MOTHER EARTH NEWS

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MOTHER EARTH NEWS2 min read
Lambing Season
Mid-to-late winter is lambing season at our place. We could plan it for later, but it works for us in a number of ways, not the least of which is having lambs ready for the early season markets. More than that, however, is that mid-January is when th
MOTHER EARTH NEWS1 min read
Editors’ Pick
I enjoyed Editorial Director Hank Will’s “Roots Reconnected” editorial in the February/March 2020 issue of MOTHER EARTH NEWS. I, too, grew up in a rural setting on a small farm where we gardened and preserved most of our food. I remember, as a child,
MOTHER EARTH NEWS5 min read
Dear MOTHER
Readers’ 50th anniversary letters are marked with a gold star. My wife and I raised our kids on a small acreage in southern Illinois. When our kids were young, we encouraged them to join 4-H. As part of 4-H, they raised sheep and goats. Eventually, o
MOTHER EARTH NEWS2 min read
Public Transportation Innovations
In late 2019, the Kansas City, Missouri, city council and Mayor Quinton Lucas unanimously voted to make transit free to ride, becoming the first major U.S. city to pilot free fare. Their decision aims to make transit accessible to all who live in the
MOTHER EARTH NEWS3 min read
Alarm and Appreciation
I just read the article on the state of bees. Thank you, Dr. Lundgren, for the informative analysis of what’s happening to the bee population in the U.S. We live in western New York, close to Lake Ontario. Several local beekeepers have lost their hiv
MOTHER EARTH NEWS1 min read
Certify Your Butterfly Garden
The nonprofit North American Butterfly Association (NABA) runs a butterfly garden certification program to encourage gardeners to cultivate and protect butterfly habitats. To qualify for certification, gardeners must grow at least three different cat
MOTHER EARTH NEWS3 min readNature
Beneficial Birds
As bird populations decline, so do the benefits they provide to thriving ecosystems — including pest control, pollination, and seed dispersal. Farms are one of the places where such perks are crucial, and a new online resource from Wild Farm Alliance
MOTHER EARTH NEWS4 min read
Start a Homesteading Club
When my wife, Cara, and I moved to a small town in a new area in 2015 and wanted to start homesteading, we felt rather alone. Many people starting a homesteading journey have a network of nearby family or friends to rely on. What could we do? We freq
MOTHER EARTH NEWS6 min read
Compact Plants for Patio Gardeners
New cultivars of compact edible plants are released onto the market every year. An increasing number of gardeners have growing space that’s limited to a small area, such as a patio garden, a raised bed, or containers. Because of this, plant breeders
MOTHER EARTH NEWS7 min read
Build a Hiking Trail
America is crisscrossed by thousands of miles of hiking trails, deep within national parks and forests and peppered around state public lands. Often, these dirt paths can take you far from any roads for a true wilderness experience. Some of my most m
MOTHER EARTH NEWS1 min read
Mother Earth News
Lead Editor CAITLIN WILSON Assistant Lead Editor ALLISON SARKESIAN Editor at Large OSCAR H. WILL III Editorial Director CHRISTIAN WILLIAMS Group Editor, Rural Lifestyles REBECCA MARTIN Group Editor, Wellness & Natural Living JEAN DENNEY Group Editor,
MOTHER EARTH NEWS6 min read
Where the Wild Things Should Be
School districts love to brag about statistics that prove they’re giving your children a great education. You’ve probably heard more than once about student-teacher ratios, the number of computers per child, and exceedingly high test scores. But has
MOTHER EARTH NEWS1 min readEarth Sciences
Outdoor Learning
Sharon Danks of Green Schoolyards America offers ideas for several simple outdoor school projects, one of which involves igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks that elementary students might study in a geology class. “In an indoor lab, students
MOTHER EARTH NEWS2 min readEarth Sciences
Ogallala Aquifer Conservation
Across the United States, communities are forming innovative partnerships and projects to mitigate the impacts of climate change. The American Association for the Advancement of Science featured 18 such communities in its 2019 report “How We Respond,
MOTHER EARTH NEWS2 min read
Them That’s Doin’
I’ve spent a good chunk of my life wearing men’s work pants for farm and outdoor work, putting up with bunching fabric and a blocky silhouette in exchange for durability. When a pair of Dovetail Workwear Freshley Overalls (www.DovetailWorkwear.com) c
MOTHER EARTH NEWS5 min read
Make Your Mark
Natural ink isn’t that complicated. You can throw almost any pigment-rich base ingredient into an old pot with vinegar and salt, boil it, and then add a couple of drops of gum arabic binder, and voila! You’ll have ink. Think of ink as any colored wat
MOTHER EARTH NEWS8 min read
Practical Poetry An Interview with Wendell Berry
Readers, to mark our 50th anniversary as a magazine, we’re reprinting some of the more notable stories from our archive. This interview was originally published in the March/April 1973 issue. Wendell Berry is a poet, farmer, and cultural critic who w
MOTHER EARTH NEWS3 min read
Scottish Thistle Fire Brazier
According to legend, an invading army once tried to sneak up on an encampment of Scottish soldiers, when one of the invaders stepped on a thistle and screamed in pain, thus spoiling the attack. Ever since, the thistle has been the national emblem of
MOTHER EARTH NEWS1 min read
55 Simple Projects for Everyday Use
The Everyday Blacksmith is sure to become every shop’s go-to reference guide. Split into two sections, the book opens with a reference for shop basics, such as safety, equipment, and techniques. In the second section, find a step-by-step guide to a d
MOTHER EARTH NEWS1 min readConstruction
Tool Tips
Welder. Perhaps the ultimate timesaving machine, an electric welder will allow you to permanently join metals with the pull of a trigger. MIG welders are easy to use and great for general work. Buy the best quality your budget will allow, but even a
MOTHER EARTH NEWS10 min read
The Garden of Rebirth
Regrowing vegetables from kitchen scraps can sound like a gimmick. But I’ve found that the more I look to my kitchen as a seed and plant catalogue, the more varied my vegetable garden becomes. In many cases, harvesting cycles for many of the plants i
MOTHER EARTH NEWS4 min read
Make Your Garden Grow Up with a DIY Obelisk
Traditionally found in formal gardens, obelisks are fancy plant supports that have four sides and a pyramid-shaped top. In ancient times, obelisks were impressive structures made of stone. These days, they’re usually made out of wood or metal. Obelis
MOTHER EARTH NEWS5 min read
Storing and Processing Wool
Once you become a shepherd for sheep, goats, or other fiber animals, you’ll have a renewable source of raw product every year. However, the fleece shorn from the animals will stack up if you don’t process it. Thankfully, you don’t need to process fle
MOTHER EARTH NEWS1 min read
Learn How to Produce Quality Fleece from Your Fiber Animals
The proper care of fiber animals leads to a superior yarn product. Lapses in good care can show up in the fleece. As the demand for quality yarn and fiber grows, more people are becoming concerned with the animals’ treatment and care. This book serve
MOTHER EARTH NEWS14 min read
How to Frame a Rob Roy Kayak
Surprisingly, recreational boating has only been around since the mid-19th century. Until then, most small craft — including canoes and kayaks — were simply tools to make a living with. The popularity of sport kayaking likely dates to the publication
MOTHER EARTH NEWS2 min read
Terms and Parts Glossary
Bulkheads: Pieces that remain in the boat to provide support for the stringers. Butt blocks: Pieces glued below the decking to hold the pieces together. Coamings: Angled pieces that shed water from the open cockpit. Deck: The upper portion of the kay
MOTHER EARTH NEWS7 min read
A Little Hops How-To
My first experience with the aroma of fresh hops happened on a warm, late-summer day in Michigan. My dad and I had each picked a wild heirloom hop cone that was growing on our family farm. Tearing mine open, I revealed the buttery orange inside that
MOTHER EARTH NEWS1 min read
Build a Simple Skirting Table
Here’s an easy DIY project you can make in very little time: a 1-inch wire-mesh table for sorting and skirting fleece. Setting the wire top on two sawhorses will position it at a good height for skirting and sorting. This will also keep the skirting
MOTHER EARTH NEWS1 min read
Uses Beyond Brewing
• In addition to their anti-inflammatory qualities, hops can aid in digestion and have antispasmodic effects, which can calm a restless stomach. When steeped in a tea, dried hops may help with irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn’s disease, and ulcers.• T
MOTHER EARTH NEWS2 min readNature
Poultry Feathers as Clues
Let’s say, for instance, that you find the skeletal remains of a bird surrounded by a mess of feathers. Coyotes and raptors both eat the flesh off the bone and leave the skeleton largely intact. The pattern of the feathers, whether scattered or formi
MOTHER EARTH NEWS1 min read
The Poultry Predator Detective Manual
Protecting their flocks is one of chicken keepers’ top concerns, whether they own 10 birds or 100. In What’s Killing My Chickens?, author Gail Damerow uses the style of a detective manual to teach readers how to follow clues, such as tracks, trails,
MOTHER EARTH NEWS1 min read
Protect Your Chicks From Predators
Chicks are a favorite food for snakes and rats. Both of these predators can slip through holes smaller than you’d expect. Check your coop and brooder area thoroughly for holes, even ones as small as a dime. If the holes can’t be patched easily, try p
MOTHER EARTH NEWS7 min readNature
Fox In The Henhouse?
Everyone who keeps poultry sooner or later experiences the heart-stopping moment of realization that a predator has come to call. A typical first reaction is to rush in, assess the damage, and clean up the mess. But stopping to carefully survey the s
MOTHER EARTH NEWS4 min read
The Magic of Mozzarella
Learning how to make mozzarella cheese at home can be much easier and quicker than you ever thought possible. Quick mozzarella is truly a miracle process, but one that may not work perfectly every time if the milk you use varies a lot. It’s one of th
MOTHER EARTH NEWS1 min readCooking, Food & Wine
Learn Cheesemaking Techniques with a Master
Join Gianaclis Caldwell at the MOTHER EARTH NEWS FAIR, May 16-17, 2020, in Nashville, Tennessee. Using this recipe at the FAIR’s Magic Mozzarella hands-on workshop, she’ll show you how to make your own homemade mozzarella. You’ll gain confidence to m
MOTHER EARTH NEWS5 min read
Build A Garden Fence On A Budget
When we moved into our new home, we were thrilled that the previous owners had already installed six raised garden beds in the sunny backyard. Unfortunately, our dogs were just as thrilled as we were. They loved digging in the rich soil, and they wou
MOTHER EARTH NEWS2 min read
Real Food & Cooking
Make homemade butter in as little as 10 minutes with this Butter Making Starter Kit. The kit includes a Butter Churn, a Butter Keeper Crock, two Butter Paddles, and the tips found in the book Making Cheese, Butter, & Yogurt. Please allow two weeks fo
MOTHER EARTH NEWS3 min read
Livestock, DIY & Herbal Health
This remote-area survival manual provides clear decision-making guidelines to walk you step-by-step from the first signs of trouble all the way through to rescue. It outlines specific courses of action for every type of survival scenario imaginable,
MOTHER EARTH NEWS1 min read
What’s Better than a MOTHER EARTH NEWS FAIR?
Answer: a Mother earth News Fair on a farm! For some 20 years here at Polyface Farm, we held a tri-annual national field day, and when it grew to nearly 2,000 people, it was too much. We realized we couldn’t continue until we had a professional event
MOTHER EARTH NEWS2 min read
Gardening
Novices eager to collect tasty, wild mushrooms will find this unique guide invaluable. Unlike other mushroom guides, this book focuses on those mushrooms that are both safe to eat and delicious. #4722 $14.95 $12.71 Shiitake mushrooms are some of the
MOTHER EARTH NEWS6 min read
Crafting Clay Paint
We’ve experimented with various natural paints over the years. We wanted a paint we could apply once, that wouldn’t dust, and that would have a consistent matte finish (and, of course, that could be made using natural materials). At last, we’ve found
MOTHER EARTH NEWS1 min readEconomics
Queenie’s Fairy House
When I told my mother about the used Speed Queen wringer washer I’d bought, she remarked that it was the Cadillac of washers when it first came out. You could set a timer for the number of minutes you wanted your wash to agitate. A bell would ring wh
MOTHER EARTH NEWS1 min readCooking, Food & Wine
Potato Planting Tip
I’ve had trouble with voles nibbling on my seed potatoes for a couple of years. They’ve consumed half of my crop. I set traps and caught a few, but more came back. Last year, an older neighbor shared a tip. My neighbor told me to get some netting fro
MOTHER EARTH NEWS6 min readCooking, Food & Wine
10 Dreams For The Future
I may be turning into an old geezer, but I’m still loaded with dreams for the future. The editors at Mother Earth News have asked me to share some of those goals, so here are 10 projects I’m hoping to achieve in the future: 1 Add enterprises to our f
MOTHER EARTH NEWS1 min read
PVC Gate
I needed a gate for my driveway. I live in Florida, and wood doesn’t last long here, so I wanted to make a gate out of PVC pipe. I found some PVC fencing at Lowe’s, but it was only 3 feet high. So I cut the crowns off the top, and inserted a 2-foot p
MOTHER EARTH NEWS1 min read
Safe and Sound Grain Storage
I have a handy way to store grain, in a broken-down old chest freezer I had. The size you’ll need depends on how much grain you have. The freezer keeps out moisture, as well as mice and other rodents. I use 15- to 30-gallon plastic trash cans to comp
MOTHER EARTH NEWS1 min read
Plant Straight
This technique allows you to plant parallel rows confidently, and circumvents the need to constantly remeasure. I use a string and the type of line blocks used by bricklayers as an aid to keep my planting lines straight and equally spaced. It’s fast
MOTHER EARTH NEWS1 min read
Free Book
Former CIA Officer Reveals the 37 Critical Items You Must Have to Build the Ultimate Escape Bag. (As seen on Shark Tank) In the next few days, I am (with your permission) going to send you a brandnew copy of my book, The Escape Bag Blueprint: 37 Item
MOTHER EARTH NEWS6 min read
Companion Planting Primer for Vegetable Gardens
It’s not an exact science, and takes experimentation and observation. But grouping plants together that have beneficial relationships can increase yields by controlling pests, and encouraging pollination, whereas monoculture, or the practice of plant
MOTHER EARTH NEWS1 min read
Get to Know Nålbinding
Readers, we received several letters in response to Carla Tilghman’s blurb about nålbinding in Them That’s Doin’ (December 2019/January 2020). Here are two, along with the author’s response.—MOTHER I have a friend who chooses not to use computers. Sh
MOTHER EARTH NEWS1 min readInternet & Web
Photos From The Field
Share your unique perspective with our community by submitting photos of inviting gardens, nutritious foods, wild animals, and more to the MOTHER SHOW US! EARTH NEWS Photo Group on Flickr (www.Flickr.com/Groups/MotherEarthNewsPhotos/Pool). We’ll feat

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