old, discarded trash
Here’s my technique for removing the container with a good set of wheels, and
improved in skin stain black walnuts leave on my hands.
radiance/brightness* drill five 1⁄2-inch holes into the bottom and
After I’ve gathered and husked the wal- ten 1⁄2-inch holes randomly on each side.

%DVHG RQ ḢFDF\ UHVXOWV IURP LQGHSHQGHQW nuts, I cut open a green tomato and rub the
ZHHN FOLQLFDO VWXGLHV RQ WKH 9LWDPLQ & OLQH cut surface on my stained hands before I Your compost bin doesn’t need a lid.
wash them. I’ve discovered that the juice of Add organic materials to the bin and
the green tomato neutralizes the stain and
clears it when I wash up. This is a good wait. When the compost has decomposed
use for golf-ball-sized tomatoes left on the enough to be spread into your garden, sim-
vines at the end of the vegetable-growing ply wheel the bin into your plot and unload
season. I just pop a couple of them into my it. This project has saved both time and
pocket when I go to gather the nuts. energy in my garden.

Bertha Rush Eileen Raymer
Cameron, West Virginia Ellsinore, Missouri

Home and Dry FROM TOP: SUE GAY; GAIL LEONE

I use an upcycled plastic lid from an ice
cream tub to prevent debris from getting
into the open top of my chicken feeder.
You can do the same by cutting a slot into
the center of a lid, and then slipping it over
the bucket handle. This method blocks
dirt, snow, and rain, and the lid is easy to
remove for refilling the feeder.

Gail Leone
Cedar, Michigan

Country Lore

Tree Tag PROFESSIONAL
PLANT PULLING
We bought some fruiting trees and vines to plant at our new residence, Nettlesnook
Homestead. I like to label plants, but I dislike plastic tags on trees, because I think they’re TOOL
unattractive, and the tree trunk quickly outgrows the tag. I decided to make my own alumi-
num tags instead of purchasing expensive ready-made ones. This is a quick and easy project before
that requires only aluminum cans and floral wire.
after
First, I cut open the aluminum cans with regular kitchen shears. Then, I used a ruler and
Uprooter and Weed Wrench products
permanent marker to mark where I wanted to cut out the tags. I was able to fit five 11⁄2-by- are professional grade plant extraction
31⁄2-inch strips on each aluminum can. Following devices that can easily clear the land
of woody plants without troublesome
the marked lines, I carefully cut out each tag. stumps left behind from cutting.
Next, I used the straight edge of my ruler to fold Simply place the jaws of the tool
around the stem of the plant and pull
over about 1⁄8 inch on all edges of the tags, folding the lever for easy removal.

the metal toward the printed side of the can. This “An Uprooter, it turns out, is a miracle tool...”
produced nice-looking edges that weren’t sharp.
So I could hang the tags on the trees, I punched Margaret Renkl,
a hole on one end and looped a 12-inch length of Contributing Opinion Writer,
floral wire through it.
The New York Times
To finish the labels, I wrote the tree name and
the year we planted it with a regular pen, which Easily Clear and Manage Property
indented the writing on the aluminum label. Create Paths & Trails
Selective Removal
I’m so pleased that I could make use of trash
discarded on the side of the road to create some- Chemical Free Alternative
thing beneficial and attractive for our garden.
www.theuprooter.com
Kim Conner (541) 226-9872
Olympia, Washington Grants Pass, OR

KIM CONNER Save Your Green Thumbs Now, when my garments are just about Circle #44; see card pg 73
ready for the rag bin, I toss them into a
I have a couple of ideas to improve suitcase I keep on the top shelf of the clos-
gardening for fellow readers. To make the et for future use as “disposable clothes.”
wooden handle on my old shovel easier to Whenever we travel, I wear those items one
grasp, I slit a length of bicycle tube and last time, but instead of taking them home,
then wrapped it around the grip area. they get left behind. This frees up room in
the suitcase for souvenirs and reduces the
Also, instead of carrying separate buckets post-vacation laundry load.
of produce out of the garden during harvest,
I place the buckets onto a child’s plastic Note that this trick is probably best suit-
toboggan I bought for a couple of bucks at ed for undergarments and sleepwear, unless
an auction. you don’t mind presenting a bedraggled ap-
pearance on holiday.
Craig Grodman
Lehigh Acres, Florida Derek Purdy
Gilroy, California
Traveling Clothes
We Pay for Top Tips
I usually wear my clothes well past the
point of acceptability as charitable do- Do you have handy home, farm, or
nations or hand-me-downs. As a result, garden advice? We’ll pay you $25
the standard path has been to turn old, for each tip we publish, plus an-
threadbare clothing into rags. Over the other $25 if we use your photos. So,
years, though—particularly as the family send your niftiest tips to us at
has grown and larger items, like sheets and [email protected].
towels, have made their way into the rag
bin—we’ve acquired so many rags we’ll
never get through them all. So, I came up
with an alternative.

ALASKANR MILLS SINCE 1957, GRANBERG Dear MOTHER
INTERNATIONAL HAS BEEN
DURABILITY . RELIABILITY . AFFORDABILITY PRODUCING THE HIGHEST (CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15)

QUALITY CHAINSAW Winter Sowing Success
MILLS AND ACCESSORIES
I recently attended my first MOTHER
AVAILABLE ANYWHERE. EARTH NEWS FAIR in Belton, Texas. I under-
OUR AMERICAN-MADE stand it was smaller than previous years,
PRODUCTS GIVE YOU THE but I greatly enjoyed it. Over the past few
months, I’ve been turned on to winter
ACCURACY OF A sowing via Facebook gardening groups.
PROFESSIONAL-GRADE Currently, I’m having great results. I don’t
SAW MILL AT A PRICE THAT have room indoors to start plants (and I
have a destructive cat!), so the method of
WON’T BREAK jug-sowing and leaving the jugs outdoors
THE BANK. has been ideal. Although I’ve only received
your magazine for a year, and read oc-
CALL 1-800-233-6499 FOR casional issues in years past, I haven’t
A FREE CATALOG OR TO FIND A DEALER.

WWW.GRANBERG.COM

Circle #15; see card pg 73

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My greenhouse was built by my
800.582.8423 Engineering & manufacturing husband, son, and 71-year-old dad.
excellence since 1924 The windows are 46-plus years old,
www.StiebelEltron.us and the brick flooring is 100-plus
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Simply the Best factory in my hometown that was torn TAMMY WILSON; PAGE 83: LARRY BEHNKE
down. The greenhouse is something I
Circle #40; see card pg 73 wanted, and, without plans, I got the
windows and the greenhouse was built
82 MOTHER EARTH NEWS June/July 2022 in four weekends. Also, the bench
and herb box were built by my dad for
Christmas.

Tammy Wilson
Via email

Dear MOTHER Organic Mosquito Repellent

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Long-Lived Tire Stairs

I needed a way to get from my
house 40 feet down to my lake. I
decided on these tire steps, because
the tires were free. I started at the
bottom, digging out the shape for the
first tire. I set the tire in place and
packed the inside with the dirt I’d dug
out, plus dirt from the space for the
next tire. I repeated the process 38
times until I’d finished my stairway. I
used exterior latex paint on the tires,
because the sun will deteriorate rub-
ber tires over the years. These tire
steps were completed in one month
during 1992. Here they are in 2022.

Larry Behnke
High Springs, Florida

Circle #25; see card pg 73

WWW.MOTHEREARTHNEWS.COM 83

Dear MOTHER

You Can do This! Making Dreams Come True

Y O U R H A N D S , Y O U R T O O L S , O U R A S S I S TA N C E . In “Labor as an Asset” (News from
MOTHER, February/March 2022), you asked
RETROFIT for comments on successful lifestyle chang-
RADIANT INTO es. Here’s the story of my son and his wife.
YOUR HOME.
Because of their long-term efforts and
USE YOUR If you can see the underside of the floor, you can install commitment to being debt-free, my son and
EXISTING comfortable and efficient radiant heat. his wife were recently able to purchase a
WATER HEATER small farm in the Midwest that will be their
INSTEAD UÊ Free design assistance and tech support retirement home, as well as a retirement
OF AN U Free detailed installation manual
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award winning whimsical to the utilitarian. My hus-
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see if radiant and leaving a small imprint. So, when
is right for you. we had to work together to build my
potting and toolshed, it was the per-
www.radiantec.com fect match. We’ve built many things
together, including the passive home
*"Ê "8Ê££££]Ê 9 " 6
]Ê6/Êäxnx£ÊÊUÊÊ*\Ênää‡{x£‡Çx™ÎÊÊUÊÊ \ÊnäӇÈÓȇnä{x where we presently reside. The potting
Circle #37; see card pg 73 shed is the structure that gives me the
most joy. Other than the rough-sawn
NESEED p. (800) 825-5477 pine siding, which we purchased from
122 Park Ave. f. (877) 229-8487 a local mill, all the other materials had
East Hartford, CT [email protected] a previous life. The door and windows
came from a friend’s old sunroom, our
For growers of any size. Berkeley Tie-Dye Heirloom potting table was made from the deck- KRISTI MARESO AND GREG CRAWFORD
Tomato ing of our previous home, and even the
stone and brick were discarded items
(8-12 oz.) Heirloom variety selected for its unique that found new life. I could tell you a
coloring and rich old fashion flavor. Fruits range story about each piece you see in this
from green with pink and yellow stripes to deep photo, but I won’t, as I’m certain there
pink with silvery green stripes. When sliced, the are many of these to read.
flesh appears to truly be tie-dyed! 75-85 days.
Kristi Mareso and Greg Crawford
Free USA ground $7.95 flat-rate 10% discount neseed.com Wakefield, Rhode Island
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Circle #30; see card pg 73

84 MOTHER EARTH NEWS June/July 2022

Dear MOTHER

home for their son once he retires from the Enjoy the DR® Lawn
military. My son is 50 years old and has convenience, & Garden
worked at a variety of lower-paying jobs cleanliness of
through the years, as has his wife. Over time, INCINOLET in Edger
they were able to pay off all of their debts, your cabin, home,
including vehicles and credit cards, because dock, or boat. Professional
they had a shared goal of property ownership Edges Made
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ing being sustainable, all while not over- made for years of satisfaction.
extending their budget. They set a target make stable, precise cuts
price for the property and didn’t deviate, Used in all climates around the world. • Pivoting blade for bevel cuts
calculated the amount of acreage they Tested, listed by UL
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decided what sort of structures they would USCG • Six cutting depths
need on the property in order to accomplish
their future goals. The biggest keys for Call 1-800-527-5551 GoDRpower.com
them were budgeting, knowing what they www.incinolet.com
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those goals. They didn’t get lured into the 2639 Andjon • Dallas, TX 75220 SHIPPING Call Toll-Free
trap of spending far more than what they
wanted or could afford. They took their time Circle #16; see card pg 73 SOME LIMITATIONS
and found a place that, with some sweat
equity, will provide them with a nice hobby APPLY 877-560-8902
farm in the future.
Back in the day, things were made
My son and his wife already can a variety to last. Made to last for a lifetime
of fruits, vegetables, and soups; dehydrate or two. Call us old-fashioned, but
many items; and they’ll begin freeze-drying we agree. That’s why our hand-
foods once they move to the new property. powered mills are backed by an
Meat smoking is a new hobby for them heirloom guarantee. Our durable
as well, and it seems to be a hit where mills will help you grind your
they currently live! They have a raised-bed own whole grains, coffee, nuts
garden at their current property, and they and seeds. They are hand-built
intend to have a huge garden and orchard
once they move. My daughter-in-law knits here in the U.S. for dreamers,
and crochets, and she’s learning how to doers and cultivators like us.
weave and sew. My son is learning carpen-
try skills, plumbing, electrical, tile, heating Made in Montana~grainmaker.com~855-777-7096
and insulation, concrete and foundation
work, and how to make furniture and other Circle #14; see card pg 73
items for the home. All of these skills will
be useful when they move and make chang- WWW.MOTHEREARTHNEWS.COM 85
es or do repairs to their new home. We’ve
purchased many books on homesteading
and farming so they can research any is-
sues that come up along the way.

We hope this information will be helpful
to those contemplating a simpler lifestyle.
I’ve read many of your readers’ comments
over the years about how they achieved their
desired lifestyles, and it all seems to revolve
around a series of changes about finances,

PUT YOUR ATV http://remedies.net Dear MOTHER
TO WORK!
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EASY FINANCING! When our granddaughters were young, this
1-88C8all-T5o6ll F8re-e3: 036 shed was built as a playhouse for them, with
DRpower.com/ATV all the trim of a gingerbread house. Twelve
or Write: years later, when the small rural town where
Get the MOST out of your we raised our children became a city, we
ATV with hard-working PO Box 640, decided to buy a small farm farther out. We
attachments from Crestone, CO 81131 loaded the playhouse on a trailer and took
DR Power Equipment! it with us. There, it became a chicken coop,
8 FREE E-Books with all the scalloped fascia boards still in
on Healing place. Ten years later, when our chickens
outgrew the coop, we built a bigger coop,
Circle #27; see card pg 73 and my wife suggested we turn the old coop
into a garden shed to house tools and sup-
plies for our ever-expanding herb, vegetable, THOMAS CLOONEY
and butterfly gardens. The shed frame was
still good, but it needed to be re-covered.
With COVID-19 and Gulf Coast hurricanes,
the price of lumber skyrocketed. So, I got old
pallets from the feed store and broke them
up. The boards became the lapboards on
the sides, fascias, and soffits, while I used
the 2x4 pieces for supports for the shelves,
with additional pallet boards making up the

Thomas Clooney’s re-covered garden shed.

Circle #42; see card pg 73

86 MOTHER EARTH NEWS June/July 2022

Dear MOTHER

shelves themselves. We wanted a rustic look,
so we didn’t paint the shed. We only had
to purchase a box of screws, three tubes of
caulking to caulk between the overlapped
boards, a gallon of water sealer to protect
the wood, and a solar light for inside.

Thomas Clooney
Springtown, Texas

Applauding the Ayrshire

In the 1950s and 1960s, I lived on a
small farm in Washington state. My sis-
ters and I were in 4-H and showed our
three Ayrshires — Misty, Queenie, and
Snowball — at the state fairs.

I didn’t know the breed had become
endangered, and I’m so glad it no longer
is. It’s a very gentle breed, and I’m a better
person for being raised on a farm.

Nancy Olson Gates
Via email

Nancy, thank you for the note. We’re
also thrilled that this beautiful dairy breed
is making a comeback. Readers, in 2021,
The Livestock Conservancy announced that
the Ayrshire breed has graduated from its
Conservation Priority List, meaning it’s no
longer considered a rare breed. — MOTHER

Write to Us!

Started in 1970 to raise awareness
of environmental concerns and to
provide information and support for
a simpler lifestyle, MOTHER EARTH
NEWS has made it this far because
of continuous interest from you, the
readers. Your dedication to living
more sustainable lives has kept this
magazine afloat through five decades
and an increasingly digital world,
and we’d love to hear from you. Send
photos of your farm, your garden, and
any projects you’ve undertaken over
the past five decades to Letters@
MotherEarthNews.com. Or, mail a
letter to Dear MOTHER, 1503 SW
42nd St., Topeka, KS 66609. Please
send your full name, address, and
phone number. We may edit for clarity
and length.

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88 MOTHER EARTH NEWS June/July 2022

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90 MOTHER EARTH NEWS June/July 2022

GENERAL STORE

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Photos from the Field CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: MICHELLE WENDLING; FRANKLIN AMES; MIKELL HERRICK

Clockwise from above: Monarchs pause in Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie in Illinois on their migration south, filling trees at night and fluttering awake at
sunrise. A rainbow spreads across the Berglistüber Waterfall in Switzerland. Six Mallard ducklings venture up onto the shore of a Dunedin, Florida, pond.

SHOW US! Share your unique perspective with our community by submitting photos of inviting gardens, nutritious foods, wild animals, and more to the
MOTHER EARTH NEWS Photo Group on Flickr (www.Flickr.com/Groups/MotherEarthNewsPhotos/Pool ). We’ll feature our favorites here and online!

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