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MODERN HOMESTEADING
Self-Reliance • Animals • Do It Yourself • Gardening • Food & Recipes

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 “It takes half your life
GETTY IMAGES / YEVHENII ORLOV

before you discover life

is a do-it-yourself project.”
— Napoleon Hill

C2,15,33,55 Earthwords.indd 2 4/1/22 1:08 PM


Setting themselves up
for success, this couple
focused on building
infrastructure first
28
before moving on to
growing crops.
SELF-RELIANCE
5 Get Charged Up with
Off-Grid Battery Options
This expert advice will help you
pick the best battery bank to
power your property.
10 Homesteading
on Marginal Land
Use an imaginative eye to find
COVER PHOTOGRAPH: CORBIS/KEVIN SCHAFER
land for a farm, and transform it
with sound husbandry practices.
16 Security and
Monitoring Systems
for the Homestead
Many modern devices will track
temperature and movement
around your home.
20
MH22.indb 1
Table of Contents
20 Living Off-Grid
without Money
By cutting costs, trading labor for
equipment, and bartering with
neighbors, this family is able to
live off-grid with no expenses.
22 Masonry Heaters:
Warm Your Home
with a Gentle Giant
These super-efficient fireplaces
produce long-lasting, comfortable
warmth with less wood, work,
time, and worry.
28 A Smarter Farm Setup
Design infrastructure to
help you work smarter,
not harder, on your property.
22
Modern Homesteading • Collector Series
34 Why We Homestead:
Health, Politics,
Spirituality, & More
Running an off-grid, sustainable
hostel is rewarding work, and
the retreat’s owners find deep
satisfaction in the lifestyle.
36 From Cubicle to Cultivar:
How to Leave the Office
and Become a Farmer
Hands-on apprenticeships
cultivate opportunities
to leave the city and lead
an agrarian lifestyle.
36
3/29/22 2:30 PM
 46
GARDEN TECHNIQUES
& METHODS
41 6 Ways to Practice
Climate Farming
Turn your garden into a carbon-
guzzling, food-growing oasis.
46 Profitable, Small-Scale
Flower Farming
Cut flowers are one of the
highest-grossing crops per acre.
Create a debt-free farm and
surround yourself with beauty by
following this expert advice.
50 Top Plants for
Companion Planting
You can use plants in specific
combinations to repel pests,
control weeds, and boost your
garden’s overall health.
56 Vermicomposting Basics
Add worms to your composting
process to form a nutrient-rich
fertilizer for your garden.
50
MH22.indb 2
66
60 Challenges with Cultivars
The long-running native plant
cultivar debate stems from
concern about their ecological
functionality and possible
environmental consequences.
66 Transform Your Driveway
into a Vegetable Garden
Use containers and straw bales
to create an edible oasis.
72 Build a Backyard
Edible Ecosystem
Use compost, yard waste, and
recycled paper to construct a
small permaculture ecosystem
that supports your food garden.
FOOD & RECIPES
76 Curing Meat at Home
Bring fancy food to your
everyday plate by learning how
to make the cold, cooked meats
known as charcuterie.
76
80
80 Homemade Broth & Stock
Glean nutrients and flavor from
bones and scraps by simmering
and seasoning them.
84 Sweet Corn Off the Cob
Try these sweet and savory ideas
for enjoying your abundance of
corn this season.
88 Classic Ciabatta
From poolish to plate, this
versatile bread is as forgiving
as it is flavorful.
93 Reusable Food Wraps
These eco-friendly fabric food
wraps are the bee’s knees, and
you can choose any color or
print you like when you make
them yourself.
96 All About Yogurt
With milk, microbes,
warmth, and time, you
can make your own great-
tasting probiotic yogurt.
96
3/29/22 2:30 PM
 100
100 How to Store & Protect
Food Long-Term
A reader shares how to properly
store food for the long haul.
DO IT YOURSELF
102 Go with the Flow
Build a rain barrel that cleverly
uses gravity to send water uphill.
106 Water-Resistant ‘Plybarrow’
Build a sturdy plywood
wheelbarrow that can weather
everyday work, come rain or shine.
109 Build a Garden Fence
on a Budget
Add beauty and functionality
to your growing space with a
durable wooden fence that won’t
break the bank.
112 Build an Indoor
Grow-Light Table
Readers share their tips for starting
seeds indoors.
112
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114
114 Quite the Coop
Two readers share how
their family built a quality
custom coop for a fraction
of the cost of a pre-made model.
117 Build a Copper Trellis
Striking and functional, this DIY
trellis will add an artistic flair to
your garden while supporting
plants that like to climb.
120 Building with Balecob
This hybrid of cob and
straw bale building techniques
can offer unique flexibility to
the natural builder.
125 DIY Tool Belt
Assemble these pockets and
pouches and mount them on
your favorite belt to hold your
most-used tools.
128 DIY Cob Cabin
Pallets form the frame
of this sturdy, durable,
creative cob structure.
128
130
FARM ANIMALS
130 Animals on the Farm:
A Holistic Approach
Small farmers across the globe
are developing creative ways of
integrating livestock into their
agricultural operations.
133 In from the Cold
Livestock are resilient in winter,
but you can ease the chill with
these steps to lessen their stress.
136 Set Up Your Own
Small Animal Shed
Stack timbers to shelter your
animals from the elements with
this simple and practical design.
140 A Market for Meat Birds
Get the most bang for your
cluck: Turn raising and
processing poultry into a
moneymaking, community-
supported agriculture venture.
133
3/29/22 2:30 PM
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THE ORIGINAL GUIDE TO LIVING WISELY
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COLLECTOR SERIES • SUMMER 2022
Tomatoes Year-Round MODERN HOMESTEADING

We all love tomatoes fresh from the Special Content Team

garden, and most of us would do Group Editor J T
anything to have one in hand when Assistant Editor K J S
Copy Editor L A
the temperatures hover around zero.
Rebecca shows us how and why we Convergent Media
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on their chosen way of life to see if it’s right

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Industrial Hemp
A MOTHER EARTH NEWS podcast focuses on
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4 THE MOTHER EARTH NEWS COLLECTOR SERIES • MODERN HOMESTEADING

4 2022 Videos-Masthead.indd 4 3/31/22 8:57 AM

 Get Charged Up with
Off-Grid
Battery Options
This expert advice will help you pick the
best battery bank to power your property.
By Paul Scheckel
I
bought my first solar panel
in 1989, a 50-watt Solarex
photovoltaic module. Along with
an old motorcycle battery, some DC
car lights, and a small radio, I created
MH22.indb 5
an off-grid room in the house I was
renting. When the power was out, and
even when it wasn’t and I wanted to
save energy, I had lights and music
operating on stored solar energy.
When I built my home in the 1990s,
it was far enough from utility power that
an off-grid system made economic sense,
in part because I could do the work
myself. Solar panels were more expensive
back then, and the only accessible,
affordable battery technology available
was lead-acid. I’ve had to replace
my battery bank about every seven
years since, despite different brands,
sizes, and configurations. Meanwhile,
improvements in chargers, inverters,
and PV panels have made lead-acid
technology feel more antiquated.
WWW.MOTHEREARTHNEWS.COM 5
3/29/22 2:30 PM
 This article compares some of the
qualities and characteristics of lead-acid
and lithium iron battery technologies
for off-grid applications.
Breaking Down Batteries
Lead-acid batteries haven’t changed
much in 100 years, and they have
a long history of dependability and
affordability. They’re typically named
according to the electrode material
used, and further defined by the
electrolyte used. For example, “flooded”
refers to liquid electrolyte that needs
to be replenished periodically by
adding distilled water. Various types
of maintenance-free, sealed, or valve-
regulated lead-acid batteries exist.
Batteries are designed for specific
purposes. Starting, lighting, and
ignition (SLI) batteries used in cars
are engineered to release lots of energy
in a short period of time, and then
quickly receive a recharge. Deep-cycle
batteries have thicker plates, allowing
for greater energy storage capacity and
deeper discharging. In this article, I’ll
focus on deep-cycle, flooded lead-acid
(FLA) batteries, because they’re the
most likely lead-acid batteries to be
used in off-grid applications.
A relatively new technology, lithium-
based batteries are engineered for
performance and represent advanced
energy storage. Several configurations
are in use today, each with different
electrode and electrolyte chemistry,
charge and discharge characteristics,
specific energy, costs, and safety
factors. For this comparison with deep-
cycle FLA batteries, I’ll focus on lithium
iron phosphate batteries (LFP).
Lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO 4)
technology, also called “lithium ferro
phosphate,” is named after its cathode
material. LFP batteries are gaining
popularity for automotive, offshore, and
off-grid use as a direct replacement for
lead-acid batteries.
Safety is a widely publicized concern
with lithium batteries. Lithium-ion
batteries are under internal pressure
and contain a flammable electrolyte, so
they need to be durably packaged, and
handled and charged with extreme care.
6 MOTHER EARTH NEWS COLLECTOR SERIES • MODERN HOMESTEADING
MH22.indb 6
Lead-acid batteries (left) are tried and true, and lithium iron batteries (right) offer modern simplicity.
Lithium-ion is not the same as lithium
iron phosphate, the LFP batteries referred
to in this article. LFP uses an inherently
safer, more stable design based on
different electrode alloys and electrolyte.
Lifetime. Battery lifetime is expressed
as the number of charge and discharge
cycles a battery can survive before
losing a certain percentage of capacity.
Deeper discharge results in fewer total
cycles and overall reduced lifetime.
Deep-cycle batteries are considered
durable enough to withstand repeated
discharging of 80% of their total
LFP batteries are gaining
popularity for automotive,
offshore, and off-grid use.
capacity, or 80% “depth of discharge”
(DOD).
Batteries used in off-grid applications
are often heavily cycled at partial states
of charge, meaning that energy is drawn
out of them over the course of a day or
more, followed by some recharging, but
it may be several days, or even weeks,
before they’re fully recharged. This is
especially hard on lead-based batteries,
and also makes it difficult to interpret
the manufacturer’s battery cycle life
chart to predict longevity. It may be
tempting to predict that my average
seven-year battery life expectancy
(2,555 cycles) translates to an average
DOD of 35 to 40%, but many factors
are at play. Ultimately, lead will
shed from the electrodes, depleting
them quicker during periods of high
discharge rates, partial charge levels, or
elevated heat.
LFP batteries have a considerably
greater lifetime than FLA batteries,
with far more charge and discharge
cycles available, and less dramatic
partial charge degradation.
Capacity. Batter y capacity is
typically expressed in terms of how
many amperes (amps) of current can
be delivered over a period of time.
For example, a common deep-cycle
lead-acid battery indicates that it can
deliver 75 amps for 115 minutes. A
more meaningful capacity term is
the amp-hour (Ah), which expresses
how many hours a battery can deliver
energy until its specified end-point
voltage is reached and the battery dies.
Battery spec sheets provide ratings
that reflect the capacity at different
discharge rates over time. These ratings
are expressed as a number followed
by the letter C. For example, a “20C”
rate indicates that a 6-volt battery can
deliver 225 Ah when discharged at a
PAUL SCHECKEL (3); PAGE 5: ADOBE STOCK/HAITAUCHER39
consistent rate over 20 hours. Doing
the math reveals that the 20C rate of
this battery is 11.25 amps (225 Ah ÷ 20
hours = 11.25 amps). That same battery
used at a higher discharge rate might
have a capacity of 146 Ah, indicating
that less energy is available from the
battery at higher discharge rates.
Ah tells us how many amps a battery
can deliver over time at a certain rate,
but it doesn’t fully quantify the energy
3/29/22 2:30 PM
 stored in a battery. Energy is
power (watts) delivered over time
(hours). Watts are calculated by
multiplying volts by amps. The
225-Ah, 6-volt example above
can be wired in series to achieve
the required battery bank voltage.
Since Ah already has a time factor
built in, all we have to do is
multiply 6 volts by 225 Ah to get
1,350 watt-hours (Wh). Divide
Wh by 1,000 to express energy
storage capacity in the more Corrosion can build up on FLA battery terminal
familiar term of kilowatt-hours connections if they’re not properly maintained.
(kWh), which is how electric
companies bill us for the electricity
we consume. For perspective, a 100-
watt lightbulb that’s lit for 10 hours
consumes 1,000 Wh, or 1 kWh.
A wide variety of sizes and capacities
are available for LFP batteries. Case
configurations make direct replacement
of FLA possible. Because of the higher
charge and discharge rates possible with
LFP, you may see fractional C-values
(such as 0.5C), which indicate a charge
or discharge period of under an hour.
Specific energy. Sometimes called
“energy density,” specific energy is
energy per unit of weight. Our example
FLA battery stores 1,350 Wh and weighs
67 pounds, so it has a specific energy of
20.1 Wh per pound (1,350 ÷ 67 ). For
perspective, a gallon of gasoline weighs
6.3 pounds and stores the equivalent
of approximately 36,000 Wh, with
a specific energy of about 5,714 Wh
per pound. The specific energy of LFP
batteries is over 40 Wh per pound.
Charge and discharge dynamics.
Charge and discharge dynamics in
PAUL SCHECKEL (3); PAGE 5: ADOBE STOCK/HAITAUCHER39
FLA batteries are driven by lead-based
electrode plates immersed in a sulfuric
acid and water electrolyte solution.
As the battery is charged, lead oxide
builds up on the positive plates, and the
electrolyte becomes stronger. During
discharge, the electrolyte solution grows
weaker as both electrodes become lead
sulfide, having absorbed sulfuric acid
from the electrolyte. During discharge,
the voltage drops predictably. The
state of charge of an FLA battery can
be determined by reading the resting
voltage of the battery. Battery voltage in
conjunction with a hydrometer reading
of the specific gravity of the electrolyte
in each cell can reveal a lot about the
state of charge and overall health of an
FLA battery.
The charge and discharge dynamics
in LFP batteries differ from FLA in
terms of the electrochemical process,
but it can be described in a similar way.
During discharge, positively charged
lithium ions move within lithium salt
electrolyte from the negative electrode to
the positive electrode. Electrons are
carried from the negative electrode,
through the electric circuit, and
back to the positive electrode.
One distinct difference between
FLA and LFP batteries’ reactions
is that FLA chemistry happens on
the surface of the lead electrodes,
while ions in the nonliquid
electrolyte of LFP batteries are
fully absorbed into the crystalline
structure of the electrodes.
You can’t easily determine the
state of charge of LFP batteries with
a voltmeter, because the battery
voltage remains fairly constant over a
wide range of discharge depths. Those
who switch from FLA to LFP may find
this, as I did, a bit flummoxing. When
the voltage finally drops, it means the
battery needs to recharge. The best way
to understand and manage charge cycling
is to use a properly calibrated monitor
that tracks energy going in and out of
the battery bank. Because of the sensitive
nature of LFP chemistry and tight limits
on charge and discharge parameters,
manufacturers provide an electronic
battery management system (BMS)
to help prevent charge- and discharge-
related battery damage. The BMS may
also include a capacity monitor.
Charging. Charging must be
performed using the proper “charge
profile,” meaning the correct voltage
and current for a prescribed amount of
time to rejuvenate a battery’s chemistry,
ensure maximum lifetime, and avoid
potentially catastrophic failure. Voltage
and current requirements change over
the course of the charge cycle.

Comparison of Battery Energy and Cost Metrics

In this table, you’ll see that the upfront cost for the LFP battery is substantially more than that for the FLA. (Battery manufacturers suggest that
costs will decrease over time with advances in technology and manufacturing efficiency.) You can also see that the LFP battery has over twice
the specific energy as the FLA; this is ideal where space and weight are a concern.

Battery Capacity, Wh, Single Cost/ Weight Specific Energy

Chemistry 20-hour rate Battery Cost kWh (pounds) (Wh/pound)
FLA 1,350 $150 $111 67 20.1

LFP 1,421 $1,075 $757 30 47.4

SELF-RELIANCE • WWW.MOTHEREARTHNEWS.COM 7

MH22.indb 7 3/29/22 2:30 PM


As a battery fills up, the charge
current needs to decrease to avoid
overheating. If the current is too
high, the battery heats up.
When the battery heats up, it
accepts a charge faster and heats
up even more. Soon, the battery is
in “thermal runaway,” and its life
will be significantly reduced in a very
short time.
Typically, FLA charge current
shouldn’t be much more than 10%
of the capacity rating, though higher
current can be tolerated if the
temperature is closely monitored.
Periodically, FLA batteries should
be “equalized,” which is a controlled
overcharge that helps reverse sulfation
(lead sulfate crystal growth) on the
plates. Most modern battery chargers
are sophisticated enough to manage
a complex three-stage charge profile
automatically.
In LFP batteries, charging is the
reverse of discharging in terms of ion
and electron transfer. Most modern
off-grid battery chargers (solar and
inverter-integrated) are adjustable
to accommodate the specific LFP
charge profile. This is essentially a
two-stage charge consisting of bulk
and float charges. Conventional FLA
charging schemes don’t belong in the
Cycle Life Cost Analysis
These tables compare the same two batteries over a lifetime of use at a 20 and 80 percent depth of discharge (DOD), respectively. Column 1
shows the manufacturer’s stated number of charge and discharge cycles at the specified DOD. Column 2 is the calculated energy that a single
battery can deliver in kWh over its cycle life at the specified DOD. Column 3 is how many FLA batteries are needed to deliver equivalent lifetime
kWh of one LFP battery. Column 4 is the cost of batteries from Column 3, based on current prices. Column 5 is an estimate of the lifetime cost
per kWh for each battery type to deliver the same energy.
Battery No. of Charge and
Chemistry Discharge Cycles
FLA 4,000
LFP 12,000
FLA 1,000
LFP 5,000
8 MOTHER EARTH NEWS COLLECTOR SERIES • MODERN HOMESTEADING
MH22.indb 8
Lead-acid batteries haven’t
changed much and have a
long history of dependability
and affordability.
LFP world. That is, no equalizing,
trickle charging, or temperature
compensation should try to be used.
LFP batteries have a very low
internal resistance and can accept
very high charge currents. This often
results in much faster recharge times.
An LFP battery’s BMS is designed to
prevent damage due to overcharging
and over-temperature operation.
Temperature. Temperature affects
the chemical reactions within a
battery. Higher temperatures mean
faster charge and discharge capability.
However, if the temperature is too
high, the battery will deteriorate quite
rapidly. Lead-acid batteries operate
best around 80 degrees Fahrenheit.
Much colder than 70 degrees, and
capacity is noticeably reduced; much
warmer than 90 degrees, and longevity
is negatively affected.
Temperature consistency is always
important for LFP battery operation,
but not to the same degree as the
Single Battery Life, No. of Batteries,
kWh Delivered Lifetime
At 20% DOD
1,080
3,410
At 80% DOD
1,080
5,683
FLA batteries. The operational
temperature range for charging is
between 32 and 113 degrees, though
colder temperatures are acceptable
for discharge and storage.
Efficiency. FLA batteries average
about 75% efficiency, this meaning
25% more energy needs to be put
into an FLA battery than was taken
out to fully recharge it.
LFP efficiency is in the range of 95
to 98%, resulting in shorter charging
times and higher current delivery to
the load with much less heat. More
efficient charging means a smaller, less
costly PV array, fewer hours on the
generator, and lower energy cost if you
charge batteries from the grid.
Off-gassing. Off-gassing occurs
when lead-acid batteries release
hydrogen gas at the negative plates and
oxygen at the positive plates during
charging and heavy discharge. This is
a potentially explosive combination,
which can be exacerbated by the
production of hydrogen sulfide gas
boiling off the electrolyte while the
battery is charging.
Storage batteries are often enclosed
in boxes in the basement or utility
room of an off-grid home; it’s very
important to seal and ventilate the
battery box with a fan ducted to the
Lifetime Lifetime
Battery Cost Cost/kWh
3.2 $474 $0.139
1 $1,075 $0.315
5.3 $789 $0.139
1 $1,075 $0.189
3/29/22 2:30 PM

outdoors while drawing fresh air
into the battery box.
Off-gassing is nonexistent in
LFP batteries, because they’re
sealed and the electrolyte doesn’t
boil off.
Maintenance. In addition to
proper charge and temperature
management, FLA batteries need to
have their electrolyte checked and
refilled monthly. You’ll probably need
to clean corrosion off some of the
terminal connections as well; applying
anti-corrosion grease or spray will help.
Be aware that when FLA batteries
are in a partially discharged state for
any length of time, or if the electrolyte
dips low enough to expose the plates
to air, sulfation will occur rapidly,
insulating the plates against the
required chemical reactions. Sulfation
is difficult, if not impossible, to
reverse if the battery isn’t properly
maintained.
Maintenance for LFP batteries
amounts to checking and tightening
connections as needed. There’s no
electrolyte to check, and corrosion
isn’t a problem for LFP batteries.
On the topic of maintenance, one
thing you should consider is that lead-
acid batteries have been around a long
time, and technicians have plenty of
experience with them, but I can’t say
the same for relatively new lithium-
based batteries.
Recycling. Recycling lead-acid
batteries is fairly straightforward
and extremely important for the
environment, but should done
cautiously. Lead is a toxic material that
needs to be handled safely and kept
out of landfills. Take the old battery
Each battery type has pros
and cons; consider your needs
and personal preferences
when making a decision.
to an auto parts store or salvage yard
for recycling.
LFP batteries should really try
to be recycled, even though they’re
considered nontoxic and both landfill
and incinerator friendly.
Cost and performance. I found
disparity in how LFP battery performance
is reported among manufacturers, and
even by the same manufacturer, especially
concerning the relationship between
capacity and DOD.
Most LFP manufacturers provide
a cycle life cost analysis that, not
surprisingly, favors LFP over FLA.
Their analyses are fair in that they
put values on FLA maintenance labor
and grid charging costs, but the data
used doesn’t always compare apples
to apples. So I’ve decided to present a
comparison of one FLA battery to one
LFP battery of similar size and capacity
made by the same manufacturer to
eliminate some uncertainty.
I’ve compiled the information into
comparison tables that can be found
on Pages 7 and 8. These tables don’t
include costs to maintain and replace
FLA battery banks, as most off-
gridders actively participate in these
activities. They also don’t factor in the
cost to buy grid power or to operate a
fossil fuel generator to charge batteries.
Unless you rely 100% on renewable
energy for charging, this can be an
important factor in determining
lifetime cost-effectiveness.
Note that these figures I’ve put
together reflect ideal conditions
of charge and discharge regime,
temperature, and maintenance.
Based on my experience,
lead-acid batteries in off-grid
homes offer affordable storage with
acceptable performance. However, I
can’t say I ever look forward to adding
water, cleaning terminals, exposing
myself to toxic and explosive gases, or
lifting and transporting 100-pound
anchors every seven years, and I’ve
certainly lost my share of clothing over
the years to dripping electrolyte.
If you’re considering LFP batteries,
ask the dealer, installer, or energy
consultant plenty of questions to make
sure apples are compared to apples
during the process; it’s important to
make sure you get the evaluation you
need. And regardless of which battery
type you choose, make sure you fully
understand the warranty, which is
typically prorated based on age for
both FLA and LFP, but may change
based on how the batteries are used.
I’m due for a batter y bank
replacement soon, and haven’t yet
decided which technology I’ll end
up with; it’s hard to know for sure.
If upfront cost weren’t a huge issue,
lithium would be the winner based
solely on longevity and the lack of
maintenance it requires. Each battery
type has pros and cons to it based on
its lifespan and durability. You should
make sure you take time to thoroughly
research both, and consider your own
energy needs, and personal preferences
before you make your final decision.

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SELF-RELIANCE • WWW.MOTHEREARTHNEWS.COM 9

MH22.indb 9 3/29/22 2:30 PM

 Homesteading on
Marginal
Land

SHAWN AND BETH DOUGHERTY (3)

Don’t shy away from steep

or weedy land — you can
restore it to health.

10 MOTHER EARTH NEWS XXXX/XXXX XXXX

MH22.indb 10 3/29/22 2:30 PM

 Use an imaginative eye to find land for a farm, of a picture-perfect Old MacDonald farm
began to give way to something not only
and transform it with sound husbandry practices. more affordable, but also much more
realistic. We simplified our expectations
and eliminated barns, fences, and stock
By Beth and Shawn Dougherty cruising back roads, searching for anything water systems from our “must have”
that looked unloved. We waded through list—those things could be improvised,

M
any of us share the ideal of briar-infested yards to peer through broken after all—and searched instead for land
finding a place in the country windows and poke into spider-haunted that wasn’t completely inaccessible, and
where we can grow good, barns. We read bulletin boards in area that had some kind of house.
clean food in an environment of our grocery stores and gas stations. Our image Still, when we picked our way down a
choosing—a home, and perhaps a refuge
in tumultuous times. A retreat. A haven.
Despite the idyllic image, high land prices
and an overall lack of affordable farms can
make what should be an exciting bid for
independence feel like brooding defeat.
But what if we were to realize that little
farms can be found in practically every
locale, hidden from view and just waiting
for a budding farmer to adopt them? And
what if these small farms were among the
most reasonably priced land out there?
It may sound too good to be true, but
all land is, well, land, and most of it will
grow something, however abused or
neglected it’s been. When we realize this,
our possibilities suddenly widen. Modern
small farmers can partner with their
own animals to take poor, neglected, or
abused land and rebuild it into a fertile,
regenerative ecosystem. Any place with
dirt and water, ruminants, and a farmer to
manage them can be a homestead.

A Discouraging Search
We didn’t know this 20 years ago.
Our purchase of a small plot, designated
“not suitable for agriculture” by the state
of Ohio, was less an act of hope than
one of desperation. Even looking for a
farm had been intimidating. Real estate
agents seemed unwilling to respect our
desire to stay under budget—something
we felt was necessary to save money for
improvements — and they insisted on
showing us properties that were out of our
price range.
SHAWN AND BETH DOUGHERTY (3)

Depressing as this was, it gave us an idea

of what was out there, as did searching the
classifieds, where nice places commanded
astronomical prices. Anything in our
ballpark was postage-stamp small or
completely vertical. All the good places Mobile chicken tractors of various sizes come in handy for protecting birds from predators
seemed to be taken already. We began while the flock performs pest control and fertilizes the soil.

SELF-RELIANCE • WWW.MOTHEREARTHNEWS.COM 11

MH22.indb 11 3/29/22 2:30 PM

 Mixed-species grazing and goat- and sheep-powered brush removal make use of the natural characteristics of hilly, neglected land.
steep, overgrown track to see an $11,000
house and 17 acres offered through a
terse ad in the local classifieds, we weren’t
thinking, “This is it!” The rocky hillside
was covered in trash, trees, and briars.
Although the small house was structurally
sound, it had unhinged doors, broken
windows, and dangling fixtures. It was
far from the farm of our dreams, but it
would get us out of the city. We figured
we could fix it up and sell it later, making
enough to afford a down payment on a
real farm. Little did we know, the day we
started hauling away trash and drove in a
picket for the goat tether, we were already
beginning to build a diverse ecosystem.
Land Worth Improving
Looking back, we were lucky in several
ways. In addition to two small creeks
that converged on the property, our steep
The entire farm benefits from a few cows transforming pasture into nutrient-packed milk.
12 MOTHER EARTH NEWS COLLECTOR SERIES • MODERN HOMESTEADING
MH22.indb 12
land would help us move captured water
from one point to another. Our east-west-
oriented hollow captured more sunlight
on its south-facing side than we could’ve
hoped for if the valley ran north to south.
And the variations in slope and aspect also
meant the land had many microclimates:
warm, cool, wet, dry, sunny, and shaded,
in many combinations. Finally, our nearest
neighbors also had a little cleared land they
weren’t using—too bare, steep, and rocky
to be called a pasture—and which they
were willing to lend to us.
We had a lot to do, so we dove right in. It
was only natural that, as the goats merrily
chomped through the thorny undergrowth
that sprawled over most of our property,
we should find ourselves moving them
almost daily to new grazing areas. A light
went on when we stumbled on books
and videos by Joel Salatin, Greg Judy,
and Allan Savory. Moving our goats daily
reduced tall top growth, added manure
and urine, disturbed the soil surface, and
allowed long rest periods for the land—
activities that built up the topsoil and let
sunlight in to encourage the growth of
grasses and legumes. We’d reinvented a
rudimentary form of rotational grazing!
We refined our methods according to
these experts’ advice, and in a remarkably
short time, the briars were in retreat.
Weedy grass moved in at first, but gave
way over time to rich volunteer carpets
of clover and orchard grass, perennial
rye, and tall bluegrass. We added a dairy
cow and a calf, followed by a handful of
sheep, and the different dietary needs of
each species had complementary impacts
on forage growth. Previously rocky and
eroded slopes lost their sharp edges under
this mix of hooves. Grass seeds driven
into the soil were given time to germinate
CLOCKWISE FROM BOTTOM LEFT: FLICKR/SCOT NELSON; SHAWN AND BETH DOUGHERTY (4)
and establish, softening our steep hillsides
with thick greenery. The neighbors, at first
openly skeptical, became enthusiastic and
offered us the use of their neglected field.
Their field also responded quickly to the
influx of carbon and manure that our
animals’ periodic grazing provided.
Our thin, rocky soil made gardening
in intensive raised beds a necessity. With
all the free soil amendments we could
scavenge—including piles of unwanted
manure from neighbors with horses, and
rotted sawdust from a local mill — our
soil improvement program took off.
Eventually, we added pigs, and their
composted bedding built up the raised
beds where we grew winter greens and root
vegetables year-round under low tunnels.
3/29/22 2:30 PM
 At left, a weedy slope before rotational mixed-species grazing, and at right, grass flourishing in the same area.
Having initially fenced the chickens out
of the garden, we began fencing them in,
using our poultry to clean empty raised
beds, turn deep mulch, and graze and
till beds planted with green manures.
In addition to their garden work, the
chickens served as fertilizer spreaders in
the pasture, where they scratched through
manure piles looking for seeds and insects.
They laid plenty of orange-yolked eggs for
our breakfast table too.
Watering the Flock
With our animals constantly out
grazing, we had to find ways to provide
them water in the pasture. Carrying water
in buckets to our tethered goats could
be a good workout, but dairy cows
require many more gallons of water
per day. Our well was barely adequate
for our household needs. Very short-
term grazing along the sides of
CLOCKWISE FROM BOTTOM LEFT: FLICKR/SCOT NELSON; SHAWN AND BETH DOUGHERTY (4)
our two creeks — a practice called
“flash grazing”—had smoothed the
exposed soil and allowed grass to
grow to water level, strengthening the
banks and protecting them against
floods. But we had pastures to graze away
from the creeks, which couldn’t support
year-round grazing anyway. So we installed
lengths of perforated French-drain pipe
in perennially damp spots in our upper
pasture, and directed this captured water
into inexpensive used shipping containers
with 300-gallon capacities. We gravity-fed
the water through ordinary garden hoses
to half-barrels equipped with stock-water
valves. Even our children could easily drag
the half-barrels to anywhere in the pasture,
and we had water everywhere on the farm
MH22.indb 13
without using our challenged aquifer. We
could even put running water in the barn!
Sunshine to Rocket Fuel
Our goats’ milk had been a happy source
of good, fresh fats and proteins to pour over
our morning bowls of oatmeal, or to turn
into tart feta. But Isabel, the Jersey cow,
and her calf brought further revolution to
the farm. Our daily allotment of sunshine
was being transformed into rocket fuel.
Initially somewhat intimidated by
the quantities in which it was being
delivered—a grass-fed Jersey can produce
multiple gallons of milk daily for much
of the year—we soon discovered all the
While the flavor and
quality of our diet
skyrocketed, our grocery
and feed bills plummeted.
ways that milk is the premier source of
high-quality, home-produced fat and
protein for every appetite on the farm.
Our table overflowed with butter, hard
and soft cheeses, yogurt, kefir, sour cream,
and more. Plus, the dairy surplus and
byproducts provided invaluable farm
fuel. Milk feeds the whole farm: calves;
pigs, which can grow from weanling to
slaughter weight on whey and grass alone;
and poultry, which require no other
protein supplement in their ration than
clabbered raw milk, while young birds
fortified with raw milk resist coccidiosis.
The farm dogs and cats, our guardians
and pest-control systems, benefited from
milk too.
A low-level dilution of raw milk is a
proven antifungal drench for the garden.
Diluted whey is also excellent plant food,
either as a side dressing or a foliar feed, and
it gives bacterial activity in the compost
pile a tremendous boost of sugars, proteins,
and beneficial microorganisms.
At Long Last, Self-Sufficiency
Our farming took on a whole new
dimension with the advent of the grass-fed
Jersey cow. We weren’t dabblers anymore.
Our poultry and garden would have
been overwhelmed by the milk
our cow produced, inspiring us to
purchase our first pig. Garden and
food waste we’d been composting
instead started to go to the pigs, where
it was transformed into bacon and
pork chops, as well as vast quantities
of nitrogen-saturated carbon in
the form of soiled bedding for the
compost bins. Practically everything
on our table came from our small acreage.
We routinely sat down to a bountiful array
of fresh vegetables, herbs, fruits, and eggs,
as well as meat, butter, milk, and cheese
from our exclusively grass-fed animals.
And while the flavor and quality of our
diet skyrocketed, our grocery and feed
bills plummeted. Our land fed us with the
highest-quality food we had ever eaten,
and our farming practices fed the land as
well, visibly building soil, fertility, diversity,
and drought- and flood-resistance.
Building a local foodshed isn’t just a
SELF-RELIANCE • WWW.MOTHEREARTHNEWS.COM 13
3/29/22 2:30 PM
 romantic dream. The first step is no farther
than the nearest abandoned acreage, and
you don’t need a degree in environmental
science to apply — start with whatever’s
already growing, some grazing animals,
and a little daily devotion. We can restart
the ecological give-and-take that grew
our soil in the first place. In fact, it’s the
investment tip of the century: Build
prosperity and abundance straight from
the earth. Affordable farms are everywhere,
right under our noses!
The Basic Land Checklist
For those of us who’ve never owned
land, knowing what to look for can be a
little overwhelming. We found it helpful
to make a list of priorities:
Location. Know where you want to
be, based on factors from family and
employment to climate and cultural
conditions. If you’re thinking of
producing goods for sale, where are
your customers? Understand the market
potential in the region you’re considering.
Accessibility. Before you submit an
offer, make sure you know how you’re
going to get in and out of your land. Also
consider the route for any large equipment
you plan to bring in or out — a wind
turbine, for example, or a truckload of
building materials.
Water. Before you seriously consider
any piece of land, make sure it has
ample water year-round. Where is it
coming from—is it well, spring, surface,
or city water — how good
is it, and is it accessible all
12 months of the year?
Residence. Are you going to
live on this land? Doing so isn’t
a necessity — living within a
short walk or drive of your farm
can give you the privileges of
small town or village residence
as well as many of the benefits
and pleasures of farm life. But
if you do plan to live on your
land, you’ll need a dwelling.
Know what your minimum
requirements are: The simpler
your needs are, the more pieces
of land you can consider, and
the cheaper they’ll be. Grazing technique is essential for creating lush pastures full of
Previous use. How has the good grass and clover for your livestock.
14 MOTHER EARTH NEWS COLLECTOR SERIES • MODERN HOMESTEADING
MH22.indb 14
Above: A pipe delivers a small, steady stream
of water from a pasture seep to a tank. Right:
The stream with healthy bank vegetation.
land been treated in the past? Mining can
leave heavy metals in the soil; so can other
kinds of land management.
Commercial animal production may
also nix plans to raise certain species on
your land; an outbreak of hog cholera on
a nearby farm left it potentially unsafe for
raising pigs for more than 30 years.
Old building sites may have hidden
potholes or imperfectly filled cellars, as
well as fiberglass or asbestos hazards. Ask
as many questions as you can about the
land before you make an offer.
Neighbors. Getting acquainted with
potential neighbors is useful. Introduce
yourself, ask questions, and listen to the
answers. Neighboring land use can and
will affect your future plans, as when you
discover an avid grower of rare roses right
next to where you planned your goat-
grazing operation.
Local knowledge of a parcel’s previous
use can help with farm planning too, such
as when a neighbor mentions a spot that
floods every April, saving you a poorly
placed spring garden bed. You might be
able to exchange land care for pasture
space—the bulk of our pasture actually
belongs to three different sets of neighbors.
Remember that you’ll be entering an
established social structure wherever you
buy land. Consider how your strongest
opinions and most idiosyncratic
behaviors will fit into the culture of the
place you’re hoping to live.
Premiums. Keep an eye out for
unexpected assets. Trees will provide
shade, lumber, and firewood. Surface
water can serve as irrigation,
stock water, a fishing spot, or
a swimming hole. Neighbors
might give you manure, and
their unused fields might be
available for lease or lend.
Established fruit or nut
trees, berry canes, and bushes
will produce years before you
can expect your new plantings
to do so. South-facing slopes,
wind breaks, and shelterbelts
SHAWN AND BETH DOUGHERTY (3)
are all substantial assets.
So if you’re looking for
farmland, keep a weather eye
out for neglected corners you
can bring to life. They’re more
common than you might
think.
3/29/22 2:30 PM
 “The creation of a thousand
forests is in one acorn.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson
FOTOLIA / SAKURA

MH22.indb 15 3/29/22 2:33 PM

 Security and
Monitoring
Systems
for the Homestead
Many modern devices will track temperature
and movement around your home.
By Tim Nephew
O
n a warm and sunny day in
January, my wife and I sat on
the porch of our friend’s home
in Arizona. We live in a rural area in
northern Minnesota, so we felt like we
were in paradise compared with the frigid
weather and heavy snow back home.
As we were sitting there, my cellphone
notified me of an incoming email, and I
16 MOTHER EARTH NEWS COLLECTOR SERIES • MODERN HOMESTEADING
MH22.indb 16
took a quick glance at the message. The
email had been sent from my house by
my Wi-Fi enabled thermostat. It was
warning me that the temperature in my
house was down to 40 degrees Fahrenheit.
With the outside temperatures at 10 below
zero and falling, if I didn’t get my furnace
restarted and running, I could possibly
experience frozen pipes and the potential
for thousands of dollars in repair costs.
Fortunately, because I was notified of the
problem, I was able to call a local repair
company and get it fixed in time
Rural homeowners — especially those
with extreme weather conditions — are
sometimes reluctant to travel because
they worry about what could happen to
an unattended home while they’re away.
Security and monitoring systems have
come a long way in recent years, enabling
services that allow you to monitor your
home’s heat, electricity, and security.
Internet Access
GETTY IMAGES/DSZC
Many options are available for
monitoring and receiving notifications
for your rural property, but almost all
rely on good internet access. In my home
3/29/22 2:30 PM
 state of Minnesota, 90% of all residents
have access to high-speed internet, but
only 79% of rural residents have the same
bandwidth. High-speed internet usually
has the ability to download information
at 25 megabits per second (Mbps) and
upload at 3 Mbps.
While not having high-speed internet
doesn’t preclude you from taking
advantage of some automation options,
some products require high-speed
connections to function properly. The four
connection options usually available
to rural internet users are: DSL, cable
TV, satellite, and Wi-Fi. Here’s a
brief primer on the various methods
available for receiving internet in
rural locations.
Digital subscriber line (DSL)
is a means of using your telephone
line to connect to the internet
by transmitting digital data over
the wires of a local telephone
network without interfering with
the telephone service. The obvious
advantage of using DSL is that you get
internet and phone capabilities from one
phone line. The drawback is that DSL
tends to be slower than other services, and
it isn’t always available through rural phone
carriers. Also, using DSL may require you
to purchase additional equipment, such as
GETTY IMAGES/DSZC
a DSL modem.
If you have cable television, you’re likely
familiar with cable internet service. The
cable internet connection is accomplished
MH22.indb 17
by connecting your standard cable
connection to a cable modem. This
connection allows you to use wireless
communication throughout your home.
While the speed of cable is usually twice
as fast as DSL, its availability in rural areas
may be limited, or even nonexistent.
Satellite internet access is provided
through communication satellites. These
satellites can offer high-speed data to
virtually any location in the continental
United States, giving even the most remote
In some cases, being in a
rural area can come with
even more risk for break-ins
or property damage.
rural user access to the internet. Because
satellite requires a dish and installation,
users may incur higher installation costs,
activation charges, and monthly leasing
fees for equipment. Most satellite providers
also require a longer contract than other
internet providers.
The connection speeds for satellite
providers have improved in recent years,
and they’re generally equal to entry-level
DSL and cable plans. To successfully
mount a satellite dish, you must have
an uninterrupted line of sight, which
can be a problem in heavily wooded
areas. Inclement weather may also create
disruptions in your signal. Users may also
have monthly data caps, which, when
exceeded, will either shut down your
service for the month or decrease your
internet speed until the next billing cycle.
If you have good cellphone service where
you live, Wi-Fi internet may be an option
for you. Internet service is transmitted to
your cellphone, tablet, or computer
through a series of cellular telephone
towers over large geographical
areas. Wi-Fi may be slower in some
coverage areas than DSL, but you
don’t have the expense of a landline
plus the internet. Also, you can
take your internet service with you
when you travel. However, with
most Wi-Fi plans—regardless of the
method used to deliver your internet
connection—you’re only allowed as
much usage as your plan provides. If
you go over the amount of allotted data
in your plan, you may be billed the excess
at a much higher rate, or have your access
limited at the end of the month.
Wi-Fi Thermostats
After experiencing the benefits of home
monitoring firsthand, I now understand
its value. As mentioned previously, if
I hadn’t been notified of my furnace
malfunction, my costs could’ve gone well
SELF-RELIANCE • WWW.MOTHEREARTHNEWS.COM 17
3/29/22 2:30 PM
 into the tens of thousands of dollars from
damage caused by burst water pipes. Wi-
Fi enabled thermostats are one of the least
expensive methods of providing essential
monitoring of your home’s temperature,
no matter where you live.
Wi-Fi thermostats are a fairly simple
installation if you have some DIY
experience. The thermostats can be
purchased at most home improvement
stores, or online. The thermostat can be
programmed based on your heating and
cooling preferences, and some can also
“learn” your preferences by following your
heating and cooling cycles over a period of
time. The thermostats can also be set to
follow schedules for heating and cooling,
and to send alerts based on heating or
cooling thresholds that you select. If the
temperature in your home goes above
or below a preset temperature level, the
thermostat will generate an email, text, or
both to one or more contacts.
For Wi-Fi connected thermostats to
work, you must have wireless internet
capability in your home. A variety of
products are available, with prices ranging
from about $70 to $300 based on quality
and features.
Home Security Systems
One of the main attractions of living
in a rural area is privacy and peacefulness.
But it can also have its drawbacks, such as
Wi-Fi enabled security cameras can be accessed from your phone or computer.
18 MOTHER EARTH NEWS COLLECTOR SERIES • MODERN HOMESTEADING
MH22.indb 18
Wi-Fi enabled thermostats are one of the least expensive options for monitoring your home’s
temperature (left). Professionally installed security systems are all-encompassing (right).
slower emergency response times. In some
cases, being in a rural area can come with
even more risk for break-ins or property
damage, because fewer people are around
to observe and report suspicious activity.
A dog can be a great security system,
but dogs can’t use a telephone to call for
assistance if they smell smoke or detect
a home break-in when you’re away from
home. Home security systems can give
you the ability to monitor your property
24 hours a day, no matter where you are.
Options are available for smart security
systems, from DIY to professionally
installed and monitored systems. Some
DIY systems also offer monitoring
capabilities. If you aren’t ready for a full-
blown security system, choose from a
variety of individual devices to monitor
your home remotely, such as indoor and
outdoor cameras, smart doorbells, motion
sensors, and smart door locks.
DIY Security System
A DIY system is a great option if
you prefer to tackle your own projects.
There are a lot of different components
and configurations. These range from
a single door sensor to a system with
motion sensors, broken-glass detection,
and cameras. DIY systems allow you to
tailor the system to fit your individual
needs. To get the alerts via email or phone,
you’ll need wireless internet or cellular
connectivity with most systems. There’s
also an option for a third party to remotely
monitor your property. Systems can be left
on continuously, or only turned on when
you leave.
Pricing for DIY systems varies, starting
at about $150 for basic door, window, and
motion sensors, and ranging upward to
$500 for multicomponent systems. Some
DIY systems offer home monitoring
CLOCKWISE FROM LOWER LEFT: GETTY IMAGES (4)/ PHONLAMAIPHOTO, SILAS BUBOLU, BRIANAJACKSON, RONSTIK
with voice-supported commands starting
at $15 per month. Because there are no
installation or setup fees, a DIY system is
an affordable choice for home security.
Professionally Installed
Security System
While a DIY home security system
provides a good option for many people,
professionally installed security systems
tend to be more sophisticated and all-
encompassing. And for that reason, they
require expertise to properly set them up.
(The technician will also show you how
to operate the system after installation.)
It’s easy to spot houses that have these
systems, because they usually have signs or
window stickers advertising their presence.
Professional systems have been around a
long time, and, because of that longevity,
most are well-tested and come with good
coverage, reliability, and service. Most of
3/29/22 2:30 PM

Professionally installed security systems have good coverage, reliability, and service.
these systems are configured with a mix
of sensors and monitors, plus they have
the ability to incorporate new technology.
Professionally installed security systems
normally have a two-way control panel
that allows the company to contact you
if an alarm is triggered. If the company
can’t contact you via the panel, their
representatives may try to call your listed
telephone number. And if that fails, they’ll
call 911 to report the incident.
Professionally installed and monitored
systems are expensive. Expect to pay
CLOCKWISE FROM LOWER LEFT: GETTY IMAGES (4)/ PHONLAMAIPHOTO, SILAS BUBOLU, BRIANAJACKSON, RONSTIK
security camera, which can function as a
stand-alone security system at a low price.
You can also use these cameras around
your property to monitor livestock or keep
an eye on the pasture.
Almost all stand-alone security cameras
need to be connected to your home’s
Wi-Fi system, so you can monitor them
from your telephone or computer. The
cameras can detect motion and sound,
and you can be notified by the camera
via email when an event occurs. A lot
of cameras are weatherproof and can
picture quality. Most of the time, the
video is saved to the company’s cloud. The
cameras typically come with free limited
storage, and offer extended monthly
storage packages for a fee.
If you’re interested in monitoring a
remote building on your property, be
aware that you’re limited to the range of
your Wi-Fi system. You can purchase Wi-
Fi boosters that’ll significantly increase
your Wi-Fi coverage, but they’ll still
depend on the strength of your existing
system as a starting point. Costs for Wi-Fi
cameras vary by the number of cameras
and storage capability, but expect to
pay anywhere from $30 to $250 for a
single camera, depending on features,
or from $250 to $600 for bundled
packages — which usually include a
modem and multiple cameras.
Basic Monitoring Options
Although most security and
monitoring systems are designed
around computer and internet access,
some monitoring systems don’t require
Wi-Fi or cellular capability. Landline-
based temperature and moisture sensors
will tell you if your home temperature
drops below or above a predefined
temperature range, or if the moisture
sensor is activated. These systems are
programmed to dial multiple telephone

upfront equipment costs ranging from $90
to $400, as well as a monthly monitoring
fee that’s usually about $45. And you’re
typically required to sign a multiyear
service agreement with the company.
Wi-Fi Cameras
Another option worth exploring in a
rural environment is the Wi-Fi enabled
be located outdoors, as long as they’re
plugged into a GFCI outlet. If there’s no
electricity near the location where you
want to place a camera, consider opting
for a battery-powered Wi-Fi camera.
You can also create camera schedules
to automatically turn them on at certain
times of day or night. Most have good
night vision capability and high-definition
numbers if an alarm goes off, and they’ll
also notify you if your home loses power.
Security systems may also be
landline-based. And, in some cases,
these systems are more secure from
power loss failures. In addition, some
landlines have the ability to dial
without power to the home through
the fiber optics of the landline.

Product Recommendations
A lot of companies offer security or home automation products that accommodate rural users. Here are a few companies that I recommend:
Wi-Fi enabled thermostats: Honeywell (www.HoneywellHome.com) and Trane (www.TraneSupply.com).
DIY security systems: SimpliSafe (www.SimpliSafe.com) and Ring Home Security (www.Ring.com).
Professionally installed and monitored security systems: ADT Home Security (www.ADT.com/Home-Security ) and Vivint Home Security
(www.Vivint.com).
Wi-Fi enabled camera monitoring: Arlo Security Cameras (www.Arlo.com) and Ring Home Security (www.Ring.com).
Landline-based temperature and moisture monitoring: Sensaphone Remote Monitoring (www.Sensaphone.com/Products).

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 Living Off-Grid
without Money
By cutting costs, trading labor for equipment, and bartering
with neighbors, this family is able to live off-grid with no expenses.

Article and photos by Aur Beck than $6,500 a year. For the first 20 a majority of the expenses that most
years of my life, he filed taxes, but he people have:

L
iving without money in today’s
society is a challenge, but it’s
also satisfying. My dad led me
to this lifestyle; he didn’t like that his
tax money was going to support wars,
so he figured he wouldn’t earn more
didn’t have to pay, because he earned
less than the required amount to file.
Somehow, he convinced my mother,
and later, us kids to join him in taking
this voluntary vow of poverty.
To succeed, we needed to eliminate
House and land. We traded house-
sitting and land-sitting in exchange
for a place to stay. Eventually, we
bought a house under a contract for
deed, and we now rent out part of the
home to cover all its expenses, such

Renting out part of his

home helps the author
offset its expenses.

MH22.indb 20 3/29/22 2:30 PM

 To save money, the author and his family have traded their labor to cover the costs of raising livestock, and they travel by horse-drawn wagon.
as the monthly payment, taxes, and
insurance, while I exchange work for
some repairs.
Food. We grew a lot of our own
food wherever we were land-sitting,
bought in bulk, and ate at the bottom
of the food chain, with almost no meat
or dairy in our diets. We also worked
for farmers in exchange for bulk food.
Vehicle. We traveled by horse-
drawn wagon, and we had a truck for
work that brought in enough money
to cover the truck’s expenses.
Electricity. We lived completely off-
grid by going very low-tech and, later,
using solar power.
Health. We took care of ourselves,
with good food and plenty of exercise,
as a preventative for health impacts that
might require expensive health care.
Telephone. We only used a phone
for work that brought in enough
money to cover the phone’s expenses.
Trash. For years, we produced so little
trash that our neighbors would let us
share their service for the few small bags
we made each month. Now, my renters
pay enough to cover trash pickup.
Internet. I grew up before the
internet. Now, my renters or my
company pays enough to cover this
convenience.
Almost all of our homesteading
costs, from animals to seeds to hay,
were made through labor exchange, as
MH22.indb 21
most farmers needed work help more
than they needed money. Quality
laborers are hard to find.
We bartered with our neighbor,
who had all the equipment we needed
to hay our fields. Since we had nine
horses, we needed a lot of hay to make
it through winter. Our neighbors
helped us put up the hay as long as we
provided a majority of the labor and
they got to take home a percentage of
the hay baled. Most years, we put up
plenty extra to be able to sell or trade
some of the excess hay.
Mutually Beneficial Bartering
Have you ever bartered or haggled
for something you need?
It’s a common and fun country
pastime, where the goal isn’t to
outsmart the other person, but rather
to make it so both sides feel they got a
good deal. If you “outsmart” the other
person, they may later realize they got
a sour deal and decide they don’t want
to work with you again.
Bartering needs to lead to a mutually
beneficial transaction so both of you
can be friends and continue to do deals
in the future. It’s a way of thinking
long-term.
My favorite haggle was when I was
in Mexico for more than three months,
and I went to a farmers market. I
didn’t speak much Spanish, but after
20 minutes of animated gesturing, a
vendor enjoyed our haggling session
so much he gave me all the vegetables
I had picked out. Then, we started
haggling again, as I wanted to give him
money, and he was trying to explain
that he’d had so much fun that he
couldn’t take my money. In the end,
I had to just leave some money on the
table and run away laughing.
Another common barter I’ll do
is talk to a farmer during their busy
season and offer to take their “seconds”
(or less-than-perfect) tomatoes for a
trade or work exchange.
I don’t care what the tomatoes look
like, because I’ll cook them down in
my solar cooker into sauce to can.
After years of this, I have farmers call
me to pick up bushels of tomatoes
before they throw them out. The
disadvantage is that the tomatoes need
to be cut up, cooked, and canned right
away. These farmers like my offer, as
they hate throwing away their hard-
won produce.
My dad, who inspired this way of
life, regularly bartered with even large
items, such as horses and cars. The
precedent he set lives on through me,
and I hope my examples of this lifestyle
encourage you to step outside your
comfort zone in the money economy
and figure out ways to live that don’t
require much, or any, cash.
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 MH22.indb 22
3/29/22 2:30 PM
WWW.MASONRYHEATER.COM; PAGE 22: MAREN COOKE

(O
call b
 Masonry
Heaters
Warm Your
Home with
a Gentle
Giant
These super-efficient fireplaces
produce long-lasting, comfortable
warmth with less wood, work,
time, and worry.

By Ken Matesz

M
y mother didn’t raise no nincompoop, but she
did raise one heck of a lazy man. So, when I
got older and decided I was going to heat with
wood instead of fossil fuels, I didn’t go the route of most
homeowners. Instead of a cast-iron woodstove that would
need to be fed constantly, I installed an efficient, less labor- A cutaway view of the Envirotech Radiant Fireplace
intensive masonry heater in my home. reveals a complex flue pathway where heat exchange takes place.
Essentially, a masonry heater is an all-masonry fireplace
designed to capture the heat produced by a single load of have to touch another stick of firewood for the rest of the
firewood that burns rapidly at high temperature. The heater day. In winter, I have to do this twice every day — one load
WWW.MASONRYHEATER.COM; PAGE 22: MAREN COOKE

then radiates the stored heat over a long period of time, often
up to a full day. You may have heard of masonry heaters by
different names, such as Russian fireplaces, German stoves,
Finnish fireplaces, or maybe even kachelöfen. These names
all refer to a version of a masonry heater.
Most of fall and spring, all I do to heat my 900-square-
foot house is put a full load of wood — which for me is
about 25 pounds — into the firebox of my masonry heater,
get it burning with some newspaper and kindling, close the
door, and then sit back and watch my mini-inferno. I don’t
of fuel before breakfast, and then one more in the evening
before I go to bed. I can go to sleep knowing there’s no fire
burning in the house, but the heat is still on — no getting
out of a warm bed in the middle of the night to throw
another log or two into the woodstove.
For those of you who work away from home all day, this
probably sounds mighty appealing. You can heat your home
with wood even if no one is around to fuel the stove, and
then come home after a long day to find your home warm
and comfortable.

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MH22.indb 23 3/29/22 2:30 PM

(Opposite) Maren Cooke; masonryheater.com (coming soon) awaiting

call back to see when site goes up.
 makes living on it possible.
That same capacity is built
into a masonry heater.
Most masonry heaters
weigh between 1 and
5 tons. That’s 2,000 to
10,000 pounds of heat-
storing masonry mass!
Masonry heaters channel
hot exhaust from a fire
through a winding path of
flues built into the mass,
warming every ounce of
that massive structure. After
they’re warm, they stay that
way for a long time, like a
concrete driveway in hot
summer sun or that big
A view of the inside of a masonry heater (above) reveals the refractory bricks that make up the firebox and rock next to your favorite
flue system. The custom-built Maumee (below) takes up little more room than a typical metal woodstove. swimming hole.

How Does It Work? Flue Design

We usually expect heat to be generated only when something
is burning. So how the heck do you heat a living space for
12 hours or more without constantly stoking a fire with fuel?
The short answer is “with a battery.”
We walk on a huge battery every day and call it “Earth.” The
sun warms the Earth’s surface, which is where warm breezes
come from. The heat storage capacity of the world is what
Masonry heaters come in countless different designs and
dimensions, from squat and wide to tall and thin. Yet, they all
share a common design element in that they rely on a long maze
of flues. This is where the heat exchange takes place. The exhaust
from the fire leaves the firebox and circulates many feet along
a path that sometimes goes down, sometimes up, sometimes
left, sometimes right, sometimes forward, sometimes backward,

KEN MATESZ (4)

MH22.indb 24 3/29/22 2:30 PM

 before it finally exits the heater and floats up the chimney (see
illustration on Page 23).
All the flues are made with refractory masonry materials that
absorb the heat from the exhaust and charge the massive heat-
storage "battery." As a masonry heater designer, my goal is to
incorporate the right amount of surface area for heat exchange. I
want the maximum amount of heat extracted before the exhaust
reaches the chimney. If done correctly, just enough heat will be
left for the exhaust to rise up the chimney and out of the house.
The result is high-efficiency heating. Heating efficiency is a
measure of how much of the heat generated by burning fuel
actually stays in your house, contributing to your comfort.
When I design for maximum heat exchange in the heater, I’m
maximizing heating efficiency too.
After the fire is out and no more heat absorption is happening,
the heat stored in the mass starts migrating to the exterior of
the masonry heater. As the exterior of the heater gets warmer
and warmer, it emits more and more radiant heat into the living
space. It also directly heats air that passes by the surface of the
heater. When properly designed, it will continue to radiate and
transfer heat from its exterior surfaces for many hours after the
fire dies. The design of a masonry heater determines the length
of a heating period, typically at least 12 hours. Thus, two firing
sessions per day are sufficient to heat a living space for a full day,
even on the coldest days of winter.
KEN MATESZ (4)
Radiant Heat
One of the best things about a masonry heater is that it mostly
produces radiant heat. If you’re unsure what that means, go
MH22.indb 25
outside on a calm, sunny day, close your eyes, and turn your face
to the sun. The warmth you feel is the radiant heat of the sun
that traveled millions of miles to brush your rosy cheeks. The
radiant heat from a masonry heater has exactly the same feeling.
It’s not a heat that drives you out of the room, like that from a
metal woodstove when it’s glowing cherry-red. Masonry heaters
produce a calm, persistent, and gentle warmth that invites you
in like Grandma offering fresh-baked cookies.
The human body responds very positively to radiant heat.
Your skin relaxes when it comes into contact with gentle radiant
heat. Even the blood vessels in your skin respond positively,
opening and promoting good circulation and warmth.
Most homes these days aren’t really heated at all. Forced-air
furnaces — and woodstoves too — mainly heat air. Warm air
from a furnace serves as a blanket that reduces heat loss from
the people inside the heated space. If you heat with a forced-air
furnace, the air temperature in your house is probably around 70
degrees Fahrenheit. But your core body temperature is around 99
degrees, and your body surface temperature is around 80 degrees.
You can’t heat an 80- to 100-degree body using 70-degree air. It
would be like trying to reheat leftover chili using an ice cube!
Which brings me back to the masonry heater: A functioning
masonry heater will usually have a surface temperature between
120 and 200 degrees—warmer than your body.
One of the benefits of the moderate surface temperature of
the masonry heater has to do with safety. You can briefly touch
a 200-degree masonry surface and not get burned. That’s a lot
different than the blistering capability of a hot metal woodstove.
In this way, a masonry heater is safer for children to be around.
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3/29/22 2:30 PM

Praise for Masonry
Mark Twain traveled to Europe in the 1800s and experienced
masonry heaters for the first time where they originated, in the
cold regions of the Old World. He praised them up and down in
Europe and Elsewhere, writing:
“All day long and until past midnight, all parts of the room
will be delightfully warm and comfortable, and there will be no
headaches and no sense of closeness or oppression. In an American
room, whether heated by steam, hot water, or open fires, the
neighborhood of the register or the fireplace is warmest—the heat
is not equally diffused throughout the room; but in a German
room, one is as comfortable in one part of it as in another. Nothing
is gained or lost by being near the stove. Its surface is not hot; you
can put your hand on it anywhere and not get burnt. Consider
these things. One firing is enough for the day; the cost is next to
nothing; the heat produced is the same all day, instead of too hot
and too cold by turns; one may absorb himself in his business in
peace; he does not need to feel any anxieties of solicitudes about
the fire; his whole day is a realized dream of bodily comfort.”
Besides the benefits in comfort Twain mentions, masonry heaters
also burn cleanly: Dry wood with the right amount of oxygen will
26 MOTHER EARTH NEWS COLLECTOR SERIES • MODERN HOMESTEADING
MH22.indb 26
Ken Matesz
The Euclid masonry heater (above) boasts sandstone and soapstone
construction. A simple colored-stucco heater (left) radiates soothing
warmth as it blends seamlessly into the architecture of the home.
burn completely and with virtually no smoke. A well-designed
masonry heater achieves about 95-percent combustion of the
fuel at temperatures exceeding 1,100 degrees. The predominant
exhaust is carbon dioxide and water.
The effect of such clean burning, combined with a masonry
heater’s designed ability to store the heat of combustion, provides
an additional benefit in that it uses less firewood than you might
imagine. When living in my previous home of 2,000 square feet, I
compared notes with a friend who lived in a home with the same
square footage (though his was actually better insulated). He was
using 8 to 10 cords of wood to heat his house each year with a
cast-iron woodstove, while I was using 4 to 5 cords in my masonry
heater. Not an empirical study, by any means, but it sure was an
eye-opener for him. Poor guy splits enough wood in one year to
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: KIRSTE CARLSON; BIRGIT MCCALL; MAREN COOKE; JOHN MATESZ
heat my house for two years!
Some masonry heaters incorporate cooktops or ovens (or both),
expanding the heater’s versatility. In a cookstove, flue gases usually
come in contact with a cast-iron cooking surface before moving
through the masonry mass, which then captures the residual heat.
The bake-oven option is a way of using the same fuel that heats
your living space to cook food. The low-ceilinged oven is unique
in the baking world: It cooks food with convection, conduction,
and radiant heat, all at the same time.
One of the great advantages of using a masonry heater is that it
is just as effective and efficient regardless of the wood species used
for fuel. Contrary to popular belief, softwoods aren’t necessarily
a poorer choice than hardwoods for heating. In truth, all wood
species have roughly the same heating capacity per pound of dried
wood fuel. Softwoods are a real problem for those with typical
metal stoves because the fuel burns so fast. If you damper the
fire from a high-sap softwood, you generate lots of creosote and
smoke. This is not an issue with a masonry heater, in which all fuel
3/29/22 2:30 PM
 is burned quickly and at high temperatures with the right amount
of oxygen for clean combustion.

Weighing the Options

Less work. Less wood. Gentle, persistent heat. No constant
stoking. Less likely to burn your kid’s fingertips. And did I
mention how beautiful they can be? My, who wouldn’t want
a masonry heater? (Well, besides you folks who like working
harder than you have to.) But before you place your order, there
are some things to consider.
First, masonry heaters are doggone heavy. They need a firm
foundation. The most typical way this is done is by building a
footer and concrete block foundation up to the main level from
the basement or crawl-space floor. On that structure, a slab is
then poured on which a masonry heater can be built.
Also, a masonry heater is usually designed to radiate heat from
all surfaces — front, back, sides, top, and sometimes even the
bottom. So, the best location for one is in the center of a living
space rather than against an outside wall.
A lot of people make a masonry heater a room divider, placing
it between a dining room and living room, or between a family
room and kitchen. Open floorplans, without a lot of walls,
ensure that radiant heat travels unimpeded through the house.
None of these are strict requirements, just best-case scenarios.
The central location is also functional from the venting
standpoint. An effective, efficient, and trouble-free masonry
heater requires a chimney with good, reliable draft. The ideal way
to make that happen is to have the chimney inside the heated
space of the house as much as possible.
This happens naturally from a central location so that the
chimney eventually exits the home close to the ridge of the
roof — the tallest part of the house. This also minimizes the Maren Cooke relaxes on the heated bench of her masonry heater,
possibility of roof leaks. A chimney that exits lower on the roof is which also features hidden piping for providing hot water to her home.
downstream from precipitation and is thus more likely to catch
dirt and debris that may degrade the watertightness of protective
flashing over time.
And, finally, you won’t get all the benefits, beauty, and
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: KIRSTE CARLSON; BIRGIT MCCALL; MAREN COOKE; JOHN MATESZ

functionality at a low cost. Masonry heaters are the Cadillacs of

the wood-heating world, and they have the price tag to prove it.
If you hire a masonry heater professional to build one for you,
plan to pay about what you would for a new car, from about
$10,000 to $30,000—or more for something extra-large, truly
custom, and one-of-a-kind.
This may sound like a lot of money. But this is an all-masonry,
lifetime, heirloom appliance. You’ll enjoy it, and it will still be
performing at peak efficiency when the next generation takes
over. For decades after installation, the heater will keep on giving
lots of radiant comfort with little effort on your part.
I like to remind people that they do, indeed, spend the same
kind of money for their cars and trucks, and then buy yet
another vehicle a few years later. Your masonry heater won’t
lose all its value after you drive it off the lot. It’s a rock-solid
investment—pun intended.
Find Ken Matesz online at www.KenMatesz.com and The author holds 35 pounds of oak — more than enough wood to heat
www.MasonryHeaterStore.com. Both offer his book Masonry Heaters. his 900-square-foot home in Ohio for a full day in spring and fall.

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MH22.indb 27 3/29/22 2:30 PM

Aaron Matesz (will soon be different
photo); Maren Cooke
 A Smarter
Farm
Setup
Design infrastructure to help you work
smarter, not harder, on your property.

By Ben Hartman

N
ot too long after we moved to our small farm, we
realized there was work to be done before we could start
growing produce to sell. Posts in the barn were leaning
over, in need of support. Paint had completely peeled from the
old chicken house, leaving bare wood. We had a well, but no
water hydrants. And while the barn could house animals, it
wasn’t set up for processing vegetables.
So we decided to spend our first year on infrastructure: building
greenhouses, installing drain tiles, remodeling a processing room,
building a driveway, and otherwise organizing the farm. By
taking time to build up our farm’s infrastructure early on, we set
ourselves up for smooth sailing for many years ahead.
Based on our experiences, we recommend that you establish
these eight pieces of infrastructure for any farm you’re taking on.

1 Processing Room
A small-scale vegetable farm requires a processing room
about the size of a one-stall garage. It should be well-lit and
easy to sanitize. Ideally, the walls will be covered with panels
that can be hosed down, and the floor will be finished and easy
to mop. It should be insulated and heated if you plan to grow
produce to sell all winter.
The processing room on our farm is a former milking area.
When we bought the property, we removed 11 stanchions and
filled in the manure trough. Later, we insulated and painted
the walls and added a small gas heater. We use our processing
room to wash greens in tubs and pack orders into boxes going
to customers.
Inside the room is a hand-washing sink with soap. We ask
workers to wash their hands at this station before handling
to wash baby greens and microgreens. As an alternative
to sinks, some growers use sturdy stock tanks and even
porcelain-enameled bathtubs. Above our sink is a 1-inch
water line with short lengths of garden hose for quick filling. A
drain in the floor carries drainage water out through a buried
4-inch plastic drain tile.
Past the sinks are two spinners — old washing machines —
for drying greens, and behind the sinks is a 30-inch-by-6-foot
stainless steel prep table and an 18-inch foot-operated bag
sealer. Open shelves behind the table hold packaging supplies
and rags. We bought our sinks and the table from a bar going
out of business, and the bag sealer from the packaging company
BEN HARTMAN

food. We use a small electric hot water heater to warm wash Uline. We got the washing machines for free from a family
water in winter, and we use a four-bay stainless steel sink member because they were defective, but we only needed them
(with bays measuring 20 by 28 inches and 18 inches deep) to spin for our purposes.

28 MOTHER EARTH NEWS COLLECTOR SERIES • MODERN HOMESTEADING

MH22.indb 28 3/29/22 2:30 PM

 Across the hall from the processing room is a magnetic
whiteboard where we tally orders and use indicator magnets
to show whether jobs are complete. Under the whiteboard,
a table holds harvesting gear: nitrile-coated gloves, 24-by-½-
inch produce twist-ties for bunching, size 64 rubber bands for
banding kale and head lettuce, 4-by-4-inch sticker labels for
wholesale bags, a roll of 2-inch painter’s tape for labeling totes,
and a cup of markers.
2 Spray Station
Your farm will also need an area about the size of a small
garage for spraying carrots, radishes, and other crops with
BEN HARTMAN
water. An open-air lean-to will suffice unless you grow early
or late in the year, in which case you’ll want walls. Our spray
station is a lean-to that we added to the barn, just outside the
MH22.indb 29
processing room. We used leftover parts from a greenhouse
project to install two curtains that we can roll up or down,
depending on the weather.
In addition to hosing tables, the lean-to houses totes and crates
for harvesting. When we built the lean-to, we poured a cement
slab that slopes to a drain basin in the corner. From there, water
runs out through a 4-inch drain tile. We use two stainless steel
shelves from a restaurant shelving unit as a spray surface. We used
to support these shelves with crates functioning as table legs, but
then an intern thought of a better idea: to hang the tables with
chains. Now we can quickly squeegee under them.
Another recent change was to hang the ¾-inch hose. This
saves us from tripping, makes cleanup faster, and positions the
hose ergonomically for washing. After consulting with a well
service, we increased the diameter of the underground water line
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3/29/22 2:30 PM
 A processing room for washing greens should be easy to clean and well-lit, and it only needs to be the size of a one-stall garage.

feeding the hose, from ¾ to 1¼ inches, to create high

pressure. We use a brass shut-off valve as a spray nozzle.
Since we spray totes and crates in the lean-to, we also
store them there. The crates stack. We store the totes in a
pyramid until dry, and then we collapse them.

3 Cold-Storage Rooms
Many produce farms have two cold-storage areas: one
with temperatures that fall between 55 and 60 degrees
Fahrenheit, and the other with temperatures between 35
and 40 degrees.
We call the 55-to-60-degree room our “tomato room.”
We use this room to box and store tomatoes and basil in
the heat of summer, and to house storage vegetables in fall.
The room is 6 by 11 feet and is cooled with a standard
window air conditioner. To set up a 35-to-40-degree room,
we bought a used 8-by-8-foot walk-in cooler box from a
restaurant salvage business. We cut a hole in the back wall
for an air conditioner that we regulate with a CoolBot
external thermostat. The CoolBot and AC combination
cuts costs in two ways: It’s much cheaper than a standard
walk-in cooler condenser and evaporator, and the AC uses
less energy. An alternative to a walk-in cooler is to build
your own super-insulated room. We use the cooler to store
all produce except tomatoes and basil. In winter, we plug
in an electric heater to keep the room just above freezing.
These two small air-conditioned spaces will suffice for
a small farm. As your farm grows, you can always add on
more rooms, with more temperature options suited to
specific crops.

4 Storage Shed
BEN HARTMAN (7)

Another essential building is a storage shed — again,

Design spray tables, hose stations, and space to dry your equipment so that about the size of a small garage—for housing equipment
your processing room is efficient enough to take on any task. and supplies. You don’t need heat or insulation in this one.

30 MOTHER EARTH NEWS COLLECTOR SERIES • MODERN HOMESTEADING

MH22.indb 30 3/29/22 2:30 PM

 Use drip tape to water crops grown under landscape fabric. Secure overhead sprinklers with step spike bases. An irrigation timer ensures timely watering.
To create ours, we walled off a portion of an old chicken
house. Inside, we store four pieces of equipment: a tractor and
walk-behind tractor (these don’t require warmer temperatures
in winter), a Jang seeder, and a paper pot transplanter. Two
shelves hold tightly rolled row covers. Other shelves hold tarps,
irrigation supplies, and trellising supplies. In one corner, we set
up a small repair bench for sharpening tools and fixing handles.
Because we farm with few tools, a small space is adequate.
A low-cost alternative is to use part of your greenhouse
to store these items, although around March every year you
might become jealous of the space. Think of what you could
grow there!
5 Gas House
I recommend that all farms set aside a small shed for storing
gas, oil, and other flammable liquids. These items smell, pollute
the ground, stain floors, and, of course, can burst into flames.
They deserve a room of their own, set apart. We have two
55-gallon drums — one for diesel and one for gas — that we
keep in a building the size of an outhouse, along with rags,
engine oil, and other tractor and gas engine fluids. The building
sits 20 feet away from the others and can be locked for safety
and security.
6 Red-Tag Room
We sort tools every spring and fall, placing those that don’t
add value — that aren’t a part of our growing system — into a
red-tag room until the next regional consignment auction, when
we’ll get rid of those items. The red-tag room helps us focus on
our work by eliminating clutter. We can still go back and pull
out an item if we wrongly placed it there, and sometimes we let
one or two auction cycles pass before definitively getting rid of
BEN HARTMAN (7)
a tool. We think of the room as a vacuum cleaner, constantly
sucking waste from the property. We use a walled-off corner of
our barn, about 12 by 12 feet, for this purpose.
MH22.indb 31
7 Irrigation System
A serious market garden requires a high-flow source of water.
On our previous property, we used a portable gas pump to irrigate
from a nearby canal. A 3-inch hose with a plastic head sat in the
canal. Water passed through a sand filter system to keep small
particulate matter out of the lines. If you plan to do the same, be
sure to place the pump close to the water source rather than close
to the garden, because pumps push better than they pull.
On our current farm, we rely on a 4-inch well to supply both
our house and the farm. We use two pressure tanks—a 30-gallon
and a 60-gallon—for plenty of capacity. We run 1¼-inch water
lines 4 feet underground to our hydrants. The frost-free hydrants
feature 1½-inch-diameter pipes, wider than standard ¾- or
1-inch pipes, to increase flow. The water is kept at a pressure
of about 60 pounds per square inch (psi). Many online charts
can help you choose a good well diameter, pump, tank size,
and water line diameter for your needs, although I recommend
consulting with a professional when designing your own system.
We use two types of irrigation: drip tape and overhead sprinklers.
We use drip tape with pre-punched emitter holes on crops we
grow under plastic or landscape fabric, including kale, tomatoes,
peppers, zucchini, and cucumbers. The drip tape provides
consistent moisture, uses less water, and keeps leaves dry —
especially important for tomatoes. Our drip tape parts consist
of a 2-inch header line, sufficient for long runs; shutoff valves;
and 8-millimeter drip tape. We don’t use caps on the end of the
drip tape. Instead, we tie them off by hand, using one or two
simple knots of the tape itself. We use the drip lines until they get
plugged up with mineral deposits, which usually happens after
two seasons. To save lines for later use, we wrap them tightly and
store them in tubs. We repair leaks with in-line couplers, but
we’ll replace the line if there are more than two leaks.
We use overhead sprinklers on crops grown in bare ground
(not in plastic or landscape fabric) because they’re faster to set
up than drip tape. The heads will support interchangeable
SELF-RELIANCE • WWW.MOTHEREARTHNEWS.COM 31
3/29/22 2:30 PM
 Before growing any produce to sell, spend time perfecting your farm infrastructure to ensure years of smooth sailing.

nozzles, depending on droplet size desired. We use a medium-
sized nozzle. In our experience, larger-diameter nozzles produce
big droplets that displace seeds; droplets from smaller nozzles
drift away in the wind.
We started with a step spike base for a garden hose and
sprinkler, such as those made by Orbit, for our overhead
sprinklers. Then, we assembled a riser with ¾-inch PVC pipe
and fittings. Ours are 4 feet tall, slightly taller than the tallest
crops we plan to irrigate. Finally, we screwed on Senninger
Xcel-Wobbler heads. In winter, we remove the heads and store
them in a lidded bucket to keep spiders from building nests
in the orifices. To connect hydrants and risers, we use ¾-inch
commercial-duty hoses that lie on the inside edge of our
plots. We use quick-connect fittings to attach the hoses to the
hydrants. Poly tubing is stiffer to move about, but it’s cheaper.
Timers make up the final piece of our irrigation system.
We use two professional-duty timers by Galcon. The first is
hours — and the other lets us choose how often — from every
three hours to every two weeks. We can change the settings in
a matter of seconds. Because there’s no LCD screen, the timer
is durable. The second timer is a daily or weekly programming
timer, which allows for more precise programming, though it’s
not as simple to use. We reserve it for germinating seeds when
we direct-seed.
8 Vehicle Access Lanes
A final piece of infrastructure that’s often overlooked is a
vehicle access lane. You don’t need polished concrete, but you
do need access to your growing plots and buildings. We built
a lane running in front of our greenhouses and connecting
to the processing area. We can access these areas any time of
year by vehicle, and trucks can bring heavy loads of manure
or compost onsite without getting stuck. To build the lanes,
we started with a 6-inch primary base of No. 2 (3- to 4-inch- BEN HARTMAN

a simple two-dial timer for general maintenance irrigating. diameter) limestone, topped with a 2-inch layer of No. 72 (less
One dial lets us choose duration — from two minutes to nine than 1-inch-diameter) limestone.

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the lean system for identifying and eliminating waste and introducing efficiency in every aspect of a farm operation, The
Lean Farm Guide to Growing Vegetables adds to the lessons learned in Ben Hartman’s first book, showing that small-
scale farming can be an attractive career option. Available at www.MotherEarthNews.com/Store or by calling 800-234-
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32 MOTHER EARTH NEWS COLLECTOR SERIES • MODERN HOMESTEADING

MH22.indb 32 3/29/22 2:30 PM

 “The simple hearth of
the small farm is the true
center of our universe.”
— Masanobu Fukuoka
GETTY IMAGES / WEAVER1234

MH22.indb 33 3/29/22 2:33 PM

 Why We
Homestead
Health, Politics,
Spirituality, & More
Running an off-grid, sustainable hostel is rewarding work,
and the retreat’s owners find deep satisfaction in the lifestyle.

By Anneli Carter-Sundqvist financial needs by running Deer Isle and my apartment. Looking back, it was
Hostel during the summers. like wearing a sweater that never really

L
iving in self-reliance and simplicity
is a dream many have but only
some fulfill. My husband, Dennis,
and I live that lifestyle on Deer Isle, Maine,
where we built an off-grid home. We grow
and store most of our food, rely on solar
power, produce our own lumber, raise
pigs and chickens, and meet our minimal
I came to Maine from Sweden in 2008
to help Dennis start the hostel, and at that
time, I didn’t even know what the word
“homesteading” meant. Leading up to
my move, I had an office job in Sweden
in which I felt trapped in a grid made
up of my office, the commuter train,
fit, and it was only after shedding it that
I fully understood how uncomfortable
it had made me. As the years go by, this
lifestyle makes more and more sense, and
my fundamental motives for working at
home and providing for our own needs are
becoming increasingly clear.

FROM TOP: ANNELI CARTER-SUNDQVIST; ALI KAUKAS; OPPOSITE: NOAH KALINA

34 MOTHER EARTH NEWS XXXX/XXXX XXXX

MH22.indb 34 3/29/22 2:30 PM

 Our Definition of Wealth
This lifestyle is about self-
sufficiency, and seeking self-
sufficiency is a political act.
Each day of growing our
own food, producing our
own energy, and avoiding a
commute is an opportunity to
decline partaking in the money
economy. In the common
economic system, everything’s
worth is measured by monetary
value. Value measured in money Guests at Deer Isle Hostel can explore the well-tended gardens.
is a narrow way of thinking that
overlooks other values, such as biodiversity
and spiritual health.
We can create a holistic system for small-
scale production in which the conditions
of the global financial system don’t apply.
First and foremost, our time at the farm
doesn’t equal money. Even when I sell
garlic here on the island, I can’t put a
dollar value on the positive impacts that
matter to me: the connection I get with
the soil by planting the bulbs, the delight
of watching red robins feed in the horse
manure with which I fertilize the garlic,
the friends made and conversations had
while digging and cleaning the crop.
What’s Enough?
Knowing when enough is enough is
the biggest challenge with self-reliant
living in the 21st century. This goes for
both materialistic accumulation and
time commitments and is contrary to the
contemporary ideal that bigger is better.
By our definition — living close to the
land and meeting most of our needs at
home—we often choose to get by without
FROM TOP: ANNELI CARTER-SUNDQVIST; ALI KAUKAS; OPPOSITE: NOAH KALINA
things that would compromise our goals.
For example, by eating mostly what we
can produce ourselves, we control the
quality, and we don’t depend on paying
jobs to purchase food.
Also, for the past few years, we’ve closed
the hostel in early September, before most
other seasonal businesses in the area. Each
year, people question our decision, stating
that we could make so much money
by staying open a few more weeks. By
voluntarily and intentionally choosing not
to maintain extra money or belongings
and by keeping our definition of “enough”
narrow, we can meet our financial needs by
MH22.indb 35
running the hostel for only a few months.
When the hostel is closed, we focus on
harvesting our food from the gardens,
improving our acreage, and enjoying the
quieter season at home together.
A Closer Connection to Nature
Some of the essence of this lifestyle is to
recognize ourselves as a part of the natural
world — to not simply understand our
kinship to nature intellectually, but to also
spiritually embrace all life-forms and their
dependence on each other.
When I lived in a city, food simply
came from the store, water from the tap,
and nature was something I could visit
on the weekends. I only fully understood
the connections between nature, my
sustenance, and myself after having spent
years following seeds to plants to fruit and
back; witnessing dry years and wet years;
Deepen your connection with the earth and your health by growing your own organic produce.
and observing pollinators,
flowers, predators, and prey.
Now, I see how few degrees of
separation exist between us and
the earth.
Improved Health
Self-reliant living invites us
to go back to basics and move
toward some fundamental
aspects of improved and
sustained health. I attribute my
own improved physical and
spiritual health to my current
lifestyle. My days are spent surrounded
by nature and the rhythm of the sun, and
my years follow the cycle of the seasons. I
live in a nonsterile environment, and my
body is used to handling bacteria, fungi,
and other microorganisms. I eat food to
which I’m spiritually connected and that
my body can recognize.
What Dennis and I are doing is
ethically sound at its core: We live a life
that is good for us and also improves our
surroundings and the people in it. To me,
self-reliant living is not about retreating
from problems in modern society, but
rather a way to explore solutions to some
of the challenges I see in the world. I’m
no longer just an observer of what I don’t
agree with—rather I can take action to be
a constructive influence and focus on the
opportunities this lifestyle provides to walk
this planet with a positive impact.
SELF-RELIANCE • WWW.MOTHEREARTHNEWS.COM 35
3/29/22 2:31 PM
 From Cubicle
to Cultivar
How to Leave the Office
and Become a Farmer
36 MOTHER EARTH NEWS COLLECTOR SERIES • MODERN HOMESTEADING

MH22.indb 36 3/29/22 2:31 PM


Hands-on apprenticeships cultivate
opportunities to leave the city and
lead an agrarian lifestyle.
Article and photos by Jonathan Olivier
L
ately, my life has been consumed by farming. I’ve been
obsessively poring over seed catalogs to ensure I choose
plant cultivars suited to my climate in southwest Louisiana;
I need to spread my compost and build a processing shed; and I’m
still trying to decide exactly how many hens I want.
My farm, Le Potager d’Acadiana (The Acadiana Kitchen
MH22.indb 37
Garden), sits on an acre of land that hugs Bayou Bourbeaux near
Arnaudville, Louisiana, about an hour from where I grew up. It’s
my first season, and, after two years of planning, it’s hard to believe
the moment is finally here. Although both of my grandfathers
were raised on farms, college was presented as my only option
growing up. So even as my interest in sustainable food grew, my
burgeoning career as a journalist kept me in an office.
Through my education, I discovered authors who revealed
to me the flaws of America’s food systems: Wendell Berry,
Michael Pollan, and Mark Sundeen. Their work introduced me
to radically different ideas and helped shape what I wanted out
of life. My aspirations included living a more sustainable life
focused on local, homegrown food, but my career and location
limited my ability to achieve this. At the time, I was living in an
apartment outside Nashville, Tennessee, with only a balcony on
which to grow a handful of plants. Most of my days were spent
indoors, tied to a desk and a computer, supporting a system I
increasingly didn’t align with.
Call to Action
After a suggestion from a friend, I looked into Workaway
(www.Workaway.info), an organization that connects people
willing to exchange labor for free room and board with hosts
who need help with everything from child care to farming. A
quick online search uncovered a vast network of folks across
North America who were looking for field hands, offering me
the opportunity to experience farming firsthand. I wanted to
make a fundamental change, and it seemed that Workaway
was my ticket.
So, in December 2017 I quit my job, and vowed to cross the
United States and Canada in search of farms with integrity. I
wanted to learn all I could about sustainably growing food and
raising animals, with the intent of one day starting my own
farm. No longer would I work from a desk without exploring
my agricultural inclinations.
In less than two years, I traveled more than 30,000 miles
and worked on 13 farms. I received a valuable education from
farmers who weren’t just looking for an extra hand, but were
also eager to pass on their knowledge to support the local
food movement.
Why Volunteer?
While starting a farm can feel like a daunting task, spending
time beforehand as an apprentice is a terrific way to gain real-
world experience and valuable knowledge that’ll help you along
the way.
Plenty of workshops and programs are designed to teach
novice farmers, but most carry a hefty price tag. Volunteering
attracted me because — although I wouldn’t be getting
paid — my education would be free and empirical. Many paid
farming gigs require experience, while most volunteer positions
don’t. So, as a novice, I chose to volunteer on several farms to
expose myself to an eclectic set of agricultural practices. Plus,
if you’re unsure which region you’d like to live in, traveling to
several can be instructive.
SELF-RELIANCE • WWW.MOTHEREARTHNEWS.COM 37
3/29/22 2:31 PM
 I was in a unique position to undertake this journey as an Workaway. Both organizations require a membership fee and use
unpaid worker. Although I quit my full-time job, I could work online profiles to make it easy to find hosts.
as a freelance journalist for several publications while traveling Before creating a profile, make a list of the farming techniques
from farm to farm. Since farmers typically only require 25 hours you’d like to learn. This list will make it easier to fill out personal
of work per week, working remotely for 15 or more hours was details on your profile page, but perhaps more importantly, it’ll
feasible. My expenses were minimal because housing and meals help you determine who you’d like to work with. For instance,
were provided. So you could explore a similar arrangement, or I was initially interested in permaculture, so I contacted farmers
plan ahead and save up money who practiced those principles.
prior to starting. But as I continued on my journey,
However, an unpaid gig may I discovered I was more interested
not be possible for some folks. If in biointensive market gardening
that’s the case for you, search the using no-till methods than I was
ATTRA Sustainable Agriculture in permaculture, so I started
website (www.ATTRA.NCAT. working with people employing
org). ATTRA is managed by the those techniques. Accept that
National Center for Appropriate however strong your initial desire
Technology, which lists paid to learn a certain practice is, your
apprenticeships across North list will evolve over time.
America. Note that some farmers Although many skills can
expect paid apprentices to have be applied all over the world,
prior experience, and many learning from someone local has a
require full-time work for an lot of benefits. A local farmer can
entire growing season. provide specific insight into your
region, including information
A Farm That Fits about pests, the climate, and the
A handful of organizations local market. However, if you’re
facilitate connections between unsure where you’ll eventually
volunteers and farmers. Two settle — as I was — traveling
of the most prominent are can provide information on
World Wide Opportunities on farming in different regions of the
Organic Farms (WWOOF) and Taking care of laying hens in Black Mountain, North Carolina. country. Early on in my journey,

38 MOTHER EARTH NEWS COLLECTOR SERIES • MODERN HOMESTEADING

MH22.indb 38 3/29/22 2:31 PM

 I realized I didn’t want to live a potential lesson, and you’ll
in the interior West, as I’d first never lose sight of the benefits
thought, because of irrigation of your work. As you and the
issues. I decided instead to settle farmer build a relationship,
in my home state of Louisiana. they’ll likely assign you more
important tasks.
A Successful Sojourn Reiterate that your main
After you’ve compiled a list of goal is learning, and ask the
farms that fit your needs, send farmer to give you plenty of
each one a clear and detailed details beyond the basic task
message that communicates instructions. Have a list of
your motives. Schedule a phone questions prepared to ask
or video call before accepting a during lulls in the work. A
work-trade offer to make sure Prepping the soil for a greenhouse in Gila, New Mexico. farmer in New Mexico sat
you and the farmer have a good down with me a few times a
understanding of what you both expect from the experience. week so I could ask questions I’d prepared and others that had
If possible, arrange to stay on a farm for at least a month, and popped up during the day. I jotted notes in a notebook. I now
no less than three weeks. Any less time, and you won’t be able to use it as an invaluable source of information I can reference, as
understand the full operation of the farm. The farmer will also well as a keepsake from my journey.
be less likely to invest as much time in teaching you if you’re only Above all, have an open mind. I found that entering each
there for a week or two. situation with a positive demeanor and a willingness to take
Typically, farmers require 25 hours of work per week, no matter on any job equipped me with a wealth of information. A farm
the weather. You’ll need to prepare for hard labor and long hours apprenticeship is about exploring what will suit you best, so treat
working outside, at times in bad conditions. During my time as a every chore as an appetizer, sampling each piece of the farm so
volunteer, I dug ditches, pulled thousands of weeds, and scooped you can get a taste of what it’s like as a whole.
more poop than I care to remember. Since these are common
tasks on all farms, you’ll quickly discover whether you’re cut out Take Root
for this line of work. Although the work isn’t glamorous, you’ll As I neared the end of my travels in spring 2019, I decided it was
learn from it. Even weeding can offer an education, such as when time to make a plan for my farm. I’d been mentally building one
to pick them and which are problematic. Look at every task as for a few months, but putting it on paper gave it a tangible quality

Cooling off the lettuce

plants on a hot day in
Gila, New Mexico.

WWW.MOTHEREARTHNEWS.COM 39

MH22.indb 39 3/29/22 2:31 PM

 that I could tweak. It took me almost two
years to get to this point, and there’s no
easy way to know when you’re ready. For
me, the timing felt right: I knew what kind
of farm I wanted and where I wanted to
live, and my grasp of agricultural practices
had grown tremendously.
The next step was to make connections
in my new home, and hopefully, ones
that would guide me toward land and
programs that could benefit me. I found
the Acadiana Food Alliance, which is
an organization that focuses on helping
farmers in southwest Louisiana. The folks
there provided information on programs
available to me, such as workshops in my
area, to ensure I complied with the Food
Safety Modernization Act.
After making connections, I turned my Pulling weeds and spreading mulch around strawberry plants in Asheville, North Carolina.
attention to the problem of finding land.
According to a 2017 survey by the National Young Farmers
Coalition, buying land is the biggest barrier to entry for young
farmers. I experienced this firsthand as I began to hunt for
property. Outrageous prices coupled with the expectation of a
relatively low income dissuaded me from purchasing property.
Instead, I looked into alternative options.
Ultimately, I found an opportunity to live on a landowner’s
property in exchange for produce and labor. Farmers I’ve worked
with call this a labor exchange lease, and it’s more common
Displaying watermelon from the summer harvest in Riceville, Tennessee.
40 MOTHER EARTH NEWS COLLECTOR SERIES • MODERN HOMESTEADING
MH22.indb 40
than you might think. Network as much as possible, and propose
such an agreement with the landowners you meet; make it clear
that this relationship would be mutually beneficial.
Renting and leasing land are more conventional options if you
can’t buy at the time. Often, leases can span a few years, which
will give you the opportunity to experiment during your first few
growing seasons, as well as hunt for property in your spare time.
Land trusts and land transfers are also options, though less
common. Land trusts are nonprofits that protect resources,
such as farmland, that are at risk from
development. Typically, land trusts
ensure the price of the property doesn’t
rise above its agricultural value, so it
remains affordable to budding farmers.
A land transfer is when an existing
farm operation is transferred to a new
owner, which is usually a lengthy and
involved process. The Center for Rural
Affairs offers detailed information on
its website (www.CFRA.org), as well as
a list of programs across the country that
help facilitate land-transfer connections.
Opportunities for land transfers will
likely increase in the future, as the average
age of farmers in the U.S. continues to
increase; at the last census, it was 58.
Lately, a nervous feeling has been
welling up inside me. I think it’s
because I recognize the obstacles
ahead. What quells those worries is
knowing my apprenticeships provided
a solid foundation for my farm. Those
experiences helped build the sort of
character I’ll need in this tough yet
rewarding line of work.
3/29/22 2:31 PM

6 Ways to Practice
Climate
Farming
By Jeff Meyer
I
f you read the first part of our
Climate Farming series in the
June/July 2021 issue (“Climate
Farming Practices”), then you already
CHARLES GOODIN AND MIKAEL
know that Climate Farming is a cutting-
edge growing practice that combines
proven tenets of regenerative agriculture,
permaculture, and syntropic agroforestry
in a unique way. Climate Farming
practices include:
41-45 Climate Farming.indd 41
• Integrating livestock into
growing operations.
• Minimizing soil disturbances
through no-till practices.
• Composting.
• Companion planting.
• Succession planting.
• Natural erosion control.
• Careful water management.
The purpose of Climate Farming is
to produce delicious, nutritious fruits
and vegetables while improving topsoil
GARDEN TECHNIQUES AND METHODS • WWW.MOTHEREARTHNEWS.COM 41
Eucalyptus can add biomass
to soil when it’s “chopped and
dropped” around other crops.
Turn your garden into
a carbon-guzzling,
food-growing oasis.
health, reducing or eliminating harmful
agricultural runoff, and sequestering
atmospheric greenhouse gases.
Putting Climate Farming into practice
is a way you can make a difference in
the battle against climate change beyond
sharing a social media post or donating
to a cause. We can all begin doing our
part in the home garden and asking for
Climate-Farmed produce at the market.
Aside from its global impact on
climate change reversal, collective carbon
3/31/22 9:22 AM
 sequestration in farming and
home gardening will also
make a noticeable difference
in your region, leading to
healthier rivers, streams, and
lakes. Surely that’s something
we can all stand behind!
Ready to join the
revolution? We’ve compiled
a list of six things you can do
right now to turn your farm,
garden, or homestead into a
carbon-guzzling oasis.
1 Start a
Compost Pile
Compost is a life-rich soil
amendment that not only
cuts down on waste, but also Co-planted daikon radish, hairy vetch, and oat grass function better
releases valuable nutrients as living mulch and fertilizer than they would if grown on their own.
that re-energize the soil. One
of the biggest misconceptions about
composting is that you need a lot of
space to get started. Even city dwellers
can create compost with the proper
receptacle and approach. Identifying
which setup will work best for your
situation is the first step.
If you have a backyard, you have
space to use just about any method you
desire, whether that’s to start a pile in
an underutilized corner of the yard, or
to build a wooden bin to keep it more
contained. Apartment and town home
dwellers can get crafty and come up
with some innovative bins. Various
online specialty shops sell pre-made
bins designed for urban agrarians, and
the DIY-inclined can get creative with
recyclable materials (think
old butter tubs, coffee cans,
etc.). You can store your bin
under the sink, in a cabinet,
or on a porch where it will
stay at an ideal temperature.
Can’t find a receptacle you
like? Just cover your pile with
a tarp weighted down by
bricks. This system is ideal for
the home gardener, because
it can be easily accessed from
all sides and flipped with a
pitchfork.
To have a successful
compost pile, you’ll need
to add an even mix of high-
carbon “brown” material,
such as sawdust, straw, and
leaves, with nitrogen-rich
“green” material, such as
vegetable scraps, coffee grounds, and
grass clippings. Mix or turn your pile
about once per month to help it break
down faster and eliminate odors. Gently
spray it with a hose if it starts to feel
too dry (it should always be about the
consistency of a wrung-out sponge).
Your compost will be finished when it’s
dark, crumbly, and smells like earth!

CHARLES GOODIN AND MIKAEL MAYNARD (5)

Adding support species to an ecosystem can encourage nitrogen fixation, water retention, and reinvigorated soil.

42 MOTHER EARTH NEWS COLLECTOR SERIES • MODERN HOMESTEADING

MH22.indb 42 3/29/22 2:31 PM

 Plan your plot according to the sun’s patterns and perpendicular to the slope of your land to control the amount of light and water your plants receive.
2 Grow Support Species
Support species are a crucial aspect
of Climate Farming. While crunchy
vegetables and succulent fruits are always
the end goal, harvesting an abundant
yield while naturally enriching the soil
requires intentional action.
In most natural ecosystems, you
wouldn’t find one plant without a
consortium of two or more different
species growing around it. Together, they
function at a higher capacity than they
ever could on their own. Here are five key
benefits to using support species in your
farm or garden ecosystem:
1 Biomass accumulation. Support
species provide biomass for soil production
when “chopped and dropped” onto
the ground surrounding a farm’s main
productive crops. They are then allowed
to decompose, enriching the soil.
2 Nitrogen fixation. Growers often
use legumes as support species, because
their roots exude simple sugars and
CHARLES GOODIN AND MIKAEL MAYNARD (5)
other compounds that attract rhizobium
bacteria. These bacteria have a symbiotic
relationship with the plant, in which
they harness atmospheric nitrogen that
otherwise wouldn’t be available to the
plant and make it accessible in exchange
for carbohydrates.
3 Living nursery. Many support
species act as a living nursery, providing
41-45 Climate Farming.indd 43
shade for sensitive young seedlings when
they’re newly transplanted in the field.
4 Hydration. Support species can
help maintain soil and plant hydration
by decreasing evapotranspiration (the
movement of water from the surface of
the earth into the atmosphere, as well as
from the surface of plants).
5 Cover cropping. Many small
herbaceous species can be used as
rotational cover crops, as they reinvigorate
soil that’s been diminished by the nutrient
demands of the last crop.
3 Follow the Land and Sun
If you’re a first-time grower who hasn’t
yet broken ground, you have a golden
opportunity to design your garden in
a way that maximizes its ecological
potential. Many growers don’t pay
attention to the slope of their land when
building their planting rows. This leads
to poor irrigation, excess runoff, and the
leaching of water and nutrients.
When planning your rows, plant them
perpendicular to the slope of your land.
This will force rainwater to travel the
greatest possible distance, around each
row of your crops, maximizing the water’s
exposure to the soil, both in terms of
time and surface area. Slowing, stopping,
sinking, and storing water in this manner
keeps nutrients on the crops and away
GARDEN TECHNIQUES AND METHODS • WWW.MOTHEREARTHNEWS.COM 43
from neighboring waterways. There are
ways to measure your slope exactly with
expensive land-surveying tools, but for
a home grower, simple tools, such as an
A-frame or a bunyip level, will do the job
and can be made easily.
Similarly, it pays to notice how much
sunlight your plot gets and plan your
planting accordingly. Use trees to shade
crops that need less sunlight, and pay
attention to how the sun moves so you
can maximize your growing area by
designing your garden to allow the right
amount of sunlight for each type of crop.
4 Adopt Minimal-Till
or No-Till Techniques
An easy way for home gardeners
and small farmers to adopt no-till soil
practices is to find a plant that does the
work for you.
One of the most promising options is
the daikon radish, which grows a long,
thick, cylindrical taproot with many
lateral roots. Not only do these roots
help break up compacted soils, but they
also, when left to decompose, fill all
those pathways with nutrients the plant
captured over its life span. This builds a
softer soil profile because of the aeration
and increased water capacity along the
vertical fractures created by the daikon
radish’s roots — ultimately leading to
3/31/22 9:22 AM
 FROM TOP: CHARLES GOODIN AND MIKAEL MAYNARD (2); ADOBE STOCK/SHIRO2MASHIRO; ADOBE STOCK/SURADECH
The taproots and lateral roots of daikon radish help break up compacted soils and, after they’ve decomposed, fill those root pathways with nutrients.

more nutrient-dense soils that support
beneficial microorganisms and fungi.
Feeding the microorganisms supports
an ancient symbiotic relationship in
which the microorganisms feed off
plant root sugars, and then produce four
times more sugars (a source of carbon)
through their residues than their plant
counterparts produce. So, while you’re
tilling your fields with daikon, you’re also
playing a role in reducing the amount of
greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
Of course, daikon radish isn’t the
only cover crop with minimal-till
potential. With proper organic-matter
management strategies, oats, pigeon
pea, sunn hemp, millet, sorghum, and
buckwheat can all fill this role.

Top Plants for the

Chop-and-Drop Method

CHARLES GOODIN AND MIKAEL MAYNARD

Pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan ). This quick-growing legume is the chop-and-drop classic.
Many gardeners grow pigeon pea just for this purpose, as it produces a lot of biomass
(leafy material) in a short amount of time. It also happens to be a legume whose roots
accumulates nitrogen that will live on after the plant is gone.
Moringa (Moringa oleifera). It’s everywhere these days, with good reason! Not only does it
have numerous health benefits, but moringa also grows quickly, leaving an abundance of
Nasturtiums leafy material for you to harvest.
Nasturtiums (Tropaeolum spp.). Speaking of green mulch, nasturtiums make for an especially
attractive one. When planted with taller plants, they act as a natural barrier while alive,
and when they die out during hot months, they provide excellent biomass.
Lupine (Lupinus spp.). Another legume, this one is an especially attractive addition to the
garden that brings in pollinators as well. Like the pigeon pea, lupine fixes nitrogen at the
root level, and that nitrogen will be accessible even after the plant dies back. Note: Lupine
is poisonous to livestock.
Sunn hemp (Crotalaria juncea). Valued for its stellar production, this friend of the soil
accumulates biomass quickly and has the unique ability to suppress nematodes. In
90 days, sunn hemp can accumulate more than 130 pounds of nitrogen per acre!
(While ideal for tropical climates, this might not be a great fit for northern climates.)
Bonus: Lemongrass (Cymbopogon spp.). This may not be the first plant that comes to mind,
Lemongrass but the biomass from one lemongrass plant is substantial!

44 MOTHER EARTH NEWS COLLECTOR SERIES • MODERN HOMESTEADING

MH22.indb 44 3/29/22 2:31 PM

 (A variety of excellent books explain in
detail how to implement no-till farming
and gardening techniques. Search for
“no-till” at Store.MotherEarthNews.com
to see a selection.)
FROM TOP: CHARLES GOODIN AND MIKAEL MAYNARD (2); ADOBE STOCK/SHIRO2MASHIRO; ADOBE STOCK/SURADECH

5 Adopt ‘Chop-and-Drop’
Green Mulching
“Chop and drop” is exactly what
it sounds like — you “chop” (or cut)
the organic material of mature plants,
and then “drop” it on the ground,
mimicking what plants would do
in nature. When plants die (or die
back), old material falls to the ground,
decomposes, and contributes food to
soil organisms (fungi, bacteria, and
animals) while creating a beautiful
compost-like humic layer.
This method also keeps the roots in
the soil, where they prevent erosion, help
maintain aeration, and keep nutrient
networks intact until they decompose,
becoming another source of nutrients.
While the concept might make sense and
seem simple, it’s like anything else — there
are times when it’s appropriate to use this
regenerative farming method, and times Cutting the organic matter of mature plants and letting it decompose into the ground creates a
when it’s not. compost-like layer that feeds soil organisms.
Plants that tend to have deep taproot
systems, produce a lot of leafy material, 6 Start a Worm Bin feeding these beneficial invertebrates
and fix nitrogen are the ideal choices for Vermicomposting — the cultivation of kitchen scraps, and harvesting the
CHARLES GOODIN AND MIKAEL MAYNARD

this practice. Those deep-reaching roots a worm garden — is a means of animal digested and deposited castings to feed
can surpass some of the smaller, more integration that’s accessible whether to their plants. A worm home will act as
fibrous roots of your garden veggies. By your garden is a container on a terrace, a garbage disposal and fertilizer-maker
leaving them in the ground, you’ll give a plot in your backyard, or a small farm. rolled into one. Raising a few pounds
other plants access to the nutrients that Worm castings and worm tea are often of worms is surprisingly inexpensive
have accumulated. (See “Top Plants for referred to by vermicomposters as “black and easy, and not nearly as messy as you
Chop-and-Drop Method” on Page 44 gold for plants.” Many gardeners farm might expect.
for more info.) a few pounds of red wiggler worms, After you decide to make conscious
choices to work with the land instead of
against it, you’ll find that nature actually
wants to help you grow.
Organic Living Is Achievable!
Howard Garrett opens this book with advice to stop the use of
toxic chemicals, pesticides, and synthetic fertilizers, and then
goes on, in great detail, about practical alternatives. Whether for Jeff Meyer is the founder of Johnny
growing beautiful landscaping or delicious, healthy food crops, Appleseed Organic, an eco-village
the Organic Manual explains bed preparation, planting, pest and online store that provides farmers
control, and making compost, and it also covers natural living and gardeners with resources to fight
advice. Grow organic trees, shrubs, flowers, fruits, and vegetables climate change. Learn more at www.
for your family and community. This title is available at Store. JohnnyAppleseed.com. (Climate
MotherEarthNews.com or by calling 800-234-3368. Mention Farming is a registered trademark of
promo code MMEPAMZ3. Item #8139. Johnny Appleseed Orchards LLC.)

GARDEN TECHNIQUES AND METHODS • WWW.MOTHEREARTHNEWS.COM 45

41-45 Climate Farming.indd 45 3/31/22 9:23 AM

 FROM LEFT: CHRIS BENZAKEIN; ERIN BENZAKEIN

46 MOTHER EARTH NEWS XXXX/XXXX XXXX

MH22.indb 46 3/29/22 2:31 PM

 Profitable, Small-Scale
Flower Farming
Cut flowers are one of the highest-grossing crops per acre. Create a debt-free
farm and surround yourself with beauty by following this expert advice.

This article was originally published in the Summer 2017 issue of
Heirloom Gardener. Revenue information was current at the time
of publication, but may have changed during the intervening years.
By Erin Benzakein
incredible beauty. And, most importantly, making a living doing
something you love.
When we first started Floret, we had just 2 tiny acres dedicated
to flower production. Many of today’s most successful flower farms
are what would be considered “microfarms” compared with the
vast expanses of corn, wheat, and soybean farms that make up

W
hen Lynn Byczynski first authored an article on much of the farmland across the United States. Among my flower-
flower farming for M E N back in farming friends, anyone growing cut flowers on more than 10 acres
2002, she estimated that “an acre of well-grown is considered one of the “big guys.”
and marketed flowers is worth In just the past several years, a
approximately $25,000 to $30,000 renaissance of new flower farms has
in sales.” Twenty years later, cut bloomed across the country. Virtually
flowers continue to be one of the all of this new growth is taking root
highest-grossing crops you can grow on farms with just a few acres in
per acre. Using small-scale, high- production. Unlike commodity
intensity production techniques, my crops, and even vegetables grown
farm, Floret, has been able to gross on a small scale, flowers are typically
$55,000 to $60,000 per acre in good planted, cultivated, and harvested all
years, even when we’ve sold the bulk by hand. Very little mechanization
of our flowers at wholesale prices. beyond field preparation is involved,
By offering wedding flowers and which means production is more
design services, we’re able to include often limited by available labor than
an additional $25,000 to $30,000 by available land.
worth of value-added revenue to our
farm each year. Before You Begin
But before you get too starry-eyed To get high yields and large
by these figures and start plowing volumes on such little land, we
under your corn to plant zinnias use high-intensity production
and cosmos, remember a few key techniques at Floret. These methods
things: Flower farming is farming, involve significant investments
and farming is hard work. It involves in soil health; season-extension
FROM LEFT: CHRIS BENZAKEIN; ERIN BENZAKEIN

long hours, physical labor, and your
net income (what you keep) is a far
cry from the gross per-acre income
(what you bring in) after you factor
in all your expenses and time. But
the benefits are many, including
being your own boss, providing vital
bee and pollinator habitat, working
outdoors, and being surrounded by
Planting bulbs in fall allows for an earlier spring bloom.
structures, such as hoop houses;
and weed-control fabric, tight
plant spacing, and a finely tuned
succession-planting plan. Succession
planting means that as soon as one
cultivar is done blooming, we tear
it out and have another crop ready
to transplant in its place in just a
matter of days. This way, we harvest

GARDEN TECHNIQUES AND METHODS • WWW.MOTHEREARTHNEWS.COM 47

46-49 Flower Farm.indd 47 4/1/22 1:11 PM

 two crops in one season from each
bed, which significantly increases our
overall production. I like to say that
in the beginning we tended 2 acres
but produced more like 4 acres’ worth
of flowers.
If you have a green thumb, access to
land with good soil, and an outlet for
selling seasonal blooms, then growing
your own cut flowers can be a source
of supplemental income. Start small
and slow, as the learning curve can
be significant. Flower farmers grow
dozens, sometimes hundreds, of
different cultivars, each with their own
germinating, harvesting, and post-
harvest handling requirements. Plus,
the prices you can get for flowers vary
depending on where you live and who
your customers are. There’s a fine art
to finding the right type of flowers to
grow, timing harvests for specific times
of the year, and selling to the right
people for the best price. Flowers you
sell at farmers markets are different from
flowers you sell to wedding florists, for
example. You might need a few seasons
to sort this out, so be sure to factor in
some extra time while you’re getting the
hang of it all.
Cut Flower Recommendations
for Beginning Farmers
Whether you want to grow cut flowers for pleasure, to attract
pollinators, or for a potential side business, here are a few of my
favorite go-to flowers that can be started from seed and are easy
to grow across a variety of climates. There’s a whole world of cut
flowers to discover and fall in love with,
but you must look beyond the short-
stemmed bedding plants you’ll find at
big garden centers and go for cultivars
with long stems and a productive growth
habit. Search catalogs and read seed
packets carefully to ensure that the variety
or cultivar is good for cutting.
Amaranthus spp. Amaranth is an easy-
to-grow, heat-loving flower that comes
in a range of earthy colors and forms,
including many that look like hanging
tassels. The upright varieties make a great
foliage base for market bouquets.
Antirrhinum spp. (snapdragons).
These beautiful, frilly blooms are highly
productive, and they have long, strong
stems, a lengthy vase life, and a lovely
48 MOTHER EARTH NEWS COLLECTOR SERIES • MODERN HOMESTEADING
MH22.indb 48
Celosia spp. (top) and Amaranthus spp. (bottom)
both tolerate hot summers.
first crop for beginning growers and are reliable, prolific producers
no matter where you garden.
Investment Decisions
If you’re ready to get serious about flower farming as a business
Resources
Floret Farm’s Cut Flower Garden by
Erin Benzakein
Grow Your Own Cut Flowers by Sarah Raven
Specialty Cut Flowers by Allan M. Armitage
and Judy M. Laushman
The Flower Farmer by Lynn Byczynski
The Cutting Garden by Sarah Raven
Woody Cut Stems for Growers and Florists by
Lane Greer and John Dole
Subscription to Growing for Market trade
publication, www.GrowingForMarket.com
Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers,
www.ASCFG.org
citrus scent. They’re great in early
summer bouquets, and the more you
pick them, the more they flower.
Celosia spp. These easy-to-grow,
heat-loving flowers come in a wide
variety of shapes, colors, and forms,
including a crested cockscomb that
my kids used to call a “brain flower,”
and spiky, plumed forms that are great
accents for bouquets.
Cosmos spp. Of all the annual
plants you can grow in your cutting
garden, none is more productive than
cosmos. The more you harvest them,
the more they bloom. A single planting
will produce buckets and buckets of
daisylike blooms for many months.
Gomphrena globosa (globe
amaranth). These summer darlings
have buttonlike blooms that look great
in bouquets. They thrive in heat, and
the more you cut, the more they bloom.
Freshly harvested flowers can last up to
two weeks in a vase and can be dried.
Tagetes spp. (marigolds). These are
some of the toughest, most abundant
flowering plants you can grow. I often
get 15 to 20 salable blooms from a
single plant! These fluffy bloomers are a
great addition to market bouquets.
Zinnia spp. One of the easiest cut
flowers to cultivate, zinnias are a perfect
FROM LEFT: COURTESY OF WWW.RARESEEDS.COM (2); JOY PROUTY
and are wondering what you’ll need to
get started, I’ve outlined the investments
that I made in the first three years. We’ve
always run a debt-free operation, and
growth has been slow and steady. Rather
than buying on credit, we took the advice
of a wise farmer in our area and used the
profits from the previous season to invest
in infrastructure and equipment.
The first year, I started out modestly
with a wheelbarrow, a few basic hand
tools, some landscape fabric for weed
suppression, and a drip irrigation
system. The second year, I invested
in a small 15-by-40-foot seed-starting
greenhouse and an old walk-in cooler
that I bought on Craigslist. I couldn’t
afford the cooling unit that came with
3/29/22 2:31 PM
 Erin and her husband, Chris, have built a life that’s both fulfilling and beautiful to them.

the cooler, so I used an air conditioner and a CoolBot, which was
a much more affordable option. During the third year, we put
up our first large greenhouse (20 by 60 feet) and bought an old
delivery van. Each year, as the business grew more profitable, we
invested in tools that saved time and labor, including a tractor, 11
hoop houses, and an indoor workspace. If you don’t have a ton of
money to invest in the beginning, grow slowly and pay as you go.
FROM LEFT: COURTESY OF WWW.RARESEEDS.COM (2); JOY PROUTY
Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers, a national
organization dedicated to supporting commercial cut flower
growers through education, marketing support, research, and
community events (www.ASCFG.org). And if you haven’t
yet read any of the books listed under “Resources” (Page
48), then consider checking them out online or at your local
bookstore or library.

Having the opportunity to own your own business, be

Rough Around the Edges
People always assume, after seeing pictures, that our property
is a beautiful, magazine-worthy show farm. In reality, there are a
lot of rough edges. There’s a lot of duct tape and baling twine if
you look closely. Although it’s not as polished as I’d like, we own
everything outright, and that’s worth its weight in gold.
Before you set off down the flower-farming path, first gain
an overall understanding of the floral industry and the general
practice of growing flowers. I highly recommend joining the
surrounded by the beauty of nature, and do something both
meaningful and fulfilling for a living is incredible. But with
all the benefits you’ll gain from flower farming, you’ll also
find a whole lot of hard work and tough lessons to learn.
The first few years will be the hardest as you try, fail at,
and succeed at so many new things. While venturing into
uncharted territory can be scary, all the lessons you learn will
ultimately serve you in the long run. So, keep at it. The future
is bright and filled with flowers!

Read more about succession planting and growing techniques to get the most out of your growing
GET PLANTING! season at www.MotherEarthNews.com/Succession-Planting.

Cobrahead Mini Weeder and Cultivator

Whether it’s weeding, cultivating, scalping, or digging, this mini weeder & cultivator has you covered! Its compact size makes
it the perfect tool for removing weeds in tight spaces, and the sharp, narrow blade makes ripping up tough
soil a breeze. This product is available at Store.MotherEarthNews.com or by calling 800-
234-3368. Mention promo code MMEPAMZ3. Item #8954.

GARDEN TECHNIQUES AND METHODS • WWW.MOTHEREARTHNEWS.COM 49

46-49 Flower Farm.indd 49 4/1/22 1:11 PM

 Top Plants for
Companion
Planting
You can use plants in specific combinations to repel pests,
control weeds, and boost your garden’s overall health.

By Barbara Pleasant recent research into reducing pesticide is boosted garden resilience. A successful
use on farms has shed new light on how combination often has multiple benefits.

C
ompanion planting means
growing two or more different
plants in close proximity for
a specific purpose, such as better pest
control or higher yields. In the past,
many companion planting practices were
based on folklore or bad science, but
companion planting works.
Increased diversity is at the heart of
companion planting. Incorporating plants
that attract beneficial insects, deter pests, or
invigorate the soil will turn up the volume
on interactions between plants, insects,
and the soil food web — and the result
For example, when arugula and onions
are grown together, the onions repel some
flea beetles from the arugula, while the
wide leaves of arugula smother weeds and
shade the onion roots. A good companion
planting scheme often has a ripple effect
and enhance the health of your garden.

50 MOTHER EARTH NEWS XXXX/XXXX XXXX

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 WWW.MOTHEREARTHNEWS.COM 51

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 Radishes shelter slow-to-germinate carrots (left). Buckwheat provides shade as a cover crop (center) and, when pulled, as a mulch for fall kohlrabi (right).

The trick is finding planting combos
that work well, are easy to manage, and
accomplish one or more of these goals:
• Reduce pests.
• Deliver better weed control.
• Enrich the soil.
• Provide shelter from weather stress.
Reduce Pests
You can choose companion plants that
influence insect activities in two different
ways: by masking the presence of crops
the pests are attracted to, or by attracting
predators that will attack the pests.
In the first scenario, flying insects search
for their favorite host plants by picking
up their clues from the air, with their
antennae sensing the gaseous plumes given
off by the plants. Then, they use their eyes
and feet to further examine a promising
host plant. When confusing companion
plants, such as marigold or mint, are
part of the mix, cabbage and onion root
maggots are reduced because the mother
flies get frustrated after landing on the
wrong plants too many times.
When it comes to “masking” crop plants
with confusing companions, onions are
the star vegetables in several research
studies. Bulb onions, green onions, garlic,
and other alliums don’t look or smell like
other vegetables, and their upright stature
makes them easy to use in companion
planting combinations.
With little mites, thrips, aphids, and
whiteflies that blow in on the wind,
there’s not much host-plant searching to
interrupt. But you can alter these pests’
access to your garden with a tall hedge
of plants that filters incoming winds. A
companion planting of dill on the south
side of your garden might sieve out spider
mites before they reach your cucumbers,
or a sunflower screen could create a
windbreak that stalls incoming aphids.
Both dill and sunflowers provide nectar
and pollen for ladybugs, lacewings, and
other general predators that will help
clean up soft-bodied insects that make it
through the screen.
You’ll need a different companion
planting strategy after pests become
established in the garden. By summer,
companion plants that attract beneficial
insects skyrocket in value. Dozens of
studies have shown that having plenty
of natural predators means fewer pests.
Attracting those predators is often as easy
as growing plenty of flowers with small,
open blossoms. Think spring-planted
arugula, cilantro, or mysterious mustards
from mesclun mixes that bolt into bloom
as days get longer.

FROM LEFT: ADOBE STOCK (2)/NCAIMAGES, ANDRIS T; BARBARA PLEASANT; PAGES 50-51: GETTY IMAGES/RVIARD
10 Top Insectary Plants for Companion Planting

FROM LEFT: GETTY IMAGES/HMPROUDLOVE; ADOBE STOCK/STEPHEN BONK; FLICKR/JEAN_AND_FRED

Plant Life Cycle Bloom Time Beneficials Attracted
Borage (Borago officinalis) Annual Midsummer Ground beetles, predatory bugs, hover flies, lacewings, spiders

Cilantro (Coriandrum sativum) Annual Early summer Bees, hover flies, parasitic wasps, pirate bugs

Coreopsis (Coreopsis grandiflora) Native perennial Mid- to late summer Bees, hover flies, lacewings, ladybugs, predatory wasps

Cosmos (Cosmos bipinnatus) Annual Mid- to late summer Bees, hover flies, parasitic wasps, lacewings, ladybugs

Dill (Anethum graveolens) Annual Early summer to fall Bees, ladybugs, lacewings, wasps
(successive sowings)

Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) Annual or biennial Midsummer Hover flies, many species of predatory wasps

Lacy phacelia (Phacelia tanacetifolia) Native annual Early to midsummer Bees, lacewings, spiders, hover flies

Queen Anne’s lace (Daucus carota) Annual or biennial Midsummer Hover flies, predatory wasps, ladybugs, lacewings, pirate bugs,
spiders

Sunflower (Helianthus annuus) Native annual Mid- to late summer Bees, pirate bugs, predatory wasps

Sweet alyssum (Lobularia maritima) Annual Early summer to fall Bees, hover flies, lacewings, parasitic wasps, pirate bugs

52 MOTHER EARTH NEWS COLLECTOR SERIES • MODERN HOMESTEADING

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 Plant to attract beneficial insects. From left: a hover fly pollinating a bloom; parasitic wasp eggs on a tomato hornworm; an aphid-eating ladybug larvae.

The chart on the previous page suggests
easy plants for attracting beneficial insects,
many of which have multiple talents.
For example, the large, spreading leaves
of borage create a nice habitat for ground
beetles. Borage leaves are too hairy for slugs
and aren’t preferred by spider mites, but
they do host a few aphid species of interest
to lacewings and hover flies, which helps
build up predator populations. Borage
blossoms attract honeybees and wild bees,
too, and the bee traffic may make the air
space near borage dangerous for cucumber
beetles and other small flying insects.
Insectary plants are agreeable in garden
beds because most of them produce
pretty flowers. When viewed from above
by the big, compound eyes of hover flies
and lacewings, the nectar in the shallow
florets of sweet alyssum, Queen Anne’s
lace, and yarrow glisten like jewels. Larger
wasps appreciate the comfortable footing
FROM LEFT: ADOBE STOCK (2)/NCAIMAGES, ANDRIS T; BARBARA PLEASANT; PAGES 50-51: GETTY IMAGES/RVIARD
larger plants need more space. If you allow pumpkins or vining squash to run under
a few of the interplanted greens to flower, corn or upright blueberries or raspberries
they’ll then serve a stint as insectary plants. and they’ll do a good job of keeping weeds
The weed-suppressing abilities of down in late summer.
vigorous vining squash is one feature
that makes the ancient Three Sisters Enrich the Soil
garden work. In this famous three-way Gardeners often report that carrots
companion planting plan, beans run up and snap beans grown with marigolds
the corn, and the ground around the and other companion plants taste
upright crops is shrouded in vines. better. A Polish study found that carrots
In similar fashion, you can allow intercropped with marigolds or calendula
Companion Planting Simplified
We used the MOTHER EARTH NEWS Vegetable Garden Planner to show you practical
companion planting plans for a small garden of four 10-by-3-foot permanent beds.
The Planner offers a bug’s-eye view of your combinations and tells you how many
plants you can fit in your available space. It includes more than 250 plant choices,
including the top insectary plants. The Planner can show you the best options for
companion planting based on the latest expertise, what you can fit in where, and

provided by coreopsis, cosmos, and other the best dates for planting. Our Garden Journal app allows you to track your garden’s
daisy-shaped flowers. progress on your mobile device or tablet. Try the award-winning garden planner free for
Spiders prey on anything that moves.
FROM LEFT: GETTY IMAGES/HMPROUDLOVE; ADOBE STOCK/STEPHEN BONK; FLICKR/JEAN_AND_FRED

seven days at www.MotherEarthNews.com/Garden-Planner.

Low-growing companion plants, such as Companion planting plans for spring, below left. Top: Radishes serve as nurse crops for
clovers, lettuces, or radishes, can become beets, carrots, and kale. Green onions and flowers deter pests. Bottom: Onions protect
ders spider havens when grown among taller cabbage and kohlrabi. Chamomile and cornflowers support beneficial insects.
plants, such as broccoli or tomatoes. Companion planting plans for summer, below right. Top: Celery grows in moist shade
between tomatoes. Marigolds, basil, and borage deter pests and attract beneficials.
Better Weed Control Bottom: Bush beans shade maturing potatoes. Dill and sunflowers screen out pests.
The close spacing typical of most
companion planting schemes naturally
squeezes out weeds. With widely spaced
vegetables, such as cabbage or tomatoes,
you can use a fast-growing companion
crop of lettuce or other leafy greens as a
temporary ground cover in the open space.
Planting cilantro, lettuce, mustard,
ugs,
arugula, or other leafy greens between
onions, cabbage, tomatoes, or peppers,
or between rows of slow-growing carrots
or beets, creates a weed-smothering green
mulch that can be harvested before the

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MH22.indb 53 3/29/22 2:31 PM


were sweeter than those grown without
companions, which was likely due to
healthier conditions in the root zone.
Marigolds exude root chemicals with
bactericidal, insecticidal, and fungicidal
effects, making it easier for their neighbors
to enjoy robust root health. In addition,
some marigolds release natural nematode
repellents into the soil, making them
good companions for tomatoes, potatoes,
peppers, okra, and other nematode-
susceptible crops. Marigolds’ gifts to the
soil continue after the plants are dead.
In one study, potato yields rose between
8% and 14% when they were planted
after marigolds, probably due to beneficial
residual microflora on the rotting roots.
Legumes — peas, beans, and clovers
—fix atmospheric nitrogen and store it
in root nodules for their own use, and
benefit plant neighbors by ramping up
activity levels in the rhizosphere. This
is why bush snap beans and potatoes
make such good bed partners, and why
legumes in general are important players
in Three Sisters gardens and other classic
companion planting combinations. By
invigorating the rhizosphere, legumes used
as companion plants enhance the ability
of the crop plants to feed themselves,
often with additional benefits. In a study
in which broccoli was planted with a
companion crop of crimson clover, the
54 MOTHER EARTH NEWS COLLECTOR SERIES • MODERN HOMESTEADING
MH22.indb 54
Clockwise from bottom left: A hover fly
pollinates fennel; cabbage interplanted with
a cover crop; marigolds release nematode
repellents; corn casts shade on beans; shallots
benefit from clover’s soil-enrichment qualities.
clover kept the soil cool and moist and
provided habitat for predatory spiders,
which reduced pest problems. The most
common clover in North America,
Dutch white clover (Trifolium repens),
can be allowed to grow as a companion
provided it doesn’t leave the main crop
with inadequate water.
Shelter from Weather Stress
One of the most versatile planting
methods for home gardeners is to use
companion plants to shelter crops from
too much sun, wind, or flooding rains.
Gardens laid out in rows are a perfect
setting for placing selected plants in
adjacent strips — say, peppers on the
shady side of sweet corn. In most climates,
peppers that get an afternoon break from
summer sun produce more perfect fruit.
Other vegetable pairings exploit the
plants’ physical compatibility, such as
growing celery, lettuce, or chard between
tall caged tomatoes, or planting pole beans
in gaps in a corn row. For every tall, stable
plant, you can match it with a low-growing
veggie or vine that adapts to shade.
Buckwheat is best known as a summer
cover crop, but it also makes a good
companion plant to sow alongside broad
potato rows after the potatoes emerge. The
upright buckwheat plants filter bright sun,
which helps to retain crucial soil moisture
for the potatoes. Buckwheat blossoms also
attract beneficials, and the buckwheat
“fence” will deter flea beetles, leaf hoppers,
and other common potato pests.
“Nurse crops” are companion plants
selected and sited to provide shade,
stabilize the soil, or offer wind protection
for younger, weaker plants. A common
method involves sowing radishes between
CLOCKWISE FROM BOTTOM LEFT: GETTY IMAGES (3)/MANTONATURE, APICHSN ROBERT BIEDERMANN; BARBARA PLEASANT (2)
rows of carrots or beets. The radishes
sprout quickly and stabilize the site for
carrots and beets, which take much longer
to germinate. After a month or so, the
radishes will be pulled to allow the other
vegetables room to grow.
Cereal grains, such as wheat or oats,
make interesting nurse crops, too. In
one study, strawberries planted with a
nurse crop of wheat were protected from
weather damage and pests. When the
soil warms in summer, buckwheat, bush
beans, or crowder peas make fine nurse
crops for summer-planted cabbage. Fast-
growing oats are an ideal nurse crop for
cool-season vegetables planted in August,
or for a mixture of winter cover crops.
Every garden is a unique natural system
that you can try to enrich, enhance, and
balance for your own benefit. Companion
planting increases the diversity of plants
while accomplishing specific goals that
enhance plant health — and a diverse
garden is a happy garden.
3/29/22 2:31 PM
 “To nurture a garden
is to feed not just the
body, but the soul.”
GETTY IMAGES / SOLNUHA

— Alfred Austin

MH22.indb 55 3/29/22 2:33 PM

 Vermicomposting
Basics

LEN CHURCHILL; PAGE 56: ADOBE STOCK/THOMASS

56 MOTHER EARTH NEWS XXXX/XXXX XXXX

MH22.indb 56 3/29/22 2:31 PM

g
Add worms to your
composting process
s
to form a nutrient-rich
fertilizer for your garden.
By Crystal Stevens
V
ermiculture, or worm farming,
is the use of worms to break
down organic material. It’s
a simple way of turning table scraps
into compost. The end product is a
nutrient-rich natural fertilizer called
“worm castings.” A vermicompost bin
can maintain the conditions necessary
for hosting an environment for worm
reproduction.
Backyard Vermiculture
Benefits
Vermiculture can benefit your
backyard garden in the following ways:
• It will enhance your existing
composting operation.
• It will use worms to create a high-
yield nutrient-rich fertilizer.
• Worms, such as red wigglers and
earthworms, will help break down
organic material more rapidly.
• The end product will have a higher
amount of humus than compost,
and humus can improve aeration
and water retention tremendously.
Vermicompost is rich in nitrogen,
phosphorus, and potassium, and
contains both macronutrients and
micronutrients that benefit plant
health and stimulate plant growth.
The compost contains worm castings;
partially decomposed organic materials;
and organic waste with fragments of
LEN CHURCHILL; PAGE 56: ADOBE STOCK/THOMASS
plants, food, and other detritus. Most
vermicompost contains plant-growth
hormones, which can increase plant
vitality and yields. In vermicompost,
micronutrients that may ordinarily
be washed away in heavy rains, such
as magnesium and sulfur, are instead
bound and released slowly.
The product that vermicomposting
yields is more than worth the small
MH22.indb 57
investment it takes to get started. You
can begin free of charge if you have a
friend who keeps worms already. Just
set up your system first, and then ask
your friend for about a dozen worms.
Within a month or two, your worm
population will start to increase.
In the retail market, natural
fertilizers can be expensive. Finished
vermicompost sells for up to $35 for
a 20-pound bag. You can make your
own 20-pound bag of castings in your
basement or backyard for just pennies
after you pay your initial costs.
If you’re using reclaimed materials
to build an outdoor bin, you’ll only
have to buy the worms and straw bales
(to be used as occasional bedding and
for insulation during winter months).
You can really keep costs down as long
as you’re creative with your building
resources.
GARDEN TECHNIQUES AND METHODS • WWW.MOTHEREARTHNEWS.COM 57
lid
inner bin
with holes for
ventilation in
sides and bottom
food scraps,
bedding,
and worms
outer bin
(no holes)
spacer bricks
compost
The inner bin holds the scraps and
worms, while the outer bin acts as
a catchment for any excess liquid,
which can also be used as fertilizer
Set Up a Standard Worm Bin
A typical worm bin is made with
two plastic containers — an inner bin
and an outer bin. The inner bin needs
several holes drilled on all four sides
and three dozen holes drilled through
the bottom. A layer of small pebbles,
river rocks, or sand on the bottom will
prevent water buildup in the bedding
and promote drainage. The outer bin,
which acts as a catchment for any
liquid, will need several dozen holes
drilled through all four sides, but none
on the bottom.
Add the worm bedding — a mixture
of shredded paper or torn newspaper,
leaf litter, grass clippings, and small
pieces of cardboard, such as toilet
paper rolls — and spray with water
until the mixture is wet.
The bedding should sit until it
reaches the correct temperature,
3/29/22 2:31 PM
 Drill holes in the inner bin; you can also insert mesh to support the bedding while allowing drainage. Bedding can include shredded paper and newspaper.

between 55 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit. • All food scraps, except meat, dairy, Recycled paper and newspaper
It should stay below 90 degrees F for and spicy peppers both make excellent bedding for
at least two days. • Eggshells worms. Borrow or buy a simple
After the optimum temperature has • Coffee grounds paper shredder to shred newspaper,
been reached, push aside the bedding, • Newspaper (black and white only; thin cardboard, and black and white
add the worms, and cover with the no colorful, glossy pages) paper waste, and keep it in a bin with
bedding. You can then add food • Cardboard, such as toilet paper a tight-fitting lid. Ask friends and
scraps slowly. A rule of thumb among and paper towel rolls family to save newspapers for you.
vermiculturists is that worms can eat • Leaves You might also check with your local
their weight in one day. For example, • Grass clippings newspaper office to see about getting
1 pound of worms will go through • Small twigs their leftovers after distribution.
1 pound of food scraps daily. • Plants removed from the garden Fall leaves are a great addition to
After 1 to 2 months, harvest the after their life cycle is complete a vermicompost bin. Leaf blowers
bottom layer of vermicompost. Add (don’t add if they’re infested with sometimes come with an attachment
a few handfuls of new worm bedding. nonbeneficial insects or diseased) that sucks and grinds up leaves and
Continue adding kitchen scraps, and • Noninvasive weeds before they go deposits them into a collection bag.
the cycle will continue. to seed This works well, because the shredded
Don’t compost waste that should leaves take less time for the worms to
What to Add to Your Bin go to the landfill or be recycled, or process, and they won’t compact as
Some items that can go into a materials that won’t decompose. Don’t much as whole leaves.
compost bin shouldn’t go into a add invasive weeds or diseased plants; Grass clippings from untreated
vermicompost bin. The following items instead, burn them away from your lawns are a wonderful addition. Lawn
can be composted in a worm bin: garden and compost bin. mowers may have an attachment for
collecting clippings, which can then
be added with leaf litter to your bins.
This should only be done if the lawn
Purchasing Worms isn’t treated with chemical pesticides.
Because there are roughly 1,000 worms per pound, worms are sold by weight rather Sawdust from untreated lumber
than by count. For an indoor worm bin, starting with 50 to 100 worms is fine. For an can be added to a vermicompost bin.
outdoor vermicompost bin, we started with 1,000 worms, and they multiplied quickly. Lumber mills are often a great resource
You can mail-order red wriggler worms from the following reputable companies: for untreated sawdust. You might
Uncle Jim’s Worm Farm: 800-373-0555; www.UncleJimsWormFarm.com want to avoid sawdust from species
Planet Natural: 888-349-0605; www.PlanetNatural.com such as black walnut (Juglans nigra)
Red Worm Composting: www.RedWormComposting.com and relatives that produce allelopathic
Gardener’s Supply Co.: 800-876-5520; to order, 888-833-1412; www.Gardeners.com chemicals, or any of the aromatic cedars
RICK WETHERBEE (5)

Windy City Worms: www.WindyCityWorms.com that might contain oils toxic to worms.
Local Harvest: www.LocalHarvest.org Wood chips make an excellent filler
FednHappy: 833-469-6767; www.FednHappy.com material for long-term composting,
and they’re especially helpful for

58 MOTHER EARTH NEWS COLLECTOR SERIES • MODERN HOMESTEADING

MH22.indb 58 3/29/22 2:31 PM

 With a minimal investment, you can set up an out-of-the-way bin in which worms work to turn detritus into garden gold.

adding a carbon component to your
large pile, for aging manure, and for
adding a base layer to a long windrow
system. (See notes on tree species
selection under “Sawdust.”)
Spent grains are often readily
available and can be a good source
of food for microorganisms in a
vermicompost bin during winter,
when large volumes of vegetable
scraps aren’t as available. Use caution
when employing spent grains for
vermicomposting because of the
amount of heat they generate when
decomposing, as well as how they
change the pH of the pile. To cool
them down a bit, you can add spent
brewing grains to a compost pile first
to get them started decomposing.
Another method for aging them is
to use a 5-gallon bucket with several
holes drilled into the bottom for
drainage and airflow. Place about four
handfuls of chip mulch at the bottom,
add spent grains, and top with several
more handfuls of chip mulch. This
will allow the spent grains to cool off
a bit and start decomposing after 1
to 2 weeks. Be sure to add only a few
handfuls at a time in one corner of the
bin. Don’t cover the bin with spent
grains, because you’ll want the worms
to be able to retreat if an area of the
bin gets too warm for them.
Coffee grounds are readily available
from most coffee shops. If the shops
don’t separate their grounds from the
garbage, you could offer to provide a
few clean buckets for them to dump
grounds into. You can schedule a
weekly pickup, and drop off clean
buckets each time. This is a great
resource, especially if you’re doing
a large vermicompost system or
windrow, discussed below.
Animal manure is a great addition
to any vermicompost pile. Pre-
composted or aged manure is best for
a vermicompost bin. Some animal
manures are better than others. Most
offer good nutrition for worms, such
as cattle, poultry, sheep, goat, hog,
rabbit, and horse manure. Weed seeds
in uncomposted animal manure are
often a disadvantage, because the seeds
need to reach a certain temperature to
become nonviable, but pre-composted
manure can still be used.
Pile Division
On a larger scale, compost can be
placed into piles or long windrows instead
of bins. We like to divide ours into one-
year, two-year, and five-year piles. The
one-year pile has plenty of worms and
microorganisms that are working hard
to transform the organic matter into a
usable growing medium. It contains only
materials that will decompose within
a year, such as food scraps, leaf litter,
newspaper, and grass clippings. It has a
1-to-1 carbon-to-nitrogen ratio.
The two-year pile contains everything
the one-year pile has, but we add
cardboard and manures from goats,
rabbits, cows, and horses. We also include
lots of fallen leaves, straw, and paper
goods to this pile, and we turn it weekly.
The five-year pile contains everything
the two-year pile has, plus chicken
manure. Because chicken manure is high
in nitrogen, we try to balance it by adding
more straw.

Harness the Awesome Power of Worms

Worms at Work is a practical guide to fertilizing and enriching your garden naturally. It discusses the vital
role worms play in boosting soil health, and the reasons why every gardener should use vermicompost in order
to decrease reliance on toxic synthetic fertilizers. Covering simple designs for building your own vermicom-
RICK WETHERBEE (5)

post bin, this book will help you put your worms to work, and grow happy, healthy plants in happy, healthy
soil. This title is available at Store.MotherEarthNews.com or by calling 800-234-3368. Mention promo code
MMEPAMZ3. Item #8430.

GARDEN TECHNIQUES AND METHODS • WWW.MOTHEREARTHNEWS.COM 59

MH22.indb 59 3/29/22 2:31 PM

 COURTESY OF MT. CUBA CENTER; OPPOSITE: CORINE HOLTMAAT

Echinacea purpurea
‘Pink Double Delight’

60 MOTHER EARTH NEWS XXXX/XXXX XXXX

MH22.indb 60 3/29/22 2:31 PM


Challenges
with Cultivars
The long-running native plant cultivar debate stems from concern about
their ecological functionality and possible environmental consequences.
By Tom Oder
W
hen the native plant
movement began in the
1970s, one of its goals was
to educate the public about landscaping
and gardening in an ecologically
sustainable way. A half-century later,
the buy-in has been more than
anyone bargained for.
The growing number
of native plant enthusiasts
demanded innovations in native
flora available at local nurseries.
In response, the horticulture
industry provided an increasing
number of cultivated forms
of native plants designed to
enhance desirable traits, such
as attractiveness to pollinators,
a e s t h e t i c va l u e , d i s e a s e
resistance, and consistent
performance. Nursery growers
and breeders in the United
States and abroad, in both the
native plant community and
COURTESY OF MT. CUBA CENTER; OPPOSITE: CORINE HOLTMAAT
the ornamental sector, had
cultivated these new plants
from ones selected in the
wild and hybrids created in
laboratories. Unfortunately,
both cultivated wild selections
and hybrids were often lumped
under one generic label: “native
cultivar” or, simply, “cultivar.”
Confusion ensued, controversy
erupted about ecological value,
and the topic boiled into one
MH22.indb 61
of the plant world’s hottest debates: Do
cultivars provide the same benefits to
wildlife as the species from which they’re
derived, or are they just ornamentals
with no environmental value? Even
worse, could native plant cultivars cause
environmental harm?
The horticulture community is
Phlox paniculata ‘Jeana’ is a popular selected cultivar.
GARDEN TECHNIQUES AND METHODS • WWW.MOTHEREARTHNEWS.COM 61
This article is available
online in audio form at
MotherEarthNews.com
divided on the answers, because
opinions differ on taxonomy, botany,
basic terminology (see “‘Nativars,’”
Page 62), and more. Luckily, a home
gardener doesn’t need to acquire a deep
knowledge of plant genetics to find
answers to questions about cultivars.
All you have to do is decide the purpose
of your garden.
For the Home Gardener
If you like the latest trends
in ornamental breeding,
then hybrid cultivars will
likely appeal to you. Hybrids
are propagated asexually by
breeders who cross — and, in
some cases, backcross — two or
more species. Hybrid flowers
can be sterile, especially
double-flowered forms, but
this isn’t the case with hybrids
in general. Many Echinacea
and Penstemon hybrids, for
example, produce nectar,
pollen, and seed. But there’s
something else to be aware
of with hybrids: Studies have
shown that anthocyanins that
turn green leaves purple or red
to give them a visual pop add
a bitterness that discourages
insect foraging.
If your aim is to support
wildlife and the food web,
then selected cultivars are for
you. These are straight species
plants chosen from natural
3/29/22 2:31 PM
 From left: Trillium grandiflorum ‘Pamela Copeland’ is a rare natural double flower. Echinacea purpurea is a readily available species.

populations because they possess One example of a selected cultivar with butterflies and bees,” says Steve
desirable garden characteristics, such as is Phlox paniculata ‘Jeana.’ It was Castorani, whose wholesale North
mildew resistance or a smaller size than discovered by Jeana Prewitt growing Creek Nurseries in Landenberg,

MT. CUBA CENTER (4)

the typical species. The vast majority along the Harpeth River near her home Pennsylvania, popularized ‘Jeana.’ “I
of selected cultivars are produced in Nashville, Tennessee. Named for her, can tell you 100% that if you put this
vegetatively from plant parts, and most it was selected for propagation because plant in your yard and it blooms, you
of them retain the ecological benefits its dark-green leaves resist powdery will have tiger swallowtail butterflies.

OF
of their wild counterparts. Because mildew, which is unusual for the genus. It’s a one-to-one relationship.”

these cultivars are genetic duplicates of
the parent plant, they can never offer
the genetic diversity that ecological
restoration practitioners require to
rebuild plant communities. This,
however, doesn’t diminish their value
in urban or suburban gardens.
Plus, its sweetly scented flowers, which
are smaller than the species and bloom
in varying shades of vibrant lavender-
pink from midsummer through early
autumn, strongly attract pollinators.
“There are certain plants that have
specific longstanding relationships
COURTESY
An additional validation of the
ecological value of ‘Jeana’ is that it was
identified as a star pollinator plant
in the Phlox Sun Trials at Mt. Cuba
Center, a nonprofit botanical garden in
Hockessin, Delaware, that encourages a
broader use of native plants to support

‘Nativars’: A New Name for Native Plant Cultivars

The term “nativar,” which refers to cultivars of native plants, seems
to have snuck its way into the horticultural lexicon. No one really
knows when or how it came into use — not even the person who
coined the term, Allan Armitage, professor emeritus of horticulture at
the University of Georgia. “It’s at least five years old, maybe more,”
Armitage says. “I write books and articles. Maybe I just stuck it in
there somewhere. All of a sudden, people were asking me, ‘Why did
you write nativar?’ Well, it seemed to make sense to me.”
Armitage thinks using the term “cultivar” to refer to cultivated forms
of native plants confuses people. “What is a cultivar?” he asks. “It’s
just a cultivated variety. It could be anything. What’s a nativar? Well,
it’s a variety of a North American native plant. When you say ‘nativar,’
people immediately know you are talking about a native plant.”
For the record, he says, the term refers to both propagated selections
of native plants as well as lab-created hybrids. “Whether a cultivar
occurred naturally or somebody created it in the lab or greenhouse, it’s
still a hybrid, and it’s still a cultivar,” he says. “In fact, I would guess
that 95% of what is offered today are hybrids.”
Armitage’s belief is that gardening should be simple. If gardening
sounds too complicated, he says, people’s eyes will glaze over and
they’ll lose interest in what should be a fun, relaxing, and enjoyable
hobby. He thinks keeping that levity is especially important during the
coronavirus pandemic. With people staying closer to home, indications
are that many are turning to gardening, perhaps for the first time.
In the meantime, Armitage is just grateful that some people
listened and recognized that “nativar” came from him. “Not that I’m
going to make any money from it,” he says. “But it’s nice to know I
left something for the world.”
Because his lectures have been canceled due to the pandemic,
Armitage is inviting people to walk through his garden with
him on Facebook Live. Join him at www.Facebook.com/Watch/
ArmitageAllan.

62 MOTHER EARTH NEWS COLLECTOR SERIES • MODERN HOMESTEADING

MH22.indb 62 3/29/22 2:31 PM


A member of Mt. Cuba Center’s Pollinator Watch Team collects pollinator data in the Trial Garden.
wildlife and conducts field experiments
of selected and hybrid cultivars to
evaluate their garden-worthiness.
MT. CUBA CENTER (4)
Dealing with Double Flowers
Mt. Cuba Center recently completed
a trial evaluating 75 different
OF
coneflowers (Echinacea), including
COURTESY
some with double flowers that are
MH22.indb 63
examples of the hybrid cultivars widely
available in the nursery trade. “As part
of the trial, we’ve been evaluating 12
doubles and even dissected some of
them, and found that none of the
double-flower coneflowers in our
current trial produce seeds,” says Jeff
Downing, executive director of Mt.
Cuba. “While it’s biologically plausible
that some double-flower forms may
produce pollen and nectar, it is
uncommon.”
Mt. Cuba is sourcing a double-
flowered coneflower that’s popular with
consumers for trial, Echinacea purpurea
‘Pink Double Delight’ (pictured on
Page 60), to determine if it produces
pollen and nectar. This plant was
the first successful commercial
introduction of double flowers, says
Angela Treadwell-Palmer, founder and
co-owner of Plants Nouveau in Mobile,
Alabama. She’s also the breeder agent
for AB-Cultivars in the Netherlands
that developed the plant.
“We have never touted the doubles as
food for wildlife or for genetic diversity,
but simply as decorations for gardens,
as many horticultural perennial
introductions are,” Treadwell-Palmer
says. “The pollinators do visit them,
and, in my horticultural and ecological
opinion, they are much better than
turf. So I would rather see someone
begin with a double coneflower because
they thought it was pretty, fall in love
A volunteer citizen scientist
collects pollinator data in
Mt. Cuba’s Trial Garden.
WWW.MOTHEREARTHNEWS.COM 63
3/29/22 2:31 PM

with it, and then move on to collect
others, even single-petaled selections
with enhanced wildlife benefits.”
If you want to dig deeper into Mt.
Cuba Center’s trials on Echinacea
species and cultivars with pollinator
data, you can view its 2018 to 2020
research report at www.MtCubaCenter.
org/Trials/Echinacea-Mid-Atlantic-
Region.
Plant Presence at Nurseries
Gardeners who prefer straight
native species likely believe their
only choice is to buy cultivated
forms because that’s all they see in
plant nurseries or catalogs. They can
take comfort in knowing their eyes
aren’t deceiving them. Mt. Cuba
conducted and published a survey
in April 2017, updated in February
Doug Tallamy (right)
guides the capture
and study of insects
at Mt. Cuba Center.
64 MOTHER EARTH NEWS XXXX/XXXX XXXX
MH22.indb 64
Of the 6,885 different
plants sold by the
14 nurseries surveyed,
only 25% were native.
2018, of 14 wholesale nurseries in
Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, and
Pennsylvania. Of the 6,885 different
plants sold by the target nurseries,
only 25% were native. This percentage
includes straight native species and
selected and hybrid cultivars. Of
the natives, just 23% were straight
species, meaning 77% of native plants
available to consumers were cultivated
forms. The survey authors did note,
however, that omitting box store
growers in the survey was a flaw that
could’ve changed the results.
Treadwell-Palmer adds another
perspective about why hybrid cultivars
dominate nursery benches. “A lot of
times, a cultivar is chosen because it
has more vigor, more flowers, or it
just plain propagates or grows better.
… Other times, a plant is selected
because it looks really great in a 1-
or 2-gallon pot on a retail shelf, and
that attracts customers at retail,” she
says. “The saddest reason plants are
selected is because growers who are
shipping plants to chain stores can fit
more plants on a rack, so they choose
MT. CUBA CENTER
the shortest selections for that reason.
Many cultivars are shorter. Breeders
are convinced Americans have no
OF
gardens or smaller gardens, so they
COURTESY
make everything fit smaller spaces.”
3/29/22 2:31 PM
 Altered Traits
in Hybrid Cultivars
When buying hybrid cultivars,
gardeners should be aware of traits
in the species that have been altered,
says Robert Wyatt, research professor
emeritus at the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill and former
professor of botany and ecology at the
University of Georgia. “Understanding
which traits have been changed provides
clues about the cultivar’s ability to
perform the same ecological role as
the species,” he says. Wyatt says the
traits that are most frequently changed
are stamens and pistils that have been
MT. CUBA CENTER
Start Your Seed Saving
Want to start saving seeds, but
unsure where to start? Then our “Seed
Saving 101” online course is for you.
Bevin Cohen of Small House Farm is
your guide in this introduction to the
world of saving seeds. Workshop videos
produced by Cohen cover topics such as
building community by sharing seeds,
the living history of heirloom varieties,
understanding seed-saving terminology,
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seeds, and more. Visit Online.
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showy, or where they have changed
flower color. That’s where a study
Annie White did at the University of
Vermont is so interesting.” White, then
a student working toward a doctorate in
ecological landscape design, evaluated
12 native herbaceous plant species and
14 native cultivars. She found that only
one cultivar with different-colored
flowers than the species attracted more
pollinators than the species. Because
of the proliferation of hybrid cultivars
in the nursery trade and findings such
as White’s, Wyatt is concerned that
“cultivars that don’t fill the role in the
food web that their ancestors have for

converted into extra petals or bracts millions of years could wreak havoc on
that provide no nectar, pollen, fruit, or natural ecosystems.”
seed to nourish wildlife; anthocyanins are so important is to read Doug Not everyone agrees with this view,
OF

that have been introduced to turn Tallamy.” Tallamy (pictured on Page including Downing. “In a suburban
COURTESY

normally green leaves purple or red 64) is a professor in the department
but that reduce palatability to insects of entomology and wildlife ecology at
that feed on them and, sometimes, the University of Delaware, and the
attractiveness to pollinators; larger or inspirational leader of America’s native
smaller plant size; changes in flower plant movement. Many native plant
colors; altered plant growth; and earlier enthusiasts consider his work Bringing
or later flowering times than the native Nature Home the go-to book for
or straight species. understanding the critical link between
It’s understandable, Wyatt believes, native plants and native wildlife.
that the gardening public might not
understand how some altered traits The Debate Continues
could make some hybrid cultivars poor Wyatt, whose emphasis has been
candidates for supporting wildlife. plant reproductive ecology, says he
“We’re still trying to make inroads with greatly admires the work Tallamy and
the largest part of the general public others have done in entomology, but
in terms of understanding why native adds that the altered traits in cultivars
plants are better for the landscape and that concern him most are ones
garden than some nonnatives, and involving changes to the flowers. “I am
better than cultivars in many cases, more concerned in some ways about
though certainly not all,” he says. plants that totally mess up reproductive
“One of the best things people can systems by converting flower parts
do to understand why native plants into more petals to make them more
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pollinator garden, there are vanishingly
few situations I can imagine where the
genetic heritage of your coneflowers
and Coreopsis are likely to threaten the
vitality of a local ecosystem,” he says.
That’s the point Mt. Cuba and the
U.S. Botanic Garden were trying to
make when they convened a panel of
biologists, geneticists, restorationists,
and statisticians in 2017 to begin to
provide some rational guidance for
individuals seeking to feed wildlife and
promote healthy biodiversity by using
native plants. They di s covered that
what’s appropriate and necessary in
a restoration project is different from
what’s beneficial and advisable in a
suburban garden.
Downing thinks it’s great that some
home gardeners choose to garden with
seed-grown straight species as opposed
to asexually created cultivated forms of
any kind. But he also agrees with the
panel’s approval of a more nuanced
approach to gardening.
“If you’re a backyard gardener who
just wants to use native plants to attract
and feed bees and butterflies,” he says,
“you can head down to your local garden
center with a little knowledge of how
plants grow; pick up some cultivated
Tiarella, Monarda, and Asters; add color
to your garden throughout the seasons;
and feel at ease that you haven’t just
wrecked nature.”

GARDEN TECHNIQUES AND METHODS • WWW.MOTHEREARTHNEWS.COM 65

MH22.indb 65 3/29/22 2:31 PM

 Transform Your
Driveway into a
Vegetable Garden
Use containers and Article and photos in some lettuce, Swiss chard, and beets,
by Craig LeHoullier and I ended up with much more than a
straw bales to create garden; it’s also a conversation piece, a local

I
was smitten with my driveway
an edible oasis. last summer. For several weeks, it
produced tasty tomatoes, peppers,
eggplants, summer squash, basil, bush
green beans, and cucumbers. Throw
gathering place for neighbors passing by, a
teaching center for children, and a chance
to spread the joy of gardening.
But wait! The driveway surface is
concrete. What’s the secret of succeeding

66 MOTHER EARTH NEWS COLLECTOR SERIES • MODERN HOMESTEADING

MH22.indb 66 3/29/22 2:31 PM


with an annual garden bounty—a ton of
fresh produce—in such a location? Why
turn an automobile parking place (or
basketball court, as the case may be) into
a garden? Well, necessity is the mother of
invention. You could also use a deck or a
patio, or any place in your yard that gets
n
good sun exposure.
Location and Creativity
When we moved from Pennsylvania
to Raleigh, North Carolina, 29 years
ago, one of the first jobs on my to-do list
was to remove a 30-by-50-foot patch of
sod on the side of the house for our new
garden plot. The sun shone well on the
spot we chose, and for 15 years we had
a traditional dirt garden. Then, because
of the ever-growing trees in the yard, our
garden spot began getting less and less
sun, and production began to drop off.
An area that gets at least six hours of direct
sun will work for a garden plot, but when
MH22.indb 67
The author’s driveway makes a great garden plot because of the amount of sun it receives.
that hourly exposure drops to four hours
or less, it can devastate a harvest.
Not having a productive garden was
too depressing to consider. Scanning our
property for a place where the sun shone
adequately revealed that our driveway was
the prime location. Clearly, removing
concrete wasn’t practical, but using the
space by growing our garden in containers
was just the ticket. Then, a few years ago,
we added straw bales to the mix.
Anything and everything that can be
grown in a traditional dirt or raised-bed
garden can succeed when using containers
or straw bales. The key to success is in
understanding the needs of the particular
crop type: its optimum root zone
(dimension-wise), watering and feeding
needs, and means of support (if it’s a
vertical or vining crop). Figuring all that
out took a few years of experimentation
along with a bit of logic and research.
We’re so pleased with the results that it’s
hard to imagine going back to the typical
dirt garden plot.
Planting Options and
Growing Techniques
Traditional dirt gardens, raised beds,
containers, straw bales, hydroponics,
greenhouses, and vertical gardening arrays
are some of the many options to adapt your
gardening plans to the infinite possibilities
of yards, conditions, and growing zones.
Any of these options will work well given
some trial, experimentation, and patience.
Most gardeners are familiar with an in-the-
ground dirt garden, and many install raised
beds. Adding containers and straw bales to
GARDEN TECHNIQUES AND METHODS • WWW.MOTHEREARTHNEWS.COM 67
your gardening tool belt will increase your
options, and allow you to grow something
great wherever the sun shines best in your
yard. Just make sure you jump into new
growing techniques gradually, as each has
its own set of considerations to learn for
maximum enjoyment and success.
See “Comparison and Success Factors”
on Page 68 to view the differences
between traditional dirt, straw bale, and
container gardening.
Using Straw Bales
While often thought of as a recent
technique, straw bale gardening originated
in the 1950s, when the pickling industry
needed a new way to grow cucumbers.
Related in a way to the lasagna gardening
principles of Ruth Stout, the technique
was described by Gary Wade at the
University of Florida in the late 1970s,
and a few years later in a 1982 M
E N article by C. Don Knight.
Subsequent articles and books, combined
with social networking, are expanding the
awareness and popularity of the technique.
I’ve come to cherish gardening with
straw bales since I first dabbled with the
technique in 2014. I think of a straw bale as
a 40-gallon-capacity planting zone, which
creates great potential for healthy plants
and heavy yields of produce. If you’re new
to this type of planting, I recommend you
use just a few bales the first season to see if
this technique is for you.
Difference between straw and hay
bales. Think of a drinking straw—hollow
and rigid. Straw bales are tightly packed
bundles of just such “straws” of dried
3/29/22 2:31 PM
 hollow stems. Hay bales, on the other
hand, are made up of bundled grasses.
The most commonly used and widely
available types of straw bales are composed
of wheat. Options such as oat and barley
bales work fine. Big-box hardware stores
often stock straw bales, as do many smaller
local gardening centers. It’s important to
ensure absence of persistent herbicides in
the bales. I was bitten by this a few years
ago, when three of my bales killed my
tomato plants. Be sure to ask your source
about this, or your efforts could be wasted.
Plants to grow. There’s really nothing I
wouldn’t try in a straw bale. It comes down
to your hours of sun, your available area
(the space between and around your bales),
and your ability to regularly maintain the
bales (particularly with regular watering
and feeding, and providing support of
some sort for taller or vining crops). Some
very hungry, very tall veggies, such as corn,
aren’t recommended to grow on a large
Comparison and Success Factors
Traditional Dirt Garden
Best spot for a garden in your yard may
not be where the sun shines best.
Sweat generated when digging,
weeding (throughout the season),
preparing rows, and planting holes.
Drainage issues depending on garden
location and substructure.
Less watering, less feeding.
Diseases and critters residing and
building up in the soil.
Lower cost of goods.
Easier to manage vining or tall plants
(stakes can be pounded into the soil).
Cooled soil at root zone (especially if
clay) can slow down plant growth and
crop maturity.
Yield of crops dependent on season,
garden location, spacing, and care
throughout the season.
68 MOTHER EARTH NEWS COLLECTOR SERIES • MODERN HOMESTEADING
MH22.indb 68
scale because of their propensity to topple,
but it may be fun to try one bale just to
see how it goes—it’s something I’ve yet
to do myself.
For each straw bale, use only two tomato
plants, two eggplants, or two pepper
plants. For all other crops, use spacing as if
you were planting a typical dirt garden to
guide you in determining the number of
plants or seeds needed.
Preparation, materials, and timing.
Purchase and position your straw bales at
least two weeks before you wish to plant
in them. (You can prepare them many
weeks in advance of planting, but two
weeks is the minimum.) Position the
straw bales as you would containers or
a traditional dirt garden, and remember,
the more sun, the better.
Bale preparation is a process where
adding nitrogen begins the breakdown
of the stiff, dry straw, en route to an ideal
environment for plant roots. The three
Container Garden
Move the garden to the sunniest spot in
your yard.
Sweat generated lugging bags of planting
mix, filling the containers, and more frequent
watering and feeding.
No drainage issues (as long as there are
drainage holes in the containers).
More watering, more feeding.
Start “clean” with new potting mix.
Higher to much higher cost of goods (containers,
planting mix, more water and food).
Creative thinking needed to support vining or
tall plants.
Elevation of root zone means faster start and
fewer days to maturity (sun shining directly on
containers).
Yield of crops on par with traditional dirt
garden, as long as the cultivar is correctly sized
for the capacity of the container.
necessary materials for bale preparation
are a nitrogen source, a balanced fertilizer,
and plenty of water. Non-organic nitrogen
sources with nutrition numbers, such as
29-0-5 (relative percentage of nitrogen,
phosphorous, and potassium, typically
abbreviated as N-P-K), work great. Organic
sources, such as blood meal, have less
nitrogen per volume, so a greater quantity
is needed to achieve the same result. For
the balanced food, a typical 10-10-10 will
work fine, and many organic alternatives
have numbers more in the 5-5-5 range,
meaning you’ll just need to add more if
using them.
The treatment is simple. Heavy doses
of the high-nitrogen material (1⁄2 cup
per bale of the 29-0-5 treatment, 1 cup
of blood meal, and similar organic N
sources) are sprinkled over each bale, then
water is applied until the bale is saturated
(typically 30 seconds of watering per
bale — it should run out the bottom).
Straw Bale Garden
Move the garden to the sunniest spot in
your yard.
Sweat generated putting the bales into place,
and more frequent watering and feeding.
No drainage issues.
More watering, more feeding.
Start “clean” with new straw bales, but be
sure of your source; avoid bales with persistent
herbicides.
Higher cost of goods (bales, more water,
and food).
Creative thinking needed to support vining or
tall plants.
Elevation of root zone means faster start and
fewer days to maturity (sun shining directly on
straw bales).
Yield of crops can equal or exceed those from
dirt gardens or containers, because of the
40-gallon-capacity equivalence of a straw bale.
3/29/22 2:31 PM

This heavy treatment is carried out three
times, on alternating days (days 1, 3,
and 5), with heavy watering on days in
between (days 2, 4, and 6). Days 7, 8, and
9 are for half-applications of nitrogen,
then deep watering. Day 10 is for a heavy
application of the balanced food—1 cup
of 10-10-10, and double that amount for
materials of half-strength—followed by
deep watering. Water deeply for the next
four days. Day 14 is the first possible
planting day.
Mushrooms and grass. Soon after
completing the straw bale preparation,
mushrooms typically start to emerge.
They’re harmless to the plants, but let
the bales go through this mushroom-
sprouting phase before direct-seeding, as
the young seedlings can get pushed out of
place. Grass may also start to grow out of
the bales; it’s completely harmless.
Seedlings or seeds? Seedlings are
recommended for crops that take a
MH22.indb 69
long time from seed, such as tomatoes,
eggplants, and peppers. Other items, such
as lettuce, beets, radishes, carrots, chard,
squash, cucumbers, and melons, as well as
various herbs and flowers, can be direct-
sown or planted as seedlings.
Planting seedlings in straw bales is as easy
as using your hands or a trowel to create
a “divot,” popping the seedling out of its
container, and positioning it as deeply as
you can, just as if you were planting in
soil. Fill in the gaps with good-quality
planting mix, bringing it level with the top
of the bale. Mulch around the plant with
untreated grass clippings, shredded leaves,
or shredded bark, and then water the plant
deeply at the base.
Start planting seeds by applying a 2-
to 3-inch layer of good-quality planting
mix to the top of the bale and patting
it gently in place. Plant the seeds at the
recommended spacing and depth, and
then gently water. For small-seeded
GARDEN TECHNIQUES AND METHODS • WWW.MOTHEREARTHNEWS.COM 69
With proper care, tomatoes
will thrive when planted in
straw bales or containers.
crops, such as radishes and carrots, which
have shallow roots early on, monitor the
moisture level of the top planting mix
carefully. It may be necessary to loosely
cover young seedlings with newspaper or
floating row covers to preserve moisture
until the plants grow large enough to no
longer be at risk of dying of thirst on hot,
sunny days.
Strings up or down? Straw bales
perform equally well whether they’re used
with the strings placed up or down. Strings
on the side mean slightly taller bales, and
strings on the top mean more stable bales
because of more surface area with ground
contact. The biggest mistake is cutting
the string. A bale is tied very tightly, and a
broken string will produce a pile of straw
that’s no longer suitable for planting into.
Watering and feeding. On hot summer
days, when the sun shines extensively,
straw bales will dry out quickly, as will the
thirsty roots of the mature plants planted
3/29/22 2:31 PM
 Hot peppers (left) and bell peppers (center), which have significant root systems and require lots of water and nutrients in summer heat, should be
planted in 5-gallon containers. Plant no more than two tomato plants (right) per straw bale for best results.
in them. Research your chosen plants
for watering guidelines, and pay close
attention to wilting plants on hot summer
afternoons — a sure indication they’re
thirsty. I find myself watering my straw
bales daily.
One tip for providing consistent water
to straw bales, and reducing labor, is
to run a soaker hose down the center
and cover it with planting mix. This is
particularly beneficial for direct small-
seed crops, such as carrots and radishes,
and will reduce die-off from small
seedlings becoming too dry when their
roots are still small.
Feeding is recommended on a weekly
schedule, as the vigorously growing plants
and frequent watering will lead to nutrient
depletion. Use a plant food of your choice,
and follow the directions on the label.
Supporting plants. There’s room for
creativity when providing support for
vining or tall-growing plants. Placing
stakes into the bales themselves works
only briefly, because the bales will soften
as the season progresses, and heavy plants
will pull the stakes over. I’ve found that
placing large containers of soil behind the
bales provides a place to insert support
stakes for tying up tall crops. I’ve also
70 MOTHER EARTH NEWS COLLECTOR SERIES • MODERN HOMESTEADING
MH22.indb 70
used tomato cages to support vining
vegetables, such as cucumbers, with great
success. I insert the cages into the bale
and anchor them using stakes embedded
into pots of soil placed behind the bales.
Pest problems. I’ve heard of mice,
rats, snakes, and ants taking up residence
in straw bales, but I’ve never personally
experienced any critter or pest issues.
However, as with any gardening
technique, be vigilant, so such issues can
be dealt with as soon as they arise.
End-of-season disposal. Depending
on the crops grown, as well as the seasonal
conditions, the straw bales will be partially
or completely collapsed by the end of the
season. The straw will convert to dark,
perfectly textured compost or loam. As
long as the plants in the bales were healthy,
the materials that remain can be used as
compost or mulch going forward.
Container Gardening
If it holds planting mix, it’ll grow
plants successfully. Notice I said “planting
mix,” not “soil” or “dirt.” The foundation
for success with containers is the nature
of what you put in the pot, and how
you care for your plantings. Filling
containers with garden soil that contains
disease spores is a surefire way to bring
unnecessary risk into your garden.
Choosing containers. The two most
important decisions when choosing
containers are ensuring that they have
drain holes (unless you’ll use specially
designed self-watering containers) and
that each container is the correct size for
the crop you plan to plant in it. Terra
cotta pots look nice and work fine, but
they need more watering because of their
porous nature. Self-watering containers,
though more costly, reduce the need for
watering and provide a safeguard when
you’re away from your garden and can’t
water regularly.
The vegetable types that are most
sensitive to proper sizing, with respect to
container capacity, are tomatoes, peppers,
and eggplants, all of which have significant
root systems and a high demand for water
and nutrition in the heat of summer, and
vining crops, such as squash, cucumbers,
and melons, which are heavy feeders. Tall
(indeterminate) tomato cultivars need
a container with a minimum capacity
of 10 gallons, while determinate and
dwarf tomatoes, along with peppers and
eggplants, need 5-gallon containers. Most
other vegetables, flowers, and herbs can be
3/29/22 2:31 PM

Squash can either be direct-sown or planted as seedlings in straw bales.
planted using the recommended spacing,
fitting in as many as possible in whatever
size container you choose.
Filling the containers. “Garbage in,
garbage out” is a familiar saying that
applies to gardening. If you use poor soil
mixes with too much or too little drainage,
or that are infused with various diseases,
you’ll be inviting problems. My preference
is products called “soil-less planting mixes”
rather than “garden soil” or “top soil.”
Bump up the water absorptionability by
blending it with compost or composted
manure. Aim for a sterile, free-draining
mixture with some water retention.
Watering and feeding. Weekly
watering may be sufficient when
the plants in your containers are
small — recently germinated through
a few weeks’ growth, which typically
corresponds with cooler spring days.
The plants will tell you when they’re
thirsty by wilting a bit during the hottest
part of the day. Mature plants are very
thirsty and may require daily watering.
Using a soaker hose, or, even better, a
drip irrigation system with individual
transmitters for each container, will
reduce the effort you expend watering.
Frequent watering leads to a parallel
loss of nutrients through the bottom
drainage holes. Once container plants
become established, after a month or
so, plan to feed them weekly using your
favorite plant food at the suggested dose.
Plant support. The main issue
with supporting tall-growing plants in
containers is stability. Inserting a stake
into the container will only work until the
fruits grow large and become heavy, and
then the container will inevitably tip over.
A better solution is to place an additional
container filled with soil adjacent to or
behind the container with the plant. If
the supporting stake is inserted into the
pot that contains only soil, it will separate
the stake from the weight of the plant and
keeps things upright much longer.
If the containers are on a surface
adjacent to dirt or lawn, you’re in luck.
Drive the stake into the soil and position
the containers at the edge so that plants
can be tied to the adjacent stake. Tomato
cages and similar types of supports can be
inserted over the plants into the containers,
but they, too, will likely become unstable
and topple over as the season progresses;
position a pot filled with soil next to the
caged plant and tie the cage to the stake in
the plant-free container.
Critters and disease. Beyond using
high-quality potting mix and ensuring
the plants are supplied with sufficient
water and regular feeding, the main issues
with containers will be those shared with
traditional gardens—critters and diseases.
Though some diseases are far less
common with container-grown plants,
many are airborne and will similarly bother
your plantings. The additional vertical
space between dirt-grown and container-
grown plants may offer some protection
from smaller critters, such as slugs and
rabbits. However, curious and inventive
pests always seem to find a way, so tactics
similar to those used with standard
gardening may need to be applied.
Reuse of planting mix in subsequent
years. As we garden and learn more, we
often find our minds changed and our
techniques altered. This is the case with
my philosophy on reusing container
planting mix. I used to recommend
tossing the used planting mix and starting
fresh each season, borne of my focus on a
very disease-susceptible crop—tomatoes.
More recently, though, I’ve decided that
if the worst that happens is the inevitable
lower and rear foliage spotting that’s due
to the fungal diseases Septoria and early
blight, then the planting mix in the pot
is fine for reuse. This philosophy can be
used for all crops. If the plants do well,
reuse the planting mix. But if they suffer
from a disease that had its origins in the
root zone, toss the planting mix and start
fresh.

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GARDEN TECHNIQUES AND METHODS • WWW.MOTHEREARTHNEWS.COM 71

MH22.indb 71 3/29/22 2:31 PM

 Build a Backyard
Edible
Ecosystem
Use compost, yard
waste, and recycled
paper to construct a
small permaculture
ecosystem that supports
your food garden.

By Zach Loeks

F
ruits, vegetables, and flowers can
transform neighborhoods into
abundant, beautiful, healthy
environments. If we plant fruit trees,
berry bushes, and herbs, we can begin to
form new food landscapes throughout
our communities. The best way to start
this process is by building a small edible
ecosystem in your backyard that includes
a simple compost system that will become
the bed for your perennial food plants.

What’s an Edible Ecosystem?

An edible ecosystem is a planned
garden that features diverse food plants
that complement each other’s forms and
functions, imitating the structure of a
natural ecosystem. I create ecosystems
that include a mix of three or more
varieties of herbs, berries, and fruit trees,
along with beneficial fungi, which all work
together to produce an abundance of food.
ADOBE STOCK/BONITA

These miniature permaculture gardens

also provide space to trial potential food
plant guilds and propagate new plants to
Keep your climate in mind when you choose the tree at the center of your permaculture garden. share with your community.

72 MOTHER EARTH NEWS COLLECTOR SERIES • MODERN HOMESTEADING

MH22.indb 72 3/29/22 2:31 PM

Caption
 Use a tarp to kill any grass or other plants before you set up the bed. Cover the area with a layer of overlapping cardboard to deter weeds.

By starting small and trialing different
combinations of perennial food species,
you can learn what works well and then
share that successful design with your
neighbors. For instance, if a certain berry
cultivar is delicious and works well with a
ground cover of thyme, you can suggest
that design to others in your area. You’ll
also be able to turn your garden into a
nursery source for propagating other sites
in your yard and community.
Mimicking Nature
A well-designed edible ecosystem will
offer improved yields and require less
maintenance than a traditional food garden
by mimicking the form and function of
natural ecosystems. Form refers to the
different canopy and root shapes and the
plant sizes used—fruit trees, berry bushes,
and ground covers have notably different
forms. You can maximize water, nutrient,
and sunlight use within your garden plot
by layering diverse leaf and root profiles.
Function refers to plants with different
ADOBE STOCK/BONITA
—and complementary—life cycles. This
is the premise behind companion planting
in any environment. For instance, a larger
fruit tree can shelter smaller plants from
wind and heat; ground covers, such as
thyme, can keep out weeds; herbs can
confuse pests; and grapes can use another
plant’s stems for a trellis. Some plants have
coevolved to form symbiotic relationships,
and some plants simply work well together
in a planned ecosystem.
Compost Spot to Garden Plot
Pay attention to the useful waste materials
available in your community, from home
food compost and paper recycling to
yard waste, bagged leaves, and downed
twigs and branches. In combination
with backyard soil, small straw bales, and
bagged potting mix or compost, you can
easily create an edible ecosystem in any
8-by-8-foot space. Use small square hay
bales to form the borders of the garden,
and fill the central space with layers of
debris, compost, and topsoil. Woody
debris will keep the composting layer
aerobic by creating air space, while
compost will provide nutrients for
microorganisms. Recycled paper and dry
yard waste will serve as mulch to prevent
weeds from growing and to retain moisture
for your edible perennials.
Edible Ecosystem How-To
First, choose a site that’s accessible for
yard work, has good drainage, and has
enough space to grow a fruit tree that’ll
mature at about 15 feet tall. The site can
be in full sun or partial shade, but you’ll
need to pay attention to light requirements
when you select species to plant.
After you’ve chosen your site, you’ll
need to kill the plants already growing
there. The easiest way to do this is to lay
down a 10-by-10-foot tarp (you can fold
a large tarp to fit the space) and weight
it with square straw bales. Leave the
tarp and bales in place all summer to fry
any grass and weeds underneath. Next,
remove the bales and tarp, and place a

Butt the straw bales together to make a sturdy frame for the bed. Top off the filled beds with a layer of finished compost or topsoil.

GARDEN TECHNIQUES AND METHODS • WWW.MOTHEREARTHNEWS.COM 73

MH22.indb 73 3/29/22 2:31 PM

Caption
 Plant a nitrogen-fixing cover crop to load the bed with nutrients. Lay out your food plants after killing the cover crop for in-place mulch.

layer of cardboard over the newly exposed Next, use six of the square straw bales mushroom spawn; you can use oyster
soil to act as sheet mulch. If you want, to form an 8-by-8-foot border for your or enokitake sawdust spawn. The best
you can skip the plastic stage and just edible ecosystem, and inoculate them way to find varieties suited to your area
cover the grass with a cardboard sheet with edible mushroom spores before is to talk with local gardeners, farmers,
mulch. Overlap the cardboard by at least other wild fungi can take hold. To and nursery staff; alternatively, you
18 inches to ensure grass doesn’t grow inoculate them, cut into the straw with can take a risk and try something local
into your edible ecosystem. a root knife and insert your preferred growers aren’t using yet. It might fail, or
you might discover your new favorite
edible fungus!
To prepare the bed for perennial food
Edible Ecosystem Example plants, fill the center with successive
layers of woody debris, compost, leaves,
Here’s an example of an edible ecosystem designed for Zone 4, my hardiness zone. Some and soil, until it’s full. To get started,
of the food plants I chose required two individuals for proper pollination. The overall number scavenge woody debris and prune any
and types of plants, however, follow the pattern of a woodland ecosystem. hedges or trees you have, and layer this
material on top of the cardboard. Add
Fruit tree: 1 ‘Northbrite’ European pear a mix of grass clippings and household
Woody bushes: 1 black raspberry and 2 Haskap berries compost to the heap on a weekly basis.
Herbs: 1 mint and 2 bee balm plants Bagged compost or soil can speed up the
Ground covers: 24 thyme and 24 strawberry plants decomposition process. An occasional
Vines: 1 ‘Somerset’ grape or hardy kiwi 5-gallon pail of manure or forest soil is
Edible fungi: One 5-pound bag of oyster or enokitake sawdust spawn

The pear should be planted in the middle of the edible ecosystem, with a rodent

ZACH LOEKS ILLUSTRATIONS (9)

guard around its main stem until the trunk establishes a thick bark. The berries need
to be planted in the corners of the planting area to have room to grow and access
to sunlight. Plant the herbs along whichever edges suit their sun requirements.
Mint tolerates shade, so it should go along the north side of the ecosystem,
and bee balm should be planted along the sunny south side.
The ground covers should be planted in a similar fashion, according to
their sun and shade tolerance. Thyme can prosper in partial shade, so it
should be planted in a grid every 6 to 12 inches on the northern half
of the bed, around the pear, berries, and mint. The strawberries
need more sun, so they should be planted on the sunny southern
half of the bed, again distributed between the berries and
bee balm. The grape should be planted on the south side of
the pear tree and trained up its trunk. The vine will protect
the trunk from sun scald on that side, and will use the tree
as a trellis. The mushroom spawn should be inserted into
the hay long before the other plants go in, and will spread
throughout the bales to produce edible mushrooms and hasten
the decomposition process.

74 MOTHER EARTH NEWS COLLECTOR SERIES • MODERN HOMESTEADING

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 You can use these beds to propagate cultivars you wish to share, too. With everything in place, you won’t need to water or weed often.

a great source of beneficial microbes to
jump-start the process.
Finally, top off the entire mound
with topsoil or bagged compost, rake
it smooth, and seed it with a mix of
winter rye and red clover. This can be
done in fall, and the cover crop roots
will stabilize the mound over winter. You
can let the plants grow as long as you
want; if you leave the cover crop to grow
until the following midsummer, you can
then cover it with a piece of black plastic
for 7 to 12 days to kill the plants and
make an in-place mulch.
Sometime between filling your
compost area and killing the cover crop,
select the plants you want to grow in your
edible ecosystem. I recommend choosing
a small fruit tree, a berry cultivar, one or
two herbs or edible flowers, one or two
ground covers, and a fruiting vine. A
local nursery can help you select species
suited to your site, your climate, and
your desires; small nurseries are often
ZACH LOEKS ILLUSTRATIONS (9)
to a local permaculture designer for
advice on how to maximize your garden’s
productivity and resource use.
After planting in spring, you’ll need
to mulch your ecosystem. If you grew a
cover crop for in-place mulch, this next
step may not be necessary — but it won’t
hurt. Cover the surface between the
plants with newspaper, and cover that
with fine hardwood chips and more straw
or leaves from your yard. The newspaper
and mulch will suppress weeds until
the plants are established, and will
prevent unwanted volunteer plants from
germinating. You can run a soaker hose
between the plants to keep them moist
while they establish themselves. Keep the
soil moist, but not sodden.
By filling available garden space
with edible plants of differing forms
and functions, you’ll have created an
ecosystem that will use resources, such as
sunlight and water, more efficiently and
produce food with less effort from you.
Spread the Wealth
These micro-ecosystems can be
repeated many times in your yard or on
an acreage. Place nametags by each plant
so you don’t forget the cultivar names
and can document your successes. Your
favorite plants can easily be shared with
neighbors to begin to build an edible
ecosystem neighborhood through the
harvest and movement of suckers, scions,
and seeds to other homeowners. In fact,
this is necessary! Your plants will propagate
themselves, and you’ll want to harvest the
surplus and share it.
In an edible ecosystem, the diversity
of plants work to shelter each other,
capture sunlight, and create symbiotic
relationships with each other, supported
by the healthy soil you’ve nurtured below.
Begone, stinky compost piles! A planned,
biodiverse ecosystem will make immediate
use of your waste to grow food as a
beautiful landscape feature.
Remember to start right: Build a

more familiar with which plants do
well in a particular area, and can offer
advice on new cultivars to try. Consider
site drainage, hours of sun per day, and
USDA Hardiness Zone as you make
your choices. You could also reach out
The ground cover will spread between
the other plants, which will offer shade
and wind protection to each other as
they grow. Nonaggressive vining plants
can be supported by the fruit tree as a
living trellis.
good compost bed, bring in some well-
researched cultivars to mimic the natural
layers of a woodland ecosystem, and do a
good job mulching and watering for the
first year. Then, just maintain the mulch
layer and enjoy your harvest!

A Visual Guide to a Profitable Farm Business

In The Permaculture Market Garden, author Zach Loeks taps into his passion for sustainable permaculture
systems to provide a visual guide to integrating permaculture into a market garden. This book is designed to get
aspiring farmers started with their own permaculture market gardens, and to give seasoned farmers tips to expand
their businesses. Loeks walks readers through all the steps necessary for operating a profitable and sustainable
farm. This guide features five parts: Farm Ecosystem, Whole Farm Mapping, Holistic Planning, Design Management,
and Our Permabed System. Full of detailed and colorful illustrations to accompany the information, this book is
easy to understand and enjoy, and it’s a best-seller at our MOTHER EARTH NEWS FAIRS! This title is available at Store.
MotherEarthNews.com or by calling 800-234-3368; please use code MMEPAMZ3. Item #8191.

GARDEN TECHNIQUES AND METHODS • WWW.MOTHEREARTHNEWS.COM 75

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MH22.indb 76
3/29/22 2:32 PM
FROM LEFT: GETTY IMAGES (2)/STANISLAV OSTRANITSA, OLGAKR
 Curing Meat
at Home
Bring fancy food to your everyday plate by learning how
to make the cold, cooked meats known as charcuterie.

By Meredith Leigh good life, a good death, a good butcher, Ground meat has more surface area,
and a good cook. The surest way to which means a bigger playground

C
ured meats are growing in
popularity, and that’s a very
good thing. Our modern notion
of charcuterie as gourmet has created
cultural and culinary blockades against
the best representation of cured meat.
The truth is, home cooks can cure meat.
Good charcuterie starts with good meat
and good fat from an animal that had a
find such meat and fat is through direct
relationships with farmers. Look for meat
that has healthy lean muscle, is deep in
color, and is firm but springy in texture.
The fat should be creamy and white,
and at least somewhat plentiful. As you
develop your charcuterie practice, you’ll
recognize quality meat and fat almost
instantly via texture, scent, and color.
for bacteria, so safety and sanitation
are very important when preparing
charcuterie. Be sure to keep your work
area, your hands, and your equipment
as clean as possible.
You’ll also want to keep everything
as cold as possible. You may want to
take a break in the middle of processing
to let the meat chill in the refrigerator

Rabbit Andouille
Rabbit is on the rise as a nutritious source of lean meat, and it’s
perfect for any rural home. Rabbit meat has twice the protein of
poultry, and a deep flavor that lends itself well to this Cajun-style
andouille. Dial down the cayenne, and even some of the black
pepper, if you don’t want too much spice. Yield: about 31⁄2 pounds
stuffed sausage.
Directions: Mix rabbit meat, pork back fat, salt, peppers, thyme,
ground bay leaves, and red wine, and freeze uncovered on a pan
lined with parchment paper.
FROM LEFT: GETTY IMAGES (2)/STANISLAV OSTRANITSA, OLGAKR

Grind through the coarse plate

Ingredients
• 21⁄2 pounds rabbit meat
• 1 pound pork back fat
• 1 ounce salt
• 0.5 ounce black pepper
• 0.4 ounce cayenne pepper
• 0.4 ounce dried thyme
• 2 bay leaves, ground
• 3⁄4 cup red wine
• 5 feet natural hog
casings, rinsed
of your meat grinder, then re-grind
half of the mix. Combine the mix
thoroughly and test for taste.
Adjust seasonings if necessary
before stuffing into prepared hog
casings.
Dry overnight, then smoke
using pecan wood until the
internal temperature of the
sausage is 145 F. This dish is
tasty served with peppery rice and
some tart tomatoes.

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 to ensure everything stays around
40 degrees Fahrenheit.
Finally, store your cured meats in
a cool, dark place. You can seal the
surfaces of cured meat with fat. Do this
by rendering lard and cooling it until it’s
whitened but still pliable. Then, combine
it with rice flour to produce a soft icing-
like consistency. Spread the fat mixture
over the exposed surfaces of cured items
you want to store for longer periods.

How to Make Mortadella

Mortadella is very similar to bologna,
but true bologna doesn’t include whole
spice. If you’d rather have bologna, feel
free to omit the whole spice in this
Working (Wo)Man’s Lunch Pâté recipe, and you won’t be disappointed.
That being said, bologna has many
This is a recipe I make every weekend, so that during the week I can rush in from the variations, so you can alter the grind
farm, kick off my boots, and have a wholly delicious and nutritious sandwich meat process for coarser textures and tweak
in a flash, accompanied by some good cheese, a the spice mix, and you’ll still end up
crusty bread, fresh greens, and mustard. Yield: one Pâté Ingredients with bologna.

FROM LEFT: AGE FOTOSTOCK/NEILLANGAN; GETTY IMAGES/ENZODEBERNARDO

4-pound loaf. • 28.8 ounces pork lean trim Producing the finest textured
Directions: Grind 1 pound of the pork lean trim • 9.6 ounces pork back fat, suspension, as in the case of mortadella,
and all the fat, plus the liver or heart, garlic, onion, trimmed usually involves what’s known as the “5-
and parsley, through the coarse plate of the meat • 9.6 ounces pork or beef 4-3 ratio” of sausage-making. That is, by
grinder, then through the fine plate. Set aside. liver or heart weight, 5 parts lean meat to 4 parts fat
Grind the rest of the pork lean trim and the • 2 cloves garlic, minced to 3 parts liquid. This ratio will come
hazelnuts through the coarse plate. Add to the • 4 ounces onion, minced into play in the following recipe, as will
meat and fat mix. Chill it in the refrigerator. • Small handful of parsley, higher ratios of salt and spice; other
Combine the egg, crème fraîche, brandy, and minced than that, you’re making a very large
orange zest to make a thick binder known as • 4 ounces hazelnuts sausage. You’ll notice that I’ve included
“panade.” Measure out 2.5 ounces of the pâté • 1 egg ice as the entire liquid component. This
spice mix and add it to the panade. • 1.2 ounces crème fraîche is because I wanted a traditional recipe,
Remove the meat mix from the refrigerator and • 0.7 ounce brandy or port but also because mortadella must remain
place in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the • 0.3 ounce orange zest very cold as it’s processed to preserve its
paddle attachment. Add the panade, salt, and • 2.5 ounces pâté spice mix texture. You can also use some frozen
brown sugar, and mix on speed 2 or 3 for about 2 (recipe below) stock as your liquid component.
minutes. Taste, and adjust seasoning if necessary. • 1.5 ounces kosher salt One ingredient that may stand out
Line a loaf pan with plastic wrap, and then • 1.5 ounces brown sugar to you is the dried milk powder. It’s
line it with the strips of bacon, leaving a bit of • Bacon, sliced thin for included as a binder here. Lastly, you’ll
overhang. Fill the pan with the pâté mixture, fold wrapping pâté notice the inclusion of curing salt No.
the bacon over, then the plastic wrap, and then 1, also known as pink salt. Many people
wrap the top with foil. Pâté Spice Mix include a curing salt in their mortadella,
Cook in a water bath at 300 F until the internal Yield: about 13 ounces but this is chiefly for rosy coloration, so
temperature of the pâté reaches 145 degrees. • 3 ounces ground cloves it’s optional. Yield: about 4½ pounds
Cool to room temperature, weighted on top (a • 3 ounces ground coriander stuffed sausage.
heavy cutting board will do). Then, transfer it to • 2 ounces dried thyme
the refrigerator and chill overnight, still weighted. • 1.5 ounces white pepper • 4 ounces back fat, cut into ½-inch or
Turn out onto a wooden board before slicing. Serve • 1.5 ounces ground nutmeg 1-inch cubes (omit if you want a more
chilled with crusty bread, cheese, and condiments. • 0.75 ounce ground mace proper bologna)
This pâté will keep in the refrigerator for at • 0.5 ounce bay leaf • 4- to 5-inch-diameter, 20-inch-long
least 2 weeks. collagen or plastic casing, rinsed
• 26.4 ounces pork back fat

78 MOTHER EARTH NEWS COLLECTOR SERIES • MODERN HOMESTEADING

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 • 33.6 ounces lean pork trim
• 20 ounces crushed ice
• 1.6 ounces salt
• 0.8 ounce pure cane sugar
• 0.5 ounce fresh ground nutmeg
• 0.24 ounce ground cinnamon
• 0.24 ounce cayenne
• 0.24 ounce ground coriander
• 0.2 ounce curing salt No. 1
• 1.92 ounces dried milk powder
• 0.5 ounce garlic
• 1.36 ounces whole black pepper-
corns (omit if you want bologna)

Directions: Place the moving parts

of your meat grinder and the bowl you
plan to use into the freezer.
Meanwhile, blanch the 4 ounces of
cubed back fat in boiling water for 10 to
12 seconds, and then set aside.
Soak the casing in room-temperature
water until you’re ready to stuff. assemble your stuffer and then prepare minutes to more than an hour) to
Assemble the grinder, and send all a large kettle of poaching water with a ensure the water stays just under a boil.
FROM LEFT: AGE FOTOSTOCK/NEILLANGAN; GETTY IMAGES/ENZODEBERNARDO

ingredients except for the peppercorns
and the blanched back fat through
the coarse plate of the meat grinder.
Repeat. Chill the mixture while you
exchange the coarse plate for the fine
plate on your grinder, and then send
the mixture through this plate twice as
well. Chill the mix while you wash your
grinder parts.
In a stand mixer fitted with the
paddle attachment, combine the
meat mixture, blanched back fat,
and peppercorns, and process on low
to medium speed until the mixture
is well-combined. Chill while you
few generous pinches of sea salt. Place
the kettle on the stovetop and bring it
to a temperature of around 170 F.
Place the mortadella mixture into
the stuffer’s hopper. Using the largest
stuffing horn available with your stuffer,
pull the casing as far onto the horn as
possible, and begin cranking the meat
mixture into it, keeping an even and
tight fill as you progress. When you’ve
stuffed everything in, tie off the end
with butcher’s twine.
Carefully lower the mortadella
into the poaching water. Monitor
the temperature as it cooks (from 45
Try not to check the temperature of
the mortadella until you’re pretty sure
it’s done, unless you have an infrared
thermometer. The hole created by a
traditional thermometer can allow water
into the casing.
When the internal temperature of the
mortadella reaches 145 degrees, remove
it from the poaching kettle and plunge
it into an ice bath or a tub of the coldest
water you can muster. Allow it to chill
there, and then place it in the refrigerator
to chill completely.
To serve, peel back the casing, and
slice as thin as you can manage.

The Art of Curing Meats at Home

Pure Charcuterie is a practical and artistic look at the techniques for curing meat at home, both as a creative
hands-on craft and as a fantastic and sustainable way to preserve highly valuable food. This accessible,
beautiful visual guide walks the reader through the process of making charcuterie, including:
• Sourcing ingredients.
• Clear explanations of charcuterie technique.
• Creative recipes balancing tradition and invention.
• Smoking meats and building your own smoker.
The analogies drawn between art and food, along with creative and accessible photographic discussions
of charcuterie technique, make this book an essential primer on the basics of charcuterie: the mystery, the
science, the art, and the technique. Ideal for home cooks working in small spaces, Pure Charcuterie is a must-
have for new and experienced cooks alike—and any home artisan. This title is available at Store.MotherEarth
News.com or by calling 800-234-3368; please use promotion code MMEPAMZ3. Item #8707.

FOOD & RECIPES • WWW.MOTHEREARTHNEWS.COM 79

MH22.indb 79 3/29/22 2:32 PM

 ADOBE STOCK/FOMA

MH22.indb 80 3/29/22 2:32 PM

 Homemade
Broth & Stock
Glean nutrients and flavor from bones and mixture of jointed bones and meaty
bones. The jointed bones add collagen
scraps by simmering and seasoning them. for mouthfeel, and the meaty bones add
flavor. If you’re making a poultry stock,
nothing beats chicken feet for adding
By Andrea Chesman of vegetables and meat simmered in a richness—and you can’t make much else
seasoned liquid for a shorter period with them. I generally roast my poultry

N
othing beats the convenience
of having homemade broth
and stock on hand in your
kitchen. Homemade broths and stocks
taste better than canned broths, bouillon
cubes and pastes, and even expensive
boxed broths. In addition, you’ll reduce
your kitchen waste if you extract
the flavor that remains in bones and
vegetable peelings after the other parts
are consumed.
But what do you call the simmering
mixture in your pot? Is it broth, or is
it stock? The two terms are often used
interchangeably, and definitions do vary,
so it depends on who you ask. But, in a
ADOBE STOCK/FOMA
of time. Either one can serve as a
foundation for other dishes, but because
broth is typically seasoned, it’s often
consumed on its own, while stock is the
perfect rich-tasting base onto which you
can layer other flavors.
The two basic types of stock are white
and brown. White stocks are made with
aromatic vegetables and bones (usually
raw or roasted poultry or fish bones)
that are simmered for hours. Brown
stocks are made by roasting vegetables
and bones first, and then boiling them
with aromatic vegetables. This technique
most often includes beef and pork
bones, but poultry bones can be turned
by spatchcocking or butterflying,
meaning cutting out the backbone
and then flattening the breast. This
significantly reduces the roasting time
and provides me the backbones for
making stock; backbones are almost as
good as feet for making a flavorful stock.
You’ll need a large stockpot or
saucepan for making stock. If you’re
making a brown stock, you’ll need
a couple of large rimmed sheet pans
or roasting pans. The vegetables are a
suggestion only; use what’s on hand,
but avoid brassicas (such as broccoli
and cabbages), which add an unpleasant
flavor when cooked at length. I save

nutshell, stock is the gelatinous result into brown stock too. Lamb and goat onion peels, parsley stems, and leek
of cooking vegetables and bones in bones can also be used, but not everyone greens in the freezer for this purpose.
unseasoned water for several hours to appreciates the resulting flavor. You can also save up mushroom stems
extract flavor, while broth is made out To make your own stock, select a and gills.

Poultry Stock Ingredients

• 7 pounds raw chicken or turkey backs,
Use either the raw bones of poultry or the carcasses from a roast. Chicken feet make a particularly wing tips, or feet, or the carcasses of
rich-tasting stock, with plentiful gelatin. You can also use this method to make ham stock, but roasted chickens or a turkey
rather than save up the bones in the freezer and risk freezer burn, halve the recipe and make the • 8 quarts water
stock soon after enjoying the ham. Yield: about 7 quarts. • 1 pound fresh or frozen vegetable
Directions: Combine the bones, water, and all the vegetables in a large stockpot. Bring to a boil, trimmings (onion peels, celery tops,
then reduce to a simmer. Skim off any foam that emerges on the surface until no more appears. leek tops, parsley stems)
Partially cover the pot and simmer over low heat for 5 to 8 hours. • 1 bunch parsley
Strain the stock by pouring it through a strainer lined with cheesecloth into another bowl or pot, • 2 onions, quartered
and discard all the solids. • 2 celery roots, peeled and chopped, or
Refrigerate the stock for several hours, until a hardened layer of fat congeals on top and can be the top half of a bunch of celery
lifted off. Refrigerate and use within 4 days, freeze for up to 6 months, or pressure can in quart jars
for 25 minutes.

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 From left: Aromatic vegetables flavor both broths and stocks. Keep canned chicken stock on hand for flavoring sauces, soups, and stews.

Skim the fat off the top of the meat
and poultry stocks, and save it to
cook with later. It’s a great cooking
medium that adds flavor and excellent
browning qualities to any dish. The fat
is perishable, though, so use it within a
week or freeze it.
Stock can be the base of any quick
soup or stew. Chicken stock, kale, and
sausage with white beans is one of my
family’s favorite dishes.
Stocks can also be used as braising
liquid for stews and vegetables, as well as
cooking liquid for grain dishes, risottos,
and pilafs. Stocks can also extend gravies
and sauces, and will punch up the flavor
rather than dilute the taste.
Once you have a supply of stock on
hand, your weeknight dinners will be
quicker and easier to make, and more
enjoyable to eat.

Mushroom Broth
Many vegetable broths take on too much flavor from the veggies, tasting too
sweetly of carrots or tomatoes. This broth tastes distinctively of mushrooms

CLOCKWISE FROM LOWER LEFT: ADOBE STOCK/GRESEI; BARBARA DAMROSCH; ANDREA CHESMAN; ADOBE STOCK/JUEFRAPHOTO
and can be used in any dish that calls for
chicken or beef stock or broth. It also makes Ingredients
an excellent base for a vegetarian gravy. You
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
can use any variety of mushrooms. Yield:
• 1 carrot, coarsely
about 5 quarts.
chopped
Directions: Heat the oil in a large
• 2 onions, unpeeled,
stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the
or 5 leeks, white and
carrot, onions, celery root, and garlic, and
green parts, coarsely
sauté until they soften, about 8 minutes.
Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring
chopped
occasionally, until the mushrooms begin • 1 celery root, or the
to give up their liquid and their volume top half of a bunch
reduces significantly, about 15 minutes. of celery, peeled and
Add the water, soy sauce, bay leaves, chopped
and peppercorns, and bring to a boil. • 6 cloves garlic,
Reduce heat to low and simmer until the smashed
vegetables are completely soft and the • 3 pounds white button
stock has a pronounced mushroom flavor, mushrooms, coarsely
about 1 hour. chopped
Remove from the heat and strain • 5 quarts water
through a fine-mesh strainer; discard • 1⁄4 cup soy sauce
the solids. Refrigerate and use the broth • 4 bay leaves
within 4 days, freeze for up to 6 months, • 2 teaspoons whole
or pressure can in quart jars for 25 black peppercorns
minutes.

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 Brown Stock Ingredients
A butcher shop is the best source for bones. If you have the option, select • 8 pounds uncooked
a mixture of bones that have meat clinging to them and those that have beef or pork bones
lots of joints (such as neck bones or knuckles). Yield: 5 to 7 quarts. • 2 large onions,
Directions: Preheat the oven to 425 F. Put the bones and half the unpeeled, chopped
vegetables in a single layer in a large roasting pan. Roast for about • 1 bunch parsley or
45 minutes, turning the bones occasionally, until well-browned. parsley stems
Drain the fat from the roasting pan and reserve for cooking. Transfer the • 2 celery roots, or the
bones to a large stockpot, and set aside. Place the roasting pan over top half of a bunch
2 burners on top of the stove, and add about 2 cups water. Bring to a boil, of celery, peeled
stirring to scrape up all the browned bits on the bottom of the pan. and chopped
Pour this browned liquid into the stockpot with the bones. Add the • 2 leeks, or the tops
remaining water, remaining vegetables, bay leaves, and peppercorns. of several leeks,
Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Skim off any surface foam until chopped
no more appears. Partially cover the pot, and simmer for 5 to 8 hours. • 8 quarts water, plus
Strain the stock by pouring it through a strainer lined with cheesecloth more as needed
into another bowl or pot, and discard all the solids. • 4 bay leaves
Refrigerate the stock for several hours, until a hardened layer of fat • 1 tablespoon whole
congeals on top and can be lifted off. Refrigerate and use within 4 days, black peppercorns
freeze for up to 6 months, or pressure can in quart jars for 25 minutes.
CLOCKWISE FROM LOWER LEFT: ADOBE STOCK/GRESEI; BARBARA DAMROSCH; ANDREA CHESMAN; ADOBE STOCK/JUEFRAPHOTO

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 Sweet
Corn
Off
the
Cob
Try these sweet and savory
ideas for enjoying your
abundance of corn this season.

By Andrea Chesman

E
very September in Vermont, I’m invited
to two corn parties hosted by friends from
different social circles. Fortunately, one
couple plans for their corn to ripen by the second
week of September, and the other plans for the
third week. But the truth is, no matter how
accurately you plan and plant, no matter how big
a party you throw, at some point, corn on the cob
starts to feel—excuse the pun—like it’s coming out
of your ears. If you plant some super-sweet corn, you

FROM LEFT: ISTOCK/COOKEDPHOTOS; ANDREA CHESMAN (2)

can pile up the ears in the refrigerator—but who has
the space? When it’s time to move on from corn on
the cob, you’ll need to get creative in the kitchen.
Creativity often requires recipes that call for taking
the kernel off the cob. The easiest way to do this is to
husk the corn and then cut the bottom of the ear so
it can stand flat. Set the ear on its new flat base and
slice down the sides with a sharp knife. Kernels will go
flying, so be prepared and work in an uncluttered area
to make cleanup easier.
If you’re making a soup, sauce, or some other
wet preparation, scrape the cobs with the dull side

84 MOTHER EARTH NEWS XXXX/XXXX XXXX

MH22.indb 84 3/29/22 2:32 PM

 of a knife to extract the delicious “milk.”
Generally speaking, stovetop recipes don’t
require the same measurement accuracy
as baking. This is a good thing, because
an ear of corn can yield anywhere from
1⁄2 cup to 1 cup kernels. So if you’ve husked

too many ears, you can throw the extra

kernels into whatever you’re preparing, or
snack on it by the handful.

Candied Corn
Preserving garden surplus is serious
business, but that doesn’t mean you
can’t do a little experimenting. Knowing
that tart fruits are sometimes poached Candied corn is made by dehydrating corn kernels that have been cooked in syrup.

Pan-Seared Corn and Pepper Salad

Consider this recipe a blueprint. Swap
out the chicken for shrimp or salmon, or
make it vegetarian by omitting the chick-
en altogether and using the marinade as
seasoning for 11/2 cups cooked black
beans, which you can pile on top of the
salad. Yield: 4 servings.
Cilantro-Lime Dressing Ingredients
• 6 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
• 1⁄4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions: Mix all the ingredients for the
dressing in a lidded jar and shake to blend.
Set aside.
In a shallow glass or nonreactive bak-
ing dish, combine the olive oil, lime juice,
cumin, chipotles, garlic, and salt. Add the
chicken, turning to coat well. Set aside.
Combine bell pepper, tomato, and red
onion in a large mixing bowl. Set aside.
Heat large cast-iron skillet over medium-
high heat. Add corn to the dry skillet and
let sear for 8 minutes, stirring only once or
twice. The corn should then brown.
Transfer the corn to the mixing bowl
with the other vegetables. Shake the
dressing to remix, and then pour about
half over the vegetables and toss to coat
them. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Return the skillet to medium-high
heat. Add the chicken in a single layer,
pour the marinade over it, and cook until
the chicken is done, about 4 minutes
per side.
In another large bowl, toss the greens
with 2 tablespoons of the remaining
dressing. Arrange the greens on a large
platter or on individual serving plates.
Spoon the corn mixture over the greens
and top with the chicken. Sprinkle with
cheese and serve.

Salad Ingredients
• 6 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp minced chipotles in adobo sauce
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 tsp salt
FROM LEFT: ISTOCK/COOKEDPHOTOS; ANDREA CHESMAN (2)

• 12 chicken tenders, or 2 boneless

chicken breasts sliced into
12 medallions
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 tomato, diced
• 1⁄4 cup red onion, diced
• 3 cups (3 to 6 ears) fresh corn kernels
• 8 cups torn mixed greens
• 8 ounces queso blanco or queso
fresco, crumbled (or substitute feta)
Use any meat protein in this salad, or make it vegetarian by using black beans instead of chicken.

FOOD & RECIPES • WWW.MOTHEREARTHNEWS.COM 85

MH22.indb 85 3/29/22 2:32 PM

 in a sugar syrup before dehydrating, I
wondered what would happen if I poached
sweet corn kernels in a syrup before
dehydrating. Would I make candied corn?
The answer is yes! But is this process a
practical solution to storing an abundance
of corn? That depends on how much
candy you want to have around. My
dehydrator has four 11-inch drying racks,
so I don’t make much candied corn at a
time. Each of my 11-inch trays holds the
kernels of about two ears of corn (roughly
2 cups), so I can plan on using eight ears of
corn per batch of candied corn.
The best-tasting syrup to use for
candied corn is pure maple syrup, which
gives the corn kernels a caramel flavor.
I use maple syrup when I have some left
over from the previous year’s harvest, but
you can make a syrup out of water and
brown sugar. Flavor it with cinnamon or
vanilla, if you’d like.
The final step: Toss the corn with
some flaked salt to give it that sweet-salty
flavor many of us find so irresistible. Yield:
about 8 cups.
• 3 cups water
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 8 ears corn, husked, and kernels
sliced off the cob
• 1 to 2 tbsp coarse, flaked salt,
such as Maldon

Deluxe Corn Risotto

In this preparation, you’ll get double the corn flavor: corn in the
broth in which the rice cooks, and corn folded into the risotto at the
end. Yield: 4 servings.
Directions: To make the corn broth, combine all the ingredients for
the broth in a large pot. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the
heat so the liquid is simmering. Cover the pot, and let the broth
simmer for 30 minutes.
Then, strain through a fine-mesh strainer and discard the solids.
You’ll need 41/2 cups of corn broth. If you don’t have enough, add
more water.
Measure out 1 cup broth and bring it to a boil in a small
saucepan. Add 2 cups kernels, cover, and cook until quite tender,
about 5 minutes. Let cool slightly. Pour into a blender and purée.
Next, return the corn purée to the saucepan and add the
remaining corn broth from the pot (31/2 cups), as well as the wine,
sugar, and turmeric. Add salt to taste. Heat to boiling, and then
reduce the heat and let the mixture simmer.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the bell
pepper and sauté for 1 minute, until the pepper pieces are coated
with oil. Add the rice and continue to sauté until the rice looks dry,
4 to 5 minutes.
Add 1 cup corn and broth mixture to the skillet and cook over
medium heat, stirring constantly, until the liquid is absorbed into the
rice. Continue adding more of the corn and broth mixture, 1 cup at a
time, cooking and stirring after each addition. The liquid should be
mostly absorbed by the rice before you add the next cup.
When all the broth has been used, remove from the heat. Stir in
the remaining corn, the mascarpone, the Parmesan, and the basil.
Season to taste with salt. Cover and let the risotto heat through for
about 1 minute. Serve immediately.

Corn Broth Ingredients

• 6 cups water
• 3 corn cobs (kernels removed and
reserved for risotto), cut into pieces
• 1 onion, quartered
• 1 carrot, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 celery rib, cut into 1-inch pieces

Risotto Ingredients
• 3 cups kernels (from the 3 ears above,
plus more if needed), divided
• 1⁄2 cup dry white wine
• 2 tsp sugar FROM LEFT: ANDREA CHESMAN; CASEY MARSHALL
• 1⁄2 tsp ground turmeric
• Salt, to taste
• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
• 2 cups Arborio rice
• 1 cup mascarpone cheese
• 1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
• 1⁄4 cup fresh basil or parsley, chopped
The rich corn flavor in this risotto comes from both the broth and the sweet corn kernels folded in.

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MH22.indb 86 3/29/22 2:32 PM

 Directions: Combine the water and
brown sugar in a saucepan and bring
to a boil. Add the corn and return to a
boil. Remove from the heat and let it
sit for 30 minutes.
Drain the corn and spread it out
on dehydrator trays. Dry at 125 F
for 24 hours. Then, let cool for about
1 hour. Transfer the corn to an airtight
container.
Add the salt to taste, and toss.
You can store candied corn at room
temperature for up to 1 month, or in
the freezer for longer storage.
Barbecued Bean
Cornbread Supper
In this recipe, Southern-style barbecued
beans are paired with cornbread that’s
studded with fresh corn kernels.
Cornbread is a classic crowd pleaser. It
can be served as a traditional side in cake
form, presented as muffins, and even
made into rustic cornbread biscuits.
The beans and cornbread are
FROM LEFT: ANDREA CHESMAN; CASEY MARSHALL
sweetly flavored, so a crisp slaw in
vinegar dressing makes the perfect
accompaniment. For a stress-free
addition to a meal, cornbread can be
used as a crusty golden topping for
various skillet suppers.
Spread the cornbread batter as
evenly as possible, making sure it
reaches all the way to the rim of the
pan. Yield: 4 servings.
MH22.indb 87
Beans Ingredients
• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil,
rendered lard, or chicken fat
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 to 3 fresh hot red or green chiles,
diced (optional)
• 1 tsp ground chili powder
• 1 can (15 ounces) kidney beans,
rinsed and drained
• 2⁄3 cup tomato-based barbecue sauce
• 1⁄3 cup water
• Salt and freshly ground pepper,
to taste
Cornbread Topping Ingredients
• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• 3⁄4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 2 tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 egg
• 1 cup milk
• 2 tbsp melted butter or rendered
lard
• 11⁄2 cups fresh corn kernels (frozen if
fresh are unavailable)
Directions: Preheat oven to 425
F. To prepare the beans, heat the oil
in a large oven-proof skillet over
medium-high heat. Sauté the onion,
bell pepper, chiles, and chili powder
in the oil until onion is soft, 3 to
5 minutes.
Stir in the beans, barbecue sauce,
and water. Cook for 1 minute.
Remove from heat and season to taste.
To prepare the cornbread topping,
mix together the cornmeal, flour,
sugar, baking powder, and salt in a
medium bowl. In a small bowl, beat
together the egg, milk, and butter.
Pour the egg mixture into the cornmeal
mixture along with the fresh corn
kernels, and stir just until moistened.
The batter will be lumpy. Spread the
batter as evenly as possible over the
beans in the skillet.
Bake for 20 minutes, until the top is
golden and firm. Let stand for about
5 minutes before serving.
Andrea Chesman is the author of 101
One-Dish Dinners. Purchase your copy
at Store.MotherEarthNews.com or by
calling 800-234-3368. Use promo
code MMEPAMZ3. Item #8032.
FOOD & RECIPES • WWW.MOTHEREARTHNEWS.COM 87
3/29/22 2:32 PM
 Classic Ciabatta
From poolish to plate, this versatile bread is as forgiving as it is flavorful.
By William Rubel
C
iabatta is my daughter’s favorite bread. I like it for the
same reasons she does: the attractive taste and chewy
crumb. Additionally, as the family baker, I enjoy ciabatta
because it’s a forgiving bread to make. As is the case with many
Italian dishes, ciabatta has a memorable flavor produced through
a recipe that’s both structured and extemporaneous. It’s an ideal
bread to make during the holidays, because the recipe is flexible.
If something comes up and you don’t have time to complete the
baking as planned, you can delay the starter or dough by placing
88 MOTHER EARTH NEWS COLLECTOR SERIES • MODERN HOMESTEADING
MH22.indb 88
it in the refrigerator for a day. Or, less drastically, you can increase
or decrease the total preparation time by speeding up or slowing
down the timing of the stretch-and-fold process.
Ciabatta is sometimes baked as one large, roughly shaped loaf,
but it’s more often found as either a long, wide loaf with a gentle
dome, or as somewhat square rolls typically used for sandwiches
at cafés and bakeries. Italian bakers developed ciabatta in the
ADOBE STOCK/MCMI
1980s to compete with the ubiquitous French baguette as a
sandwich bread. Against all odds, ciabatta quickly established
itself as an internationally recognized bread, known for its flavor
and ease of baking.
3/29/22 2:32 PM
 When you cut ciabatta on the cross
section, you’ll see large air holes. This is
ciabatta’s trademark look. The large air
holes are achieved by baking with a wet
dough. This recipe has a high percentage
of water by weight, meaning the dough
remains sticky from start to finish. To make
the dough manageable, the final shaping
takes place on a well-floured work surface.
In addition, the top of the bread is dusted
with flour, so the baked loaf always looks a
little dusty.
While the large holes, gentle dome,
and flour-dusted surface give ciabatta its
signature look, what makes it one of the
world’s great breads is its taste. Ciabatta picks up its flavor from
ADOBE STOCK/MCMI
Equipment
• Medium mixing bowl
• Pastry brush
• 2 large mixing bowls, or 1 bowl
and 12-by-7-inch plastic box
• Bowl of water to wet spatula and
hands when working with dough
• Dough scraper (recommended)
or stiff spatula
• Parchment paper
• Baking tray or stone
warmth of your kitchen, you should plan for the whole process to
Pre-ferments start out with tiny amounts
of yeast and cool water to promote slow
fermentation. In its slowness, the starter
develops flavor in the finished bread, as well
as promotes the chewy texture. This recipe
uses a poolish, which is a starter made with
equal weights of flour and water, along with
2 to 3 pinches of yeast.
Classic Ciabatta Recipe
Classic ciabatta takes a lot of time. If you
give the poolish 18 to 20 hours to mature,
which I recommend, then the bread will
take more than 24 hours total. Depending
on how long you let the poolish sit and the

a simple trick: Rather than putting all the yeast into the flour in take between 19 and 30 hours. Yeast is sensitive to temperature,
one step to produce a quick-rising, neutral-tasting bread with so bread rising in a kitchen that’s 65 degrees Fahrenheit will
a soft crumb, ciabatta is made with a yeast starter known as take hours longer than it would in an 80-degree kitchen.
a “pre-ferment” that’s ideally given 18 to 20 hours to mature. While the poolish should ferment in a cool environment, the

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MH22.indb 89 3/29/22 2:32 PM

 1 Let poolish sit for 12 to 20 hours. 2 Ciabatta dough will rise quicker in a warm environment; opt for 80 degrees Fahrenheit, if possible.
bread dough will do better with warmth. Yield: 1 large loaf,
2 long loaves, or 4 to 8 rolls.
Poolish
• 11⁄4 cup (150 grams) unbleached white flour,
preferably bread flour
• 1⁄2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (150 grams) cool water
• 3 pinches (0.3 grams) active dry yeast
Dough
• 1 cup (250 grams) warm water
• 21⁄2 rounded cups (350 grams) unbleached
white flour, preferably bread flour
• 2 teaspoons (10 grams) salt
• 1 slightly rounded teaspoon (6 grams)
Ciabatta is an
active dry yeast ideal bread to
• 2 tablespoons (30 grams) olive oil, optional
• Cooking oil make during
• Extra flour for dusting
the holidays,
Note: For accuracy, weigh ingredients with
a digital scale. Ciabatta is defined by the because the
high ratio of water to flour by weight in the
dough, and because volume measurements are recipe makeup
imprecise, the ingredients need to be weighed
to produce a true ciabatta.
is flexible.
Directions
1 Make poolish. Mix the flour, water, and yeast in a medium
mixing bowl. Cover, and set aside at room temperature for 12
to 20 hours, preferably a minimum of 18 hours. The longer
you leave it, the richer the sensory qualities of the final bread
will be. Smell and taste the poolish to judge how it’s developing.
When it’s ready, the poolish will have spread out and become a
mass of bubbles, and it will have started to develop sweet and
complex aromas.
2 Make dough. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush a large
bowl or plastic proofing box with cooking oil, and set aside.
Add the warm water to the poolish. Use your hands to release
90 MOTHER EARTH NEWS COLLECTOR SERIES • MODERN HOMESTEADING
MH22.indb 90
the poolish from the bowl’s sides. Transfer the poolish to a large,
unoiled mixing bowl, and then add the flour, salt, yeast, and
optional olive oil. Mix by hand or with a dough hook. When
the dough is mixed, transfer it to the lightly oiled mixing bowl
or box. Cover, and let rise until it’s filled with bubbles and has
doubled in bulk, about 2 hours in an 80 F proofing oven, or
4 hours or more in a cooler kitchen.
3 First stretch-and-fold. Bakers use this technique to
develop gluten in sticky, wet doughs. For a visual demonstration,
search “stretch and fold Peter Reinhart” on YouTube.
Lightly oil a work surface, and place a bowl of water nearby.
Turn the mixing bowl or proof box upside
down over the work surface and let the dough
drop out; it will release and spread. Dip a dough
scraper and your hands in the water as needed
to keep the dough from sticking. Whatever
shape the dough is at the time, you’ll need to
imagine it as having four sides. With confident
motions, use the dough scraper to get under
the dough on one side, lift the edge, stretch
it out, and then fold it over the remaining
dough. Proceed to work around all four sides.
The first stretch-and-fold is normally a bit of
a mess, but keep going. When the fourth side
is complete, grab the dough with both hands,
and, in one quick motion, flip it over. I like to
repeat this action again, but only during the
first stretch-and-fold. Return the dough to the
bowl, and cover. Let stand for 30 minutes.
4 Repeated stretch-and-folds. Repeat the stretch-and-
fold step three more times, at 30-minute intervals. Each time,
return the dough to the bowl or box, and cover. With each
repetition, the dough will become increasingly firm. You can
vary the spacing between the stretch-and-folds. Some bakers
give less time between the steps, and others more time. I prefer
WILLIAM RUBEL (7)
30-minute intervals because they give the dough time to rise
and develop flavor. Make a note of how many times you’ve
stretched and folded, and always end with the dough covered
in its bowl or box.
3/29/22 2:32 PM
 3 The stretch-and-fold process is used to develop wet, sticky dough. 4 The dough will firm up with each stretch-and-fold step.

5 Pre-shaping rise. After the final stretch-and-fold, cover
the bowl of dough and let it rise for 1 to 2 hours, or until nearly
doubled in size. The time will depend on your room’s temperature.
6 Shape. Liberally flour your work surface, and, while the
dough is still in the bowl, sprinkle it with a generous amount
of flour. Turn the dough out onto the floured work surface.
Sprinkle flour on the top surface of the dough, and gently deflate
any large air holes pushing through the top of the dough. Using a
dough scraper or your hands, straighten up the dough to form a
rectangle roughly the size of a standard piece of notebook paper
(81⁄2 by 11 inches). With gentle motions, push and stretch the
dough to get the shape you want.

Chomping on Ciabatta
Ciabatta is a bread with character. As
such, it’s a bread of many uses. When
freshly baked, it’s a favorite with butter
and jam for breakfast, or served with coffee
or tea in the morning or afternoon. When
stale, I take secret pleasure in eating it like
a breakfast cereal by breaking it up into
WILLIAM RUBEL (7)
small pieces and soaking them in a bowl of
strong coffee with milk.
Ciabatta is my daughter’s choice for garlic
bread, and my choice for croutons. I also like
the firm texture of this bread in stuffing, so
I usually make a loaf for the holiday turkey.
In addition, I use thin slices dried out in the
oven as crackers for cheese and salami, and
thin slices fried in butter are good in soup.
When grilled and rubbed with garlic and
tomato, ciabatta makes perfect bruschetta.
You can also grate dried pieces for a supply
of bread crumbs. And, of course, it’s the
bread of choice for many sandwich styles.

FOOD RECIPES • WWW.MOTHEREARTHNEWS.COM 91

MH22.indb 91 3/29/22 2:32 PM

 6 Separate cut dough pieces quickly to prevent reattachment. 7 Let the dough rise one final time before baking.

Some common ciabatta shapes include:

Large, amorphous loaf. This method requires the least
amount of effort, and results in an irregular blob. This is the
shape my favorite local bakery uses for its ciabatta.
Long loaves. Using the dough scraper, cut the rectangle
the long way, separating the two halves from each other.
Because the dough is very sticky, you’ll need to make a cut
and then immediately slide the cut piece at least 1 inch
away, or it will reattach.
Rolls. Cut long loaves, and then divide each loaf into equal-
sized pieces of your choosing. Ciabatta rolls are often shaped into
squarish portions.
When you’ve achieved the shape you want, use the dough
scraper or your hands to slightly lift the outer side of the dough
and add flour underneath, anywhere the dough is sticking,
working your way around the entire mass.
7 Final rise. Place a piece of parchment paper on a baking
tray, or, if using a baking stone, place parchment paper on the
counter and transfer it and the dough to the preheated stone
when ready to bake. Once your dough is shaped, quickly and
decisively lift the dough off the work surface and place it on the
parchment paper. Cover and set aside for 15 minutes to begin
rising again. Ciabatta dough is very forgiving; even if the bread Once baked, sit back and enjoy a well-earned slice of ciabatta.
doesn’t look like it’s risen much during this stage, it’ll continue
to rise in the oven. 35 minutes, or until an internal temperature of 190 to 210
8 Bake. Preheat your oven to 425 F, and then, on a degrees is reached. Transfer the loaf to a wire rack, and let cool
metal tray or preheated baking stone, bake the ciabatta for for at least an hour before slicing.
With the aroma of fresh baked bread wafting through the house, your family will clamber for a taste! Join our
SAVE A LOAF! Fresh Breads from Scratch Course for more; go to MOTHER EARTH NEWS FAIR ONLINE, Online.MotherEarthNewsFair.com.

Artisan Breads, Quick Breads, Buns, Flatbreads, and More!

The timeless allure of fresh bread has been part of MOTHER EARTH NEWS since 1970, when the magazine
published its first issue. In Bread, the editors have collected their very best recipes and techniques. You’ll
WILLIAM RUBEL (3)

find all the classics, including rustic white, whole-wheat sandwich bread, and sourdough. Or, go beyond the
traditional and try your hand at flatbreads, boiled breads, naan, bagels, pizza crust, even gluten-free breads.
This title is available at Store.MotherEarthNews.com or by calling 800-234-3368. Mention promo code
MMEPAMZ3. Item #9094.

92 MOTHER EARTH NEWS COLLECTOR SERIES • MODERN HOMESTEADING

MH22.indb 92 3/29/22 2:32 PM

 Reusable
Food Wraps
These eco-friendly fabric food wraps are the Article and photos by Caitlin Wilson

L
bee’s knees, and you can choose any color or ong-term studies of the
persistence of plastics in the
print you like when you make them yourself. environment have made it very
clear that we must either recycle or
avoid as much plastic use as we can, and
in many ways, the switch is easy. In the
kitchen, glass and ceramic containers
not only reduce plastic usage, but also
minimize exposure to bisphenol A
(BPA) and phthalates — and they’re less
easily stained by foods, particularly the
curries I love to cook.
Metal and wooden utensils last
longer than plastic ones. Plastic wrap,
unfortunately, is hard to replace.
Few materials are as lightweight and
flexible, let alone impermeable enough
to protect foods from drying out in a
fridge or on the counter.
To solve this problem, many people
have turned to fabric wraps soaked
in beeswax mixtures, which allow the
fabric to remain flexible while making
it tacky enough to cling to dishes. The
wax coating also makes cleanup easier,
because sauces and drippy foods can’t
soak into the fabric.
There’s a trick to making beeswax
wraps, though. Beeswax alone is too
brittle at room temperature to serve the
purpose, and it’s not very sticky. You’ll
need to add an oil for flexibility, and a
resin for better cling.
Jojoba oil and coconut oil are
common choices, and can be sourced
responsibly. Copal and pine resin
appear frequently in recipes, not
necessarily because they make a better
blend than other resins, but because
they’re far less expensive and rare than,
say, frankincense.
After reading as many recipes for
homemade beeswax wraps as I could

FOOD & RECIPES • WWW.MOTHEREARTHNEWS.COM 93

MH22.indb 93 3/29/22 2:32 PM

 From left: Your materials will include fabrics and resins of your choice. Use pinking shears on the edges of your fabric to reduce fraying.

find, I tried two blends. One used copal weight, and they are available in a I made a variety of wraps, from
resin, and the other pine resin; I chose to wide range of colors and patterns. You 18-by-24-inch bread loaf wraps to
use jojoba oil for both. Although coconut should also keep in mind that unless little 10-inch squares to fit over my
oil is less expensive, I don’t really like the you use highly refined beeswax, the smallest mixing bowl. Experiment
scent, and I read that wraps using it tend wraps will most likely have a yellow with your fabric to see what sizes will
to leave a slight greasy film on whatever tinge. Pinking the edges of the fabric be most useful for the foods and dishes
they might touch. will reduce fraying. you want to wrap up.
I found that the copal resin wraps were
stickier when cool than the pine resin
wraps. Both recipes resulted in wraps that
were easy to shape with the warmth of my
hands, and I could rinse them clean with
cool water.

Materials and Setup

• Cooking pot
• Heatproof glass bowl, to fit on top
of pot
• Wooden spoon
• New wide paintbrush
• Baking sheet
• Parchment paper
• Organic cotton fabric, cut into pieces
with pinking shears

In addition to the ingredients for the

wax blend, you’ll need to set up a double
boiler and a place to cool the freshly waxed
wraps. Use clean utensils and dishes, but
not your favorites—the wax and resin will
be nearly impossible to remove completely
from anything they touch. I picked up
some bowls and wooden spoons from my
local thrift store for a few dollars.
Organic fabric may seem like an extra
expense, but conventionally grown
cotton is heavily dosed with pesticides,
and I don’t want those near my food. Blend beeswax pastilles (bottom left) with powdered pine
Quilting cottons are the perfect resin (center) or copal resin (top left) in a double boiler.

94 MOTHER EARTH NEWS COLLECTOR SERIES • MODERN HOMESTEADING

MH22.indb 94 3/29/22 2:32 PM

 From left: The wax mixture will add a yellow tinge to the fabric. Once fully coated, allow the wraps to air-dry. Wash them with gentle soap in cool water.

Copal Resin Wraps
The quantities given will cover
about 2 yards of fabric cut to various
sizes. As long as you stick to the ratio
of 2 parts beeswax to 1 part each copal
resin and jojoba oil, you can scale
the recipe.
• 8 tablespoons beeswax pastilles
• 4 tablespoons copal resin
• 4 tablespoons jojoba oil
Pine Resin Wraps
The quantities given will cover
about 2 yards of fabric cut to various
sizes. As long as you stick to the ratio
of 4 parts each beeswax and pine resin
to 1 part jojoba oil, you can scale the
recipe to fit your needs.
• 8 tablespoons beeswax pastilles
• 8 tablespoons powdered pine resin
• 2 tablespoons jojoba oil
How to Make Beeswax Wraps
Set up a double boiler with the pot and
bowl. Fill the pot with water to just below
the bottom of the bowl, and bring to a
simmer. Pour the beeswax pastilles, resin,
and oil into the bowl. I used powdered
pine resin, which completely melted in
about 20 minutes.
The copal resin I bought came in
lumps, and took closer to 2 hours to melt
completely. Stir the mixture occasionally
to blend the ingredients.
While the wax and resin are melting,
line a cookie sheet with parchment paper,
and preheat the oven to 300 degrees
Fahrenheit. Create a place to cool the
wraps. They won’t be drippy when fresh,
but will stick to flat surfaces until they
cool, so hanging is best. I made a tiny
clothesline between the upper cabinets
in my kitchen.
Arrange the pieces of fabric on
the cookie sheet, and when the wax
mixture is fully melted, you can use the
paintbrush to spread it evenly on the
fabric. It’s OK to have slightly thick
or thin spots, but avoid heavy drips or
completely bare areas.
Place the cookie sheet in the oven
for about 1 minute, to melt the wax
into the fibers. When you remove the
sheet, you can use the brush to quickly
smooth and redistribute the wax if
needed, but you must peel the wraps
off the parchment paper before they
cool and stick.
Hang each wrap up to cool. When
cool, you can fold them for storage, or
use them to pack up some food.
Excess wax mixture can be poured
into small molds and saved, or left in
the bowl and remelted later.

Scrap the Plastic Wrap!

Wrap bread, cheese, vegetables, or cover a bowl! Bee’s Wrap is the sustainable, natural
alternative to plastic wrap for food storage. Use the warmth of your hands to soften the wrap
and create a seal. When cool, the wrap holds its shape. To reuse, just wash in cool water, let
dry, and it’s ready to go! This product is available at Store.MotherEarthNews.com or by calling
800-234-3368. Mention promo code MMEPAMZ3. (In photo, item #8354.)

FOOD & RECIPES • WWW.MOTHEREARTHNEWS.COM 95

MH22.indb 95 3/29/22 2:32 PM

 All About Yogurt
With milk, microbes, warmth, and time, you can
make your own great-tasting probiotic yogurt.
Article by Gianaclis Caldwell
Photos by Carmen Troesser
I
t’s hard to think of a food that’s
gone through as many reinventions
as yogurt. In the 1960s and ’70s,
it was “hippie food.” In the Middle
East and much of Asia, it’s long been
a staple linked to health and longevity.
Thousands of years ago,
it was one of the original
fermented foods that
fueled the advancement of
humanity. And now, in the
21st century, you’ll find more
versions, styles, and flavors of
yogurt in the average grocery
store than you’re likely to
have time to count.
Behind all the marketing
hype, however, is a simple
food. It’s yogurt’s simplicity,
in fact, that brought it
to our forebears’ plates
(or planks, more likely).
Milk, microbes, warmth,
and time. In the right
conditions, yogurt literally Microbes can impart textures, flavors, and probiotics. Heavy cream
makes itself. fermented with yogurt microbes can be whipped into a thick spread.
The Marriage of
Milk and Microbes
Milk is a magnet for many of the tiny
life forms teeming around us — in the
air, on surfaces, in the soil, in the water,
and, well, everywhere. Milk offers
nutrients perfect for the growth of
many of these bacteria, yeasts, molds,
and even viruses. Even unwanted,
disease-causing microbes can grow in
milk, but luckily, the vast majority of
fast-growing bacteria that are attracted
to milk are harmless and even helpful.
96 MOTHER EARTH NEWS COLLECTOR SERIES • MODERN HOMESTEADING
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Understanding these microbes is
essential for crafting delicious, safe
products, yogurt included.
The microbes that give yogurt
its characteristic flavor, aroma,
and often probiotic benefits differ
from most cheesemaking microbes
in that they grow best in warmer
temperatures — usually about 100 to
122 degrees Fahrenheit. In contrast,
most cheeses are fermented at around
80 to 90 degrees.
If you look at the ingredients label on
the cartons of yogurt lining store shelves,
you’ll see Streptococcus thermophilus
and Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp.
bulgaricus listed (usually as S.
thermophilus and L. bulgaricus) at the
head of the list. These two bacteria
work symbiotically when they ferment
milk — each helping the other, and each
essential to the final product.
Once introduced to warm milk, these
microbes go to work breaking down
lactose (milk sugar) into two simple
sugars, glucose and galactose. These are
then further broken down into energy
for the microbes, and into byproducts.
In yogurt, the most important
byproduct is lactic acid. When the
right amount of acid is produced, it
coagulates the milk proteins, creating a
custard-like curd.
Beyond the basic fermentation
microbes, a plethora of lesser-known
microbes might be employed to impart
subtle aromas, textures,
flavors, and probiotic
benefits. Not all yogurt
microbes are probiotic,
by the way! (The term
“probiotic” can only be used
when a microbe imparts a
known health benefit, as
defined by the World Health
Organization.) If you’re
eating or making yogurt
for the sake of consuming
probiotics, be sure these types
of microbes are included on
the ingredients list or in the
starter culture you’re using to
make your own.
Some Like It Hot
Heat plays two roles in the
making of yogurt — it sets
the stage for proper fermentation, and
it provides the optimal temperature for
fermentation to occur.
Most yogurt recipes include a step
in which the milk is heated to at least
180 degrees and often held at that
temperature for 10 minutes or more.
Lovers of raw milk might initially balk
at this process, which takes the milk
beyond even regular pasteurization
temperatures! So why include it? For
two primary reasons. First, it almost
completely clears the milk of other
3/29/22 2:32 PM

microbes, creating a blank canvas for
yogurt microbes to grow quickly and
produce the maximum byproducts.
Second, the high heat denatures some of
the proteins in the milk, causing them
to create a thicker final texture. These
proteins, known as “whey proteins,”
are normally not incorporated into the
curd and instead remain in the whey,
the watery portion of the coagulation
process. When exposed to high heat,
however, the whey proteins change
and stick to the other proteins (the
“caseins”), thus becoming a part of the
MH22.indb 97
curd. Even if the yogurt isn’t drained,
the denatured whey proteins help
increase the thickness of the yogurt.
They also help increase the protein
content, particularly if the whey is
subsequently drained from the yogurt.
Incubation, when the yogurt milk
is held at a warm temperature until
coagulation is complete and the desired
flavor profile is achieved, might vary
in both time and temperature. In my
book Homemade Yogurt & Kefir (see
Page 99), you’ll find several recipes
that are examples of this, as well as
Our forebears regularly
ate fermented foods,
so our own microbiome
depends on them.
tips for choosing the right fit for
you. But basically, the cultured or
inoculated milk needs a spot where
the temperature can be maintained at
between 100 and 125 degrees, with
110 degrees being a good fit for most
makes. The lower the temperature, the
longer the fermentation might take.
For example, at 125 degrees, it might
take 4 hours. At 100 degrees, it might
take 12 to 18 hours.
Subtlety in flavor and texture comes
from tweaking the preheat step, the
incubation time, and the incubation
FOOD RECIPES • WWW.MOTHEREARTHNEWS.COM 97
3/29/22 2:32 PM

Yogurt is the basis for many dishes and drinks, including the Indian beverage lassi.
temperature. That said, if you decide
to make yogurt at home, don’t get
too focused on this fact. Remember,
fermentation happens. Provide a warm
spot (a heating pad, an oven with a
pilot light, an ice chest with a hot water
bottle, or a fancy yogurt-maker), wait,
test for taste, and learn.
Benefits of Yogurt
The first, but sometimes least-
appreciated, benefit of yogurt is its
digestibility. Fermentation leads to the
breakdown of a good portion of lactose
into more easily digested molecules. It’s
this result that helped our ancestors,
who were all lactose-intolerant, benefit
from eating fermented milk. In fact,
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yogurt-like residues have been detected
on ancient pottery shards found
in parts of the world where lactose
intolerance continues to be the norm
today. Even for those who can digest
milk sugar, the work of the microbes
makes yogurt easy for our systems to
process. When yogurt is drained of all
or part of the whey (such as in labneh
and Greek yogurt), even more lactose
is removed.
Probiotics have most recently given
yogurt its boost in popularity. But as
I mentioned earlier, not all yogurts
contain probiotics. When they do,
however, these gut-friendly microbes
offer myriad known and suggested
benefits. They assist with immune
function by helping occupy space in
our intestinal tract, creating acidic
conditions that are directly inhibiting
to many pathogens; they’re known
to produce natural bacteriocins that
target pathogens for destruction;
they work as a thermostat of sorts,
boosting the body’s immune activity
during infection; and more. Studies
show they also have a positive effect
on stress management, gastrointestinal
problems, antibiotic-induced diarrhea,
and vaginal flora insufficiency. Even
the gastric-ulcer-producing microbe
Helicobacter pylori might be limited
by regular probiotic intake. These
positives all make sense when we
remind ourselves that for our forebears,
fermented foods were a part of regular
meals, meaning our own microbiome
has a sort of dependency upon them. So
don’t think of yogurt, or any fermented
food, as a trendy product to be eaten
only when one feels ill.
Storing and Using Yogurt
Yogurt, whether homemade or
purchased, doesn’t spoil quickly,
thanks to its acidic conditions. If the
yogurt is drained, it will last even
longer. However, the bacteria count
starts to drop soon after the yogurt has
been made. If you’re looking for high
numbers of probiotic microbes, use it
within a week or so. The number of
bacteria still active over time will have
to do with how many were present
after the yogurt was made, as well as
if there are any remaining sugars for
the bacteria to survive on. (If there’s
residual sugar, more fermentation will
take place, even in the fridge — leading
to a tarter yogurt.)
Easy Yogurt-Making at Home
Here’s a super-simple approach to
making yogurt at home. For more options,
including unique recipes from other
countries, I hope you’ll refer to my book.
• ⁄ gallon milk (I use organic whole
12
milk)
• 1⁄4 cup plain yogurt with live active
cultures, or 1⁄4 teaspoon powdered
yogurt culture
3/29/22 2:32 PM
 1 Pour milk into a stainless steel
pot and place on stove. Stir gently,
scraping the bottom, and heat to
boiling. Remove from heat.
2 Set pot in cool water bath in
sink, and stir until milk reaches 120
to 125 F.
3 Put fresh yogurt in a small
bowl, and add enough milk to stir
into a thin, smooth liquid.
4 Add thinned yogurt to warm milk,
and stir well. Or, if using powdered
culture, sprinkle on top of milk, wait a
few minutes, and then stir in.
5 Pour the mixture into two quart-
sized jars, and cover snugly with lids.
6 Line an insulated cooler with a
towel, and set yogurt jars inside.
7 Fill another quart jar with
150-degree water (or any water that’s
almost too hot to touch), cover, and
add to cooler.
8 Tuck towel over tops of jars and
close cooler lid. Set in a fairly warm
spot. If you don’t have a warm spot, or
if the weather is cold, simply refill the
hot water jar after about 2 hours.
9 Wait 8 hours, and then check for
thickness. (When the yogurt is warm, it
will be a bit thinner than once it’s chilled.)
You’re looking for a custard-like texture.
10 Chill in the refrigerator overnight.
11 The next day, taste. If the yogurt
isn’t tart enough, incubate it longer
next time, or allow it to cool on the
counter overnight and then refrigerate.
Use within 2 weeks.
Buying the Best
When choosing commercially made
yogurt, read the label! Very few yogurts
are made without added thickeners,
unless they’re drained. Some larger
modern makers are turning to a water
removal step, which occurs before the
milk is made into yogurt. (This makes
the milk more concentrated with
proteins and fats, creating a thicker
yogurt.) Thickeners might include guar
gum, tapioca starch, or nonfat milk (as a
dry powder). None of these are truly bad
for you, but they do change the way the
yogurt tastes.
Beyond thickeners, you might see a
variety of microbes listed as cultures.
Even if one yogurt lists identical
microbes as another, they might be
quite different — the genus and species
are only the beginning of the diversity!
So, taste several brands and see what
you and your family like.
One caution I’d like to add is
regarding sugar. In particular, added
sugar to yogurt. Interestingly, lactose
is nature’s least sweet sugar. But it’s
still identified as sugar by our bodies
the same way a sweeter sugar would
Practical Yogurt
Enjoy this article? Check out the
author’s online workshop, where
she goes over the entire process in
detail! Get started making your own
probiotic, immune-boosting yogurt
from scratch. “Practical Yogurt” with
Gianaclis Caldwell is part of our “Food
Independence” course at
Online.MotherEarthNewsFair.com.
be. If you’re trying to reduce your
consumption of sugar (which is
unnaturally high in most modern
Western diets), then avoid buying
yogurt with added sugar. If you want
your yogurt to be sweeter, try adding
low glycemic fruits (most berries fit this
bill), or add vanilla extract, cinnamon,
or other unsweetened flavoring. You
can also make or buy lactose-free
yogurt. This product will actually taste
a bit sweeter thanks to any remaining
lactose having been broken down
into the simple sugars of glucose and
galactose — which are naturally much
sweeter than lactose.
Gianaclis Caldwell is the author of
six books on cheesemaking, small
dairying, and goat care, including
the award-winning Mastering Artisan
Cheesemaking. Along with her
husband, she milks goats and makes
cheese at Pholia Farm Creamery in
southern Oregon. This is an excerpt
from Homemade Yogurt & Kefir
(Storey Publishing).

71 Recipes for Probiotic-Rich Ferments

Homemade Yogurt & Kefir opens the door for fermentation enthusiasts and dairy devotees to make and use
yogurt and kefir in the home kitchen. Step-by-step instructions cover the basics of making dairy ferments,
from necessary equipment to the myriad options for thickening, sweetening, and flavoring. Along with
foundational recipes, readers will find instructions for creating different styles of yogurt and kefir (as well as
other traditional milk ferments from around the world). This title is available at Store.MotherEarthNews.com
or by calling 800-234-3368. Mention promo code MMEPAMZ3. Item #9948.

FOOD RECIPES • WWW.MOTHEREARTHNEWS.COM 99

MH22.indb 99 3/29/22 2:32 PM

 How to Store & Protect
Food Long-Term
A reader shares
how to properly store
food for the long haul.
W
ith all the time and money
you put into having a food
pantry, you want to protect it.
Nothing is more disappointing than seeing
your food investment ruined by natural
elements or bugs. Knowing what your
food’s worst enemies are, understanding
how they can infiltrate and ruin your food,
and then taking steps to prevent their
havoc will help you preserve your food
investment for the long term.
Everything from sunlight and moisture
to bugs and bacteria can damage your
food. If you’re planning to store long-term
With proper
storage, many
food items can
remain viable for
several years.
100 MOTHER EARTH NEWS COLLECTOR SERIES • MODERN HOMESTEADING
MH22.indb 100
foodstuffs, such as rice, beans, dry milk, or
sugar, you’ll want to consider repackaging
those items. Companies package most of
the dry goods we purchase for short-term
use, meaning those goods likely won’t hold
up during long-term storage. The U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA) also
allows certain defects in our food sources,
with mold, insects, and insect eggs on the
list of approved defects.
Any of the following food-storage
products will help your stores last longer
than if you hadn’t repackaged them, but
I recommend the multi-barrier approach,
detailed at the end of this article.
Food-grade 5-gallon buckets are
popular among those who store bulk
quantities of food, probably because
they’re an excellent choice for food
storage. Typically, a food-grade container
has the number “2” stamped inside the
recycling symbol or with the acronym
“HDPE” stamped below it. Before you
place any food inside the bucket, clean it
with soapy water, and then rinse and dry
it thoroughly.
Be sure the lid you purchase is airtight
and spill-proof. Lids with gaskets and
gamma lids are both good choices because
they don’t require a lid opener. They’re
typically a little more expensive compared
with traditional bucket lids, but they’re
easier to open and close.
Food liners made from polyester film,
such as Mylar bags, are another option
for storing dry goods. In my book The
Prepper’s Cookbook, I noted research has
shown that oxygen seeps slowly through
the walls of plastic containers over
time. Consequently, natural elements
and even insects can find a way inside.
Adding a polyester film liner will ensure
there are multiple barriers to protect the
food. The thickest grade (5 millimeters
or more) is a worthwhile investment.
The added benefits of using polyester
bags are they can last up to 20 years, and
you can reuse them.
Oxygen absorbers, which inhibit the
growth of aerobic pathogens and molds,
greatly prolong the shelf life of stored
food. Oxygen absorbers begin working
the moment they’re exposed to oxygen,
so work as efficiently as possible after
you open the package. One way to do
this is to prepare all of your containers,
noting how many oxygen absorbers you’ll
need. Then, you can take out the oxygen
absorbers from their sealed package
and quickly seal the remaining oxygen
absorbers using a food sealer.
Oxygen absorbers come in assorted
QUEREN KING-OROZCO (3)
sizes, so you’ll want to pay attention
to the proper size for each container.
Typically, you should expect to add
2,000 cubic centimeters (cc) of oxygen
absorbers to one 5-gallon bucket.
3/29/22 2:32 PM
 Polyester food liners and oxygen absorbers defend against oxygen and insects. Oxygen absorbers also inhibit aerobic pathogens and molds.

Oxygen absorbers aren’t edible, but
they’re nontoxic and won’t affect the
smell or taste of your stored food.
Desiccant packets moderate the
moisture level within a container. They
don’t absorb the moisture. That desiccant
is inedible, and if a packet breaks and spills
onto your stored food, you’ll need to throw
it all away. Desiccant shouldn’t be used
with certain items, such as flour, sugar, and
salt. These items need a certain amount of
moisture to stay edible; otherwise, they’ll
turn into a brick.
Food-grade diatomaceous earth
provides a more natural approach to food
storage. Diatomaceous earth is comprised
of the fossilized remains of diatoms. It’s
organic and safe to use on food, and acts
as both an insect repellent and desiccating
agent. You can add 1 cup diatomaceous
earth to each 25 pounds of food.
Use a Multi-Barrier Process
While there are multiple ways to ensure
food sources are properly stored, in my
home, we use a multi-barrier approach.
Keep in mind that this storage method is
for dry foods you plan to store for a year or
longer. Sealing food using a multi-barrier
process isn’t difficult, but it does take some
time. When my family is ready to seal
food, we set aside a few hours to do a bulk
store. Our food stays as fresh as the day we
sealed it, and in 10 years of storing food,
I’ve never had an issue with food spoiling
or being ruined by bugs. You’ll need:
• Food-grade 5-gallon bucket with lid
• Polyester food storage bag (5 millimeters
in thickness)
• Oxygen absorbers and desiccant packets
• Diatomaceous earth (optional)
• Heat clamp, flat iron, or some other
method for sealing the polyester bag
The Sealing Process
1 Place a properly sized polyester food
liner in a clean, dry plastic container. For
example, if you’re using a 5-gallon bucket,
you’ll want to use an 18-by-28-inch or a
20-by-30-inch bag.
2 Put an oxygen absorber in the
bottom of the bag. Add a desiccant packet
to the bottom only if the food calls for it.
3 Begin pouring food into the polyester
bag. When the bag is about half full, shake
it to make sure the food gets into all the
crevices of the bag.
4 Continue adding food until the bag
is 3⁄4 full. Put another oxygen absorber on
top of the contents.
5 Begin folding the polyester bag down
to release any trapped air.
6 Using a heat clamp or a flat iron on
its highest setting, create a seal across the
bag in a straight line, leaving the last 2 or 3
inches unsealed.
7 Push out the remaining trapped air,
and then finish sealing the bag.
8 If you wish, put another oxygen
absorber on top of the sealed bag in the
storage container, and secure the lid.
9 Place your container of food in a
dark storage area where temperature,
moisture levels, and amount of sunlight
won’t fluctuate.
This is one of the best ways to prolong
the longevity of your food to ensure you
have plenty for years to come. When I first
began my food pantry, I never imagined
that the food I stored 10 years ago would
still be feeding my family today!
Food is an investment into your future
and your family’s livelihood. Do all you
can to protect that investment.
Tess Pennington
www.ReadyNutrition.com

Oxygen Absorber Size Requirements

1-Quart Pouch #10 Can (0.82 Gallon) 5-Gallon Bucket 6-Gallon Bucket
Food Items 947 cc 3,910 cc 18,942 cc 22,730 cc
Flour, pancake mix, fine powders 50 to 100 cc 200 to 300 cc 750 cc 1000 cc
QUEREN KING-OROZCO (3)

Sugar, salt, dry milk 50 to 100 cc 200 to 300 cc 750 cc 1000 cc

Rice, grains (wheat berries, oats, etc.) 50 to 100 cc 200 to 300 cc 750 to 1,000 cc 1000 to 1,500 cc
Dry beans 100 to 150 cc 300 to 500 cc 1,000 cc 1,500 cc
Pasta 100 to 200 cc 300 to 600 cc 1,000 to 1,500 cc 1,500 to 2,000 cc

FOOD & RECIPES • WWW.MOTHEREARTHNEWS.COM 101

MH22.indb 101 3/29/22 2:32 PM

 Go with the Flow
Build a rain barrel that cleverly uses gravity to send water uphill.
Article and photos by Frank Hyman
I
frequently refer to the adage
“What goes up, must come down,”
along with other rudimentary
principles of physics to make my life
easier on our little homestead. Gravity
The installed rain barrel, painted brown and fitted with a brass spigot for feeding the garden hose.
Putting scrap lattice on its sides isn’t necessary, but does makes the setup look more attractive.
102 MOTHER EARTH NEWS COLLECTOR SERIES • MODERN HOMESTEADING
MH22.indb 102
is always in play, so there’s no sense in
fighting it. I go with gravitational flow
whenever I can.
One of the heaviest things we deal
with when gardening or farming is
water. At roughly 8 pounds per gallon,
it adds up. So, when it rains in summer,
I like to store the water in a rain barrel
and then let it drain out through my
vegetable beds during dry spells, to keep
me from needing to haul water around.
But what do you do when your garden
beds are slightly higher than the outlet
on your rain barrel? You use gravity to
send it uphill, of course!
Everyday Physics
You can’t fool Mother Nature, but
you can sometimes play tricks on a
hose full of water. To get water from a
rain barrel to go uphill, you just need
to make the water in the garden hose
“think” it’s running downhill in order
to make it, in fact, run uphill. But how
do you do that?
I do it by starting with a stack of free
pallets saved from an undignified demise
in a landfill. There, the wood would
turn into gases that amplify climate
disruption. By using sturdy, free pallets
Tools & Materials
• Stake
• Twine
• Line level
• 4-foot level
• Pallets
• Blocks of 6x6 pressure-treated
wood, cinder blocks, or bricks
• Chicken wire
• Rubber pond liner, metal roofing, or
rolled roofing
• IBC tote
• Exterior-grade paint for plastic
• Brass spigot
• Spade bit that matches inside
diameter of threads of brass spigot
• Exterior-grade caulk
• Downspout diverter with watertight
connections
3/29/22 2:32 PM
 as a base on which to raise a rain barrel
up a few feet, you, too, can “fool” water
into pushing uphill to feed soaker hoses
in your garden beds. Here’s how.
Choose a Proper Rain Barrel
Vegetable beds in summer need
roughly 1 gallon of water per square foot
per week. For example, a 4-by-12-foot
bed equals 48 square feet, and in dry
conditions, it needs about 48 gallons of
water each week. That means a 50-gallon
barrel can water one bed for one week,
until the next rain refills it. You could
set up a whole series of barrels, but that
would multiply the cost of connections
and the time to install them.
I recommend International Beverage
Containers (IBCs) that have held
nontoxic liquids. I call them “super rain
barrels.” You can find IBCs advertised
on Craigslist for about $75 to $150
apiece. They’re worth it. I figure, if
it holds more gallons than it costs in
dollars, you’re getting a good deal. And
IBCs hold about 300 gallons — six
barrels’ worth, but with a smaller
footprint and less connection hardware
required. IBCs are nearly a cube (48 by
This IBC rain barrel (left) is attached to a water-resistant plastic pallet that can be stacked atop the wood-pallet base. With a foundation of
pressure-treated 6x6s and six wood pallets, the bottom of the rain barrel is about 35 inches aboveground.
MH22.indb 103
Freshwater Facts
1 gallon of water = 8 pounds
1 cubic foot = 7.5 gallons of water = 60 pounds
300-gallon container x 8 pounds = 2,400 pounds
A vegetable garden in summer needs roughly 1 gallon water per square foot per week.
48 by 40 inches) of food-grade plastic feeds water into a horizontal length of
stiffened by an aluminum cage screwed hose that connects to your rain barrel.
to a pallet. On top is an 8-inch-wide Install it correctly (meaning, follow
screw-on lid. At the bottom is a 2-inch the directions), and you won’t need to
plastic spigot. The ones I’ve bought still install an overflow hose. That’s a big
had the faint scent of the almond oil timesaver. When the rain barrel is full
they originally contained. The plastic (and all valves and the lid are closed),
is translucent, so to keep algae from the rainwater will back up in the hose
growing inside, I slap on a couple of and goes down the original downspout.
coats of dark-brown paint that’s made Installing it correctly means the inlet to
for plastic. the rain barrel is at the same height as the
diverter. If you want to set up your rain
Connect to the Downspout barrel farther from the downspout than
I recommend using the metal the short Gardener’s Supply hose will
downspout diverter sold in the allow, you can buy 3⁄4-inch plastic hose
Gardener’s Supply catalog (www. used in standard drip irrigation systems.
Gardeners.com). It’s a box with a hose These are often sold at big box stores (or
and connectors, and it inserts into the some might be lying around in your shed).
downspout after you’ve cut it open Just be sure not to use clear plastic hose.
with snips or a metal-cutting blade. It Algae will grow inside and clog it up.
DO IT YOURSELF • WWW.MOTHEREARTHNEWS.COM 103
3/29/22 2:32 PM
 Build a Super Base
for Your Super Barrel
Even if your garden is downhill, an
IBC rain barrel will work best if it’s
stacked on enough pallets that you
can set a bucket or watering can under
the barrel’s plastic spigot. You can get
free pallets from feed and seed stores,
garden centers, HVAC contractors, or
big box stores. If the pallets have “HT”
stamped on the side, they’ve been
heat-treated and don’t have chemicals
in them. Most pallets that have been
treated with chemicals have bright
paint on the side and are expensive, so
stores send those back for credit. IBC
containers already come with one pallet
screwed to the cage. Unless that pallet
is plastic or metal (and therefore water-
resistant), remove it from the bottom of
the IBC and add it to your pallet stack.
I’ve seen some people with modest
carpentry skills build flimsy bases from
From top: Adjust your foundation so the
pallets are level. The foundation should be
made with block, brick, or pressure-treated
wood to protect the pallets from rotting, and
should have an L-shaped apron of fencing
around its base to keep critters out. Form a
roof over the pallet stack with a UV-resistant
pond liner.
104 MOTHER EARTH NEWS COLLECTOR SERIES • MODERN HOMESTEADING
MH22.indb 104
scraps of wood. They must not realize
that 300 gallons of water weighs more
than a ton. That’s why I think a stack of
pallets makes the best base. Not only are
pallets ready-made and free, but they’re
also quick to assemble, built to support a
lot of weight, and won’t fall apart.
We’ll determine how many pallets
you’ll need to use to send water uphill
in the next section. First, I want to
familiarize you with the steps for
making a sound base for your rain
barrel, regardless of its height.
Once you have all the pallets you
need, raise the first one off the ground
by putting one cinder block fully
under each corner. Bricks or scraps of
pressure-treated lumber will work fine
as a foundation too. The main thing is
to get the pallet wood on a rot-proof
foundation at least 5 inches above the
ground so it won’t decompose. If you’re
building on clay soil that shifts over
time, use a couple of 4-foot lengths
of pressure-treated 6x6s to distribute
the weight more evenly. Level up the
foundation, and then start stacking
pallets. Weight and friction will keep
the pallets from moving around; no
need to screw them together.
Then, wrap the pallets and
foundation with some chicken wire
to keep critters from making a home
inside. Extend the fencing as an apron
on the ground around the foundation
to keep critters from digging their way
under the pallets.
Finally, use something waterproof
and UV-proof to keep the pallets dry:
try scraps of pond liner, rolled roofing,
or scraps of metal roofing. Most tarps
won’t stand up to UV radiation, so
don’t use them.
I used a few pieces of pressure-treated
lattice to cover the sides of my pallet
stack to make it look a little more like a
garden feature, but that’s not necessary.
Once your pallet stack has a
foundation, critter-proofing, and a
roof, put the empty rain barrel on top.
It should be light enough for one or
two people to lift it into place. Short
of a tornado, its weight will hold
it down. If you do have tornadoes,
don’t screw the aluminum cage down
3/29/22 2:32 PM
 downspout and diverter
lid If the hose’s inlet is higher than
through the foundation’s roof material; its outlet, water will flow uphill
you don’t want to let water rot out IBC rain barrel through the hose because of
the pallets. Instead, screw a couple of brass spigot the pressure of gravity.
pressure-treated 2x2s, vertically and on
opposite sides, into the top of the IBC’s
free pallets
aluminum cage and the bottom of the
protected garden hose running uphill
pallet stack.
by roofing

Let Water Flow

Some people remove the 2-inch
plastic spigot and use lots of PVC
adapters to dial down the diameter
so a brass spigot can replace it. I tried
that once and found that the adapters
seriously constricted the rate of flow.
Not only that, but I missed having a big
spigot that could fill a 5-gallon bucket
or a 2-gallon watering can in a matter
of seconds. So now, I keep the 2-inch
plastic spigot in place and make a dry,
level area underneath it with bricks,
where I can set a bucket or watering
can and fill them quickly.
To attach a garden hose, I affix a
brass spigot about 4 inches above the
bottom of the barrel. To do this, I use
a spade bit that cuts the same diameter
as the inside diameter of the threads
of the spigot. That way, the outer edge
of the threads will bite into the plastic
as I screw it into place. Just before it’s
screwed all the way in, I apply a bead
of exterior-grade caulk around the
threads, and then screw it into the last
bit. Leave the caulk to cure for 24 hours
before moving or filling the barrel.
foundation blocks/bricks/wood
Send Water Uphill
Here’s the fun part. I had a good site
for my rain barrel, but my garden was
up a gentle slope. Carrying water by
hand was out. Installing a pump and
routing was too expensive. Besides,
pumps like to break down. But I knew
water would run uphill through a hose if
the inlet was higher than the outlet. This
is the same principle that lets a city water
tower supply your house. If I stacked
the pallets just a tiny bit higher than the
high point of the garden, gravity would
push the water uphill into the beds.
Follow these steps before building your
pallet stack, and you can do the same:
1 Drive a stake into the high point
of the garden, and wrap twine around
its base at ground level.
2 Pull the twine to where the rain
barrel will be stationed.
3 Hang a pen-sized line level on the
piece of twine.
4 With the twine pulled tight, adjust
it until it reads level.
5 Measure the distance of the twine
that’s above ground level. In my case,
this was about 35 inches.
6 If the brass spigot of your rain
barrel is a couple of inches above
that height, the water in the hose will
“think” it’s going downhill, even if the
hose lying on the ground is actually
running uphill.
Pallets are about 5 inches tall, and I
had some 6x6 scraps for a foundation.
In this case, six pallets plus the
foundation put the brass spigot of
the barrel just above the high point
of the garden. Gravity would send the
rainwater flowing uphill. I laid a garden
hose from the barrel to the high point.
From there, a soaker hose would carry
water back downhill (a soaker hose
running uphill loses most of its water
right away). Whenever I wanted to
water the garden, I turned on the brass
spigot. Water flowed uphill through the
garden hose, and then flowed downhill
through the soaker hose to be evenly
distributed across that row.

Rain Barrel Maintenance

Save Valuable Rainwater Your rain barrel should be mostly
Feeling thirsty? Learn how your household can keep a maintenance-free. Close the spigots
regular supply of rainwater. Essential Rainwater Harvesting when the barrel is empty so it will refill
by Rob Avis and Michelle Avis is a comprehensive during rains. Come winter, leave the
manual for designing, building, and maintaining water- big spigot open so water doesn’t freeze
harvesting systems. Presenting design considerations and inside. Depending on conditions,
approaches for the most common household rainwater you may have to touch up the paint
supply scenarios—primary, supplemental, and off-grid periodically to keep algae from
supply—this step-by-step approach covers planning growing. Keep an eye out for critters
for full-property water security, guidance on navigating setting up house in the pallet stack if
regulatory requirements, templates for building your own your fencing isn’t tight enough. Keep
spreadsheet-based calculation tool, site-specific planning your rain gutters free of leaves in fall
and spatial layout, materials and component design and selection, and system maintenance and oak flowers in spring (hopefully
and upkeep. This title is available at Store.MotherEarthNews.com or by calling 800-234- you’re doing that already). And then,
3368. Mention promo code MMEPAMZ3. Item #9280. enjoy tons of free water from your
super rain barrel.

DO IT YOURSELF • WWW.MOTHEREARTHNEWS.COM 105

MH22.indb 105 3/29/22 2:32 PM

 Water-Resistant
‘Plybarrow’
Build a sturdy plywood Article, photos, and illustrations siding — the same material that’s on
by Pete Chasar the outside of my house. (Because the
wheelbarrow that can plywood was manufactured for a house,

weather everyday work,
come rain or shine.
Tools & Materials
• Tape measure
• Carpenter square
• Circular saw, jigsaw, or table saw
• Straight-edged guide for saw cuts
• Hand file, sanding block, or power
sander, for easing rough edges
• Power drill driver with bits for
drilling pilot holes, countersinking,
and driving screws
• Long clamps or duct tape
• 4-by-8-foot sheet of exterior-grade
plywood, at least 5⁄8 inch thick
• 11⁄2-inch #6 stainless steel flathead
wood screws, for sides
• 11⁄4-inch #6 stainless steel flathead
wood screws, for legs
• 5⁄8-inch #8 stainless steel pan-head
F
rustrated with store-bought
wheelbarrows that rust and rot
in Oregon’s wet coastal climate,
I decided to build a wheelbarrow from
exterior-grade plywood, which I've dubbed
a “plybarrow.”
I chose to make my wheelbarrow out of
plywood for several reasons. First, when I
looked at other DIY wheelbarrow designs,
I noticed that most were assembled from
many different materials, often with
complicated joinery. I wanted to avoid this,
so I found one material (plywood) that could
provide the majority of the design, and I kept
the joinery simple, using 90-degree butt
joints for every connection except one.
Second, I already had the plywood.
I used a partial sheet of T1-11 exterior
there’s a horizontal groove on the side of
my plybarrow.) Except for a new wheel and
waterproof wood glue, all the materials I
used for this project were either repurposed
or left over from other projects.
Finally, plywood is strong in all
directions, even when it's relatively thin.
The plywood I used is 5⁄8 inch thick, and
my plybarrow is plenty sturdy.
Plybarrow Features
and Considerations
Structural design. My plybarrow design
consists of six basic plywood parts: a
cargo bay bottom, two side panels, a cargo
bay front panel, and two legs. The front
panel also serves as a cross brace for the
wheelbarrow’s cargo bay, and the leading

screws, for axle and leg braces

• 16 inches of 1⁄2-inch aluminum,
EMT, or copper tubing, for leg braces
• 151⁄2-inch wheel with tire and
matching axle
• 1⁄2-inch EMT straps, for axle (2)

• Waterproof wood glue

• Exterior-grade paint and primer
• Small brush for applying wood glue
• 2- or 3-inch paintbrush
• Small metal or rubber bumpers, for
leg ends and leading edge of cargo
bay bottom
A plywood design will provide the function of a traditional wheelbarrow without the risk of rust or rot.

106 MOTHER EARTH NEWS COLLECTOR SERIES • MODERN HOMESTEADING

MH22.indb 106 3/29/22 2:32 PM

 edge of the bottom serves as a pivot point
for tilting it forward to dump its contents.
For handles, I simply tapered the side
panels at the ends to create the right size
and shape for holding and lifting. To brace
and stabilize the legs, I used brackets
made from leftover ½-inch aluminum
tubing. You can also use electrical metallic
tubing (EMT), rigid copper tubing, or even
triangular blocks cut from plywood scraps.
Another handy feature of this design is
that you don’t need a full sheet of plywood.
In fact, as shown in the cutting diagram
(above), you can build a plybarrow using
only a portion of a 4-by-8-foot sheet of 5⁄8-
inch exterior-grade plywood. You can create
a much larger wheelbarrow if you use 3⁄4-
inch exterior-grade plywood, but you’ll likely
need an entire 4-by-8-foot sheet.
Water resistance. To make all the joints
strong and watertight, I fastened them
with both screws and waterproof wood
glue. (Make sure you use waterproof
glue, and not water-resistant glue.) The
screws, which are stainless steel to prevent
corrosion, serve as clamps while the glue
is curing. (Don’t remove the screws after
the glue has cured, though.) You can also
use brass or galvanized screws.
Even though I used exterior-grade
plywood, I still needed to seal it against
water penetration, which can delaminate
plywood, especially on sawed edges. I used
MH22.indb 107
the same waterproof glue I had used on the
joints, brushing it generously onto all cut
edges after initial assembly. For an overall
finish, I used exterior acrylic latex paint that
was left over from the trim on my house.
Wheel and axle. This design uses a
151⁄2-inch wheel mounted on an axle,
which I recycled from an old, rotted-out
wheelbarrow. I would've used the old wheel
and tire too, but the tire no longer held air,
so I purchased a new wheel and tire. If you
use a different-sized wheel, the mounting
position, and possibly the wheel opening,
will need to be adjusted.
Size and strength. My plybarrow is sized
and built for simple everyday chores, such
as hauling mulch, topsoil, and leaves.
It’s not made for heavy-duty commercial
use. Still, increasing the dimensions of
its basic parts, as well as using thicker
plywood, would allow for a bigger, sturdier
design. Also, you don’t have to use the
same thickness of plywood for each piece.
For example, using thicker plywood for
just the cargo bay bottom would make the
entire design stronger, and enable you to
more easily position the screws that fasten
the side panels.
1 Cut Plywood
Following the cutting diagram above, cut
the two side panels, the two legs, the cargo
bay bottom, and the cargo bay front panel
from the plywood using a power saw and
guide. (Make sure you bevel-cut the bottom
of the front panel at a 30-degree angle.)
Sand and shape the parts as needed.
2 Prepare Side Panels
Drill and countersink six pilot holes in
each side panel, 3⁄8 inch from the bottom
edge and 6 inches on center.
Lay the cargo bay bottom flat, near the
edge of your work surface. With the left
side panel in a vertical position, set it back
4 inches from bottom panel’s leading left
edge, and then fasten it temporarily with
a single 11⁄2-inch screw or a long clamp.
Using the pilot holes in the side panel as a
guide, drill 3⁄8-inch-deep pilot holes in the
edge of the cargo bay bottom so they align
with the holes in the side panel. Repeat
with the right-side panel.
3 Prepare Cargo Bay Front
With the side panels temporarily in place,
position the bottom edge of the front panel
30 inches from the rear edge of the cargo
bay bottom, tilting the top edge of the
front panel forward so it aligns with the top
corners of both side panels. Temporarily
clamp or tape the front panel in place.
To indicate screw locations on the side
panels, draw pencil lines where each side
of the front panel butts with the inside
surfaces of the side panels.
DO IT YOURSELF • WWW.MOTHEREARTHNEWS.COM 107
3/29/22 2:32 PM
 Bevel the bottom of the front panel at a 30-degree angle so it sits flush against the cargo bay bottom. Attach the wheel assembly using EMT straps.
Remove the front panel, and drill four
pilot holes 3 inches on center through
each side panel, using the pencil lines
as guides. Countersink the pilot holes on
each side panel’s outside surface.
Reposition the front panel, and
temporarily clamp or tape it in place.
Then, using the holes drilled in the side
panels as guides, drill 3⁄8-inch-deep pilot
holes from each side into the front panel.
4 Assemble Cargo Bay
Remove any temporary clamps,
tape, or screws, and then
remove the side panels and the
front panel. Generously brush
waterproof glue along the left edge
of the cargo bay bottom and along
the lower
5⁄8 inch of the left panel, where
the screw holes are located.
Before the glue sets, place the
left panel against the left edge of
the cargo bay bottom so the screw
holes align, and, working from the
center out, begin inserting and
driving 11⁄2-inch screws. Repeat
on the right side.
Brush glue onto the bottom
edge and side edges of the front
panel, and onto the joined inside
surfaces of the left panel, right
panel, and bottom of the cargo
bay. Insert the front panel between
the sides so the screw holes
align, and then insert and drive
11⁄2-inch screws. (You won’t need
screws for the panel’s bottom
edge.)
108 MOTHER EARTH NEWS COLLECTOR SERIES • MODERN HOMESTEADING
MH22.indb 108
Brush glue on all exposed cut edges to seal
the plywood. Let the glue cure overnight.
5 Attach Legs,
Braces, and Wheel
Once the glue is cured, turn the cargo
bay upside down. Position a leg on one
exterior side of the cargo bay, and then
drill and countersink five pilot holes for
11⁄4-inch screws. Screw on the leg, and
repeat on the other side. (Using screws
When not in use, store your plybarrow in a garage or shed, or lean
it under an overhang, as the author does.
without glue will allow you to remove the
legs for travel and storage.)
Make leg braces by cutting two 8-inch
pieces of ½-inch aluminum, EMT, or
copper tubing. Squeeze the ends of each
brace flat, and then bend each end at a
45-degree angle. Drill a screw hole in each
flattened end. Attach a leg brace diagonally
between each leg and the bottom of the
cargo bay using 5⁄8-inch pan-head screws.
Temporarily position the wheel and axle
on the underside of the cargo bay,
making sure the wheel doesn’t
rub against the wheel opening or
the front panel. Mark the position
for the EMT straps, and then drill
pilot holes. Use 5⁄8-inch pan-head
screws to attach the wheel and
axle via the EMT straps. (See
photo above.)
6 Add Paint
and Bumpers
Prime and paint the entire
plybarrow. (You can do this step
before attaching the axle and
wheel, if you prefer.)
Once the paint is dry, screw or
glue bumpers to the leg ends and
the leading edge of the cargo bay.
Though waterproof glue
and exterior paint will provide
protection against water
penetration, the plybarrow will last
longer and need less maintenance
if you store it in a garage or
shed when not in use, or lean it
up against a wall under a roof
overhang, which is what I do.
3/29/22 2:32 PM
 Build a Garden
Fence on a Budget
Add beauty and functionality to your growing space
with a durable wooden fence that won’t break the bank.

Article and photos by Jake Lasorsa

W
hen 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 would beeline straight to the

Tools & Materials

• Chalk line reel
• Measuring tape
• Auger or posthole digger
• Box of 2-inch all-purpose wood screws
• Drill
• Phillips head drill bit driver
• 80-pound bags of cement (2)
• 4-by-100-foot rolls of steel welded-
wire fencing (2)
• Wire cutters
• Box of fence staples
• Hammer
• Miter saw
• Box of 4-inch Phillips head
decking screws
• Reciprocating saw or handsaw
• 4-by-4-inch copper pyramid post
caps, optional (10)
• Box of finishing nails, optional
• Nail gun, optional
• Gate hardware kit
• 8-foot-long 4x4s for fence post (10)
• 10-foot-long 4x4s for fence post (2)
• Scrap 1x2s for bracing
• 8-foot-long 2x4s (13)
• 12-foot-long 1x12
A wooden fence can be adjusted according to your space and what supplies you have on hand.

DO IT YOURSELF • WWW.MOTHEREARTHNEWS.COM 109

MH22.indb 109 3/29/22 2:32 PM

 beds whenever we let them outside. That
was fine in winter, but we knew we’d need a
secure fence come spring.
While designing our fence, we had four
goals: It needed to be cost-effective, simple
enough to build ourselves, attractive, and
sturdy enough to hold up over many years.
Our garden beds butt up against our
neighbor’s fence, so we designed a three-
sided fence to capitalize on their existing
wall. This saved us about a quarter of the
price on materials, along with a significant
amount of time. If you can go this route,
check with your neighbor before building to
make sure your fence doesn’t interfere with
the structural integrity of theirs.
Our fence is rectangular in shape, with
two 35-foot-long sides and one 18-foot-long
side that includes a 4-foot-wide gate. (The
other short side is our neighbor’s fence.)
The materials list on Page 109 will get you
started in the right direction, but you may
need to tweak it based on your garden’s size
and whether you have scrap lumber to use
or an existing fence to build off.
If you grow food crops, consider using welded wire with a tighter weave than pictured to deter small animals from invading your garden.
110 MOTHER EARTH NEWS COLLECTOR SERIES • MODERN HOMESTEADING
MH22.indb 110
Finally, we primarily grow flowers and
medicinal herbs, so we don’t battle much
with food-eating pests, such as squirrels or
rabbits. If you do, however, you may want
to use a tighter weave than the welded
wire we selected to keep our big dogs out
of the space.
Build the Fence
1 Outline your proposed fence with a
chalk reel, leaving a 4-foot-wide space for
the gate. Measure and mark where you’ll
want each fence post. We placed our fence
posts approximately 7 feet apart, except for
the 10-foot-tall posts that support our gate,
which are 4 feet apart.
2 Use an auger or posthole digger to
dig a deep, straight hole for each fence
post. Plan to bury the 8-foot-tall posts
3 feet in the ground, and the 10-foot-tall
posts 4 feet deep. The taller posts will
serve as the foundation for the entryway
gate and trellis.
3 After digging all the holes, place
the 10-foot posts on either side of the
entrance and the 8-foot posts in the
remaining holes. To keep the fence posts
straight while you add the concrete, use
the 2-inch screws and two scrap 1x2s
temporarily screwed into adjacent sides
of each post at a 45-degree angle to prop
them up.
4 Mix the cement according to the
instructions on the bag, and then pour
it into the first hole, filling it halfway.
Repeat this step until you’ve added
cement to each of the fence post holes.
Let the cement harden overnight before
removing the temporary supports and
moving on to Step 5.
5 Align the edge of the welded steel
wire with one of the corner posts, and then
use fence staples and a hammer to secure
the wire to the post. Unroll the wire slowly,
stapling it to the next post while keeping it
as taut as possible. Continue until you’ve
securely wrapped the entire perimeter
(except the entrance) in wire. (We have
about 8 inches of wire extending from our
corner posts to our neighbor’s fence; this
3/29/22 2:32 PM
 has been enough to keep our dogs from
squeezing through without actually
attaching our fence to theirs.)
6 Measure the distance between each
fence post (except the entrance), and trim
an 8-foot-long 2x4 to fit snugly between
each post horizontally.
7 With the help of a friend, balance
the first trimmed 2x4 directly above the
wire in the space between the first two
posts. Rotate the board so it’s flat, with a
4-inch side facing up. Attach the board to
the posts with two 4-inch decking screws
on either side. Position the screws at
45-degree angles so they travel through
the underside of the board and into
the side of the fence post. Repeat this
process until all the fence posts — except
the two that will hold the gate — are
connected with horizontal 2x4s.
8 If the depths of the fence post holes
vary somewhat, trim the tops of the fence
posts with a reciprocating saw or handsaw
so they’re all the same height.
9 We liked the aesthetic of capping
each post with a copper top. You can
also buy solar-powered tops, which would
help you keep an eye on your garden at
night. Gently tap the cap down on the post
until it’s secure, and then use a nail gun
or hammer to add a few finishing nails
through the side of each cap for added
security. (This step is optional.)
10 Use fence staples and a
hammer to attach the welded
wire to the bottom of the 2x4s
around the entire perimeter of
the fence.
11 Fill in each fence post
hole with the remaining dirt.
Tamp securely, and be sure
to add plenty of dirt to each
hole, as the dirt will settle
with time.
Make the Gate
1 Cut two of the 8-foot-long
2x4s in half so you have four
4-foot-long boards: Two pieces
will lie horizontally, and two
pieces will lie vertically, to
make a square frame.
2 Measure the space
between each of the 10-foot-
tall entryway posts to make The gate and trellis serve as an additional place to grow plants.
MH22.indb 111
Once you've assembled your fence, a copper post topper adds a nice final touch.
sure the gate will fit, and trim the two
horizontal boards if the gate is too wide.
3 You’ll want a 5- or 6-inch clearance
along the bottom of the gate, so hold up the
boards that will make the vertical sides of
the door frame, and trim them to a height
that’s comfortable for you. When the gate
pieces are the size you want, lay them out
on the ground in a square, and attach them
with two 2-inch screws on each corner, so
all four pieces are joined in a solid square.
4 Lay an 8-foot-long 2x4 at a 45-
degree angle on top of the square frame,
so it runs from the top of the inside left-
hand corner to the bottom of the inside
right-hand corner. Mark the points on
either end of the board where you’ll need
to trim it to fit.
5 Trim the support board to fit, and
then connect it to the door frame with two
2-inch screws on either corner.
6 Cut a piece of welded steel wire to
fit the door frame, and then staple it all
around the perimeter of the frame.
7 Attach the gate hardware to the door,
and then hold the door in place so you can
mark with a pencil where you’ll attach the
latch and hinges on the posts.
8 Use 2-inch screws to attach the
hinges and the latch to the marked areas
on the gate posts.
9 To make the decorative trellis above
the gate, cut the 12-foot-long
1x12 into two 6-foot-long
sections. Style each board
by trimming the ends at
approximately a 15-degree
angle, leaving about half
the board’s end untouched.
Position these boards on either
side of the gate posts at the
top, so they connect the posts,
with the cut edges facing down.
Attach them to the posts with
two 2-inch screws at either end.
We’re very pleased with
our new garden fence, and
the dogs haven’t gotten
inside once! We plan to grow
passionflower up the trellis this
summer, and we appreciate the
fact that we can conveniently
place tools and drinks on the
horizontal wooden boards that
run the fence’s perimeter.
DO IT YOURSELF • WWW.MOTHEREARTHNEWS.COM 111
3/29/22 2:32 PM
 Build an Indoor
Grow-Light Table
Readers share their tips for starting seeds indoors.
Article and photos by Kurt Jacobson
I
f growing vegetables, herbs, and
flowers indoors is a dream of yours,
now’s the time to make it a reality.
Once you get a grow-light table in your
home, you can cultivate a multitude of
crops. No matter what time of year it is
or what the weather’s like outside, you’ll
be in control. Grow starter plants for
spring planting, microgreens for salads,
flowers to brighten your day, or herbs
for using in your kitchen all year long.
I visited Scott and Susan Hill on their
vegetable and flower farm in Louisa,
Virginia, to research Scott’s indoor
growing table—a low-cost system
that doesn’t require an engineering
MH22.indb 112
degree to build or use. Scott and Susan
start hundreds of plants for their high
tunnels throughout the year by placing
seed trays on three indoor tables of
Scott’s design; each can hold up to 10
seed trays. Scott uses inexpensive PVC
pipe for the framework, wire shelving,
ordinary 2-foot and 4-foot shop-light
fixtures, and fluorescent bulbs.
People think it’s necessary to use
special grow lights for starting plants
and growing indoors long term.
Scott and Susan convinced me that
it’s possible to skip the expensive
grow lights and simply use regular
fluorescent bulbs. At Hill Farm, they
get excellent results, making me a
believer in this low-cost method.
To build your own you’ll need the
following materials:
• 1-inch PVC pipe, about 90 feet
• 12 PVC 3-way elbow fittings
• 4 PVC 90-degree elbow fittings
• 6 PVC tee fittings
• 6-foot-by-16-inch coated wire shelf
• 2 shop-light fixtures, 4 feet long
• 2 shop-light fixtures, 2 feet long
• 4 fluorescent bulbs, 4 feet long
• 4 fluorescent bulbs, 2 feet long
• Channel material, 12 to 18 feet
• 4 eye bolts and nuts
• Double loop chain, 16 feet
• 4 S-hooks
• 4 carabiners or quick links
• Zip ties
• 4 casters (optional)
• 6 U-bolts (optional)
Note: You can also use two 8-foot
From fruits to flowers, Scott
and Susan Hill are able to start
a multitude of crops on their
homemade grow-light tables.
3/29/22 2:32 PM
 From left: Fit the frame within your wire shelving, suspend your lights using channel and eye bolts, and attach optional casters using plywood and U-bolts.
light fixtures and bulbs instead of the 2-
and 4-foot fixtures if they’re available at
your hardware store. Scott told me that
the 8-foot lights are being phased out, so
he uses the 2- and 4-foot combination.
Scott designed the lower table around
the dimensions of the wire shelf: about 6
feet long by 151⁄2 inches wide. You can set
the height of the work area at whatever
level is comfortable for you. Dimensions
for the upper grow-light support will also
depend on your personal preference and
on the 90-degree elbow fittings.
For stability, keep the height of
the upper structure shorter than
that of the lower structure. Sketch
out your customized dimensions,
and develop a cutting list before
you get started on assembly.
To begin the project, visit your
local hardware store to acquire
the materials. Larger home
improvement stores will cut the
PVC free of charge. This cutting
service will reduce your labor,
plus you won’t have to clean
up plastic shavings. Once you
get your supplies home, begin
assembling the table using the The Hills use regular fluorescent bulbs with great results.
PVC pipe and tee, 3-way elbow,
and 90-degree elbow fittings.
The grow-light table framework
won’t require glue as long as you
firmly insert each PVC piece
into the fittings. For added
stability, Scott incorporated an
extra 2-foot piece of PVC into
the top part of the frame.
After you assemble the PVC
pieces, you can set the wire
shelving on the frame. If you
want your grow-light table to be
mobile, you can add optional
casters to the bottom of the
frame ends using U-bolts and
plywood (see photo at top right). You can make your grow-light table any size that suits your needs.
MH22.indb 113
Then, cut the metal channel a few
inches longer than the length of a 2-foot
and a 4-foot light fixture placed end to
end. Then, begin to drill holes to match
up with the holes in the tops of the shop
lights, as well as a hole for an eye bolt at
each end of the metal channel. Attach the
light fixtures to the channels, and then
attach your eye bolts (see photo above).
To hang the light fixtures, use about
4 feet of double loop metal chain on
each end of the light fixture. Use the
S-hooks to attach a loop of the chain
together near the end of the frame’s
top end section. Then, attach the end
of the chain to each eye bolt with the
carabiners or quick links. Control the
height of the lights above your seedling
trays by lengthening or shortening the
chains using the S-hooks. Susan keeps
the lights about 2 to 4 inches above the
seed trays when sprouting, and moves
the lights higher as the plants grow. Use
an extension cord of suitable gauge for
the distance between the nearest
outlet and your grow-light
table. Attach the extension cord
and the power strip to the PVC
framework with zip ties.
I didn’t have as much space
as Hill Farm, so I built a
smaller tabletop version with
3⁄4-inch PVC (see photo at
bottom). This smaller version
can support a couple of
2-foot light fixtures, and can
accommodate 2 to 4 seed trays.
My grow-light frame is made
up of four pieces that are 40
inches long (the length), four
pieces that are 35 inches long
(the height), four pieces that
are 26 inches long (the width),
and eight corner fittings.
Last March, I started my
seeds indoors, giving my
tomatoes, okra, peppers, squash,
and watermelons a jump-start
for the growing season. With
more spring rain than usual,
keeping my plants inside until
the weather cooperated for
outdoor transplanting was a
big help. Whichever version of
grow-light frame you choose,
you’ll be able to grow or start
a surprising number of plants
indoors all year long.
DO IT YOURSELF • WWW.MOTHEREARTHNEWS.COM 113
3/29/22 2:32 PM
 Quite the Coop
Two readers share how their family built a quality
custom coop for a fraction of the cost of a pre-made model.

Article and photos up and running for about a dozen hens miter saw after we started. A variety of
by Tim and Amy Roden meant either buying one or building it. plans were available for sale online (some
After checking out manufactured coops, free), but none matched what we had in

A
fter moving to a house in the
country, we decided that we’d
like to get some chickens. We
needed a coop that would keep predators
out, shelter the birds from the elements,
and provide a convenient location for us
to gather eggs. We thought getting a coop
we realized the structure we wanted would
cost over $10,000. We immediately went
to Plan B—time to build!
Our idea for the coop was simple
enough, and we already owned most of
the basic tools we’d need—circular saw,
jigsaw, drill, and sander. We acquired a
mind, so we decided to design our own.
The coop measures 23-by-8 feet, with
an interior elevated henhouse that’s 8 feet
wide by 3 feet 10 inches deep. We decided
to use the space underneath the henhouse
to give the chickens extra room to run.
We selected a slope of 22.5 degrees for the

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 2
roof, because our miter saw had a preset
for that angle. We wanted a metal roof,
but the metal would be difficult to cut, so
we designed the entire coop around the
size of available roof panels. In the end, we
purchased metal roof panels that measured
3-by-10 feet so that we only had to cut
each panel in half to create 5-foot panels.
The Build
1 First, we created the foundation
by laying down a level 23-by-8-foot
rectangle of treated 4-by-4 boards. We
used the traditional “3-4-5” measuring
method to make sure the foundation was
a perfect rectangle with four 90-degree
MH22.indb 115
corners. To use this method, simply
measure 3 feet along one leg of your
corner, and then measure 4 feet along
the other leg, marking those points. If
the legs form a 90-degree angle, the line
from the 3-foot mark to the 4-foot mark
will measure 5 feet.
After we squared the foundation, we set
four 32-inch 4-by-4 posts 28 inches into
the ground at each inside corner, so that
the tops of the posts were even with the
top of the foundation boards. We then
set two more posts of the same length
into the ground to support the feet of
the elevated henhouse (see Photo 7), and
poured concrete around the posts.
4 nesting boxes. Keeping the measurements
5 6
3
2 We decided to build each part of
the coop individually under our covered
carport and then assemble it all on-site. We
divided the construction into the following
parts: 1 front henhouse wall with entrance
for birds, 1 rear henhouse wall with
doors, 2 side henhouse walls, 6 run wall
sections, 1 run wall with screen door, 2
nest boxes, 4 popup windows, 2 henhouse
rear doors, 1 drop-down rear door, 3 roof
gables, 10 roof trusses, and 36 roof purlins.
The coop structure seemed like a big
undertaking, but breaking the job up into
segments made the work much simpler.
To get experience and gain confidence,
we decided to build the walls first, which
were among the most straightforward
components. After constructing each
henhouse wall, we sheathed them with
1⁄4-inch plywood and 1-inch wood screws,
leaving spaces for the windows, doors, and
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3/29/22 2:32 PM
 7 8
accurate was especially important at this
stage. We used a couple of techniques to
join the 2-by-4s together for the frames,
but we primarily relied on an inexpensive
pocket-hole jig and 3-inch exterior screws.
3 After we constructed the basic frame
walls, it was time to add the details. We
attached a pair of double doors to the rear
wall frame, as well as a long horizontal
door we could fold down to easily clean
the henhouse floor. When the basic
framework for all four of the henhouse
walls was complete, we clamped them
together to verify that everything matched
up. Because of our concern about snakes
getting into the coop, we stapled 1⁄2-inch,
PVC-coated hardware cloth over most
of the openings to keep out all but the
smallest serpents.
4 Designing the nesting boxes was
almost as much work as building them,
and was the most complicated part of
the coop. We constructed each box with
a removable floor for cleaning and two
dividing walls that separated each box into
three distinct nests. We added trim to the
outside of each nesting box to improve
116 MOTHER EARTH NEWS COLLECTOR SERIES • MODERN HOMESTEADING
MH22.indb 116
the look of the coop and to seal the edges
where two pieces of plywood met.
5 Before assembling the coop, we
painted all the exterior surfaces (including
the roofing panels) with a paint that
included a primer. We brushed a generous
amount of water sealant onto any wood
that we didn’t paint.
6 For the floors and side walls of
the henhouse, we installed high-density
polyethylene (HDPE) plastic. We ordered
the HDPE in large sheets and cut it to
size. If we did this again, we’d probably
save money by using plywood protected
with several heavy coats of water sealant.
7 With the henhouse set up, we
added roost bars and a ramp to make it
easier for the birds to exit the structure.
The narrow ramp consisted of two 2-by-
6 boards nailed together, with 2-by-2
boards nailed across every 10 inches to
serve as steps for the birds.
8 After we completed and painted
all the prefabricated sections, we began
assembling them. What we thought
would take one day actually took several.
Everything fit together nicely, including
9 10
the metal roof. We attached two chains
inside the run for hanging water and
feed barrels.
9 After we’d set up the basic structure
on the foundation, we nailed the nest
boxes to the sides of the henhouse. We
installed the windows, which were simple
wood frames with plexiglass inserts. Each
window has a simple latch, and we drilled
drain holes in the bottom boards of each
window frame.
10 After we finished assembling
everything, we nailed trim over every
exposed seam, including the corners
of the henhouse, around the windows,
and anywhere two pieces of plywood
met. To enhance the appearance of the
finished structure, we added extra trim
for decoration.
A project like this will take some time
and money, but, for us, the price came
out to about one-third of what it would’ve
cost us to buy a prefabricated product
from a commercial builder. This was a
sizable project that took us a few months
to finish, but our key to success was
starting with a good set of plans.
3/29/22 2:32 PM
 Build a
Copper Trellis
Striking and functional,
this DIY trellis will
add an artistic flair
to your garden while
supporting plants that
like to climb.

Article and photos by JoAnn Moser

T
rellises, by their very nature,
are meant to support climbing
plants. Although this copper
trellis can do just that, it also aspires
to do more, all by itself. Whether
leaning against a wall or standing erect
in a more natural backdrop, the trellis
will add verticality to a garden of any
style — traditional, modern, or even
steampunk.
Assembled using polyurethane glue,
this trellis is quite sturdy — especially
as an objet d’art versus a plant
support — but for those with the
equipment and expertise, soldering the
trellis’ joints is an option as well.
Also, don’t skimp when choosing
a tubing cutter to use for the project.
Opting for a cutter labeled “heavy duty”
will not only make the job of cutting
pipe easier, but it’ll also make the cuts
more uniform.

Make the Copper Trellis

1 Wearing eye protection and gloves,
cut the copper pipe using a copper
tubing cutter into the lengths on the cut
list (next page).

DO IT YOURSELF • WWW.MOTHEREARTHNEWS.COM 117

MH22.indb 117 3/29/22 2:32 PM

 B

C D 2 Find a level surface on which to

Tools work, protecting it with a large piece
• Eye protection of cardboard or paper. Dry-fit all the
C
• Gloves components (copper pipe, tees, and
• Tape measure elbows) together on top of the cardboard,
E
• Marking pen as shown in the illustration (left).
• Copper tubing cutter 3 When the trellis shape is formed,
• Spray bottle or sponge glue the center motifs (the rectangles)
• Utility knife together first, following the instructions
• Hammer on the polyurethane glue. When you glue
the fittings together, make sure they’re
A Materials flat against your working surface and
• 1⁄2-inch-by-10-footcopper pipe (4) that each pipe is fully inserted into each
• Large piece cardboard or paper fitting. Don’t worry if the pipes adhere to
• 1⁄2-inch copper tees (28) the cardboard; a utility knife will scrape
A
• 1⁄2-inch copper elbows (18) the pipes and fittings clean.
• Polyurethane glue Note: Our polyurethane glue called for
• Water pre-wetting one side of the gluing surfaces
• 3⁄8-inch-by-36-inch rebar (2) first. If necessary, use a spray bottle filled
with water or a wet sponge for quick and
Cut List easy application.
C From the 1⁄2-inch-by-10-foot 4 When the center motifs are
copper pipes: assembled and have cured for about
A 131⁄8-inch length (6) 24 hours, glue and assemble the outer
C B 121⁄2-inch length (4) structure around the center motifs,
C 91⁄2-inch length (4) starting with the top of the trellis and
B D 6-inch length (31) working down. Once again, make sure
E 3-inch length (16) the fittings are flat against your work
D surface and that each pipe is fully

CHRISTOPHER MILLS
BY
ILLUSTRATION

Clockwise from above: After cutting the copper pipe, dry-fit all the pieces together on top of cardboard or paper. After that, pre-wet each
component (if your product calls for it), apply polyurethane glue, and connect the pieces. Start assembling the center motifs first.

118 MOTHER EARTH NEWS COLLECTOR SERIES • MODERN HOMESTEADING

MH22.indb 118 3/29/22 2:32 PM

 From above: Insert each pipe fully into each fitting. Assemble
the outer structure after assembling the center motifs. Use a
utility knife to scrape off excess dried glue or cardboard.

inserted into each fitting. Let the glue dry for

about 24 hours.
5 Once the glue has dried, use a utility knife
to scrape cardboard and excess glue off the pipes.
Let the entire outer structure cure overnight, and
then install the trellis by hammering two pieces of
rebar into the ground and slipping the trellis legs
over the rebar.
Warning: When installing rebar, beware of
electrical wires, as well as any other utility services,
buried underground.

JoAnn Moser has been a featured contributor to

DIY websites and other publications. She’s also the
author of Mason Jar Nation. She resides in Eden
Prairie, Minnesota, where she and her husband
design and build wood furnishings in their spare
time. Follow her online at www.DIYMaven.com. This
is excerpted from her book Garden Builder: Plans
and Instructions for 35 Projects You Can Make (Cool
Springs Press), available below.

DIY Projects for Functional, Fabulous Gardens

Harvest More Yield in Less Space Projects to Transform Your Garden
Growing your vegetables vertically is not only functional, but also Perfect for any gardener or outdoor enthusiast with a few basic DIY
beautiful. In Vertical Vegetables, author Amy Andrychowicz shows you skills, Garden Builder by JoAnn Moser is packed with 35 complete
how to build nearly two dozen project plans. Each one
growing structures (such as features finished photos of
trellises, arbors, and archways) the project, along with cut
that will produce bigger yields lists and shopping lists, a
in less space. Additionally, construction diagram, and
a list of plants that are best step-by-step instructions
suited for vertical growing is (complete with photos)
included, so you have all the that show exactly how to
information needed to get build every project. This
CHRISTOPHER MILLS

started! This title is available title is available at www.

at www.MotherEarthNews.com/ MotherEarthNews.com/
Store or by calling 800-234- Store or by calling 800-234-
BY

3368. Mention promo code 3368. Mention promo code

ILLUSTRATION

MMEPAMZ3. Item #9267. MMEPAMZ3. Item #8711.

DO IT YOURSELF • WWW.MOTHEREARTHNEWS.COM 119

MH22.indb 119 3/29/22 2:32 PM

 Building
with Balecob
This hybrid of cob and Article by Kyle Chandler-Isacksen
and Conrad Rogue
straw bale building Photos by House Alive
W
techniques can offer e live in exciting times for
natural building! While
unique flexibility to the building with earth is
ancient and global in application, its
natural builder. renaissance in the Western Hemisphere
goes back only 30 or 40 years, and
that time has been tempered by codes
Balecob lends itself to
community building.
MH22.indb 120
and regulations ill-suited to natural, or
sustainable, building. But the field is now
growing like never before as people seek a
greater sense of belonging in their homes
and communities, sustainable alternative
construction methods, and a more
authentic existence. With this growth,
natural builders continue to spawn
innovations and creative solutions to the
challenge of building beautiful, durable
structures. Balecob is one such innovation.
3/29/22 2:32 PM
 Balecob is an infill technique that
uses straw bales and cob to quickly
create highly insulative, roof-
supporting, and load-bearing walls
without the need for wood framing
for structural support. (Cob is clay,
sand, and straw mixed with water.) In
balecob walls, straw bales are stacked
like bricks and stabilized by jamming
cob into the seams. It’s a hybrid
building technique that makes use of
the best of both cob and straw bale
construction, resulting in beautiful,
natural, functional buildings.
Balecob was pioneered by Ianto
Evans and the Cob Cottage Co. in
Oregon. I (Kyle) learned from Conrad
Rogue of House Alive, who uses a
slightly different technique. My hope
is that, as people learn about balecob,
they’ll appreciate how much sense it
makes and decide to give it a go on
their own buildings.
Moving Past Wall Systems
Generally, we define a house by its
wall system: timber frame, stick frame,
concrete block, etc. The same is true
in natural building: straw bale, cob,
earthbag, and so on. Choosing one
wall system can be limiting, and I
believe the best houses are hybrids that
utilize different materials in the right
places. Do you have a lot of windows
and doors on the south side? Consider
cob or wood framing. What about a
long, cold north wall? Go
with balecob or straw bale. If
you plan to stick-frame your
interior walls, consider filling
them with light straw clay.
By embracing flexibility,
we can create houses that are
more likely to meet our wants
and needs. And, with natural
materials and smart design,
we can limit our ecological
footprints too.
Better Together:
Cob and Straw Bales
Because balecob is a blend of
both cob and straw bales, it’s
important to look at what each A balecob wall rests on an impervious stem wall, with a layer of cob
material offers the builder. at the base and top to help compress and protect the bales.
MH22.indb 121
Balecob walls can be gently curved, much like cob walls, but offer much greater insulation.
Cob is strong and durable, and
easy to shape however the builder
pleases. It provides plenty of thermal
mass, though it isn’t very insulative by
itself. Because of its malleability, cob
is useful for leveling stem walls and
other areas, making it a great tool to
use in concert with earthbag, recycled
concrete (“urbanite”), or other irregular
foundation techniques. Cob is usually
sourced locally — sometimes even
made from the soil removed from a
building’s foundation trenches — and
is accessible to just about any builder.
Straw bales are less durable than
cob, but far more insulative, and
their uniform size and shape offer an
easy route to rectilinear walls. Some
of the labor of straw bale building is
outsourced in the production of bales,
which may be a positive or a negative,
depending on your goals. Straw bales
also take up a lot of space; much of
their insulation comes from the sheer
thickness of the walls they create.
In short, cob is great for strength,
mass, and curves; straw bales for
volume and insulation. Both share low
costs, fire resistance, and low tool and
skill requirements; both also encourage
community building projects.
When we combine the best
of both materials, we get the
benefits of balecob, which is
faster than either approach by
itself; insulative and strong;
and suitable for building
curved and rectilinear walls.
A Good, Strong Base
A balecob wall, from the
ground up, has:
Rubble trench. This
foundation of loose stone,
gravel, or “rubble” in a trench
under the walls will provide
support and drainage.
St e m w a l l . A s h o r t
wall of stone, earthbags,
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3/29/22 2:32 PM
 concrete, or other rigid, impermeable
materials will bridge the rubble trench
and the vertical walls, and protect the
walls from water.
Base cob layer. An 8- to 10-inch-
thick layer of cob on top of the stem
wall will even out any inconsistencies,
and will make a smooth base for the
straw bales.
Bales and cob pillars. Straw
bales make up the bulk of the wall,
with cob “pillars” at the corners
and intermittently in long walls for
structural integrity. Gaps between bales
are jammed with cob to hold the wall
together and compress the bales.
Top cob layer. The final layer of
cob, typically at least 1 foot thick, will
compress the bales further and provide
a firm connection to the roof.
Roof. Rafters are tied into the final
cob layer, making the whole structure
more stable.
Don’t skimp on the depth or tamping
of the rubble trench. It needs to be as
stable as possible, to avoid the walls
settling and cracking later. The stem
wall should also be built with care, and
should be a few inches wider than the
bales you plan to use, to allow space for
layers of plaster that will make a plumb
wall from the stem wall up to the roof.
Pack cob tightly into the seams between bales, and smooth the surface as you go.
122 MOTHER EARTH NEWS COLLECTOR SERIES • MODERN HOMESTEADING
MH22.indb 122
Coat each bale with clay slip as you build, to stabilize the wall and provide a base for earth plaster.
Once your stem wall is up and mostly
level, start building an 8- to 10-inch-
thick layer of cob. Fill any gaps in your
stem wall as you go, so you have a more
level base for your straw bales. This
layer will help connect the components
of your stem wall, so it should cover the
full width of the stem wall.
Stacking Bales
You can stack bales on their narrow
or broad sides. Stacking on the narrow
side will allow you to build a taller
structure more quickly and use fewer
bales, with a narrower stem wall and
smaller overall footprint compared
with stacking on the broad side. It will
also increase the insulation factor of
the walls, because the straw won’t span
the width of the wall, and it will make
plastering more difficult (again because
of the strand orientation). Stacking
on the broad side will require more
bales, but offer thicker walls that can
be gently curved by bending the bales
as you build. The insulation factor
will be slightly lower than narrow-
stacked bales — though still higher
than conventionally built walls — and
plastering will be easier. However you
stack your walls, use only strong, clean,
intact straw bales, and center them on
the base cob layer.
Rub clay slip (a milk-consistency
clay slurry) on all sides of each bale,
and set the bales on top of the cob
layer. This layer of slip will serve
two purposes: First, it will provide
some friction between each layer as
you build, keeping the bales better
connected as you go. Second, the slip
will act as a primer, so it’ll be easy to
smear the walls with a good base coat
of earthen plaster.
Stack the bales so the gaps between
them are staggered in each row, like
you’d stack bricks (or Legos) for
maximum strength. Bales can be cut
and re-tied to fill short spaces.
3/29/22 2:32 PM
 the middle. On our small balecob pig
hut, however, the corner pillars were
only 1 foot square.
You’ll also need to thoroughly stuff
all gaps and seams between the bales
with cob as you go — we call this “cob
jamming.” The cob acts like dozens of
wedges, further compressing the bales
and minimizing or eliminating bale
settling. Bale settling is a common
challenge with straw bale homes, and
can lead to significant plaster cracking,
decreased wall strength, and reduced
insulation because of the air gaps
created as the wall settles. Balecob
solves these problems.

A stem wall supports the base cob layer, the first course of straw bales, and a cob pillar (left). Top Cob Layer
After the last row of bales is stacked
Cob Pillars and Jamming structure; for spans greater than 10 feet, and set, you’ll be ready to lay the upper
As you stack bales, construct cob add a column or two along the wall. layer of cob. This upper layer will have
pillars to provide lateral compressive For example, on a house we built in three functions: It will compress the
support, hold the bales tightly together, South Dakota with 30-foot-long walls, bales further; level the walls and add
and to structurally support the roof. we built 2-foot-square pillars at each any final shaping you desire; and attach
Build a cob pillar at each corner of the corner, and another of the same size in the roof anchors to the walls. Make

MH22.indb 123 3/29/22 2:32 PM

 this layer at least 1 foot thick for larger
structures (although we’ve gone as thick
as 20 inches before, and on my small
pig hut, I stopped at a mere 4 inches).
Use the cob to level out any rises and
depressions in the bale wall, so that the
top plate and roof beams lie true.
I should note, it’s very important
to connect your roof to the mass of
the wall to ensure a solid and strong
building. We use “deadmen” and metal
strapping for this purpose. A deadman
is a piece of wood (usually dimensional
lumber) set into and then surrounded
by cob, which can serve as an anchor
for anything you might want to support
with the wall: shelves, stairs, benches,
and roofs, for example.
In straight-up cob construction,
we’d set metal strapping with deadmen
into the cob walls 1 foot or more from
the top of the wall, spaced about every
2 feet. Over the length of a wall,
this gives numerous, well-anchored
attachment points for the roof. We’d
then attach the top plate or the rafters
to the wall with the metal strapping.
We tend to use similar methods in
balecob building: We place deadmen
and metal strapping in all cob pillars,
and every few feet along the wall under
the top layer of cob. Lay the deadmen
Note the slow-drying “jammed” cob in the seams between straw bales.
124 MOTHER EARTH NEWS COLLECTOR SERIES • MODERN HOMESTEADING
MH22.indb 124
You can set rafters directly into cob in addition to anchoring them with “deadmen” and strapping.
on the last course of bales with enough
metal strapping to reach beyond the
top layer of cob to the roof.
Get Plastered
After the walls are up, the cob has
dried, and the walls have done any
settling they’ll do, it’s time to put on a
base coat of earthen plaster. Plastering
isn’t just an aesthetic step. Balecob
walls derive strength as much from the
interlaced cob and plaster between and
around the bales as they do from the cob
pillars and layers compressing them.
You should start by covering the sides
of the bales (which have already been
“slipped”) with a 1- to 2-inch layer of
earthen plaster. You can finish a balecob
wall with several layers of earthen plaster,
just as you would a straw bale wall, and
we find it best to start with a straw-rich
plaster that will stick easily and go on
smoothly. After the base coat, you can
apply layers of finer earthen plaster.
Next Steps
Of course, windows, doors, electric
systems, and plumbing systems can
all be incorporated into a balecob
structure, but I don’t have the space
to get into specifics here. There are
dozens of books and online sources
of information about natural building
techniques nowadays, though few
about balecob specifically — take a
workshop, or even just play around
with the building materials. The
beauty of natural building is that it
lends itself to experimentation, and
to a variety of projects smaller than a
whole house or cabin. Why not start
with a smaller project, such as a root
cellar or cold room, a sauna, animal
housing, or a seasonal workshop
space? We learned by doing when we
constructed a balecob pig house and a
hybrid balecob-earthbag root cellar on
our Be the Change Project homestead
(www.BeTheChangeReno.org).
3/29/22 2:32 PM
 DIY Tool Belt
Assemble these pockets and pouches
and mount them on your favorite belt
to hold your most-used tools.
By Dennis Biswell
I
n previous issues of M E N, I wrote about
how to turn deerskins into leather (October/November
2016) and how to craft moccasins out of that tanned animal
skin (February/March 2017). Now, I’ll describe how to make
further use of your home-tanned leather by turning it into a set
of tool-belt pouches.
The tool belts you can buy at hardware stores are unwieldy,
because they need to account for every potential tool and task.
They have loops, pockets, and pouches that add weight and
bulk. When I’m working at the top of a ladder or on the roof, I
don’t want to carry any extra weight, and I’d hate for an unused
loop on my tool belt to get caught on something.
After you learn how to make custom pouches, you can
construct them to hold tools for all sorts of projects around
your home or farm. So, to get started, select a belt that fits you
well and plan which pockets you’ll attach. With the ability to
craft individual pouches that slide onto a belt, you can pick and
choose the ones you need for a particular job, or make a belt
that’s perfectly suited to the tools you use most.
This project uses both cow and deer leather. The heavier cow
MH22.indb 125
leather is perfect for the backing, and the deer leather is good
for the pockets, pouches, and holders. To make it easier for you
to distinguish between the cow and deer leather in the photos, I
used contrasting black cow leather and tan deer leather.
The supplies and tools you’ll need for this project include cow
leather (a bag of leather scraps from a craft store will do); half
a deer skin; artificial sinew; two medium-sized leather sewing
needles; binder clips; a utility knife; a pen or marker; a ruler;
a hammer; an awl or leather punch; and beeswax. Optional
equipment includes a stitching pony; a stitch spacer; heavy-duty
thread; a lighter or matches; super glue; and a multiple-hole
leather punch.
This project requires a saddle stitch. Because this stitch runs
along the seam and not over the seam, it’s protected from nicks
and cuts that would unravel a whipstitch or blanket stitch. Be
sure to practice the stitch on scrap material before using your
valuable home-tanned leather. Although you can hold the pieces
in place for saddle stitching with binder clips and your hands, a
stitching pony makes the job much easier.
Constructing one is also a fun DIY project. My son and I
made our stitching pony from scrap 1-by-6-inch boards,
some wood screws, wood glue, leather, long bolts, washers,
and wing nuts. The arms and base are each 16 inches long.
That’s the right height if you want to clamp it to a table
or workbench and stand while stitching. The longer base
also allows me to anchor it under my legs if I want to stitch
while sitting in a chair or on the ground. A couple of pieces
of scrap leather glued between the arms will cushion your
project while you sew. When you’re ready to sew, just clamp the
DO IT YOURSELF • WWW.MOTHEREARTHNEWS.COM 125
3/29/22 2:32 PM

pieces into the pony and stitch away, without the extra work of
holding the pieces in place.
Gather your supplies and let’s get stitching!
Basic Leather Sewing Steps
1 Mark the seams. Your seams will be about 1⁄8 inch from the
edge of the leather, with holes about 1⁄4 inch apart. If you plan
to use an awl or a single-hole punch, use a ruler and mark the
holes along the edge. If you have a stitch spacer, use it to mark
the holes along the seams.
2 Punch the holes. Bring the pieces of leather together and
clip them in place. Use an awl or a hole punch to make holes
through all the layers of leather.
3 Prepare the needles. Measure the seam and multiply that
measurement by 4. Unspool that amount of sinew or thread, and
place a needle on each end of the sinew or thread. Wax the sinew
or thread by pulling it over the cake of beeswax.
4 Stitch. A good saddle stitch requires consistency. Both
of the needles must pass through the same hole from opposite
directions. I always push the left needle through the hole first,
and then I push the right needle through the hole. To make even
stitches, always pull the first piece of sinew to the front of the
From left: Pull the sinew through the first hole until you have equal lengths on each side. Pass the left needle through the second hole. Complete the stitch
by passing the right needle through the second hole and pulling both sides snug. To finish, backstitch and push the sinew between the two pieces of leather.
126 MOTHER EARTH NEWS COLLECTOR SERIES • MODERN HOMESTEADING
MH22.indb 126
Left: The equipment required for completing this project.
Above: A multiple-hole punch makes the job go faster.
hole while passing the second needle to the back of the hole.
This technique will also help you avoid snagging the first piece of
sinew or thread as you pass the second needle through the hole.
As you practice, you’ll develop a rhythm, and in no time you’ll
be making beautiful stitches.
Begin stitching by passing one needle through the first hole,
and then pulling the sinew through until equal lengths are on
each side of the leather. Next, push the left needle through the
second hole, and pull the sinew a few inches through the hole.
Then, push the right needle through the back half of the second
hole. Finally, pull both sides tight to snug the stitch against the
leather. Move to the third hole and repeat these motions. First
left, then right, then tight. Continue stitching along the seam.
5 Finish the seams. You can use one of two methods to
finish the seams. If the piece will undergo a lot of wear and
tear, use the first method: Upon reaching the last hole of the
seam, reverse direction and stitch back along the seam. At the
fourth hole, push the left needle through the left hole, and, rather
than passing it through the right hole, angle it up and push it
out of the seam from between the pieces of leather. Push the
right needle through the right hole, angle it up between the
pieces of leather, and pull it out between the pieces of leather.
RICHARD BISWELL (9); PAGE 125: QUEREN KING-OROZCO
3/29/22 2:32 PM
 Pull each strand of sinew tight, remove From top: A tool loop, ready for a hammer
the needles, tie a square knot, clip the or paint brush; a small pocket for
ends, and push the knot into the seam holding fasteners or a tape measure; an
between the pieces of leather. For extra expandable pocket with a pencil holder.
security, carefully singe the knot or
apply a drop of super glue to it before 6 inches wide. To put the pieces
pushing it into the seam. together, lay the backing grain side up,
The second method for finishing the and then lay the tool loop grain side
seam is to backstitch three holes up on the backing. Mark and
with one needle and four holes punch two rows of holes on each
with the other. Make sure both end, with one row 1⁄2 inch from
needles have been pulled through the edge and the second row
to the left, or back side, of the 1⁄4 inch from the edge. Stitch the

piece. Being careful not to cut strip into place.

any stitches, snip the sinew close The second holder is a
to the hole. Singe or apply a drop pocket for nails or screws. With
of super glue to each strand of the addition of a reinforcing
sinew, and gently push each back strip, it can also hold a tape
into the hole it emerges from. measure. To calculate the height
Finally, lay the piece on a flat of the cow-leather backing, add
surface and gently tap up and 5 inches to the amount you
down the seam with a hammer a calculated for your belt loop.
couple of times to set the stitches. The backing should be 7 inches
At some point, you’re going to wide. Cut out the backing
snag a stitch. When that happens, and trim the corners to form a
don’t pull through the snag. Pull trapezoidal bottom edge. Fold
out the needle, back out the over the amount of backing
snagged sinew, apply a little wax needed for your belt loop, and
to the snagged area, and make stitch the seam. Cut the pocket
that stitch again. If the snag cuts to 4 inches tall by 8 inches wide.
the sinew, start the stitching again Lay the pocket on the backing,
from the beginning. and trim its corners to match.
To form the reinforcing strip,
How to Make fold a 11⁄ 2-by-2-inch strip of
the Tool Holders cow leather over the upper
Rather than sewing or edge of the pocket and sew it in
riveting tool holders to the place. Finally, sew the pocket to
belt, I like to make individual the backing.
detachable holders. This way, I The third holder is an
can choose the holders I need expandable pocket with a pencil
for each job, and can use them holder. To calculate the height
on different belts. of the cow-leather backing, add
The first holder in this project 8 inches to the amount you
is a loop for a hammer, paint calculated for your belt loop. The
RICHARD BISWELL (9); PAGE 125: QUEREN KING-OROZCO

brush, or other tool with a wider backing should be 61⁄2 inches

head than handle. Begin with
the cow-leather backing. First, measure the height of your belt.
Double that measurement and add 3⁄8 of an inch. This will give
you the height needed for the belt loop. Next, add 3 inches to
that measurement; this will be the total height of the cow-leather
backing. The backing should be 4 inches wide. Cut out the
backing. Then, with the grain (that is, finished) side facing down,
fold over the amount of backing needed for your belt loop, binder
clip the sides, mark the seam, punch the holes, and saddle stitch
the seam. The deer-leather tool loop should be 11⁄2 inches tall by
wide. Cut out the backing. Fold
over the amount of backing needed for your belt loop, and stitch
the seam. Cut the pocket to 6 inches tall by 61⁄4 inches wide, and
the gusset to 11⁄4 inches tall by 21 inches long. The cow-leather
pencil holder should be 4 inches tall by 13⁄4 inches wide. Next,
stitch the gusset and pencil holder to the pocket, grain side out,
easing in the gusset’s fullness around the bottom corners of the
pocket. Finally, stitch the gusset to the backing.
After you make a few of these holders, you’ll be ready to tuck
your favorite tools into a handcrafted pocket or pouch.

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 DIY Cob Cabin
Pallets form the frame of this sturdy, durable, creative cob structure.
Article and photos by Miguel Elliott
I
n 2016, I moved to California to
build a “palletable cobin”—a cabin
made from heat-treated pallets,
insulated with straw, and covered with
cob. I wanted a durable, well-insulated tiny
house that didn’t require too much time or
money to build and could be made out
of recycled materials and local resources.
I planned to build a 120-square-foot hut,
which wouldn’t require a building permit.
As soon as the weather cleared in May,
I set aside loose topsoil, brought in a few
cubic yards of base rock, and tamped it
all down firmly. I had a collection of used
cement pier blocks that I set in a 12-foot-
diameter circle about 40 inches apart
from each other — the same width of
the pallets I had available. I used chunks
of concrete and sandbags filled with
A tiny cob cabin can
serve as an office,
playroom, or studio.
MH22.indb 128
base rock to fill in the spaces between
the cement blocks and provide a solid
foundation. I then prepped the pallets by
adding wood to the backsides in places
where backing was absent.
After all the pallets were prepared, I
screwed 4-by-4-inch upright supports
to the pier blocks, and then attached the
pallets to the uprights with 3-inch screws.
I had the windows I planned to use on
hand, as I knew they would affect the
spacing of the uprights and the size and
placement of pallets for those sections of
the wall.
After setting the first round of pallets, I
stuffed a flake of straw, which was about
the same width as the pallets, into each
pallet for insulation, using a pole to pack
it firmly. We used about two bales of
straw to insulate the structure. Eco-bricks
could also be integrated at this point for
additional insulation. Next, I framed in
my windows and added wood pieces
for shelving. Some areas needed to be
finished with cut pallet boards for proper
spacing, and then filled with straw. After
all the walls were up and insulated, I
connected the tops of the 4-by-4 uprights
with 40-inch-long 4-by-4s, cut at the
proper angles, upon which the rafters for
the roof would sit.
Having spent just three days framing
the hut and getting the windows in place,
I then hosted a work party to cover the
pallets with cob. We used soil with high
clay content right from the property, and
mixed it with about 60 percent sand and
some straw.
To make the mix, I use a rubber box, or
“mud box,” and a hoe, and then I cover
it with a tarp and stomp on top. The
entire mixing process can be done with a
3/29/22 2:32 PM
 few friends willing to dance
barefoot atop the tarp. You
could use a cement mixer,
but I’ve found it doesn’t
save much time and is an
unnecessary expense.
I was happy to discover that
the cob didn’t require any sort
of chicken wire or burlap
mesh covering the pallets to
stick. We made a clay slip—a
mixture of clay and water
about the consistency of a Pallets stuffed with straw and covered with cob form the structure’s walls.
milkshake—and sponged it
onto the pallets to serve as glue for the cob.
We then applied cob to the pallets about
an inch thick, and smoothed it with wet
hands or rubber gloves.
During that weekend work party, we
covered all the pallets with the cob mix.
Then, we celebrated by cooking pizzas
in a nearby cob oven. The next day, we
added extra cob around the windows and
sculpted decorative cob trees around the
doors with leftover cob.
Finally, we built the roof in about
three days, using 2-by-6 rafters with a
skylight in the middle. We set 3⁄4-inch
plywood with a rubber roof membrane
on top, which we then covered with
about 6 inches of earth to create a roof.
Decorative sculpting and stained glass were added during the construction process to give this cob hut a whimsical touch.
MH22.indb 129
If you or people you know are living an impressive homesteading life, send the story and a few related photos to
After placing metal flashing around the
skylight, we put earth on the outer area
of the skylight. The roof has a 20-inch
overhang around the structure.
After about 10 days, the walls of the hut
were completely dry and ready to plaster.
On the outside of the cabin, we applied a
hydraulic lime plaster with a brown oxide.
On the inside, we used an earthen plaster
with clay paint. We also did the floor in
cob, which took a few weeks to completely
dry. We then added plaster and sealed it
with a few coats of linseed oil, with thinner
added to help it penetrate into the plaster.
To create a more artistic hut, glass
bottles or stained glass can be embedded in
the walls during the construction process.
Additional sculpting can add
decoration and whimsy to the
hut, and completely conceal
the regular square pallets used
for the internal framing.
This is a great method for
creating low-cost, eco-friendly
housing. Well-insulated,
affordable structures can
be built in just a few weeks
without many technical skills.
For a structure to be legal to
live in, however, it needs a
permit, which requires an
engineer’s stamp for code approval. If the
frame is built as a gazebo, with post and
beam framing, then the pallets will just
be infill and won’t provide any structural
strength. If electrical and plumbing are
added, these should be done by someone
with experience in those fields to avoid
injury and mishaps.
Each region has its own legal
constraints that you’ll need to investigate
for legal occupancy. Check local building
codes for your area. After you’ve cleared
those hurdles and constructed a sturdy
hut, this newly created space can make
a great office, playroom, massage studio,
and more — a “palletable cobin” has
endless potential.
DO IT YOURSELF • WWW.MOTHEREARTHNEWS.COM 129
3/29/22 2:32 PM

Animals
on the Farm
A Holistic Approach
Small farmers across the globe are
developing creative ways of integrating
livestock into their agricultural operations.
By Meredith Leigh
A
round the world, people are
demonstrating how to manage
animals in harmony with land
and culture. Recognizing their innovations
and adopting their practices are key steps
toward lessening the problems of industrial
animal agriculture. Whether you’re a
small- or large-scale producer, you can be
130 MOTHER EARTH NEWS COLLECTOR SERIES • MODERN HOMESTEADING
MH22.indb 130
A dehesa system yields animal products, cork from
oak trees, plants from the understory, and more.
inspired by tested production practices
that improve animal health while reducing
waste, runoff, erosion, and emissions.
These practices can also provide income
and bolster your business efficiency.
These farmers don’t isolate animals
from other farm enterprises, but
rather integrate them into many land
management activities. Even when
corralled, the animals aren’t detrimental
This article is available
online in audio form at
MotherEarthNews.com
to the land. This presents a starkly
different mindset to Western animal
agriculture, where animals are removed
from the field, forest, and food source.
FROM LEFT: ADOBE STOCK/JUANFRANCISCO; A GROWING CULTURE
Industrial practices concentrate animals
into one place and truck in their food,
which has to be highly formulated to
suit the conditions created by their
confinement. Under this scenario, any
efficiency gained by concentrating
production is counteracted by the
human and fossil-fuel energy required
to feed the animals and deal with the
resulting waste, erosion, and runoff.
But animals can augment and improve
managed natural systems, and examples
of this abound, if only we pay attention.
3/29/22 2:32 PM
 Dehesas in Spain
Silvopasture has been around since the
Middle Ages in the example of the Spanish
dehesa, a system of grazing animals in
pastures with scattered oak trees. Dehesas
mimic a savanna landscape that provides
multiple food and fiber needs. Farmers
benefit from meat, milk, and other animal
products, as well as from selling cork
from the oak trees; hunting rights; and
mushrooms, herbs, and other plant-based
products from the herbaceous understory.
A modern example can be found in
Sharing Our Roots (www.Sharing-Our-
Roots.org), a poultry and perennial plant
production system on a 100-acre farm
in Minnesota. This organization pastures
chickens with elderberry and hazelnut
crops, sunflowers, corn, and other
annuals. The system produces eggs, meat,
medicine, and perennial nursery plants,
while improving soil and providing a
learning incubator for farmers of color.
Incorporating swales and fodder
banks is another way to integrate animal
production. A swale is a basin or channel
that increases water filtration on the land.
The plant life around the swale and on
its gently sloping sides is generally rich
and diverse because of its water-holding
capacity. Farmers can manage
this plant community on a swale’s
accompanying berm (the ridge
directing water into the channel) Animals can improve landscapes
to produce fruit trees, herbs,
and medicinals. Farmers often
create fodder banks on berms to
grow feed for their livestock. For
example, alder trees can be grown
on berms in a sheep pasture so pruned
leaves and branches can be thrown down
to the livestock, or carried to sheltered
FROM LEFT: ADOBE STOCK/JUANFRANCISCO; A GROWING CULTURE
sheep in harsh weather. Farmers raising
animals in managed forests or silvopasture
also produce “tree hay”—stored tree leaves
that pack intense nutritional benefits.
These same trees may also produce fruit
or nuts, timber, shade for mushrooms and
other understory crops, or sap products,
such as maple syrup.
Goat Meal from Fodder in Kenya
Optimizing tree and leaf fodder is
exemplified in the story of LOFODA-
G-Meal (an acronym for “locally
MH22.indb 131
Joe Ouko feeds the formulated ration of dried and shredded fodder he developed for dairy goats.
formulated dairy goat meal”). Farmer and
retired teacher Joe Ouko led the project
to develop this meal through a social
enterprise involving community members
in his area of southwestern Kenya. Ouko
and his colleagues have improved on
the “cut and carry” approach to feeding
corralled dairy goats in a way that’s
environmentally sustainable, culturally
suitable, and optimal for animal nutrition
and milk production.
“The innovation came about because of
need: In my area, rainfall is very seldom,”
Ouko says. When drought makes fodder
from trees and plants scarce, the “old
in a properly managed system.
practice of cutting the branches down to
almost nothing to get the natural fodder
makes re-sprouting difficult.” Increased
drought led to increased competition for
fodder. Ouko says, “I noticed two things:
To cut only the shoots of the trees during
the rainy season made re-sprouting better,
and also, the goats were going for the
green, dry leaves.” He began to forage
shoots and shade-dry them to produce
fodder for storage.
As he found success stockpiling tree
fodder from the rainy season to sustain
dairy goats through the dry season, Ouko
reached out to advance his project. With
the help of Prolinnova (“PROmoting
Local INNOVAtion”), an international
network that supports farmer innovation,
Ouko was able to collaborate with
stakeholders to refine his idea, access
support, and leverage funding. “Partners
in Prolinnova-Kenya have invested a lot of
time and energy in what we call farmer-led
joint research,” says Chesha Wettasinha,
a member of Prolinnova’s international
support team.
One advancement was procuring a
chopper-grinder so Ouko could shred
the dried fodder and increase its storage
capacity. Ouko has continued to network
via Prolinnova and its partners and with
fellow farmers. Now, non-goat
farmers are selling plants in their
districts to be used in the goat
meal. LOFODA-G-Meal has
evolved to become a formulated
ration created from drying and
grinding each natural fodder
material separately, and then
combining them to create the
right energy, vitamin, protein, and mineral
balance. “Milk from the goats has doubled
because of this formula,” Ouko says.
Ouko and the community continue
to improve the product in ways that
amplify mutual benefit. When fodder
from neighboring areas wasn’t enough to
meet demand sustainably, he collaborated
with the International Centre of Insect
Physiology and Ecology, headquartered in
Nairobi, and connected with farmers who
use high-energy crops to repel insects in
their fields. These plants repel a particular
worm that threatens the crops; when the
plants reach maturity, the farmers can
harvest and provide them to Ouko for
FARM ANIMALS • WWW.MOTHEREARTHNEWS.COM 131
3/29/22 2:32 PM
 Left: The development of LOFODA-G-Meal (“locally formulated dairy goat meal”) has been a community undertaking in southwestern Kenya. Right:
Manure is composted in place as part of a living deep-bed system.

inclusion in the goat meal. Additionally,
women in Ouko’s area have been
innovating to make products that enhance
human nutrition.
“There’s no limit to sustainable
production as long as financial resources are
available to sustain the fodder production,
alongside the available permanent
water sources and labor aspects of the
operations,” Ouko says. The project is an
example of combining resources and needs
to produce a holistic and environmentally
conscious feed alternative. Wettasinha
says, “LOFODA-G-Meal represents
a social enterprise that involves many
community members, especially women
and youth.” The product sustains jobs,
land, and families in this part of Kenya.
Living Deep Beds in Vietnam
When animals must be confined,
infrastructure can be designed to be
healthier for animals and the environment
than industrial agriculture’s concrete pens
and waste lagoons. In rural northern
Vietnam, farmers keep swine in a hog
house because they don’t have the option
of pasturing the animals extensively.
However, instead of a concrete floor that
can lead to muscle and bone complications
in the animals, and that requires the
collection of waste in lagoons that become
management problems, farmers can use
a living deep-bed system. The mulch
floor inside the hog house is inoculated
with beneficial microorganisms, and the
manure is composted in place, eliminating
toxic odors and harmful runoff while
providing beneficial microbes for the
animals’ digestive tracts.
Pham Nhu Trang grew up farming in
rural Hanoi, and was deeply affected by
animals lost to disease and environmental
issues. She now studies and refines a
living bed system for hog rearing that can
be implemented by small farmers with
limited financial resources. The basic
setup is a deep layer of biomass inoculated
with beneficial microbes. As the animals
produce dung, their bedding is turned to
create a perpetual compost of sorts, with
a hot layer underneath and an ambient
layer at the top. Trang has done extensive
research on bedding materials, combining
them in different quantities to test the
results. “The original system calls for 70
centimeters of sawdust to create the living
bed, but the cost of that in Hanoi is more
expensive,” she says. Trang has honed
a specific bedding combination of rice
hulls, biochar, dry soil, and dry leaves, and
has been able to produce the beneficial
microbes on molding rice.
Trang’s other innovations include
designing living roofs and walls in hog
houses using local flora and fauna to help
with climate control. “These plants also
have other functions, such as improving
food sufficiency or repelling mosquitoes,”
Trang says. She’s also experimenting
with composting a portion of the living
bedding for use on crops. Her hog houses
don’t suffer from emissions, effluent, or
odors; the surrounding environment is
ecologically diverse and thriving; and the
outputs are beneficial to other agriculture
systems and to human nutrition. Trang
emphasizes that the use of the living bed
technique “requires a holistic solution,
from design to the feed.” Her ingenious
ideas show that placing animals in dynamic
feedback with an environment’s plants,
microbes, and humans can offer hope in
the quest to sustainably feed people.
As farmers and homesteaders continue
to champion ethical livestock production
in the U.S., we should look to Indigenous
FROM LEFT: CHESHA WETTASINHA; PHAM NHU TRANG

Livestock Handling Practices for the Small Farm
In Temple Grandin’s Guide to Working with Farm Animals,
author Temple Grandin explains how to analyze herd behavior and
understand how animals think (describing their senses, fears,
instincts, and memories) to help you handle your livestock more
safely and effectively. Whether you’re managing a herd of 3 pigs
or 100 sheep, this guide is an important resource. This title is
available at Store.MotherEarthNews.com or by calling 800-234-
3368. Mention promo code MMEPAMZ3. Item #8402.
people and smallholders from around the
world for clues on adjusting our mindsets
and skillsets toward integrated animal
agriculture. For more information, or to
support Joe Ouko or Pham Nhu Trang,
see www.Prolinnova.net and A Growing
Culture (www.AGrowingCulture.org );
the latter nonprofit works globally to
advance farmer autonomy and agricultural
innovation.

132 MOTHER EARTH NEWS COLLECTOR SERIES • MODERN HOMESTEADING

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 In from the Cold
Livestock are resilient in winter, but you can
ease the chill with these steps to lessen their stress.
By Callene Rapp
A
s you look out on a cold winter’s
day at a herd of cattle with
snow piled on their backs, you
might be tempted to move them into a
nice, airtight barn. Don’t fall for it. Those
animals have adapted to withstand some
pretty extreme weather. However, you can
give them a little help to make the big chill
of winter less harsh.
Although the layer of snow on your
animals’ backs looks like it should be
ISTOCK/HANS SLEGERS
freezing them to death, it’s actually a pretty
good indicator that they aren’t losing too
much body heat. Many livestock animals
grow long, sometimes fuzzy coats in
MH22.indb 133
winter. Thanks to piloerection — the
ability of hair follicles to rise up—those
coats trap warm, dry air next to the skin,
keeping heat in and cold out. Think of
it like the roof on your house: Snow on
the roof actually means the roof is well-
insulated, with little heat radiating out.
Also, livestock generally have blocky
body types, which also helps them
maintain their core temperature. It’s
much harder to lose heat from a square
shape than from a narrow one; this can
be a problem in hot weather, but it’s an
advantage in the cold. But beware of
wet cold: A freezing rain will plaster that
hair coat down and remove its insulating
properties. Animals will shiver to try to
keep warm during freezing precipitation,
and a freezing rain will get them shivering
long before a dry snowfall will.
Chow Time
Researchers estimate that 37 degrees
Fahrenheit and lower is the point at which
most animals reach their lower critical
temperature (LCT) — the temperature
at which they begin expending energy to
maintain core body temperature. Access
to good-quality forage becomes vitally
important at LCT. For every degree drop
in temperature below the LCT, the energy
needs of cattle increase by 2 percent.
Hay that’s moldy, dusty, or has a poor
nutrient value will have a negative impact
on your livestock’s physical condition and
their ability to generate body heat. Horses
are able to increase their consumption to
make up for the lack of good energy in the
hay, and they may be able to eat enough
FARM ANIMALS • WWW.MOTHEREARTHNEWS.COM 133
3/29/22 2:32 PM

Livestock need fresh, clean air as much as they need fresh, clean water.
to get by—but you’ll go through your hay
supply much faster.
Once a ruminant fills up, though, the
animal is unable to eat more until the
rumination process is finished, so the
amount of feed it ingests stays roughly
the same.
If an animal is consuming poor-quality
hay, it can’t eat more to make up for the
lack of nutrition. And if the hay supply
is bad because of weather conditions or
drought, you’ll probably need to feed your
livestock supplements to keep them in
prime condition and able to withstand
winter. One of the most important things
you can do to prepare for cold weather and
maximize your feed dollar is to send your
animals into winter in the best possible
physical condition.
134 MOTHER EARTH NEWS COLLECTOR SERIES • MODERN HOMESTEADING
MH22.indb 134
Thaw the Ice
We all know how critical fresh, clean
water is in hot months. But water is also
important during extreme cold weather.
Water is critical for digestion. Without
it, the rumen can’t break down cellulose
efficiently. Animals often won’t attempt
to eat unless they have an adequate water
supply, even if you put food right in front
of them.
Don’t assume that animals can eat
snow to make up for a lack of fresh
water. A cow needs 14 to 20 gallons of
water a day — and that translates to a
tremendous amount of snow. Eating
snow also lowers an animal’s core body
temperature, making it more difficult
for the animal to withstand bad weather.
The body uses six times the amount of
energy to melt snow than it does to
just drink fresh water. That’s an energy
deficit your animals can’t afford in a
harsh winter environment.
For animals to maximize their intake,
water needs to be at a temperature of 37
to 40 degrees. Colder than that, and your
livestock will be discouraged. Even a thin
skin of ice over the water surface can keep
them from drinking the liquid they need.
A freeze-proof automatic drinker
is a great investment for your animals.
Although the equipment can be
expensive to install, the right one for
your environment will run efficiently and
economically. You can install it yourself,
but make sure there’s no stray voltage or
electrical current to shock your animals,
even mildly, because livestock can be
easily discouraged from drinking.
If a freeze-proof drinker isn’t an option,
you’ll need a tank heater. Install the heater
so its electrical cord can’t be chewed on,
and a clever critter can’t flip the heater out
of the tank. You can fix this problem by
running the cords through PVC conduit,
and anchoring the conduit.
Because tank heaters can be energy-
intensive, consider using a timer to run
the heater only during the coldest part of
the night, or set it to run a few hours on
followed by a few hours off. Another way
to minimize expense is to set up a small
aquarium aerator pump to bubble air and
move the warm water around. Insulating
the tank will help as well. You can build a
plywood box around a tank quite easily.
CLOCKWISE FROM FAR LEFT: ISTOCK (3)/ ARNE BRAMSEN, STEVE EVERTS, EDD WESTMACOTT
Then, stuff the box with straw or hay, and
place a cover over the open water (leaving
an opening for drinking). This can help
keep water available to your animals in
all but the coldest and windiest weather.
Offer Shelter from the Storm
Your animals don’t need elaborate,
heated barns, shut up tight against
winter’s chill. In fact, it’s probably better
if they’re not enclosed in such structures.
All livestock need fresh, clean air as
much as they need fresh, clean water.
A closed barn without good ventilation
will allow ammonia fumes to build up
from the excreted urine and manure.
Those fumes can irritate lungs and nasal
passages, making the animals more
3/29/22 2:32 PM
 susceptible to respiratory problems, such
as pneumonia.
Livestock are usually fine in open air,
and, if given access to a three-sided shed
facing south or east, they can fend off the
worst that winter has to offer. A tree belt
also can offer adequate protection from
the elements, provided the animals have
enough to eat. Pigs are legendary for
their ability to make nests, and, if given
good bedding material in a shed, they can
make a toasty place to bed down and ride
out the cold.
Even on the coldest nights, you may see
your livestock bedding down out in the
open air, preferring it to a shed, but they’ll
almost always appreciate shelter during a
freezing rain.
If you do keep your livestock in a barn,
make sure the building has adequate
ventilation, either natural through
open windows, louvers, or vents, or
mechanical through an exhaust fan that
exchanges warm, ammonia-laden air for
fresh. Avoid keeping animals in a warm
interior and then turning them out into
the freezing cold. The dramatic change
can stress their systems and lead to illness.
They’re better off either one way or the
other most of the time.
Whatever shelter you provide, be sure
to keep the bedding clean. Dirty bedding
is a breeding ground for bacteria and
may harbor viruses, and it’s difficult for Animals often won’t attempt to eat unless you provide them with adequate fresh water.
animals to keep warm if their bedding is
damp and cold. stocked in a “birthing kit” for this and maintain good health. Piglets don’t
purpose; a handful of dry straw or hay have a thick coat and take much longer to
CLOCKWISE FROM FAR LEFT: ISTOCK (3)/ ARNE BRAMSEN, STEVE EVERTS, EDD WESTMACOTT

Baby, It’s Cold Outside
You can plan for calving or lambing
season to land after the worst of the winter
weather, but Mother Nature usually
surprises us with a spring blizzard or two.
Baby animals are born with a limited
ability to thermoregulate — that is,
they’re unable to maintain core body
temperature. Wet newborns are at great
risk unless they’re dried off rapidly. A
good mom of any species takes care of this
by licking her calf or lamb; her attention
helps stimulate the baby’s circulation,
helping the process along.
If the mother has had a difficult
delivery or is disinterested in her baby,
you might have to step in and dry the
newborn yourself. Keep some old towels
will also work in a pinch.
If you come upon a newborn that’s
already chilled, warm it up as soon as
possible. Many lambs have been brought
back from the brink by immersion in
a bucket of warm-but-not-scalding
water — keep their head clear. Once
they’re warmed up, place the little ones
under a heat lamp or in a warm, dry place
until they’re able to get back on their feet.
Calves and lambs are able to maintain
their own body temperature within
about 24 hours, if they’ve been properly
dried off at birth and get a hearty meal
or two of colostrum. The energy and
fat contained in those first few meals
are critical, because they provide the
necessary energy to fight off cold stress
develop control over body temperature.
Winter farrowing may require heat lamps
for a couple of weeks unless the nest is
snug and tight.
Lambs have a storage supply of “brown
fat” at birth. This fat is metabolized quite
easily and provides an energy boost for
newborns. Brown fat is different from
the white fat animals put on later; for a
newborn in a cold environment, brown
fat is a lifesaving energy resource.
With some forethought and
preparation, you can help your livestock
minimize the hardships of winter. And,
unless you live at the North Pole, you can
count on the chill passing by eventually,
and soon it’ll be time to complain about
the heat again!

FARM ANIMALS • WWW.MOTHEREARTHNEWS.COM 135

MH22.indb 135 3/29/22 2:32 PM

 Set Up Your Own
Small Animal
Shed

MH22.indb 136 3/29/22 2:32 PM

 Stack timbers to shelter your animals from the
elements with this simple and practical design.
Article by Spike Carlsen
Illustrations by Len Churchill
I
f you built forts with Legos or
Lincoln Logs when you were a kid,
or if you’ve built retaining walls
with landscape timbers as an adult, the
building technique described in this
article will be familiar. It involves stacking
4x6 landscape timbers “log cabin style”
to create a small — and sturdy — animal
shelter. This shelter is just the right size
for a few goats, pigs, sheep, or chickens.
Some features of this building style
make it unique:
• All you’ll have to worry about is the
framework of the structure. You won’t
have to install exterior or interior
sheathing, siding, or paneling.
• It’s easy to modify the size. To make
a larger structure, use longer or
additional timbers; to make a taller
structure, stack the timbers higher.
• The wall timbers and roof boards are
screwed in place. You’ll just need a
drill, a circular saw, and some basic
hand tools.
• It’s sturdy. Even the most ornery critter
won’t be able to butt, kick, or chew a
hole into or out of this shed.
• It’s versatile. Don’t need a small animal
shed? How about a playhouse, or a
shed for storage, potting, or wood?
Base
80"
4"
96"
gravel
BASE FRAME
approx. 38" x 6" tapered to 0"
optional filler pieces
MH22.indb 137
Timber Tips
Construct the walls with 8-foot-long
4x6 treated landscape timbers, which are Tools & Materials
available at most lumberyards and home • Circular saw
centers. Your supplier may carry timbers • Speed square
with two or three different grades of • Drill with hex bit
preservative. Make sure the timbers you • 4-foot level
use for the two lowest rows are rated for • Hand tamper
“ground contact.” You can use the less • Sledgehammer
expensive “treated to refusal” timbers as • 10-inch timber screws (200)
you work your way up, but they won’t • 4-inch timber screws (100)
last as long, and they rarely come with • Window
a warranty. • 10-foot Style D roof edge (4)
Select straight timbers that have been • Rolled roofing
air- or kiln-dried (if available), and that • Sliding door hardware
have similar dimensions. If you buy a • Sliding door lumber
banded bundle, or “cube,” from your
supplier, chances are your timbers will Cut List
have warped less and will be more likely WALLS
to have identical dimensions. 4x6 treated landscape timbers,
You can use 5x6 timbers, 3x4 8 feet long (45)
landscape timbers (with two flat sides
and two rounded sides), or even railroad DOOR AND WINDOW FRAME
ties to build your shed using the same 2x4 treated lumber, 8 feet long (4 or 5)
basic technique. Just make sure to adjust
your design and dimensions accordingly. ROOF
Since the timbers shown are 4x6, 2x8 treated lumber, 10 feet long (14)
cutting them with a standard circular
saw will take two passes. Mark your Note: Amount and size of materials will
timber to length, and then use a speed vary based on the size and height of
square to transfer this mark to the other your shed, the size of your doors and
three sides of the timber. Set the saw windows, and other factors.
to its greatest depth, and make cuts on
80"
to ensure base is squared,
measurements should be equal,
using the cross-tape-measure
4" method
6"
96"
DO IT YOURSELF • WWW.MOTHEREARTHNEWS.COM 137
rolled
roofing
3/29/22 2:33 PM
 96"
gravel
BASE FRAME
Stacked Walls approx. 38" x 6" tapered to 0"
optional filler pieces
FRONT VIEW
Style D drip edge
opposite 4"sides
timberofscrews
the timber to cut
through. You 2x8 roof boards the cut ends of
can soak
your timbers in an eco-friendly wood
preservative for 10 minutes before
installing for added protection.
You’ll need a powerful drill to drive in
the 10-inch hex-head screws that hold
the timbers together. If your cordless drill
isn’t up to the task, use a corded drill.
Build a Solid Base
To build a straight, solid structure, you
need to start with a level, solid base. Dig
out an area 6 inches deep and at least
1 foot longer in each direction than
the footprint of your shed. You’ll want
an area free of large roots or loose-fill
dirt. We dug a 10-by-10-foot area for
our 8-by-8-foot shed.
Use a level to make sure the
excavated area is relatively flat, and
then use a hand tamper to compact
the soil. Install 6 inches of washed
gravel, and compact it until it’s level,
flat, and solid. The gravel will provide
an adjustable base for leveling your first
row of timbers, and it 4x6 willtimber
also front
provide
wall
drainage for rain or water that works
2x4 door frame
its
way into and around the shed.
Set the two “full” side timbers in place
parallel to one another. If you’re building
an 8-by-8-foot shed, space the timbers
80 inches apart.
Use a 4-foot level to level one timber.
Next, place one end of a long, straight
2x4 on one end of the leveled timber,
and rest the other end on the opposite
timber. Place a 4-foot level on the 2x4
and use this to level one end of the
second timber. If you need to raise the
timber, lift it and spread more gravel
under it. If you need to lower it a hair,
138 MOTHER EARTH NEWS COLLECTOR SERIES • MODERN HOMESTEADING
MH22.indb 138
4"
6"
SIDE VIEW
you can stand on it and hit it with a
sledgehammer. If it needs to be lowered
more than an inch, remove the timber
and scoop gravel out of the area. Use
the 2x4 and level to make sure both
timbers are level end to end and with
one another.
Next, cut two timbers to go between
the two side timbers. For our shed,
these were 80 inches. Measure in
4 inches from both ends of the side
timbers, and draw a square line. Position
the 80-inch “filler” timbers to the
This shelter is just the
right size4x6for a side
timber fewwallgoats,
pigs, sheep, or chickens.
4x6 timber base frame
inside of these marks, and add or remove
gravel until these “filler” timbers are level
with the side timbers.
Before screwing these base timbers to
one another, cross-tape the ends of the
side timbers to make sure the structure
is square (see diagram on Page 137).
If not, use a sledgehammer to tap the
side timbers one way or the other until
the measurements are equal. Readjust
the “in-between” timbers so they’re on
their marks, and then drive 10-inch
timber screws through the sides of the
side timbers into the ends of the filler
timbers. If you’re building on a slope,
use landscape timbers to build up the
low side(s), and then build your shed
upward from there.
method
96"
rolled
roofing
BACK VIEW
Stack the Walls
timber
Stack a full timber on the back4x6wall
center roof
of the shed, letting the ends extend
support
4 inches past the side walls in both
directions. Secure the full timber to
2x4 window
the timber below with 10-inch timber
frame
screws, with one near each end and
the others spaced about every 2 feet.
Place two filler timbers on top of the
two side timbers; the ends should be
8 inches back from the front ends of
the timbers below.
If you have gaps between the timbers,
you have three options: Leave the
gaps for additional ventilation; lay
a bead of caulk on the lower timber
before placing another timber on
top; or install sill sealer — narrow
4x6 timber
strips of fiberglass insulation — onwall
back
the lower timber before installing
the one above.
10" timber
screws
If there are no doors or windows,
just keep repeating the above.
Door and Window Openings
Determine the width and location
of your door opening, and mark it
out on the front filler timber, adding
1½ inches to each side for the door
jambs. (If you want a 30-inch door
opening, which is what we chose
for our shed, you’ll need 33 inches
between your marks.)
Build your door frame as shown in
the diagram on Page 139. Arrange the
top of the frame in a way that when the
timber running over it is installed, it’ll
just “kiss” the top.
Install temporary middle and
bottom horizontal braces to maintain
a correctly sized opening.
Install a diagonal cross brace to
3/29/22 2:33 PM
 FRONT VIEW
Style D drip edge
4" timber screws
2x8 roof boards
mber
roof
rt
indow
4x6 timber front wall
2x4 door frame
Openings and Attaching Walls to Base
imber
wall ensure the frame is square, and then
imber toenail the bottoms of the side jambs to
ws the bottom timber. Use two temporary
2x4s to brace the door frame plumb in
the opening.
Position the short filler timbers on
the sides of the door frame, with the
ends protruding 4 inches beyond the
side walls.
Secure the short timbers to the
timber below with 10-inch screws, and
drive it through the door frame with
4-inch screws.
Install the window frame following
the same basic plan as the door, except
your window frame will have four sides.
Select your window ahead of time.
If possible, plan your window
opening height so the top of the frame
will be level with the top of a row of
timbers. If the frame height doesn’t
come out exactly right, you’ll need to
notch out the timber above it, or add
a filler piece to complete the process.
MH22.indb 139
SIDE VIEW
4x6 timber side wall
4x6 timber base frame
Roof
As you near the top, you’ll need to
build the front wall of your shed two
timbers higher than the back wall to
create the proper roof slope. Once
you’ve done this, lay a straight 2x4
on its edge from the top of your front
wall to the top of your back wall, and
temporarily snug a full timber into the
“crotch” created. Do this on both sides.
This timber is the intermediate support
for your roof boards. Screw this full
timber in place so it extends 4 inches
beyond each side wall. Cut and install
the wedge-shaped filler pieces, as shown
in the diagram on Page 138.
Install your roof boards by driving
4-inch timber screws into the front,
intermediate, and back timbers. We
installed treated 2x8s, but any board
width will work. We installed 10-foot-
long roof boards to create the extra-wide
overhangs at the front and back wall, but
you can get by with 8-foot-long boards.
BACK VIEW
4x6 timber
center roof
support
2x4 window
frame
4x6 timber
back wall
10" timber
screws
Install Style D roof edging along the
four sides of the roof, and then install
the rolled roofing using the instructions
that come with the product. Metal
roofing is another alternative.
Sliding Doors and Windows
Fi r s t , p u rc h a s e s l i d i n g d o o r
hardware. Build your door so it’s at
least 1 inch larger than the door
opening in every direction. We built
our door from 2x6s with horizontal
cleats on the top and bottom and a
diagonal cross brace. Make sure to
hang the sliding track above your
door opening at the height described
in the directions that come with the
hardware. Then, add the rollers to the
door and lift it onto the track.
Install your window in the opening,
holding it in place with 1-by-1-inch
slats on both sides. Then, hang out
the FOR RENT sign and welcome the
new residents.
DO IT YOURSELF • WWW.MOTHEREARTHNEWS.COM 139
3/29/22 2:33 PM
 A Market for
Meat Birds
Get the most bang for your cluck: Turn raising
and processing poultry into a moneymaking,
community-supported agriculture venture.
By Cyndi Ball
“I
f we ever get land, I’m going
to start raising our own
meat.” This was a promise
I made to myself years ago when I
learned of the potential side effects of
140 MOTHER EARTH NEWS COLLECTOR SERIES • MODERN HOMESTEADING
MH22.indb 140
growth hormones in the meat and milk
my six children consumed.
I made good on my promise when
we moved to Georgia in the winter of
2002 and purchased a beautiful home
on nearly 7 acres. We call our property
Lazy B Farm. Being a book-taught
FROM LEFT: FLICKR/U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE; MELISSA MARLOWE
farmer, I stumbled my way along and
eventually began raising chicken, pork,
and beef for our family. My meat-
production journey finds me today
with a cow and calf operation that
provides high-quality pastured beef
for our “cowpooling” program. Our
customers buy beef by the quarter, half,
or whole at wholesale prices. And with
our private meat label, we’re able to sell
our beef in stores, at farmers markets,
and even across state lines.
We do the same with our pasture-
raised, heritage-breed hog operation:
3/29/22 2:33 PM
 My motto is that my animals
“pigpooling” for those who want have the most fabulous lives And that’s how we learned the fine
to buy quality in quantity, and our art of butchering, eviscerating,
private label for those who prefer we can give them, and only and preparing our chickens for a
to buy a few chops or a ham at a meal. Over the years, as the web
time. But the chickens have been a one bad moment. and social media have taken off
different kind of journey, fraught and information and videos have
with extra challenges. become readily available, we’ve
adapted our techniques.
Beginning the Poultry Process we’d finished dispatching all the
I live in Georgia, which has been roosters, I asked what we needed to do Farm-to-Fork Fowl
declared the Poultry Capital of the to get them ready for the stew pot. She After a couple of years of raising and
World. On an average day, Georgia looked at me and said, “Oh, I have no butchering broilers to sell, I realized I
produces an estimated 26 million idea how to do that!” needed a system for keeping enough
pounds of chicken. The poultry Luckily, I had a copy of The frozen whole chickens on hand to
industry alone contributes over $18.4 Encyclopedia of Country Living by Carla meet the demands of Lazy B Farm’s
billion to the state’s economy each Emery, which is filled with valuable customers. That’s when I decided
year. And the annual production from information about the how-tos of self- to start a community-supported
an average Georgia poultry farm could reliant living. It includes step-by-step agriculture (CSA) program, so I’d
feed over 22,000 people. instructions about preparing fowl for know ahead of time how many
This monumental commercial consumption. My daughter and her chickens we’d need to raise yearly.
industry loomed in front of me when best friend took the birds and the book Initially, I asked our regular
I decided eight years ago that I wanted to the back porch and began the process. customers if they’d commit to a specific
to raise chickens for my customers.
The first step was to find out what
my business limitations would be. By
today’s regulations, I can raise 1,000
broilers on my farm each year, and can
sell directly to customers. However, I’m
not able to sell directly to stores. Any
more than 1,000 broilers, and I must
use an approved U.S. Department of
Agriculture public processing plant to
process my poultry. As there’s no such
processing plant in Georgia, I’d have
to take my live broilers out of state
and then haul them back across state
lines, vacuum-sealed and frozen, thus
reducing my profit per bird.
After considering these facts, I settled
on raising and butchering less than
FROM LEFT: FLICKR/U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE; MELISSA MARLOWE

1,000 birds per year on my farm. Lest

you think I’ve been an expert chicken
processor from the get-go, my initial
processing experience was anything but
smooth. We ended up with too many
roosters after our very first shipment
of straight-run chicks, and we had to
butcher them ourselves. At the time,
there was no easy way to reach out
to a like-minded community. I had a
heck of a time trying to find someone
who could show me how to butcher a
chicken. Finally, one woman said she
remembered the process and offered to
show me how to do the deed. When Cyndi Ball teaches classes demonstrating different techniques for preparing whole chickens.

FARM ANIMALS • WWW.MOTHEREARTHNEWS.COM 141

MH22.indb 141 3/29/22 2:33 PM


To keep the chickens’ skin intact,
Lazy B processes the birds in a plucker
before packaging.
number of birds per month. Once I
had that total, I multiplied it by 12.
That gave me the total number of birds
we’d need for the year. Then, I added
in a few extra birds to accommodate
potential new customers.
Summers are pretty miserable here in
Georgia, especially for young chickens
trying to grow, so we raise two batches
of chickens a year. The first batch of
chicks arrives in February and takes
9 to 11 weeks to grow out. We butcher
these in May, before the heat gets
unbearable. The second batch arrives
in late August; we try to butcher them
in late October, before they have to use
food resources to keep warm.
Lazy B Farm used to package their finished chickens in plastic wrap, but upgraded to professional shrink bags complete with specialized labels.
142 MOTHER EARTH NEWS COLLECTOR SERIES • MODERN HOMESTEADING
MH22.indb 142
I’ve been asked frequently about
the types of chickens I offer through
our CSA. I raise heritage breeds of
turkeys, cows, and hogs, but when it
comes to chickens, I prefer the Cornish
Cross meat bird. One summer, I raised
Cornish Cross and Freedom Ranger
chicks side by side in my pastures.
They were treated the same, fed the
same, and butchered at the same
time. By weight, the Cornish Cross
was heavier, and, according to my
calculations, gained 1 ounce more per
day than the Freedom Ranger. Those
ounces add up quickly. We order
only male birds, because they grow
out bigger than the females with the
same type of care, which means more
money for the same amount of work.
The chicks live in a typical brooder
box when they first arrive. Once
they’re fully feathered, I transfer them
to chicken tractors, 20 to 25 birds per
tractor, where they’re given fresh water
and non-GMO, nonmedicated feed.
My motto is that my animals have
the most fabulous lives we can give
them, and only one bad moment. It’s
no different with the meat chickens.
After several days in tractors at the
beginning, I then let them out to
forage. Every morning, I open the
CYNDI BALL (5)
door to the tractor and put some feed
outside to encourage the birds onto
the grass.
3/29/22 2:33 PM
 They forage all day close to the
house, where my Great Pyrenees
guardian dog can protect them from
hawks and other predators, until I
throw a bit of feed inside the tractor
to encourage them to head in for the
night. The chickens are also able to
run back into the tractor anytime they
need to for protection.
It’s important to me that the broilers
lead a “chicken life” during their 9 to
11 weeks. I don’t free-feed because
of concerns about broken legs with
heavier meat birds. My birds are fed
once a day, and for the remaining
hours, they run around catching bugs,
eating grass, and scratching in the
dirt. Sometimes, the birds hang out
with the cows or sheep, cleaning up
the extra grain left on the ground. My
birds may grow out a little slower than
those that are confined and on free
feed, but it’s my choice.
When the chickens have grown to an
acceptable size, we plan for butchering
day. In the early days, when I was doing
all the work and couldn’t afford a plucker,
I removed the skin along with the
feathers; this took me about 10 minutes
instead of hours for plucking. But I
quickly realized that a lot of customers
preferred their chicken with the skin
intact. A friend of mine had previously
purchased a mechanical plucker. Another
friend and I entered an agreement to use
the plucker twice a year. It takes a little
longer than 10 minutes per bird to scald
the chickens and then remove feathers
with the plucker, but our customers are
happier with skin-on broilers.
When I first started the Lazy B Farm
CSA, I’d wrap the finished birds in
lots of plastic wrap. Later, I switched
to vacuum-sealing. Now we use shrink
bags made especially for chickens.

How Safe Is Pastured Poultry Meat?

Lazy B Farm took part in a food safety study
initiated by Michael Rothrock, a research
microbiologist with the U.S. Department of
Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service.
Rothrock had studied levels of foodborne
pathogens at commercial poultry processing
plants before turning his attention to farms
practicing backyard butchery. Besides Lazy B
Farm, Rothrock studied 37 flocks from
10 other pastured poultry farms. Here’s his
summary of the findings.
—Cyndi Ball
CYNDI BALL (5)

Most research in poultry food safety is

focused on conventional farming. I saw a
great need to provide research to smaller Lazy B’s on-farm chicken butchering results in a low incidence of bacterial pathogens.
farmers that would help them assess and
potentially improve their operations.
We took a farm-to-fork approach (sampling broilers on pasture, during
processing and butchering, and as a final product) and looked at the
microbial ecology throughout the entire process to see how pathogens
survive and flow within pastured poultry systems. In collaboration with
Lazy B Farm, we sampled six small pastured poultry flocks over four
years and looked at the microbiology of the feces during their time on
pasture; of the ceca (a sac on the lower intestinal tract) and from whole
carcass rinses during processing; and also from whole carcass rinses
from the final product received by customers. We quantified the general
Escherichia coli and Campylobacter throughout and determined the
presence or absence of Salmonella and Listeria.
We found that while general E. coli and Campylobacter levels
were higher in the pasture feces and processing cecal samples, they
decreased by 10,000% on the final product. In fact, Campylobacter
was undetectable in almost all the final product rinses (95%), with only
a few rinses having low levels. Of the flocks we followed, Salmonella
was only recovered from the final product rinses from one of them, and
the identity of these Salmonella was not one of the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention’s top 30 serotypes that were important to
human health. Listeria was found throughout the pasture, processing,
and final product samples for some flocks, but more than 95% of
the recovered Listeria were not the human pathogenic species (L.
monocytogenes). These findings were generally consistent with those
for the other pastured poultry farms we studied.
Overall, Lazy B’s on-farm butchering method produced whole
pastured broiler carcasses with a low incidence of bacterial pathogens,
and in many cases, each of these pathogens were undetectable on the
final product. An important thing to note here is that Lazy B typically
refrigerated the carcasses overnight before providing the final product
to the customer. Based on previous work with Lazy B and the scientific
literature, freezing the carcass and providing a frozen product to your
consumer (if they’re amenable to it) would virtually eliminate these
bacterial foodborne pathogens from the final product.

FARM ANIMALS • WWW.MOTHEREARTHNEWS.COM 143

MH22.indb 143 3/29/22 2:33 PM


They’re beautiful and, applied
with specialized labels, look
much more professional. Each
bird is labeled with its weight
and the processing date, and then
stored in a chest freezer until the
customer arrives for pickup.
CSA Adjustments
Even though we’ve made efficient
strides since beginning our process,
I’m always looking for ways to
streamline our chicken CSA. Here are
some of the ideas I’m working on:
One-day-a-month chicken pickup
from Lazy B Farm. Currently, I
schedule a separate pickup time with
each customer.
Formal contract between CSA and
customer. So far, we’ve had great luck
with people picking up their broilers
based on a verbal agreement. But as we
MH22.indb 144
My birds may grow out a
little slower than those that
are confined and on free
feed, but it’s my choice.
grow larger, a written agreement will
minimize potential problems.
Partial prepayment at the beginning.
Currently, the farm covers all upfront
costs of birds, feed, and processing.
A prepayment would offset some of
those initial expenses. It’s important
for customers to have a little “skin in
the game.” If they give money upfront,
they’ll have a greater commitment to the
pickup day.
Education is a passion of mine in
whatever I’m doing at Lazy B Farm.
This year, I started offering classes on
different techniques to prepare
whole chickens, such as how to
spatchcock. It’s important to teach
our customers how to prepare
their own broiler, because our CSA
doesn’t have an option to purchase
chicken parts, such as breasts. We
also offer recipes during the class.
I feel strongly that if I take the time
and care to raise a high-quality piece
of meat, my customers should have the
knowledge and tools to get the most
from their purchase.
Customers seem to agree with that
philosophy. One recently said, “Lazy B
Farm puts care and attention into raising
healthy and happy animals. Being part
of their CSA gives us peace of mind
ADOBE STOCK/TAKSA
and reminds me of a simpler time. My
family’s health is our priority, and it’s
one that I know Lazy B Farm shares.”
That’s why we do what we do.
3/29/22 2:33 PM
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