I'm wondering if anyone here has a good source for how to spot a potential infection in your flock? My quick search across the net shows lots of "bird acting unusual" which is awfully vague and unhelpful. We tend to keep some older birds around at bit past their prime as I'm often too busy to harvest them, and right now there's a sad sack bird in our flock that is on culling priority, but she seems to be garden variety bottom the pecking order unhealthy, not any sickness.
Timothy Norton wrote:I have taken to incorporating my tomatillos into my tomato sauce processing. I tend to keep an almost 80% tomato to 20% tomatillo ratio and I find the end result to be just as good as straight tomato. You probably could increase the amount of tomatillos by quite a bit before you might face some tartness but I haven't experimented that much.
My next batch might involve roasting the tomatillos before I put them through the food processor. Give it a bit more flair.
THis this THIS!
40 years ago my mother planted two (2) tomatillo plants in the garden. We have never again actively cultivated them, but they still run wild around the edges of the beds, and some have followed me into the mountains, presumable in soil that came with another plant. As a teen I was hard to sell on Salsa Verde, but was desperate to have a cabinet full of canned tomatoes, so I would usually make a mix of about 50% tomatoes and tomatillos. Once they are nicely ripe and bursting from their husks they are agreeably sweet and don't seem to diminish the tomato sauce in any way except that the color shifts from a rich red towards a yellowy orange.
I live at 9,000 ft. in the Rockies, I keep a shade cloth on the greenhouse starting in about July and usually don't bother to take it down until the end of the season (I have it just over the apex of the hoops, so once autumn hits the sun comes in under the side). I feel that it doesn't change the temp in the greenhouse all that much, but we get lots of sun scald up here and it gives the plants a little respite from that.
I've had good success taking a hot toddy at first hint of symptoms - Very hot water, a spoonfull of honey, two spoons of lemon juice, and a shot of whiskey. Drink it as hot as you can stand, it's a bit "heroic" (we're not doing this for pleasure)
I will also have a more mellow version when recovering from a cold/flu or just wanting a warm drink on a winter's night. I make that on an earl grey base, and reverse the honey/lemon ratio. Never added cinnamon, but that sounds like a winner! (Or ginger? Pepper? Now we're on our way to just making masala chai...)
I'm in a very different zone here (4, t 9,000 ft), but I've gotten plants from native foods nursery that've done pretty well despite our harsh dry conditions! Many of what they shipped was bare root which is much easier to package but you would do well to have temporary pots you can put them in as soon as they arrive.
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)
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.
This year pack rats ate the tops off all my beets so I harvested a bit early, fortunately I have a fresh truckload of wood chips and was able to bin them up buried in sawdust. I've placed them in the garage, but I'm concerned about moisture Content? In the past I've sometimes stored beets and Company wrapped in damp newspaper in a sealed plastic bin. There's often a dance of having not enough moisture that the newspaper rots, but also not leaving it to breathe too much for things to dry out.
Every time I walk by the bin now, I consider watering it to keep the wood chips damp. For reference, in the winter our garage usually sits between 10 and 15% humidity. Anyone have experience with storing vegetables long-term in such conditions? I just purchased 50 pounds of potatoes for the winter, and I'd like to store them in chips too...
The only limitation on your price, is your marketing!
As many folks have pointed out, one of the ways to make these "value added" products is to create blends in addition to having single herbs. Perhaps even blending herbs with a good quality salt? Design a nice label, make sure you have recipes that showcase the potential of your herbs, you may even want to sample some at the market say, blended with a soft cheese? Or butter? Investing a whole lot in a market booth wouldn't be wise this early in the venture, but try to use things you already have to create a strong brand image.
In all honesty, if the farm you buy the herbs from does markets, your best bet is to partner with them and have them sell the herbs. People always prefer to buy from the original grower when they can, and are more willing to pay an upcharge. You could charge them for your time drying, and the cost of packaging, and maybe skip buying the herbs from them. One thing that many grower seem to find, is that you can charge a heck of a lot more for fresh herbs, but it's a touchy market and you'll end up drying a lot anyway.
We live on acreage in southern colorado at the upper limit (altitude wise) for Piñon, and the many times I've gone looking for pine nuts I've found a small scattering of empty shells (still whole, mind you, do I go to the trouble of breaking them to find this out). I figured with all the rain we've gotten this year we would HAVE to get a better harvest!
A few days ago I was walking the dogs and noticed that the cones had opened, and there were many nuts on the ground, but, as usual, all empty. Then I spotted one still in the slightly green cone, and TADA it had a nut in it! I spent some time prying open sticky cones and filling my pockets with the nuts. After toasting (got a tad too hot and a few burst, lesson learned!) I found that... maybe half had a nut inside? I'll stop looking at hammermills.
I ran to the forums in hopes that someone here had advice on harvesting without getting your fingers glued together. I followed the advice here and found a tree with cones that were mostly still closed, used a pair of work gloves (RIP), and filled up a bucket. They are currently drying out in my garage, and once the weathers cold enough for fires I'll start putting a bucket on top of the stove every day. Hopefully I actually get some of these delicious nuggets this year!
Looks similar in design to my dumpster find!
The hanging of the shafts/heddles was tricky, so glad yours is intact so adding those other two should be straight forward (If you want to, mine still has only two hung as I've just done plain weave so far). The fineness of the reed and high density of eyelets suggest one could do fine cloth weaving as well as rug making, my loom was discovered with an unfinished rag rug on it, so the versatility of a tool like this is spectacular!
I use the entire arial parts of the plant for the dye, not just the flowers, so when I've gathered it for drying I do get the little seed fluffs, but the remaining stems and leaves still dye well. The fluffs probably help too, I just chuck the entire bag of dry stuff in!
May Lotito wrote:Hi Pink, your yarns are so very colorful! It's a brilliant idea to have those ombre colors on fabric. I ordered some purified red and blue pigments too, and tannic acid, for quantification purpose.
I have inconsistent results with my golden aster and the flowers don't dry well, they turn into seed balls before they can get dry! It's nice you can have yours as a reliable dye plant.
I second all the fiber artists in this thread! I don't have an 'honesty box' but I sell yarn at the local farmer's market.
Which circles back to the discussion of hard woods - Osage orange is a prized natural dye, so if you can save the sawdust and chips you could probably find a fiber artist to sell/trade it to! I believe it's only the heartwood, so don't bother with twigs and such.
A local fiber gal near me has a very nice house, and in the tourist season she bnbs it out while living in an updated barn, which also houses her 'store' of yarns and clothes she has milled from her flocks of sheep, goats, and alpacas. She does weekly farm tours, which of course is a great way to get folks into the shop. If you're not too far off the beaten path it's probably a good way to grab some income from the land.
Some medicinal herbs have active constituents that don't survive drying very well (like St. Johns wort and arnica). Otherwise I would say it doesn't matter, tincture how you have the plants! If you're using fresh plants be sure you are accounting for the extra moisture, as Carla pointed out you'll need to use a stronger alcohol. If you're infusing in glycerite or oil use a cloth over the top instead of a lid to let the extra water escape. Your ratios may also differ, for dried and chopped or crushed herbs I like to fill the jar about a third with plant material. For fresh I fill close to the top.
I think for both health and sustainability Sunflower oil is your best alternative! I've seen it pretty affordable, but when I buy it it's from a small local regenerative outfit so it's not competitive with canola and the like. I think it cooks fine and hasn't got much taste of it's own.
As previous pointed out, bone broth is the way to go! I keep hens until they are past their prime laying and then toss the whole chicken into a crock pot for at least 12, hopefully more than 24 hours. I usually get meat for one batch of soup, and broth for two. I also like beef broth made from things like oxtail, neckbones, or short ribs. those tends to be pretty fatty however so I often skim that off for other cooking since it can be a little much if you're recuperating.
Timothy listed some good herbs/spices for support, I would also include nettle if you can! Even if you're buying it dried from an apothecary it is SUPER nourishing!
With that bone broth you can stick to classics (veggie + noodles), or use it as a base for other goodies. My Postpartum doula made me soup with lentils and curry (also anti-inflammatory, especially the turmeric!) and a soup with a bit of a spicy kick to keep the circulation going.
I also like to make a very spicy chai with added rosehips or hibiscus for vit-C. But lots of sugar isn't super great for the immune system so keep it lightly sweetened. Obviously nice rich whole milk is the addition of choice for this, but if you can't do dairy you do you.
I'm a fiber artist and I work with exclusively plant (ok, sometimes insect) dyes!
I focus on getting a variety of yellows from local plants, with the occasional tan or pale green, and then adding variety with purchased dye stuffs like indigo and madder. If you're in the west Navajo Native Dyes - https://www.google.com/books/edition/Navajo_Native_Dyes/yjEOAQAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0 is a classic written by a Diné master dyer in the 40s.
I made a bunch of sample skeins and cotton tea towels that were dyed with different yellow, then in indigo one way, and madder the other, giving a nice color wheel.
Not long ago I took a class on Mycopygments so now I'm often grabbing non-edible mushrooms and chucking them in a pot to play with. Since I often sell my yarns I can't use them for big projects unless I know it'll be colorfast.
I have an earth-sheltered greenhouse that's in process, for the roof I sourced double-wall polycarbonate that was $$ but should last for well over a decade. I've been collecting old windows for a long while, and found a few really good options - Habitat for humanity re-stores have patio doors for often less than 10 bucks! And other windows, but the patio doors are the best bang for the buck (the trade off is that the doors are all slightly different sizes, makes for interesting planning); and glass from non-window sources like glass desks and glass cubes - I'm not sure the UV permeability so I wouldn't make these the bulk of a project, but they are sturdy and often free.
I also have a hoop-house with plastic liner. I share your concerns about the durability and eventual non-recyclability of the material, but it has lots of important advantages! Even with a few holes from when the entire structure blew up the hill a few years ago it still works great, and I have some repair tape that has closed the worst ones, so it's not a total loss once it starts to go. I've also used pieces from an older structure that came with the property for a ton of DIY projects - keeping dust from the chicken side of the shed off supplies in the garden side of the shed, adding a waterproof layer to shed improvements, making small cold frames for greens, keeping a pile of lumber at least a little sheltered from the elements... you get it. In my case there was no choice but to use a soft liner for that structure, it has to come down each year to avoid being declared a permanent structure and running afoul of zoning laws.
Wild fungi enthusiast here - Were the wood chips from a pine that was downed by pine beetles? If so, it's likely to be infected with Grosmannia clavigera or similar (stains the wood a blue-grey color) I've also heard that winecaps are pretty competitive, but knowing what they're battling might give you some answers.
Hi there! Fifth generation Coloradan, moved to the Wet Mountains 5 years ago (1.5 hours from the Springs). We have a homestead at 9,400 ft, greenhouse and chickens, and more dreams on the way...
I've been saving nettle stems for a few years when I harvest for food and medicine. This year my patch has matured enough that I was able to do a huge harvest of nettle seeds (Anyone have tips about ways to eat those?) and naturally a nice bundle of stems. These stems are more robust, and I suspect will have stronger fibers due to their age.
I'm going to attempt to ret them, as I'm working towards fine fibers for spinning, not course bast for twisting into cordage. However, as I live in the high desert dew retting is not feasible. Here's hoping I can ret them, but not rot them...
.png)
