Archive for the ‘Home & Ranch’ Category

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About Arcadia Power’s mailing to all FEC customers

Monday, February 15th, 2016

By Catherine Haug, February 15, 2016

If you get your electricity from Flathead Electric Cooperative (FEC), you likely received an offer from Arcadia Power in the mail, to ‘join your neighbors in Montana’s first Community Wind Program.’ As with so many things, the truth is in the ‘fine print.’

Below are the specific questions about this mailing and service that I sent to Don Newton at FEC, and a summary of his response to each. Also included are green energy programs and energy-efficiency rebates that are offered by FEC. (more…)

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Kitchen Hint: Clever & quick way to peel garlic

Friday, February 5th, 2016
Garlic bulbs

Garlic bulbs

By Catherine Haug, Feb 5, 2016 (Photo, right, from Wikimedia Commons)

This hint comes from Keith Blaylock, who participated in our panel presentation on Raising Chickens and Rabbits, and gave a wonderful presentation on Making Beer at Home.

Keith writes, “I don’t remember where I discovered this hint but I use it all the time.  It is about peeling garlic cloves:”

Simple way to peel raw garlic cloves

  1. Rub the light papery skin off the cloves.
  2. Put them into a small stove-top pan, with the lid on (do not heat);
  3. Shake the pot vigorously for 30 seconds, then open the pot to see your garlic cloves are completely peeled!
  4. Most of the peels stick to the pot so you can pour the whole cloves out onto the cutting board.  This process does not appear to bruise the cloves at all.
  5. Discard peels into compost bin and you are done!

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Event Notice: Workshop on Gardening, Feb 6, 2016

Saturday, January 30th, 2016
Bigfork/Ferndale Community Garden, 2014

Community Garden, 2014

By Catherine Haug, January 30, 2016 (Photo, right, of the Bigfork/Ferndale Community Garden, by Sally Finneran, Bigfork Eagle)

Bigfork/Ferndale Community Garden presents:

  • What: Workshop on Gardening, with MonaRae Tuhy, Master Gardener
  • When: Saturday, February 6, 2016, 10 AM
  • Where: St Patrick’s Episcopal Church, 30631 MT Hwy 209 , Bigfork MT; on corner of Hwy 209 and S. Ferndale Rd.
  • Who: Free and open to the public. Children are welcome and encouraged to participate in this fun workshop.
  • Contact: Michelle at 837-0982

About the event:

Our speaker will be MonaRae Tuhy, a 3rd Level Master Gardener and local expert on growing here in the Flathead. At this workshop we will learn:

  • Learn what to look for when ordering seeds from catalogs;
  • Address our optimum planting and maturity dates. What you read on the seed packet may not be the best directions for your garden area.
  • Learn how to make seed tapes, an easier way to plant your garden. Bring some of your own favorite seeds or we will have some available for your use.
  • By starting with your own seeds, you can be sure that your plants have been raised organically from first to last.

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Kitchen Hint: Homemade tooth-powder

Thursday, December 10th, 2015
Cinnamon bark scrolls: True cinnamon (left); Cassia (right)

Cinnamon bark scrolls: True cinnamon (left); Cassia (right)

By Catherine Haug, December 10, 2015 (photo, right, from Wikimedia Commons)

Back in 2006 when I went to Sweden and Norway, airports were checking baggage for things that could be a bomb or other destructive device. All travelers were required to use only small containers of personal care items like hand-soap, toothpaste, shampoo, mouthwash, etc., and to put them together in a small plastic bag. My tube of Tom’s of Maine toothpaste was too big, as were other items. What to do?

I decided to make my own toothpowder, but other than using baking soda (which is what my Dad had used), I had no idea what to combine. I ended up buying a tiny bottle of Eco-Dent tooth powder for the trip. I love using a powder – I find it does a better job than toothpaste. If only I had known of the recipe below, I could have made my own. (more…)

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Toxic industrial waste in chemical fertilizers, compost, and potting soil

Saturday, December 5th, 2015
Canola Field in Lower Valley, Bigfork MT

Canola Field in Lower Valley, Bigfork MT

By Catherine Haug, Dec. 3, 2015 (photo, right, by D. Morgan)

A vast majority of commercial farms use chemical fertilizers rather than Organic methods to grow large-scale commercial crops such as potatoes, peas, wheat corn and soy. Most of these chemical fertilizers contain ‘biosolids,’ another name for “treated sewage sludge … intended for agricultural use as a soil conditioner.” Sewage sludge is the solid material that settles out at wastewater treatment plants. (1)

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have found that “biosolids can contain measurable levels of synthetic organic compounds, radionuclides and heavy metals.” (1) Where do these come from? How do they get into the sewage sludge? (more…)

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Importance of Regenerative Agriculture

Sunday, November 29th, 2015

by Catherine Haug, Thanksgiving, 2015

I first learned of ‘Regenerative Agriculture’ last spring when I watched a PBS documentary (1) on the subject. That 26 minute video is still available to watch online (1).

Our modern farming methods treat soil like dirt, instead of giving it the love and respect it deserves. We don’t understand how important microbes are to the soil, that they convert nutrients in the soil to a form the plants can utilize. To flourish, they need carbon (and oxygen) in the soil, but we let the carbon escape into the atmosphere, warming the earth and leading to climate change.

Regenerative agriculture is about giving back to the soil with rich compost, humus, and biochar, to return carbon to the soil and provide microbes that connect the plants to the nutrients in the soil.
(more…)

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