Archive for the ‘Post Topics’ Category

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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

Seafood Guide: Do you know where your seafood comes from?

Saturday, May 5th, 2012

Salmon at Market

by Catherine Haug, May 5, 2012

Food and Water Watch is watching our backs when it comes to healthful seafood. Much of the earth’s oceans and spawning streams are contaminated with mercury and other toxic heavy metals, PCBs, petroleum-based toxins and lots of other foul stuff, that then contaminate the seafood that live in the waters, and finally us.

Which fisheries are the cleanest?, Which species accumulate less toxic load than others?

Now you can consult Food & Water Watch’s handy 2012 Seafood Guide, to help you make healthful selections at the market, and support clean fisheries. There is an online guide, a downloadable pocket guide and much more. Read on for the links. (more…)

Posted in Ecology, Food-Nutrition-Health | Comments Closed

Barefootin’

Friday, May 4th, 2012

by Catherine Haug, April 29, 2011

Sometimes one of life’s great pleasures turns out to be good for you. And going barefoot is one of them, because your feet can communicate with the soil. True, if you live in the south, it can invite parasites such as hookworm that enters your body through the soles of your feet. But we have little chance of that here in the Flathead.

So take off those shoes and socks and go for a walk on a sandy beach or cool, dewy grass.

When you must wear shoes, choose those with real leather soles and shun plastic or rubber-soled shoes, as these inhibit communication between the soil and the soles of your feet. Besides, natural materials are far more sustainable that plastics made in power-monger industrial factories.

What’s so important about this soil-to-feet communication: grounding! (more…)

Posted in Health | Comments Closed

Pink slime, glued meat; what’s next?

Thursday, April 26th, 2012

by Catherine Haug, April 17, 2012

One of the issues I have with our American culture is our flippant attitude toward waste – “out of sight, out of mind.” So on first brush, one would think I would be in favor of creative ways to reduce waste in the meat-products industry. Ha! I am disgusted by what the meat processing industry has come up with:

  • Glued meat: using enzymes to ‘glue’ scraps together and sell them as desirable steaks (see m earlier post Scary Foods (or why we should support local food producers)
  • Pink slime: ammonia-laced meat processing biproducts (finely ground beef scraps, sinew, fat, and connective tissue), mixed into ground meat as a filler for burgers, etc..

The problem is not only are these disgusting to consider, but they also have the potential to pass on disease (despite the treatment with ammonia).

At the very least, foods containing these innovations should be labeled as such! We have a right to know what we are feeding ourselves and our families!

Isn’t there a better way to avoid waste? (more…)

Posted in Food-Nutrition-Health | 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

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