P. Pitcher

Heads up to anyone considering planting lupine in/near pastures - Some types of lupine are toxic to livestock in large amounts. They can be quite hardy and spread well, ideal if you want them, bad if you're trying to control them!

It looks to me like a missing piece from a larger device, my first thought was the insert on a 'coffee dispenser' sort of thing, but if the pole isn't hollow I'd be less certain of that. Any small kitchen appliences you've junked in the last decade?

I'm also a fan of *free* growing mediums, and live in a pine forest. I've added pine needles to soil, and used it extensively as mulch. My concern would be simply the acidity? We have very basic soils by default here, so it only seems to bring balance to my beds. I also will be curious to hear about moisture retention, I feel like needles tend to hold more air spaces in them when we gather and disturb them (as opposed to them falling naturally), and in the mountain west humidity is rarely high. Let us know how the experiment goes!

A goodly bit of our ash goes into the garden, and it's made my root veggies bigger than they ever were living in the city (where wood ash was a special limited substance)

But my favorite use is to nixtimelize corn! I make lye and soak good flint corn that we buy from a the Ute Mountain ag co-op, and it becomes the best posole you've ever eaten in your life! (Not to mention corn bread, tamale pie, tortillas etc)

We live high in the Rocky Mountains, and have to deal with both frozen water and frozen eggs for most of the winter months. Because fire is such a major concern for us we're not comfortable with electric heaters! Instead, I picked up two metal water fonts (I had to dig a while to find them, but I think they came from tractor supply or some other big chain). They have been much sturdier than plastic, and are less susceptible to temperature shock than glass.

We check on the birds twice a day, morning to release them into the yard, and evening to close them up. When it's bitter out we fill the font 3/4 full with the hottest water the utility sink makes (which is scalding!) and hang it out, then bring in the previous (often frozen) font and give it a short hot bath to start the melting. Usually in 12-ish hours when its time to switch again the ice is melted enough to dump and refill. In the coldest temps it freezes over, but not until about the time to switch. (I often check for eggs midday to catch any that are starting to freeze)

What a delightful idea!

I'm a fleece spinner, working primarily with wool, and occasionally with alpaca or some more unusual furry bits (someone recently gave me bison fiber gathered from posts on a bison "farm". It stinks, but it's quite soft!)

I've wanted to start playing with bast fibers, and to that end have saved the stems from two years of marijuana grow. I left last season's out over last winter, but even with a surprisingly wet season it wasn't wet enough to do much retting. It's in a horse trough now collecting snow. I also harvested nettle with an eye for fiber, grabbing the short stalks through most of the summer when I wanted some to eat or use for medicine, and then collecting an armful of very long stalks after they had gone to seed.

For inspiration while you wait for retting to happen, I suggest reading Elizabeth Barber's "Woman's Work" which has delightful vignettes about the earliest textiles, and if you're looking for more academic tomes she has some rather denser books as well (Prehistoric Textiles is a lovely read, but not quite as accessible) The discussion of early weaving techniques and garments might spark inspiration about the shapes and forms of a no-waste garment.

I am tickled to see so many people taking on the challenge, even if it's just a goal to work towards. I've been a textile nerd for decades, and slow fashion is close to me heart.

I decided to look back at this last year for me and my kid.

I bought one thing for me - A three pack of nursing shirts. Does this count as 3 items?
I did lots of repairs and alterations, the majority of my clothing is handmade so I tend to do overhauls on older items. This does involve new fabric from time to time, but after working at a craft store for 12+ years I have a decent stash.

My infant is a different story, but even then, there's a lot of opportunities to get away from the fast fashion cycle.
I didn't buy any new clothing for her.
I have made 3 sewn items and 2 knits.
I have been cycling clothes through a local exchange, many of these items (and some gifts) have been new with tags. The best of these garments I'm keeping for a future child, and many have already needed repairs. (LO inherited my big feet, so I keep patching holes where the big toe is poking through)

It's amazing to me how much kid clothing is available at a small town charity in the mountains. They always have bins overflowing with piles of clothing, most of it near-new or even totally new! Why would anyone buy new clothes for kids?!

When looking at options, start local! Most printers can work with/ source eco-friendly paper and ink. Not only do you get to keep money in your local economy, being able to see a proof in person and speak with the printer can help you get the best possible product. Not to mention, you will save on shipping and have a shorter wait to get your books. Good luck!

So, I'm both a fiber lover and obsessed with the BBC farm programs, and I'd seen the original clip in this thread and assumed it would be just that easy... I saved all the skirtings from four fleeces I prepped for the mill last autumn, nice and greasy (and quite dirty!). Since they're second cuts and such it wouldn't matter if boiling ruined them, they were destined for garden mulch anyway.

I filled a pot with wool, filled it with cold water to rinse it a bit, dumped that, refilled with hot water, and put on the stove. I let it simmer for a few hours (stunk like crazy) and then placed it on the back porch to cool. In the morning (it was below freezing overnight) I opened up to find... a little white foam on the surface?

Following the advice in this thread I added some salt to the mess, simmered it again... and got some slightly firmer white film. I skimmed the top of the pot, put it in a small jar, and dumped the rest on the garden. I have bags of skirtings, but I'm reticent to start an assembly line of boiling wool until I can see proof of concept.

The best thing you can do to protect your woolens is seal them up!

Firstly, they should be clean. I'm not familiar with borax as a moth deterrent. My concern would be that it is fairly alkali, and wool likes to be acid. If you use borax or soda ash to make sure the garments are super clean do a rinse in white vinegar afterwards.

I seal things in zipper bags and then put those in plastic totes. As pointed out, that may not be the most 'natural' way, but it's effective! To be extra sure, freezer treating before storage is great. One week in, one week out, and another week in the freezer should do the trick! (the eggs survive freezing, so the week out should be in a warm place to encourage them to hatch before going back into the killing frost). Alternatively, very high heat also kills the larva, so placing things in black trash bags in the sun, or in a parked car out in the sun can work. Use a compost thermometer to check that the center of bags is getting hot enough (I go for 180F, not sure if there's science to that)

As for scented things, they help deter moths by being stinkier than the food, sweat, and human residues that the moths feed on. NOT FUN FACT  - wool moths do not care about eating totally clean wool, they are feeding on food particles and skin/sweat from humans or sheep. I've seen munching happen on cotton and synthetic yarns as desperate moths were looking for foods (I rather uncharitably hope they choked on the plastic and died). So, lavender, peppermint, clove, and cedar oils are all recommended. Cedar does have a component that disrupts their nervous system, but it must be extremely concentrated to work. Cedar chests work because they are well made and seal completely, the smell is secondary. Sachets and the like are best for short term storage of clothes that get work regularly. That said, a few drops of an essential oil on a piece of cloth tucked in with precious baby clothes will mean they are a little less old and musty smelling when recovered years down the line.