The EssentiaList

by Catherine Haug

Hens & Compost (Guerrant)

I don’t know about you, but chicken is just about my favorite meat (after lutefisk). And of course one cannot do without eggs for breakfast or for baking. And what about eggnog at Holiday time? Especially when times get tough and we must depend on our own (or the community’s) resources for our survival.

ESP is planning a panel discussion on raising chickens (and other poultry) for our February gathering. To get you started, check out this article from:

• National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service: Alternative Poultry Production Systems and Outdoor Access.

And lest you think chickens just won’t work in your suburban residence, check out:

• Photo collection of Urban Chickens from good.is, by Todd Parsons: Picture Show: Urban Chickens

Did you know that chickens offer many other benefits for us humans, besides eggs and meat? (more…)

by Catherine Haug

Edmund forwarded an extensive list of online seed sources and gardening books, originally from John Weber of Rising Rock Orchard in Northern Minnesota. I added these sources to our Gardening Files and Links page, under the following headings:

• General Gardening (books),
• Irrigation (links),
• Pest Control (books), and
• Seed, Root Stock & Mushroom Sources (links).

Also added to our Home & Ranch Files and Links page, under the heading:

• Food Preservation (books)

Most of these sources are from out-of-state.

Below are the links that have been added to pages mentioned above; I’ll keep these links on this post for only a short time, but you will always be able to find them on the previously mentioned pages. (more…)