Tabla de contenidos para May/June 2022 en Grit

TUNE IN TO OUR PODCAST The “Mother Earth News and Friends” podcast is produced by our sister publication, Mother Earth News. Explore these episodes and more at www.MotherEarthNews.com/Podcast, or wherever you listen to podcasts. EXPLORE GRIT.COM Hardworking Earthworms By Melinda R. Cordell Charles Darwin, who was fascinated with earthworms, wrote, “It may be doubted whether there are many other animals which have played so important a part in the history of the world, as have these lowly organized creatures.” Worms have made the soil of many nations fertile, and they’ll do the same for your soil. Having thousands of earthworms in your garden is like having a thousand tiny tillers running day and night, and each tiller is pulling a compost spreader behind it. Earthworms mix the soil as they…

Contrary to popular belief, not all geese are aggressive. Several breeds are actually known for their calm dispositions, and if raised by humans from a young age, many geese will become personable and loyal companions. Whether you’re looking to get geese for utilitarian purposes or as pets, choosing breeds based on temperament is a good first step when selecting the right geese for your needs. Here’s a look at the various benefits geese can bring to a farmstead, as well as four nonaggressive breeds that interact well with people. Why Get Geese? For many years, people kept geese primarily as utilitarian livestock. They were often raised for meat, and roast goose was a popular dish on holidays and special occasions. Rendered goose fat was used as a source of culinary…

Several decades ago, when my wife, Melody, and I had corporate careers, we dreamt of a peaceful retirement property with streams, ponds, and wildlife. Before 1900, when North America was largely rural, folks enjoyed visiting their local town for shopping and Sunday church. Things began to change after rural people moved to crowded urban areas where they had frequent, daily contact with others. Like other urban folks today, we yearned for distance, and to enjoy coming to a crowded town on our own terms. We hoped to build our timber-framed dream home on a quiet rural property, and, in 1995, we found some land about 10 miles southwest of town, thanks to my persistent wife and good realtors. Our land included a weekend-getaway house next to the pond, and a…

Grilling is a method of quickly cooking food over high, dry heat. This technique shares many similarities with barbecuing and smoking. Although backyard cooks often choose to grill meat, you can also grill vegetables or almost any other type of food. Enthusiasts almost always use charcoal or propane for fuel. If you’re in the market for a new grill, consider gas for convenience or charcoal for quality. The small amount of smoke emanating from glowing coals gives meat a light smoky edge that grilling aficionados love. In this article, I’ll focus on grilling over a charcoal fire. Fuel Most stores that sell grilling supplies offer both lump charcoal and charcoal briquettes. Lump charcoal is made from hardwoods burned in an environment where oxygen is excluded. Because it burns hotter and…

Summersoups, Some are notSome are gazpacho, Some are hotSome are garden raw, Some are braisingSome made of a fatted calf they were raisingSome are pork bellies, Some beans and cornSome little Jack would be blowing his hornSome are consomme’, Some are bisqueSome are chicken, It’s my personal riskSome are simple Rouxs, You better take stockRoos are tough, We look after the flockSome would suggest bouillon, Bone broth’s in the loopSome ask “is this onomatopoeia?” Don’t bother, it’s not a soup.Pass the cornbread, With a cracklin’ punchWelcome, friends, to Summersoups and Such.…

Container herb gardening is all about the versatility to grow herbs wherever you have room: on a balcony, a patio, a rooftop, or the steps to your porch. It can be as simple as a planter outside your kitchen door, a hanging basket within reach to harvest a handful of mint, a windowsill filled with healing plants, or a vintage wheelbarrow placed strategically to attract pollinators. You can position big or small container plantings to take advantage of your available space, make them easily accessible for harvest, and give herbs their best growing conditions. Where’s your perfect place to grow herbs? To find out, take a walk around your home and assess potential spaces for container gardens. Think about accessibility for watering, tending, trimming, and harvesting. There might be room…

Every season seems to have a particular sign to announce its arrival, and we country folk eagerly watch for an indication of each seasonal change. Tapped maple trees, blooming gardens, and abundant pumpkin patches each tell you which season is pushing aside the previous. But in my eyes, wildflowers are one of the prettiest ways to mark the gentle passage of summer. Two flowers in particular provide a wonderful calendar for our warm months, and, since childhood, I’ve enjoyed them at every opportunity. Dancing Daisies Can anyone look at a daisy and not smile? This lovely wildflower runs laughing through field and forest, its bright, sunny face turned up. A delightful snow-white beauty, this wildflower is one of the many blessings of summer carpeting the countryside and smiling gaily at…

Kidding is an anticipated and awe-filled time of year in my goat shed. Each year, I look forward to a riotous new crop of gamboling kids. I keep Myotonic goats for brush control and for the sheer joy of watching them be goats. Kidding goes well most of the time. Indeed, goats live ferally in some parts of the world and have survived for generations without human intervention. This helps me remember that it’s usually best to relax and just watch. But kidding also brings angst, because I have no backup veterinary care where I live. The University of Arkansas reports that worldwide perinatal mortality for goats is between 13% and 40%, and 14% in the United States. I’ve watched or helped with almost 70 births here on my farm,…

Do you want to protect the wide-open spaces in the mountains, valleys, and streams of our country, where we live, farm, hike, bike, bird, fish, hunt, and experience a host of other outdoor activities? Then consider protecting your property in perpetuity through a conservation easement. For those unfamiliar with the term, conservation easements are voluntary, legal agreements between landowners and a land trust to permanently protect land from development. In exchange for giving up all or partial development rights, landowners gain significant tax advantages as well as the satisfaction that their land will always remain free of large-scale development. Emily Bender, assistant director of the Blue Ridge Land Conservancy (BRLC), says this satisfaction is invaluable to many. “For many landowners, easements offer a sense of security, in knowing that their…