Archive for the ‘Home & Ranch’ Category

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Common contaminated surfaces, and how to avoid infection

Monday, May 28th, 2012

by Catherine Haug, May 27, 2012

We have become a society afraid of infection, leading us to seek ways to avoid contamination. Infectious bugs live on just about every surface we encounter (including our own skin and hair), and are also present in the air we breathe, so it is impossible to avoid these bugs. But there are things we can do to reduce exposure and enhance our immunity.

NOTE: there are also non-infectious diseases such as cancer that cannot necessarily be avoided by avoiding contamination, but may be avoided by enhancing your immunity

First, lets explore the most contaminated surfaces we encounter every day, then look at ways to enhance your immunity so you don’t succumb to contamination or exposure to infectious disease. (more…)

Posted in Ecology, Health, Home & Ranch, Simplify | Comments Closed

Event Summary: ESP at 2012 Preparedness Fair

Saturday, May 12th, 2012

by Catherine Haug, May 12, 2012

Bigfork Emergency Response Team (BERT) hosted the first Bigfork Preparedness Fair on May 5, 2012. Although the weather was wet, windy and cold, the fair had an excellent turnout: over 300 people signed in and there were many booths both indoors and out, as well as several lecturers.

ESP had a booth in one corner of the main room, featuring a backboard of photos from past gatherings, books on sustainability topics to browse through, and Jeffrey Fund’s pedal-powered grain grinder for people to try out. We had several different grains to grind: spelt, Jeffrey’s wheat and Wheat Montana’s Prairie Gold wheat. (more…)

Posted in Community, Emergency Preparedness, Energy, Food-Nutrition-Health, Gathering Summaries, Home & Ranch, Repurpose | Comments Closed

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

Espalier: living fences

Saturday, April 21st, 2012

Espalier Pear Tree, Cordon Pattern

by Catherine Haug, April 18, 2012

(photo fromWikipedia)

Espalier, though originally developed by the Romans for fruit trees, was perfected in France; hence it’s French name (pronounced es-PAL-yay). From Better Homes & Gardens, “An espalier is a living fence created by training small trees into decorative patterns.”

There’s lots to like in a fruit tree espalier: (more…)

Posted in Food-Nutrition-Health, Gardening, Home & Ranch, Landscaping | 1 Comment »

Homemade low- or non-toxic cleaners

Tuesday, April 17th, 2012

by Catherine Haug, April 17, 2012

We all want to avoid exposure to toxins in our lives, and one category of likely toxic products we are exposed to daily is household cleaners. Consider: bleach, ammonia, and SLS (sodium lauryl sulfate) in dishwashing/laundry detergents as well as shampoos & bubble baths. But these are only the tip of the toxic iceberg – many substances that might be toxic have yet to be identified.

Your safest bet is to use cleaners that have been used for centuries: vinegar, lemon juice, salt, olive oil, true soap, baking soda, boiling water, and even potatoes!

The NTP Talk website has a good short article on Low- or Non-Toxic Cleaners by Beverly Hartsfield, NTP (Nutrition Therapy Practitioner) that suggests how to use these  common and natural substances for cleaning chores.

See also my recent posts on this topic:

Safe disposal of toxic cleaners

Don’t just toss your toxic cleaners in the trash – their toxicity can affect landfills and ground water. Instead, save them up for the monthly Waste Not Project collection of household hazardous waste collection on the third Saturday of each month – that’s this coming Saturday, April 20!  

See my earlier post: Event Notice: Recycling Events (WasteNot Project) for lots more info.

Posted in Home & Ranch | Comments Closed

Gathering Summary: Getting Ready to Grow Stuff, March 21, 2012

Monday, April 16th, 2012

Don Bates makes a point

by Catherine Haug, April 6, 2012

(photo, left, by E. Blackler)

This was a fun and inspiring evening with MonaRae Tuhy and Don Bates, on seed starting and related topics. And Stephanie offered a great dessert: Berry Crisp with Whipped Cream.

This is just a short synopsis; you can find more detail in the complete, printable pdf file: Gathering Summary: Getting Ready to Grow Stuff, March 21, 2012, and in the handouts. Read on for handouts, presentation topics, and references & resources. (more…)

Posted in Gardening, Gathering Summaries | Comments Closed

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