Home, Farm, Ranch
Ag (Sustainable):
Links & External Sites:
- Organic & Sustainable Farmers Can Feed the World
- Mercola: Promoting Sustainable Agriculture
- American Feast Blog
Bees & Pollinator Habitat (honeybees & native bees)
ESP Files:
- Gathering Summary: Managing an Organic Beehive and Photo Gallery: Managing an Organic Beehive.
- The EssentiaList: Pollinators and Their Habitat (pdf, 296 kb)
- ESP Gathering Summary: Pollinators & their Habitat (pdf, 336 kb)
- John Holbrook: Orchard Mason Bees (pdf, 116 kb)
- John Holbrook: Extracting & Cleaning Orchard Mason Bees (pdf, 64 kb)
- Randy Person: Home Made Mason Bee Paper Liners that Work (pdf, 136 kb)
Links & External Sites:
=>Native Bees, including Mason Bees
- Listing of Montana Natve Bees (Montana.edu site)
- Farming for Pollinators (www.nrcs.usda.gov site)
- Home Made Mason Bee Paper Liners that Work, by Randy Person (on WSU Extension, Snohomish County website)
- Modular Housing for Orchard Mason Bees, by Randy Person
- Orchard Mason Bees, on WSU Extension’s Gardening website
- Foraging Behavior of Orchard Mason Bees
=>Plantings, including Native
- Montana Pollinator-Friendly Plantings (pdf reduced file size, 840 kb)
- USDA: How to Attract & Keep Wild Bees (www.nrcs.usda.gov site)
- Enhancing Nest Sites for Native Bees (Pollinator.org site)
- More resources & articles (Pollinator.orgsite)
Cleaning Supplies
See also: Soapmaking and Candles, below
ESP Files:
The EssentiaList: Homemade Cleaning Supplies
Other sites:
- Terre Essentials: Ingredient Guide (for personal and body-care products; deciphering an ingredient list)
Communication:
Computers, Electronic Devices and email:
- The EssentiaList: Online & smartphone security: Fraudulent Email
Cold Storage, Root Cellars, etc.:
ESP Files:
- Gathering Summary: Root Cellars, Gardens & Greenhouses, 062409 (496 kb)
- EssentiaList Handout: Storage of Produce (128 kb pdf) includes tips for storing fruits, vegetables and grains, and cold storage options for root veggies
- The EssentiaList: Storing Vegetables for Winter, updated (112 KB)
- The EssentiaList: Refrigeration without Electricity (92 KB)
- Veggie Keeping-Time in Cold Storage, and Winer Storage Chart: Optimal Conditions, two 1-page charts for hanging in your root cellar:
Links & External Sites:
- Backwoods Home Magazine: Successful Cold Storage, by Sylvia Gist
- Fridge-Less Living, from Mother Earth News includes root cellars, gardening concerns, preservation, catalogues and supply sources, etc
- Spring Houses: Stone spring house at Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, Wikipedia,
- Ice Houses – Stone Construction: Ice house at Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, Cool-it: Off Grid, Build an Ice House and Mother Earth News: Build an Ice House
- Ice Houses: Plank Construction: Old and Sold Antiques Digest: Building an Ice House and Planet Green: How to Build an Eco-Friendly Ice House
- Ice Houses: Brick Construction: Garden History: How to Build an Ice House (1828)
Books
- Root Cellaring: Natural Cold Storage of Fruits and Vegetables by Bubel 1991
Emergency Preparedness:
see Emergency Preparedness Files
Fibers:
ESP Files & Articles:
- Gathering Summary: The Craft of Knitting, etc., with Carol Marie, February 15, 2012
- Gathering Summary: Using Natural Dyes for Fibers, with Joan Goldstein, Sept 22, 2010
- Gathering Summary: Making Cloth, with Alpine Spinning & Weaving Guild, March 13, 2010
- Fiber Arts: Spinning, Dying, Weaving, Knitting, etc.
Links & External Sites:
Food & Food Preservation
moved to Food & Food Preservation Files page
Garment Creation
See also Fibers, above; Leather and Leather Goods, below.
- #1: Making Simple Garments
- #2: Garment Creation: Supplies
- #3: Garment Creation: Basic Fitting Patterns, The Sloper and Block
- #4: Garment Creation: The Basics of Fitting
- #5: Garment Creation: Common Fitting Issues (not yet published)
- PDF files
- Cat’s Bodice & Sleeve Sloper
- Japanese Hippari (Jacket): Design and Construction
- Japanese Monpei (Pant): Design and Construction
- Turkish Coat-Layout
- Cat’s Shirt Block
- Drafting a Sleeve Block (also applies to drafting any sleeve)
- Prepare your garment or muslin for fitting
Health & Remedies
ESP Articles & Files:
- Ancient Healing Remedies for Every Home (Rectal Enema; Nasal Enema (Neti Pot)
- The EssentiaList: Administer an Eye Wash
- Gathering Summary: Herbs & Their Traditional Uses, July 28, 2010
Related Files (pdf)
- Introduction to Homeopathy (2016 update) by C. Haug
- The EssentiaList: Home Enemas by C. Haug
Links & External Sites:
Homemaking, General
ESP Files:
Links & External Sites:
- A Manual of Home Making(1919) (http://chestofbooks.com/food/household/A-Manual-Of-Home-Making/index.html
Home Energy
ESP Files:
- Gathering Summary: Home Energy Panel (76 KB)
- Discussion Topics for ESP (48 KB)
Links & External Sites:
- Flathead Electric Co-Op on net metering for alternative energy applications.
- Build it Solar: Lots of good off-grid ideas, including root cellars and refrigeration alternatives
- Rep. Ted Poe (Texas) on CFL Bulbs (video)
Leather and leather goods:
ESP Files:
- Gathering Summary: Brain Tanning & Uses for the Leather Produced(webpage)
- Gathering Summary: Brain Tanning & Uses for the Leather Produced (pdf)
Links & External Sites:
- Sinew: www.sparrowcreek.com/Sinew.htm for a photo discussion of making sinew into thread; or “Charlie Tadano, bowyer, demonstrates sinew thread technique”, a 1-minute video (www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQMAgngplLM
Livestock:
ESP Files:
- Gathering summary: How to Keep a Goat, with Gayle Prunhuber (336 KB)
- Gathering summary: Raising Chickens & Rabbits
- The EssentiaList: Raising Chickens
- Rendering Lard in a Crockpot (pdf)
Links & External Sites:
- Cows: Keeping a Family Cow, by Ron Schmid, N.D
- Chickens: My Pet Chicken, My Pet Chicken Guide to Chicken Care(ebook), The Farm: Chickens, Home-Made Living: Chickens, Mississippi State University: Best Poultry Breed, BackYard54.com: Raising Chickens in your Back Yard
Native Habitat, Plantings
See also Bees & Habitat, above
ESP Files:
- The EssentiaList: Pollinators and Their Habitat (pdf, 296 kb)
- Gathering Summary: Smart Use of Trees, by Sally Janover, 102710 file (updated 1/18/10).
Links & External Sites:
- Montana Pollinator-Friendly Plantings (pdf reduced file size, 840 kb)
- Farming for Pollinators (www.nrcs.usda.gov site)
- Excellent: Landscaping with Native Plants of Montana (Montana Native Plant Society)
- Native Grasses for the Missoula Area or pdf file: Native Grasses for the Missoula Area (pdf, 12 kb)
Miscellaneous (Low-energy Living)
ESP Files:
- Discussion Topics for ESP (48 KB)
- The EssentiaList: Using Birch Bark and other Native Materials (such as for baskets, canoes and trout fishing nets)
- Gathering Summary: Smart Use of Trees, by Sally Janover, 102710 file (updated 1/18/10).
Links & External Sites:
- Food n Stuff Blog from Australia: Composting Toilets & Worms; Bean Teepee
- The Green Guide: Mainstream newsletter and tips on living green.
- Organic Consumers Association on: Composting, Laundry without electricity, and Canning 101.
Pumps:
ESP Files:
Links & External Sites:
- Hand Pumps from Lehman’s (cistern pumps) that generally lift up to 20 feet.
- Deep-well hand pumps from Survival Unlimited (lift up to 300 feet)
- Bison hand-powered water pumps for deep wells
- Hand & solar-powered water pumps from Solar4Power: (for deep wells)
- Guzler hand & foot pumps from RealGoods
Sewing
see Garment Creation, above
Solar Cooking/Drying
Links & External Sites:
- FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions): Solar Cooking.com or Solar Cooking Archive (from Wikia Green) (with photos)
- Make your own: Solar Ovens Made from Pizza Boxes
- Build it Solar: Lots of good off-grid ideas, including root cellars and refrigeration alternatives; Solar cooking, Food drying, stills, heating, cooling;
- Solar vs wood discussion (in-depth project in South America) http://designserver.rit.edu/Archives/P05301/Documents/P3Phase1.pdf(broken link)
Soapmaking and Candles
See also Cleaning Supplies, above
ESP Files:
- Gathering Summary: Making Soap at Home, by Kathy Mansfield of Snowbunny Soap, January 26, 2011 (9 pages)
- Handcrafted Soap (Slideshow for ESP by K. Mansfield, Snowbunny Soap) (2 slides per page, 10 pages total)
- The EssentiaList: Soap Additives, by Kathy Mansfield
- The EssentiaList: The Basics of Soapmaking
- The EssentiaList: Making Your Own Soap Bars
- The EssentiaList: Making Liquid Soap from Scratch
- The EssentiaList: Working with Lye
- The EssentiaList: Homemade Cleaning Supplies
Links & External Sites:
- Summer Bee Meadow for Online Lye calculator.
- Brambleberry.com: from Bellingham WA, supplies and resources
- Candle & Soap
- Candle and Soap video on goat milk in soapmaking: video.about.com/candleandsoap/Make-Soap-Using-Goat-Milk.htm
- Teach Soap.com: soapmaking recipes, tips and tutorials
- Terre Essentials: Ingredient Guide (for personal and body-care products; deciphering an ingredient list)
Water Conservation:
ESP Files:
- Gathering Summary: Rainwater Collection with Bill Brenner (7/23/08) (60 KB)
- The EssentiaList: Water Conservation, Rainwater, Gray Water; Sources & Info(140 KB)
- Discussion Topics for ESP (48 KB)
Links & External Sites:
- Rainwater Harvesting Systems for Montanal (from MSU Extension) Lots of really good info, including cost estimates. More sites on rainwater collection: Oasis Design; rain barrels and cisterns.
- Gray Water, for irrigation (not potable): Source Book for Green and Sustainable Living; New Mexico State University; Colorado State University;Montana State University; Montana Watershed Coordination Council
- Harvesting Rainwater.com, by Brad Lancaster. Lots of information on rainwater and graywater harvesting. Focus is on Arizona, but ideas apply most everywhere.
Sourdough & Grain Ferments
see: Culturing & Fermentation Files
Sprouting & Juicing
- Gathering Summary: Sprouting & Juicing (48 KB pdf file)
- The EssentiaList: Sprouting & Juicing Info & Sources (112 KB)
- Sprouts Information Diagram (72 KB)
- Sprouting Lentils: Instructions (100 KB)
- Wheatgrass & Sprouts Overview (68 KB)
- Benefits of Wheatgrass (80 KB)
- Wheatgrass FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) (60 KB)
- Wheatgrass Instructions (48 KB)