Archive for the ‘Gardening’ Category

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Learning from your grandparents could save your life

Sunday, February 3rd, 2013

by Catherine Haug, February 3, 2013

As a kid, I used to follow my Dad around the house and yard, watching (and little did I know, learning) what he did. My Dad was in his 60s; when he retired, he became the homemaker and my Mom became the provider, managing our bar. Having been a bachelor until 1946 (he was 55),  he only knew homemaking the old-fashioned way that he had learned from his Victorian-era parents.

It turns out, these were things that made for a rich and healthful life, and if we would return to at least some of these old-fashioned ways, our lives would be richer and more healthful, according to Dr. Alexandra Carrasco. Read on for more. (more…)

Posted in Community, Fermentation, Culturing & Curing, Food-Nutrition-Health, Gardening, Health, Home & Ranch, Shop Local, Uncategorized | Comments Closed

Nutrient Decline in our Food Supply

Thursday, December 13th, 2012

by Catherine Haug, December 11, 2012

We all rely on the quality of our food to sustain us and keep us in good health. We trust that foods of vibrant color are rich in antioxidants and vitamins; for example, beets, oranges, carrots, cherries and berries. We trust that leafy greens with rich, dark color are rich in minerals, vitamins and bitters. We trust that fresh meats and dairy are rich in protein, essential oils, and vitamins.

But is our trust warranted? Certainly prior to the industrial age, that trust was well-placed. But modern agriculture is all about the bottom line, and food quality is often sacrificed in pursuit of that goal. Crops are treated with chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides, and refreshed with contaminated waters. Animals are fed these inferior crops, and in many cases fed crops that are not their natural diet. All of this leads to nutritional deficiency in our foods.

Just how bad has it gotten? What can we do to reverse the trend? (more…)

Posted in Agriculture, Compost, Food-Nutrition-Health, Gardening, Health, Livestock, Local Food System | Comments Closed

Growing Belgian Endive

Sunday, November 11th, 2012

Forced Endive in Feb

by Catherine Haug, November 9, 2012

Last year, Don Bates gave an excellent presentation on using Garden Season Extenders. He showed a photo of forcing Belgian Endive shoots in a bucket of sand that he kept in his root cellar, to have greens through the winter (see his photo, right). This intrigued me, as I too have a root cellar and I love endive.

Endive is delicious raw or cooked. See Cat’s Kitchen (my personal website) for a delicious recipe: Endive and Apple Salad with Warm Goat Cheese.

Today I happened upon a great photo-essay on how to grow endive this way: Kitchen Gardeners International: Growing Belgian Endive, by Roger Doiron. I plan to give this a try next year. But do I really have to sacrifice those lovely first greens to my compost pile?

Here’s a synopsis of the growing method: (more…)

Posted in Gardening, Home & Ranch | Comments Closed

Pollinators: Critically Important Partners

Sunday, August 12th, 2012

by Catherine Haug, August 12, 2012

The summer issue of Organic Matters, the magazine of Montana Organic Association (MOA) had a great article on Pollinators: Your Stealthy Partners, by Anna Jones-Crabtree of Vilicus Farms (in Havre (2)), with Jennifer Hopwood of the Xerces Society (3).

At a recent short course on pollinators in Great Falls, the only farmers in attendance were Organic! Now that tells you something … For key points from the short course, with my notes added, read on.

(more…)

Posted in Agriculture, Ecology, Gardening, Landscaping, Organics | Comments Closed

Why ‘Pasture-Raised’ trumps ‘Organic’

Wednesday, June 13th, 2012

by Catherine Haug, June 12, 2012 and David Brown, November 2011

Most of us believe that Organic is the best you can buy, to feed your family. And it certainly is better than commercially-produced fresh and processed foods. But is it really the ‘best’ available?

I’ve posted on this topic before (see Related Posts, below). David Brown (avid gardener, compostor, and health researcher from Kalispell) writes about the advantage of ‘pasture-raised’ over ‘Organic’ when it comes to animal foods like meat, dairy and eggs. (more…)

Posted in Compost, Food-Nutrition-Health, Gardening, Livestock, Organics, Shop Local | 4 Comments »

Grafting fruit trees

Sunday, May 6th, 2012

by Catherine Haug, April 5, 2012

Did you know that almost all fruit trees are grafted?

  • For most, the graft is at ground level, so that the tree and its root are not of the same species or variety, mostly to regulate the mature size of the tree. For example, apple can be grafted to rose root, which keeps the apple at a dwarf size.
  • Different varieties of the same fruit can be grafted onto a common trunk; for example, bartlett and bosc pears on the same tree.
  • Related species can be grafted onto a common trunk; for example the fruit basket tree, which has peach, apricot and plum.

Jean H decided she wanted more variety of fruit without adding more trees, so she learned how to graft branches of a different variety onto an existing tree. She sent me a couple video links, for any of you who would like to try this ancient technique. and I’ve added a few links with general info on growing fruit trees. (more…)

Posted in Gardening, Home & Ranch, Landscaping | Comments Closed

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