Tabla de contenidos para November/December 2022 en Grit

TUNE IN TO OUR PODCAST Ep. 160: Fishing Tips and Strategies Ep. 157: Farmers Markets Ep. 158: How to Keep Chickens Warm in Winter Ep. 156: Identifying Poultry and Small Ruminant Diseases 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 Winter Weather Safety By Ed Brotak Winter is just around the corner—more like upon us in some parts of the continent. For most rural folk, this means the possibility of winter storms and freezing or frozen precipitation. Worth noting, every state has had snow at some point. Even the high volcanic peaks on the Big Island of Hawaii regularly get winter snowstorms. There are three types of…

Each type of plant has a preferred set of growing conditions and tends to grow where those conditions are suitable. If a seed lands in a spot with the wrong conditions, the plant may start to grow, but will be at a disadvantage to other established species, which usually results in the seedling dying. Gardeners want to grow a wide selection of plants, and they only have one location to grow them all in. Granted, even in a small garden, some areas are wetter and others drier, and some get more sun than others, but for the most part, each of us has one set of growing conditions, and our selected plants must adapt to them. Let’s take a closer look at growing zones and how plants adapt to various…

Regardless of whether you raise your own turkeys, hunt for them, or purchase prepared birds, the meat from these animals is ideal for castiron cooking. Cast-iron cookware reigns supreme at sealing in moisture and cooking meat long and slow. This is essential with wild birds especially, because their meat is extremely lean, and if it’s cooked too long or improperly, it can become dry and lose much of its flavor. Turkeys’ leg meat is the toughest part, but when these appendages are simmered in a cast-iron pot, you can easily separate the meat from the bone, and it’s juicy and flavorful. Another advantage of cast-iron utensils is that they cook food evenly, distributing heat more consistently than other kitchen devices. And this is true whether you’re using a pot, skillet,…

Choosing tires for your tractor is a big decision. Not all tractors are the same, and not all tractor jobs call for the same tire or size. Knowing which tread will serve you best can be the difference between getting a job done efficiently and making it a bigger task than you bargained for. To help you choose, let’s look at the common and not-so-common tractor tire styles available today. Typical Tractor Tires Common Agricultural Style R-1 is the most common style of tractor tire. This is your average agricultural tire that features an aggressive cleat pattern angled at about 23 degrees, radiating from the tire’s centerline. R-1 tires perform well in mud, dirt, and fields. They offer a compromise between traction, performance, wear resistance, and road manners. Don’t think…

Weather systems, disturbances in the atmosphere above us, can be dangerous. But the atmosphere can also offer views of some of the most spectacular sights in nature. To appreciate those sights, we can start with the sky itself. The daytime sky appears blue—a brilliant darkish-blue on clear days and a milky whitish-blue on others. Although sunlight appears white, it’s actually a combination of colors along the spectrum from violets and blues to oranges and reds. Air molecules are smaller than the wavelengths of the various colors of the spectrum. When sunlight hits the atmosphere, air molecules can scatter the light separately by wavelength, or color. Because blue light wavelengths are shorter and smaller, blue light is scattered more, and so this is what we see. Blueness of the sky is…

Sharp, stubborn, and sour, Sharp, hardy orange isn’t every gardener’s favorite plant, but it can prove useful and an interesting landscaping addition. We love Poncirus trifoliata, which is also known as “bitter orange” and “trifoliate orange,” with its many names stemming from its frost tolerance, sour taste, and leaf arrangement. We especially love the sight of our contorted, thorny citrus tree when it gets 16 inches of snow dropped on it in winter, taking on the bizarre appearance of a wild-looking snow cone. This demonstrates how tough this plant is and why it’s the hardiest species of orange in the world. Hardy orange is native to central and northern China and the Korean Peninsula, where it’s been cultivated since ancient times for medicinal uses and as a food flavoring. In…

Your first thought of a pig Your first may be of a pink-skinned beast wallowing in sloppy mud on a day bathed in sunshine. That’s a pig’s happy place, but swine are hardy creatures that can be kept in all seasons and thrive on farms in seasonal climates. The key to successfully overwintering pigs is to ensure they’re healthy and have proper shelter as well as enough food and water. With a few simple steps, your hogs will be as happy in snow as they are in mud. On farms where pigs are kept in large numbers and are part of the farm’s annual income, overwintering is a normal part of pig-keeping. Sows are kept for years for breeding, and piglets are raised up at all times of the year.…

Beans are one of the most versatile foods. Not only are they extremely healthy, but they’re also easy to prepare and store, and they’re delicious! They’ve also been around for a long time, and beans of various types have been a staple food in many cultures throughout much of history. They’ve even been found in the tombs of pharaohs! Beans are one of my favorite foods. I love them in chili, soup, Mexican dishes, and especially with a slow-simmered venison roast and cornbread. If you’ve never prepared beans from scratch, you’re in for a treat. Homemade beans are much better than store-bought—although those can be used in a pinch—and they’re easy to prepare. Just follow a few special techniques to ensure you have delicious, tender beans every time. Soaking and…

Christmas in our family and other Scandinavian-based families is bigger and more involved than Christmas in many other places. November, not December, begins the lead-up to Christmas, punctuated only briefly by Thanksgiving. In November at our house, we take one evening or a Saturday morning each week for what we call November Program: The whole family works on pre-Christmas projects—one evening baking Christmas goodies; another working together on largish, homemade gifts for family; another writing Christmas cards; and so on. But every year, no matter what, we spend one of these sessions making fun, pretty, and Earth-friendly gift wrap out of leftover paper. Why? You may well ask. Throughout North America, holiday gifts are gussied up in pretty, themed gift wrap. This gift wrap may be: 1. designed by an…