Jim Fry

~~"So we have to make do with just locally foraged foods from native plants."

Really? Why?

Before gardens, people were opportunistic eaters. You ate everything that was available. If you can build a fire, you can place a flat rock over it. Add a little grease you have saved from the last bear you found or killed, and you have a nice way to cook whatever comes your way. Grasshoppers, worms, grubs from fallen/rotted trees, whatever you caught in traps or nets, birds/mice/squirrels/groundhogs, etc. Or you can use an animal's stomach or bladder as a pot. Hang it over a fire and fill with water for stews and soups. Or hang the "pot" and drop heated rocks into the water. You'll get a very fast boil. Add some wood ash for salt flavor and herbs you gather and whatever meat you found, and you have a great meal. Or go simple and eat the worms, etc., raw. Or spear them on a stick, to hang before a fire.

Before gardens, people had much more varied diets. But what they ate was far more dependent on seasons and weather. If you found a dead deer or managed to kill one, you gorged on meat. If early Spring, you ate lots of young skunk cabbage. People did dry lots of food, laying it in the sun to dry or hanging it in the rafters of their lodge, and that helped in times of snow. But, mostly, they enjoyed feast or famine. The better your family or community "witch" or herbalist, or your wandering hunter, was at their knowledge and job, the fewer occasions of hunger.

If in your travels you would like to stop by, have at it.

Jim & Laura and children and wwoof'ers and others.
Stone Garden Farm
Richfield, Ohio

www.stonegardenfarm.com   www.ohiofarmmuseum.com   www.johnbrownohio.com  

I would never touch anything that came from a "perfectly manicured" yard. Whatever chemical they are using to kill the "weeds" and fertilize the grass is also taken up by any trees and it goes to the leaves. We only use grass clippings and leaves from yards that are a bit messy, ... that is to say, natural. If a yard doesn't have dandelions, I don't want their chems.

Where are you? We're in Richfield (they are rich fields) between Akron and Cleveland. So we aren't too far away from anywhere in N. Ohio. We can talk about, -building stuff, Fairies and gardens.

We have a lot of WWOOF'ers and IC'ers who come here. We're a generations old family farm that has developed into a rather large gathering place for the very extended area. Plus, we get folks from all over Turtle Island and the rest of the big blue marble. ~~~~As far as that goes everyone permish is welcome. Pick a date and we'll have a potluck. Maybe for Equinox. And you can walk the village. We've moved 40+ building from 6 counties over the years. We have an entire village in a time period 1820 to 1900. There's nothing we can't build, make, repair, restore in a non-electric world (which who knows, may be coming quite soon). We also have milk cows, beef cattle, meat and lay hens, rabbits, heritage pigs, ducks and such. And the occasional rescue. With registered border collies. And we run a large Farm School and homeschool. So maybe we can help suggest a thing or helpful two.

There's lots of barns and sheds being sold or given away on craigslist and Facebook Marketplace, in N. Ohio. Take one down and use beams and siding to build what you want. Can't get cheaper than that. ~Or watch Lowes very regularly. They very often have piles of cull lumber, at 75% off, for sale. And of course, buying directly from the many Amish sawmills in our area is much cheaper than buying at "english" lumber yards. ~Word of advice, you really don't want to build much of anything you want to last long, without some sort of foundation or using lumber impervious to water. We have plenty of rain and snow in N. Ohio and most woods sitting on the ground will rot fairly quickly. I've moved 40+ buildings to our farm. The oldest is 220 years old, most are Civil War era. They'll all last another 100+ years with the proper foundation and roof. Not much point in building cheap to save money, and then have to rebuild or repair in just a couple years.

So, I've only quickly read thru these posts, but I didn't notice much of any of them talking about what I think is maybe fairly obvious. Fish eat food, Fish eliminate what is left after eating the food. The water becomes essentially manure water. Manure water grows nice bacteria and parasites. So now you have dishes free of chucks of food, but fairly covered with tiny, little creepy crawlers. Doesn't sound overly sanitary. And maybe for some folks, rather hazardous.

~~~On the other hand, our grass is wonderful.

I mow the grass three times a day. I have it in rotation, so each area has grown to 5" or more, before its next cutting. Every blade of grass I mow goes to the milk cows. Because it is always young and lush and green, it makes much better feed for the cows than dry hay. Better than even pasture grass because they walk less browsing, and get best quality forage easier. So they produce more milk. Our cows are happy, and our yards properly mowed. And there is no waste. -Plus, our pastures are eaten less, so they last longer into winter. All-in-all, it's rather meditative for me. It's pleasing to have every inch of our farm into production, growing lots of food for many people. We have so many fruit trees and berries of all kinds. With lots of gardens. And grass and Dutch white clover mix that is such a good and helpful crop for us.

Meanwhile, here in Ohio, the weather is beautiful. Moderate heat during the day, cool nights, plenty of appropriate rain, everything green and lush, gardens abundant. I'll never understand why some folks live in deserts and deluges, fires and earthquakes.