Tabla de contenidos para March - April 2019 en Grit

My husband and I have plans to build a garden shed this year. Sometime soon we’ll have a detailed drawing of that shed in hand as we start the build. That’s always an exciting moment, and we’re looking forward to it. But we’re also realists. We know that at some point we’ll decide to change that plan, probably because we’ve found some new materials and had a great idea about how to use them. I can’t recall ever undertaking a project without changing it up at some point. All of you doers out there know exactly what I mean. Partway through the best-laid plans, we realize we could take it to the next level if we’d try something different. I don’t see this as changing horses in midstream; I see…

JOIN THE CONVERSATION Chicken keepers understand, without a doubt, that a farm is a tenuous balance of predators and prey — nature’s checks and balances. (www.Grit.com/Chicken-Predators) Lisa Marie Combs-Presley: We were lucky that we were able to save our Pekin duck when it was attacked by a hawk. After that, we started using cotton-style bird netting strung over our birds’ run area as an added layer of protection. It’s worked really well so far. Carolle White: I put out BOB (our Body Opponent Bag, a life-like dummy used for martial arts training) to protect our flock. Not only have we seen fewer foxes and hawks, but BOB has also provided us with tons of funny stories. I especially love the visitors who wave and talk to him. POPULAR ON GRIT.COM…

Automatic Chicken Coop Door Magazine art director Carolyn Lang and her husband have raised poultry on their rural property for a number of years. Last winter, an unknown culprit dispatched more than half of their flock, but they haven’t lost a single bird since they installed the automatic Standard Pullet-Shut Door on their coop. You can choose from different power combinations — such as a 3-watt solar panel with battery, or a charger (also with battery) that plugs into a standard outlet. A photo sensor add-on will open and close the door automatically at dawn and dusk, and a “straggler” feature allows pokey poultry one last chance to enter after the door closes for the night. “Installing it during the winter gave us a good chance to see how well…

If you’re not from the low country of South Carolina, odds are you aren’t familiar with the Marsh Tacky. For starters, if you’re wondering why a horse would have the word “tacky” in its name, you have to look back into history to learn that the name is derived from the English word for “cheap” or “common.” For most of their history, Marsh Tackies were the most common horse in the swampy and marshy regions of coastal South Carolina and Georgia. They were used for riding, pulling, and anything else horsepower was needed for. The breed could be found from as far north as Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, to as far south as St. Simons Island, Georgia, until the advent of the automobile. As the car replaced the horse, the…

Stalk Talk Crisp and succulent, celery has a unique flavor and satisfying crunch. It’s delicious served cooked or raw. Celery adds zest to soups and stews, and can be baked, braised, steamed, or slathered with cream cheese or peanut butter for a high-energy snack. Ancient preparations of the plant were used to ease kidney ailments and treat nervous disorders. The Romans used celery and its seeds to flavor meats and fish. It wasn’t until the early 1700s, though, that it was widely accepted as a food. Celery requires a long growing season, and demands a continuous supply of moisture and heavy fertilization. Soak seeds overnight to soften the seed coat, and then plant them in a flat of regular potting soil ½ inch apart and ⅛ inch deep. When the…

When my family started our first tiny flock of laying hens several years ago, I quickly learned the meaning of “feast or famine.” Within months, we were eating golden, delicious eggs until we couldn’t stomach the sight of another omelet or quiche. In desperation, I began to search for, read about, and experiment with anything egg-related. And just when I was getting somewhere, fall arrived. Suddenly, we had no more eggs. Not one! I wasn’t sure if I should be delighted over empty nests or crestfallen over the lack of egg bread. I did know, however, that I had to find a way to balance this crazy egg-laying schedule. Fortunately, I’ve since learned several preservation methods that create a semblance of balance in our ladies’ egg-production cycle. Now, I have…

While most of the world associates France with the grape, the mirabelle plum (Prunus domestica subsp. syriaca) is queen in that country’s Lorraine region. Little-known in North America, this small, pale heirloom fruit is essential to Lorraine’s culinary traditions — and you can grow it in the United States, too. About 80 percent of the world’s commercial mirabelle harvest comes from northeastern France, where Lorraine has developed a unique cuisine. The fruit is made into jams, jellies, pies, ice cream, compotes, and every other sweet treat imaginable. Mirabelles are distilled to make a local obsession, the fruit brandy known as eau de vie. (In the Lorraine dialect, it’s more common to hear the German word for eau de vie: Schnapps.) Lorraine is justifiably proud of its favorite fruit. In summer,…

Unlike many vegetables, sweet potato plants aren’t started from seed or from replanted tubers, but are grown from “slips,” which are pieces of stem with a few leaves that’ve been grown from a mother tuber. We used to buy bare-root slips for our garden, believing that growing our own would be very tricky, but we eventually attempted it anyway. While we had some initial problems — and I can warn you about those — we now have a system that results in a number of sizable sweet potatoes every year. Homegrown Advantages Through trial and error, we’ve found several advantages of homegrown slips over purchased ones. We really appreciate the convenience of not needing to order the slips months ahead of time and hope for good weather on the ship…

When Esmee Mckee and her family moved to their farm in Owenton, Kentucky, they had more in mind than just growing organic vegetables. Their house faces a road, and one particular goal they had was to create some privacy around their front porch and patio, where they spend time as a family. So, they decided to turn to plants to shield the view of cars passing by. For the landowner who wants to cultivate a natural-looking landscape while also buffering a noisy roadway or creating a degree of privacy, a living fence or “hedgerow” offers an alternative to expensive wooden privacy fences. These natural barriers are composed of a variety of trees, shrubs, grasses, and groundcovers, typically arranged in a hedge that’s 5 to 10 feet deep. Nick McCullough, a…

Should you really do all the work involved in registering your livestock? All the applications, fees, tagging, and more can seem unnecessary and time-consuming, especially if the majority of your animals are destined for the freezer. But there are advantages to maintaining a registered herd, even on a small scale. Why You Should Register Registering livestock can, in many cases, increase an animal’s value. Prospective buyers will often pay more for livestock with registration papers. Not only do the papers prove that the animal is indeed a member of a specific breed, but they can also give the new owner some idea of what to expect in terms of performance. In addition, it shows that you value your animals. Certain sires and dams in every breed have reputations — sometimes…

FABRIC DONATIONS I’m asking for donations of soft yarn and flannel material to make blankets for hospital neonatal intensive care units. I send the finished blankets to hospitals all over the country. Joanne 84 Church St. Smithfield, PA 15478-9601 COMIC BOOKS I’m a veteran who loves to read comic books. If you have any you’d be willing to part with, please send them my way. Bob Kantanick 170 Markle St. Philadelphia, PA 19127-1714 COIN COLLECTOR PEN PALS I’d like to write to fellow coin collectors from anywhere in the country. I’d like to hear how you got started in the hobby, what you collect, and your favorite coin designs, either classic or modern. Dennis Tucker 1920 Dresden Drive NE Box 191884 Brookhaven, GA 30319-3634 HOT DOG SAUCE RECIPE I’m looking…

It’s almost impossible to navigate modern life without bumping into social media, but does it have a place on the modern farm? Absolutely! For many farmers, social media is a valuable tool that can be used to grow their farm or homestead. From a marketing perspective, social media is the new frontier. Social networks allow fans of the farm to feel connected to the animals and gardens without getting their hands dirty, thereby building a deeper and more personal bond between farmer and consumer. They also provide an avenue to alert customers about new products, and a place to both gauge and foster excitement as your farm grows and changes. Another perk of social media for modern homesteaders is the connection it provides to other farmers and people going through…

As animal husbandry costs go, the price of bees and beekeeping supplies is quite a bargain, but setting up an apiary still runs into money if you have many colonies. My husband, Dwayne, and I got into a home honey operation some years ago — it sort of snuck up on us — and from the start, we’ve tried to reduce expenses by making some of our own equipment. We’ve found, for example, that we can save a substantial amount of money by building our own bee housing. We bought our first hive and super, and Dwayne made the rest using the commercial products for patterns so that the parts of all units are interchangeable. Because we have quite a bit of scrap lumber handy, the only investment was time.…

Readers, this is the second of 12 basic homestead skills we’ll be presenting throughout the year from Kimberlee Bastien’s new book, 52 Homestead Skills (available on Page 49). We invite you to join Kimberlee and her family on their homesteading journey. Visit www.Grit.com/52-Homestead-Skills to learn more about this series. Currently, my husband and I free range our feathered friends, which, for the most part, works out great. They can forage for a good portion of their own food, while getting plenty of exercise and stimulation along the way. But there are hidden challenges with free ranging. First, if given a choice, your chickens will spend at least some of their time ranging on your front porch, leaving a welcome mat of droppings for anyone who comes to visit. At some point,…

Perhaps in the past you made the decision to plant your own blueberry bushes, inspired by visions of steaming stacks of blueberry pancakes drizzled with homemade blueberry syrup. You probably picked what you thought was the perfect spot to plant, with rich soil and lots of sun. And you likely worked the soil well, mixing in lots of organic material and fertilizer. Then you brought your precious new plants home from the nursery, carefully planted them, and spent the winter dreaming of fresh berries. When spring finally arrived, you eagerly watched as your blueberries pushed out fresh green leaves — only to yellow, drop, and die. If that outcome sounds all too familiar, you’re not alone. At one time, gardeners and horticulturists alike believed blueberries would never be domesticated. The…