NEWSLETTERS

Modern Homesteading Movement

Newsletter 7-18-05

The Modern Homesteading Movement includes folks of every religious denomination, and none, of every political persuasion, and none. We do all strive to base our life choices on the following five principles: 1) frugality; 2) health; 3) sustainability; 4) self-reliance; 5) good neighboring.

1) Help! Carla lost her Host Invite Pages!!!
2) Back to the Future - 1860 / 2035
3) Factoids
4) Letters from Readers

1) Help! Carla lost some Host Invite Pages!!!
Alas, it is true. This week, I'm setting final dates and places for two more tours east of the Rockies this fall. I had folks who signed up at the talks I gave on the trip I just returned from. I passed around a notebook at each event, or had it sitting on one of my book tables. Folks signed up to invite me to return to their part of the country and speak, offering to host me for such an event.

I could squeeze some of those invitations into one or another of my remaining two fall tours, but now I've lost the contact information--no phone numbers, no e-mail addresses, no names. I remember invitations to the thumb area of Michigan, one to do a writing workshop in Attica, Michican, and one for a homestead talk in Warren, Michigan. There were invites to Mims and to Keystone Heights in Florida and to Powell (?), Ohio. Oh, and I remember an invite to a town "about an hour north of St. Paul, Minnesota" also. And the Warren family? You signed up with just an e-mail address, no town.

I would be so grateful if anybody who signed up on that host list (or anybody else who wants to host me) would e-mail or call (520-845-2288). Over this next week I'll be calling all the folks that I hope to visit in September, October, and November. We'll talk over your needs and hopes for the event, and I'll do my best to make final plans that will please you. If fall of 2005 is too soon, then we can do it in 2006.

My western tour in April / May of 2006, on the other hand, is coming together in a very orderly way (no lost hosts!). I'll have a tentative final schedule by mid-August.

2) Back to the Future
What would life be like if we didn't use oil or natural gas? Eventually, we, or our descendants will have to make that adjustment. A model for the changes we will need to make is available. What did they do in 1860?

Actually, folks back in 1860 were more dependent on nonrenewable carbon fuels than you might think. The big cities used gas lamps; the gas was extracted from coal. Coal was burned for house warmth and cooking, to power steam boats and train engines. But 1860's agriculture had no carbon fuel dependence. In Ten Acres Enough, a first person account of the move from New York City to a berry farm in rural New Jersey, I got a close-up of what sustainable agriculture really means. And I was surprised! I thought the use of humanure in agriculture was just something that happened in the Far East. I'd certainly never read about it in U.S. history books. But author Edmund Morris speaks of door-to-door collection and purchase of humanure from the city dwellers. The humanure was handed out in "tubs." It was conveyed in "manure boats" up the river where rural truck farmers used it to grow food which was then sent back downriver to feed the urbanites.

Back then four out of five families had a dairy animal, usually a cow. There were cows in the cities, too. That's how they had fresh local dairy products. Remember how the great Chicago fire started? A cow kicked over a lamp. Back then pigs and chickens were also widely distributed because they were terrific recyclers. Every restaurant, every large household, owned its own pigs or poultry to salvage the energy in leftovers from food growing, preserving, preparation, or plate scrapings. Typically, hogs were fed from spring (weaning) to November or December (when their food sources were disappearing). Then they were butchered and pork supplanted the meagre winter rations of the humans.

Now, in most places, it is illegal to feed restaurant scraps to animals. I have heard of a couple government programs that involve recycling like that. They make it sound like they invented something brilliant. So, hoping things had changed for the better, I asked my favorite local restaurant if I could buy her kitchen scraps to feed my livestock. She told me that was illegal, that she had to throw the stuff away.

How far we've come from that necessarily sustainable society of the 1860s. A few weeks ago, I talked to a truck farmer who was permitted to use city sewage to fertilize his crops. His farming practices also made use of lots of chemicals. Modern city "sewage," of course, also contains chemicals--cleaning agents and God-knows-what-else that people or businesses flush down their toilets or pour down their sinks. The farmer said that the sewage mass also contained the dumpings from porta-potties, "including the blue stuff. Some plants get a blue tinge from it. I wonder what it is." Although only in his forties, this farmer said that he and both his employees had already had cancers removed. Back in 1860, urban humanure was wholesome stuff. What that modern farmer was pouring on his fields was contaminated with carcinogenic modern chemicals.

In years to come, every able-bodied person will need to help grow food, especially a garden. That garden will be fertilized with the family humanure, together with local livestock manure, green manures, and other composted plant materials. The science is sound. It's the social attitudes that will be hard to change. Over 145 years, U.S. society gradually evolved from sustainability to our present state of hubristic ignorance and dependence on petro-agriculture.

We won't have 145 years to make the transition back. The switch back is liable to happen on short notice and under difficult life conditions. Anything we can do to prepare for and practice truly sustainable (1860's) agriculture is a good thing for the individual, the family, and the larger society. This transition is best started with individual families learning and practicing sustainable family food production. In difficult times, it works best when people look after themselves. Governor Bradford in the Pilgrim colony started his people out growing corn communally. There wasn't a big enough crop. He changed the rules, asking each family to grow their own corn. The next harvest, there was a large enough crop.

So a government program to recycle city sewage (including the "blue stuff") is not the answer. Allowing families to recycle their own humanure is the answer. Allowing families to collect and sell their wholesome, chemical-free humanure to local growers will provide income in the coming hard times to urban families and provide the essential fertilizer to grow another season of food for them. A few token government programs that use restaurant garbage to grow food for a fortunate hand-picked farmer are not the answer. The answer is to, nationwide, lift the laws that prevent restaurants from selling their food scraps to livestock keepers or food growers. As the years go by and the fossil fuels deplete, these changes WILL come. Will the transitions happen gently, orderly, and in time? Will the burden of regulation that now stifles family food production and local food production be lifted by enlightened officials before hunger compels the changes?

3) Factoids
Obesity in children and teens has more than doubled in the past 30 years.

Chinese Mass Feeding of Human Drug to Chickens Makes It Useless
Since the late 1990s, the Chinese government has encouraged their farmers to feed chickens an antiviral drug (amantadine) that was developed for treatment of human cases of avian influenza. Now, the subtype of avian influenza most likely to trigger a human pandemic has developed resistance to that amantadine. The only other drug that could be used to treat humans, oseltamivir, is prohibitively expensive and hard to get. This is why human medicines should not be fed to agribusiness animals on a routine preventative basis. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/17/AR2005061701214.html.

Second Case of Mad Cow Disease Confirmed in June.
The USDA stalled on releasing the news. First testing was done in November of 2004. The positive result of mad cow was not made public until it was confirmed by an English lab after much U.S. agency bungling. The USDA screens one cow in 90 for mad cow. Europe screens one cow in four. Japan screens every cow. The USDA also allows risky feeding practices to continue. http://www.organicconsumers.ort/madcow/nyt62605.cfm .

What Happens When the Lights Go out in NYC? http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0719/p14s03-bogn.html?s=hns

4) Letters from Readers

Ms. Emery,
Where can I find the Refrigerated Vegetables (pickles, squash, okra,etc.) recipe in your book called THE OLD FASHION RECIPE BOOK? My uncle found the recipe in this book and we enjoyed the pickled vegetables that he prepared. I cannot find it in my book. We have certainly enjoyed your book. Thanks for the information.
Renee McGrouty

Answer: I found it in the 7th edition. Over the years I sometimes drop a recipe from an edition. In this case, I was worried that people might think it was "canned," store it without refrigeration, eat, and get sick. But I think what I'll do is put this one back into the next edition, with a clear warning that it has to be kept refrigerated!

Slightly Pickled Vegetables. Combine and boil 5 tablespoons salt, 10 cups water, 3 1/3 cups cider vinegar and 1 clove garlic or 1 fresh chili pepper. After you have it boiling, remove from the heat. Add 1 teaspoon pickling spice and set aside to cool and get its flavor. Now, in large glass jars, layer and tightly pack the vegetables of your choice. Cauliflower would be good, and / or celery rutabaga, beans, mushrooms, cabbage, carrots, broccoli, asparagus. Just do your own thing with it. Now, pour the pickling juice over the vegetables. Close the jars with lids and refrigerate overnight. Note: this is NOT "canned." You have to keep it refrigerated until it is used up.

Dear Carla... My mom had to go off line for a few months due to visiting all of us kids and didn't get the newsletter. I told her I would print them out for her. Then I realized I had deleted them. OOPS! Could I please get the most recent three? I learn so much from them and so does Mom. She also is tickled to have recieved her Humanure Handbook. I plan to read it when she arrives here to visit <G>. She particularly was interested in the email about the person who has chickens in town. Mom and Dad are trying to decide where to settle down and would like to raise their own goat for milk, maybe have a few chickens and, of course, have a garden.
Thanks for everything, Shelene.
promessapwdlamancha@yahoo.com

Answer: I'm so sorry, but my previous computer died right after I sent the last newsletter. I lost a LOT of stuff--including those old newsletters. I also lost the entire mailing list, but had a recent printout of it. All your names, 1,200+, are now re-entered. If anybody out there has the old newsletters, both Shelene and I would be grateful to receive copies of them!
Carla
doncarla@vtc.net

Dear Carla,

Help! I'm living and working in Mongolia and have just received a truck load of old--only the Lord knows how old--bird droppings from a factory attic. What is the best way to compost it for next year's garden? Enjoy your news letters and advice. Susan Alexander Bourke

Answer: Susan, if the bird manure is "only the Lord knows how old," it has already composted. "Composting" is an aging process. Temperate zone gardeners usually spread most of their annual manure deposit in fall. It will compost more during the remainder of the fall and winter. The general rule for the risk of E. coli on vegetables is to let the stuff age at least 120 days before you eat vegetables grown using it. A fall application gives you more than enough time to complete that process before you'll be harvesting vegetables to eat next spring, even if some of the bird droppings are fresh.

Dear Carla,

I saw some books that I wanted when you came to speak in our town. I didn't have enough money with me to get them that night, but I still want them. Do you have a list of the books that you have in stock to sell because I don't remember their exact names.

Ann Moran

Answer: Thanks for asking!!!!! Please add $4 for shipping to your book total. Send a check or money order to Carla Emery, PO Box 133, San Simon, AZ 85632.

Bee Books

Beekeeping: A Practical Guide by Richard E. Bonney $18.95
Confessions of a Killer Bee Guy by Reed Booth $20.00
Hive Management by Richard E. Bonney $16.95


Cookbooks

500 Treasured Country Recipes by Martha Storey & Friends $18.95
Alaska Cookbook by Kim Severson $19.95
An Artist's Palate by Deon C. Matzen $17.00
A Pantry Full of Sunshine [food drying] by Larisa Walk $10.00
Apple Cookbook by Olwen Woodier $10.95
Cancer Lifeline Cookbook by Kimberly Mathai $19.95
Canning, Freezing, Curing & Smoking Meat, Fish, Game by Wilbur F. Eastman $16.95
Cast Iron Skillet Cookbook by Sharon Kramis Hearne $16.95
Cookin' with Beans and Rice by Peggy Layton $11.95
Cookin' with Dried Eggs by Peggy Layton $ 6.50
Cookin' with Home Storage by Peggy Layton & Vicki Tate $14.95
Cookin' with Kids in the Kitchen by Mindy Layton $11.95
Cookin' with Powdered Milk by Peggy Layton $ 8.50
Cookin' with the Crazy Lady by Trish Jenkin $14.95
Corn Recipes by Olwen Woodier $12.95
Food Storage 101 by Peggy Layton $11.95
Heaven's Flame [using a solar cooker] by Joseph Radabaugh $15.00
Making the Best of Basics by James Talmage Stevens $22.95
Morning Hill Cookbook by Jennifer Stein Barker $13.95
Morning Hill Solar Cookery by Jennifer Stein Barker $14.95
Preserving the Harvest by Carol W. Costenbader $18.95
Simply Natural Baby Foods by Cathe Olson $12.95
S.O.U.P.S. by Michael Congdon $15.95
Whole Wheat Cookery by Howard and Anna Ruth Beck $12.95
Vegetarian's Mother's Cookbook by Cathe Olson $21.95
Victoria's Home Companion [civil war era cooking] by Victoria Rumble $25.00

Craft Books

Candlemaker's Companion by Betty Oppenheimer $18.95
Knit Baby Blankets by Gwen Steege $14.95
Knit Christmas Stockings by Gwen Steege $14.95
Knit Hats by Gwen Steege $14.95
Knit Mittens by Robin Hansen $14.95
Knit One, Felt Too by Kathleen Taylor $18.95
Knit Scarves by Candi Jensen $14.95
Knit Socks by Betsy Lee McCarthy $14.95
Garden Parade Coloring Book and Sewing Instructions [garden-themed costumes] $ 6.00
Making and Playing the End Blown Rivercane Flute by Anita Cheek Moon $ 7.00
Primitive Wind Flutes by Anita Cheek Moon $ 7.00
Making Rag Rugs by Juju Vail $17.95

Draft Animals and Horses

Big Teams in Montana by M.L. Wilson $ 7.00
Buying and Setting Up Your Small Farm or Ranch by L. R. Miller $24.95
Haying with Horses by L.R. Miller $32.95
Horse Keeping on a Small Acreage by Cherry Hill $24.95
Why Farm: Selected Essays & Editorials by L. R. Miller $11.00
The Work Horse Handbook by Lynn R. Miller $32.95
Training Workhorses / Training Teamsters by Lynn R. Miller $32.95
Horsedrawn Plows & Plowing by L. R. Miller $32.95
Haying with Horses by Lynn R. Miller $32.95
Horsedrawn Tillage Tools by Lynn R. Miller $32.95

Fencing, Barn, and House Construction Books

Be Your Own House Contractor by Carl Heldmann $14.95
Be Your Own Home Renovation Contractor by Carl Heldmann $16.95
Build A Classic Timber-Framed House by Jack A. Sobon $21.95
Building Small Barns, Sheds & Shelters by Monte Burch $16.95
Build Your Own Low-Cost Log Home by Roger Hard $19.95
Fence Bible by Jeff Beneke $24.95
Fences for a Pasture & Garden by Gail Damerow $16.95
How to Build Small Barns & Outbuildings by Monte Burch $18.95
Living Homes Integrated Design by Thomas J. Elpel $25.00
Low Cost Pole Building Construction by Ralph Wolfe $14.95
Earthbag Building by Kaki Hunter... $29.95
The Art of Natural Building by Joseph Kennedy, M.Smith,C.Wan $26.95
The Rammed Earth House by David Easton $30.00
The Sick House Survival Guide [dealing with house pollution] by Angela Hobbs $18.95
The Natural Plaster Book by Cedar Rose Guelberth & Dan Chiras $29.95
Timber Framing by Rob Roy $22.95
More Straw Bale Building by Chris Magwood, Peter Mack & Tina Therrien $32.95


Garden Books

Ann Lovejoy Handbook of Northwest Gardening. Photos by Janet Loughrey. $27.95
Bugs, Slugs & Other Thugs by Rhonda Massingham Hart $14.95
City Gardener's Handbook by Linda Yang 19.95
City & Town Gardener by Linda Yang $22.95
Cold Climate Gardening by Lewis Hill $16.95
Deerproofing Your Yard and Garden $12.95
Diary of a Compost Hotline Operator by Spring Gillard $15.95
Easy Answers for Great Gardens by Marianne Binetti $14.95
Fruits and Berries by Lewis Hill $18.95
Gardener's A-Z Guide by Tanya L. K. Denckla $22.95
Gardener's Bug Book by Barbara Pleasant $14.95
Gardener's Guide to Plant Diseases by Barbara Pleasant $14.95
Gardener's Weed Book by Barbara Pleasant $14.95
Gardening with Ed Hume $24.95
Golden Gate Gardening by Pam Pierce $24.95
Growing 101 Herbs that Heal by Tammi Hartung $24.95
Growing and Using Herbs by Betty E.M. Jacobs $14.95
Growing Vegetables - West of the Cascades by Steve Solomon $18.95
Northwest Herb Lover's Handbook by Mary Preus $16.95
High Country Herbs by Cheryl Anderson Wright $15.00
High Country Tomato Handbook by Cheryl anderson Wright $15.00
Joy of Gardening by Dick Raymond $24.95
Melons by Amy Goldman $25.00
Metro Farm by Michael Olson $29.95
Perfect Pumpkin by Gail Damerow $12.95
Plant Life by Valerie Easton $19.95
Tools of the Earth [essays on gardening] by Jeff Taylor $25.00
Up the Garden Path [anthology of old English garden quotes collected and delightfully illustrated] by Laura Stoddart $9.99


Livestock and Game Books

A Field Guide to Pigs by John Pukite $ 9.95
Catfish Ponds & Lily Pads by Louise Riotte $12.95
Earth Ponds Sourcebook by Tim Matson $ 21.95
Goatkeeping 101 (from Caprine Supply) $20.00
Keeping Livestock Healthy [home vetting] $19.95
Raising Beef Cattle by Heather Smith Thomas $18.95
Raising Ducks by Dave Holderread $18.95
Raising Llamas by Gale Birutta $18.95
Raising Pigs by Kelly Klober $18.95
Raising Poultry by Leonard S.Mercia $18.95
Raising Rabbits by Bob Bennett $18.95
Raising Sheep by Paula Simmons & Carol Ekarius $18.95
Pet Pigs by John Walton, John Carr, Oliver Duran $ 8.95
Pig Keeping by Annette and Grant McFarlane $12.00
Your Goats by Gail Damerow $12.95
Your Sheep by Gail Damerow $14.95

Renewable Energy and Home Water Supply
Microhydro by Scott Davis $22.95
Photovoltaics: Design and Installation by Solar Energy International $59.95
Solar Living Source Book by John Schaeffer $35.00
The Complete Hydraulic Ram Manual by Tom Moates $14.95
Woodburner's Handbook by Stephen Bushway $12.95

Tanning and Meat Processing Books

Basic Butchering of Livestock & Game by John J. Mettler, Jr. $16.95
Blue Mountain Buckskin by Jim Riggs $14.95
Buckskin - The Ancient Art of Braintanning by Steven Edholm & Tamara Wilder $19.95
Deerskins into Buckskins by Matt Richards $19.95
How to Brain-Tan a Buffalo Hide (video) by Wes Housler $20.00

Miscellaneous

Soapsuds to Sunday School by Louise Rice [Describes jobs done each day of the week, Published by the Oregon State Historical Society] $25.00
Ten Acres Enough by Edmund Morris / The Small Farm Dream Is Possible by Falph C. Miller and Lynn R. Miller $20
When Technology Fails by Matthew Stein $19.95