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79 Articles

Dreaming It Begets Doing It

Watching events unfold during the past six months has brought back memories of working on the first issue of The New Pioneer as the Great Recession was hitting bottom. Although the causes of that severe jolt to the economy were very different, the last few months have felt as if we were entering another sharp downturn, but this time the country’s mood is darker. Gas and food prices are soaring; current events are violent and frightening; people are confused and angry, wondering why life is not better now that COVID appears to be under control. “How do we cope?” they ask. For the go-getters featured in this issue, the answer is the same as it was when TNP first appeared in 2010: practice self-reliance by growing as much of your…

Dreaming It Begets Doing It

Dreaming It Begets Doing It

Watching events unfold during the past six months has brought back memories of working on the first issue of The New Pioneer as the Great Recession was hitting bottom. Although the causes of that severe jolt to the economy were very different, the last few months have felt as if we were entering another sharp downturn, but this time the country’s mood is darker. Gas and food prices are soaring; current events are violent and frightening; people are confused and angry, wondering why life is not better now that COVID appears to be under control. “How do we cope?” they ask. For the go-getters featured in this issue, the answer is the same as it was when TNP first appeared in 2010: practice self-reliance by growing as much of your…

Dreaming It Begets Doing It

home and garden Hacks

Cold weather is quickly approaching, but there are still plenty of gardening projects perfect for fall and winter. For those who might be a little burned out from tending plants and harvesting their bounty, fall and winter are a good time to treat beehives for varroa mites, plant fruit trees and make it easier for ice anglers to bolt down their tents. LEAVE A MESSY GARDEN AT THE END OF THE SEASON, not everyone has the interest or the energy to clean up the garden. The good news is that you don’t have to. Let plants stand that are going dormant or dying so they can provide winter habitat for beneficial insects and wild birds. Echinacea and sunflowers offer seeds for chickadees, cardinals and many other birds during cold months. In addition,…

home and garden Hacks

ALL IN THE FAMILY

“I was about 8,” Sara Hunter told me when I asked her how old she and her sister were when they began helping their dad, Greg Lutovsky, at his farm, Irish Eyes Garden Seeds, in Ellensburg, Washington. “He would give me a field to irrigate by turning the valves on and off and say, ‘I’ll be back for you in about an hour.’ Alexa is two and a half years younger than I am, and she joined me when she was about 10.” Both girls kept helping Greg through high school and college. Alexa remembers Greg taking her out of high school for a couple of days to drive the tractor pulling the seeder when she was 14. Today, she is the ownder of Irish Eyes, LLC, and Sara runs a…

ALL IN THE FAMILY

home and garden Hacks

Cold weather is quickly approaching, but there are still plenty of gardening projects perfect for fall and winter. For those who might be a little burned out from tending plants and harvesting their bounty, fall and winter are a good time to treat beehives for varroa mites, plant fruit trees and make it easier for ice anglers to bolt down their tents. LEAVE A MESSY GARDEN AT THE END OF THE SEASON, not everyone has the interest or the energy to clean up the garden. The good news is that you don’t have to. Let plants stand that are going dormant or dying so they can provide winter habitat for beneficial insects and wild birds. Echinacea and sunflowers offer seeds for chickadees, cardinals and many other birds during cold months.…

home and garden Hacks

THE LOWDOWN ON SEED POTATOES

If you want to grow potatoes, buy only certified seed potatoes. For one thing, those in the grocery story are at the end of their life cycle, and their yields will be much lower than those from seed potatoes. Most potatoes sold in markets, even organic ones, are sprayed with an inhibitor to prevent them from sprouting. Potatoes are susceptible to diseases that can infect soil and other crops for years to come. Seed potatoes are grown specifically for seed and go through rigorous certification by seed-potato boards to ensure they are disease-free. Don’t let the words “pre-nuclear” and “nuclear” scare you if you see them used when referring to seed potatoes. Nuclear seed potatoes are potatoes that have been produced from disease-free tissue culture plantlets called “pre-nuclears” under controlled environmental…

THE LOWDOWN ON SEED POTATOES

We focus on raising sustainable beef finished on recycled by-products that are fed to cattle in the field. Grass fed on pastures at both our ranch and Kyler Beard’s, the cattle are rotationally grazed. Movable hot-wire fences keep them in one area until they graze it down and are moved into a fresh field the old-fashioned way—with horses and dogs—which is less stressful on the cattle. Before being butchered, the cattle are fed in the field with a mixture of used grain from a local brewery, bakery by-products, hay dust, hay chaff and trace minerals suspended in molasses. The feed line acts as a manure spreader because it is moved toward fresh pasture as the cattle munch away and nourish the soil while they eat. The entire process reduces our…

Going For GREENER PASTURES

Birthing baby pigs doesn’t come with an instruction book or a step-by-step YouTube video, and finding the right crops to grow on a new homestead isn’t always easy. Yet, escaping suburbia and building a small farm using sustainable agriculture that pays for itself is the dream of many 30- to 50-something victims of corporate America. Going from city slicker to successful homesteader is more than getting a piece of land and watching things grow. Creating a sustainable small farm often has a harsh learning curve that takes lots of work, misery, trial and error. The problem is finding the information, equipment and skills to make farming and raising livestock work. Getting Started Lana and Gary Loyd visited the Ozarks several years ago and shortly after that bought a 25-acre homestead in rural Peel,…

Going For GREENER PASTURES

ALL IN THE FAMILY

“I was about 8,” Sara Hunter told me when I asked her how old she and her sister were when they began helping their dad, Greg Lutovsky, at his farm, Irish Eyes Garden Seeds, in Ellensburg, Washington. “He would give me a field to irrigate by turning the valves on and off and say, ‘I’ll be back for you in about an hour.’ Alexa is two and a half years younger than I am, and she joined me when she was about 10.” Both girls kept helping Greg through high school and college. Alexa remembers Greg taking her out of high school for a couple of days to drive the tractor pulling the seeder when she was 14. Today, she is the ownder of Irish Eyes, LLC, and Sara runs…

ALL IN THE FAMILY

THE LOWDOWN ON SEED POTATOES

If you want to grow potatoes, buy only certified seed potatoes. For one thing, those in the grocery story are at the end of their life cycle, and their yields will be much lower than those from seed potatoes. Most potatoes sold in markets, even organic ones, are sprayed with an inhibitor to prevent them from sprouting. Potatoes are susceptible to diseases that can infect soil and other crops for years to come. Seed potatoes are grown specifically for seed and go through rigorous certification by seed-potato boards to ensure they are disease-free. Don’t let the words “pre-nuclear” and “nuclear” scare you if you see them used when referring to seed potatoes. Nuclear seed potatoes are potatoes that have been produced from disease-free tissue culture plantlets called “pre-nuclears” under controlled…

THE LOWDOWN ON SEED POTATOES

I first encountered occultation—or tarping—in 2015 when I saw a presentation by Jean-Martin Fortier (TNP Spring 2018) of Saint-Armand, Quebec, at the Oregon State University Small Farms Conference in Corvallis, Oregon. He uses tarping for weed control and season extension, which gives him several advantages in the marketplace. With tarping, he is able to warm his crop beds and eliminate spring-emergent weeds weeks earlier than would be possible without tarping. This allows him to make it to market with produce well ahead of the competition. I got my chance to experiment with putting tarping into actual practice later in 2015 as a result of our involvement in a project growing food for our local food-pantry network. That was the opportunity we needed to apply what we had learned in our reading…

The Petal Peddler

Six-year-old Elaina Marti and her twin brother, Stetson, duck under a leafy teepee of pole beans, then scamper along a curvy path bordered with hundreds of shoulder-high zinnias. “I like the pink ones best,” Elaina says as she surveys the ribbons of colorful blooms. Her brother pipes up. “Red!” The mini flower maze is among the attractions at Dragonfly Dreams Flower Farm in Lamar, Missouri. It’s one of the creative ways that owner Diana Hopkins has found to grow her small-town business and to share her love of flowers. “I’m always trying to think of something different and thought this would be fun,” Diana says. She’d seen plenty of corn mazes and figured something similar with flowers would be entertaining. The twins’ smiles and giggles suggest that she has hit the jackpot. Stetson inspects a locust…

The Petal Peddler

We focus on raising sustainable beef finished on recycled by-products that are fed to cattle in the field. Grass fed on pastures at both our ranch and Kyler Beard’s, the cattle are rotationally grazed. Movable hot-wire fences keep them in one area until they graze it down and are moved into a fresh field the old-fashioned way—with horses and dogs—which is less stressful on the cattle. Before being butchered, the cattle are fed in the field with a mixture of used grain from a local brewery, bakery by-products, hay dust, hay chaff and trace minerals suspended in molasses. The feed line acts as a manure spreader because it is moved toward fresh pasture as the cattle munch away and nourish the soil while they eat. The entire process reduces our…

HOW TO KEEP CUT BLOSSOMS PERKY

• Clean the vase or other container with soap and water, even a little bleach, to remove any harmful bacteria. • Likewise, clean scissors or other trimming tools. • Cut off 1 inch of each stem at a 45-degree angle so it can best absorb water. Add store-bought flower food or mix your own: 1 quart water, 2 tablespoons fresh lemon or lime juice, 1 tablespoon sugar and ½ tablespoon household bleach. • Fill vase with fresh water and change water daily. • Remove any leaves below water level and any brown or droopy leaves and petals above water. • Every few days, recut stems at an angle.…

HOW TO KEEP CUT BLOSSOMS PERKY

Going For GREENER PASTURES

Birthing baby pigs doesn’t come with an instruction book or a step-by-step YouTube video, and finding the right crops to grow on a new homestead isn’t always easy. Yet, escaping suburbia and building a small farm using sustainable agriculture that pays for itself is the dream of many 30- to 50-something victims of corporate America. Going from city slicker to successful homesteader is more than getting a piece of land and watching things grow. Creating a sustainable small farm often has a harsh learning curve that takes lots of work, misery, trial and error. The problem is finding the information, equipment and skills to make farming and raising livestock work. Getting Started Lana and Gary Loyd visited the Ozarks several years ago and shortly after that bought a 25-acre homestead…

Going For

GREENER PASTURES

Greenhouse Benefits

As I headed to the truck hefting two 5-gallon buckets full of nice ripe tomatoes, I couldn’t help but think, “This is the way to go!” A lifelong gardener, I had not attempted to garden the last couple of years. Call it a mid-life crisis or just plain laziness, I could not get in the mood. Having been raised on homegrown garden goods and fresh farm eggs, my wife and I realize the benefits that come from eating nutritious and flavorful homegrown veggies and are longtime canners. Without a garden we had no choice but to turn elsewhere for the produce we wanted to can. My buddy Michael, who raises fresh vegetables and flowers for the wholesale market in large greenhouses, offered a solution: Put up some kind of greenhouse. Solar…

Greenhouse Benefits

I first encountered occultation—or tarping—in 2015 when I saw a presentation by Jean-Martin Fortier (TNP Spring 2018) of Saint-Armand, Quebec, at the Oregon State University Small Farms Conference in Corvallis, Oregon. He uses tarping for weed control and season extension, which gives him several advantages in the marketplace. With tarping, he is able to warm his crop beds and eliminate spring-emergent weeds weeks earlier than would be possible without tarping. This allows him to make it to market with produce well ahead of the competition. I got my chance to experiment with putting tarping into actual practice later in 2015 as a result of our involvement in a project growing food for our local food-pantry network. That was the opportunity we needed to apply what we had learned in our…

The month of May ended, and it was time to move the herd of 100 Longhorn cows out of Coal Creek Farm’s burn/graze area onto a well-maintained cool-season grass field. I was sure the cattle would be happy to leave the formerly clear-cut 100-acre enclosure, where we do not plant or fertilize. As I opened the gates in the early morning, I allowed the longhorns to exit a rugged natural terrain and feast on non-native fescue grasses that were painstakingly planted and maintained. I had learned that native scrub areas were not nutritious enough for my East Tennessee cattle. Cool-season mixes, on the other hand, were ideal. Why then, as the sun set, were so many cows still happily munching the native growth and forsaking the cool season fescue feast…

If you are fortunate enough to own a woodland, you know it’s a great place to pass time, but on a recent walk-through with friends, they were surprised when they saw one of our recent 2-acre patch cuts. I took the time to explain why we had chosen this harvest method as we navigated our way through the harvest site, and I pointed out small seedlings of white oak, sugar maple and tulip poplar that were beginning to take advantage of recently arranged sunlight. On this cut, we had harvested all the eastern red cedar—the remains of a former field that had grown into cedar some 40 years earlier. In many cases, complete harvest cuts are the best way to provide sufficient sunlight to oak seedlings, which are shade intolerant. In…

SMALL-SCALE LOGGING EQUIPMENT

As you start cutting trees, you will realize that getting logs out of the woods can be a problem. If you’re cutting smaller trees, you won’t need heavy equipment. Small-scale loggers have several pieces of equipment to choose from that will safely help transport logs out of the woods. Arches: LogRite makes a log arch, which enables ATVs to move logs and, unless the log is extremely long, will keep the log off the ground. Arches come in different sizes and can be used with ATVs, UTVs or tractors. Log skid plate: Montana Jack’s Outpost sells plans for building your own skid plate. This design can safely pull logs up to 20-feet long without significant soil damage, and by slightly lifting logs, you reduce drag, which allows the log to slide over…

SMALL-SCALE LOGGING EQUIPMENT

The Petal Peddler

Six-year-old Elaina Marti and her twin brother, Stetson, duck under a leafy teepee of pole beans, then scamper along a curvy path bordered with hundreds of shoulder-high zinnias. “I like the pink ones best,” Elaina says as she surveys the ribbons of colorful blooms. Her brother pipes up. “Red!” The mini flower maze is among the attractions at Dragonfly Dreams Flower Farm in Lamar, Missouri. It’s one of the creative ways that owner Diana Hopkins has found to grow her small-town business and to share her love of flowers. “I’m always trying to think of something different and thought this would be fun,” Diana says. She’d seen plenty of corn mazes and figured something similar with flowers would be entertaining. The twins’ smiles and giggles suggest that she has hit…

The Petal Peddler

MUSHROOMS & MOUNTAINS

In agricultural circles, Montana is well-known for wheat, barley and beef, but Shawn and Jennifer McDyre of Sun Hands Farm in Kalispell are putting mushrooms on the map. When most people think of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), vegetables typically come to mind. It’s common to buy a share to enjoy spinach, radishes and early greens in the springtime and eventually tomatoes and other summer veggies later in the season. In addition to this traditional fare, Sun Hands Farm offers a unique selection of gourmet mushrooms to their shareholders as well as market-goers and farm visitors. “Raising a crop that isn’t a standard market garden vegetable takes a considerable amount of research.” Roots In Mushrooms The funny thing is, growing mushrooms was never on Shawn’s radar, even though he grew up in Kennett Square, a…

MUSHROOMS & MOUNTAINS

HOW TO KEEP CUT BLOSSOMS PERKY

• Clean the vase or other container with soap and water, even a little bleach, to remove any harmful bacteria. • Likewise, clean scissors or other trimming tools. • Cut off 1 inch of each stem at a 45-degree angle so it can best absorb water. Add store-bought flower food or mix your own: 1 quart water, 2 tablespoons fresh lemon or lime juice, 1 tablespoon sugar and ½ tablespoon household bleach. • Fill vase with fresh water and change water daily. • Remove any leaves below water level and any brown or droopy leaves and petals above water. • Every few days, recut stems at an angle.…

HOW TO KEEP CUT BLOSSOMS PERKY

FRESH EGG FACTS

There are lots of good reasons for keeping backyard chickens, and getting fresh eggs is at the top of the list. Finding a fresh-laid egg in the coop is a thing of wonder. No matter how many times you collect eggs, it never seems to get old. So, what’s the scoop on this nutritional marvel? How do eggs form? How do shells get their color? Do all eggs look like grocery-store eggs? Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at eggs from the chicken to the plate. How Eggs Are Formed When a female chick hatches, she has thousands of ova (immature yolks) in her ovaries. They represent all the eggs she can ever lay—more than enough for her lifetime. As she grows, her left ovary matures and becomes the dominant, functional ovary. When the…

FRESH EGG FACTS

Greenhouse Benefits

As I headed to the truck hefting two 5-gallon buckets full of nice ripe tomatoes, I couldn’t help but think, “This is the way to go!” A lifelong gardener, I had not attempted to garden the last couple of years. Call it a mid-life crisis or just plain laziness, I could not get in the mood. Having been raised on homegrown garden goods and fresh farm eggs, my wife and I realize the benefits that come from eating nutritious and flavorful homegrown veggies and are longtime canners. Without a garden we had no choice but to turn elsewhere for the produce we wanted to can. My buddy Michael, who raises fresh vegetables and flowers for the wholesale market in large greenhouses, offered a solution: Put up some kind of greenhouse.…

Greenhouse Benefits

Cover crops are not just for large, commercial farming operations. Even on small farms and home garden plots, this regenerative technique works wonders on soil. In the commercial agricultural realm, cover crops are planted in rotation with the main crop, either before spring planting or after harvest in the fall. Specific plants, such as Austrian peas, clovers or vetches, are grown for several reasons, among them to add nutrients to soil and improve soil structure, then are cut or tilled under before they go to seed. While this practice might seem challenging for people working with limited space, it is completely feasible. The trick is to determine which cover crop best suits your garden’s needs. Many cover crops are champions at fixing nitrogen in the soil, reducing erosion and attracting insect…

The month of May ended, and it was time to move the herd of 100 Longhorn cows out of Coal Creek Farm’s burn/graze area onto a well-maintained cool-season grass field. I was sure the cattle would be happy to leave the formerly clear-cut 100-acre enclosure, where we do not plant or fertilize. As I opened the gates in the early morning, I allowed the longhorns to exit a rugged natural terrain and feast on non-native fescue grasses that were painstakingly planted and maintained. I had learned that native scrub areas were not nutritious enough for my East Tennessee cattle. Cool-season mixes, on the other hand, were ideal. Why then, as the sun set, were so many cows still happily munching the native growth and forsaking the cool season fescue feast…

If you are fortunate enough to own a woodland, you know it’s a great place to pass time, but on a recent walk-through with friends, they were surprised when they saw one of our recent 2-acre patch cuts. I took the time to explain why we had chosen this harvest method as we navigated our way through the harvest site, and I pointed out small seedlings of white oak, sugar maple and tulip poplar that were beginning to take advantage of recently arranged sunlight. On this cut, we had harvested all the eastern red cedar—the remains of a former field that had grown into cedar some 40 years earlier. In many cases, complete harvest cuts are the best way to provide sufficient sunlight to oak seedlings, which are shade intolerant.…

9 GREAT COVER CROPS TO CONSIDER

Barley: Best planted in the late summer, barley is drought tolerant and does well in poor, even alkaline, soils. Like Austrian peas, it will not survive winter and can be left in the ground until spring. Radishes: There are a number of forage or oilseed radishes (Daikon are one type) that are fantastic late-season cover crops. Not only do they provide a considerable amount of biomass, but their large roots also break up compacted soil. When they suffer winter-kill, the spaces where their roots existed improve soil filtration. Plant an edible variety if you want to enjoy a few in the fall. Hairy vetch: Besides having pretty purple flowers that beneficial insects love, hairy vetch fixes nitrogen in the soil, making it an excellent choice for a living mulch. Cut it while…

9 GREAT COVER CROPS TO CONSIDER

PLAYING GARDEN DEFENSE

A bear hightailed it away as I stepped across our property line in Ozark National Forest. It was February, so this bear should have been deep in hibernation, but he was wide awake and skedaddling in overdrive. For two weeks, the U.S. Forest Service fire crews had been burning thousands of acres on the mountain above our house. Evidently, the fire woke the bear, so he left for the safety of our inholding. Critters are being pushed around all over the country. The New Pioneer’s editor, Nancy Tappan, who lives in southern Oregon, has watched dozens of unwanted deer arrive the past two years as their native habitat was destroyed by wildfires a few miles away. Their food became scarce and the deer migrated any place they could find browse. Animals are…

PLAYING GARDEN DEFENSE

SMALL-SCALE LOGGING EQUIPMENT

As you start cutting trees, you will realize that getting logs out of the woods can be a problem. If you’re cutting smaller trees, you won’t need heavy equipment. Small-scale loggers have several pieces of equipment to choose from that will safely help transport logs out of the woods. Arches: LogRite makes a log arch, which enables ATVs to move logs and, unless the log is extremely long, will keep the log off the ground. Arches come in different sizes and can be used with ATVs, UTVs or tractors. Log skid plate: Montana Jack’s Outpost sells plans for building your own skid plate. This design can safely pull logs up to 20-feet long without significant soil damage, and by slightly lifting logs, you reduce drag, which allows the log to…

SMALL-SCALE LOGGING EQUIPMENT

According to Master Gardener Claire Cresto, this concoction will last through several rains and repel all kinds of animals. Do not use it on maturing fruit or vegetables since it tastes as bad as it smells. • ½ cup milk• 1 egg• 2 Tbsp. baking soda• 1 Tbsp. powdered garlic• Big squirt of dish soap• 1 gallon of water Mix 1 quart of water with the rest of the ingredients, shake well, then add the rest of the water. Let it sit for a minimum of 48 hours. Apply using a watering can. The longer it sits, the more it smells and the better it works. Store it outside.…

MUSHROOMS & MOUNTAINS

In agricultural circles, Montana is well-known for wheat, barley and beef, but Shawn and Jennifer McDyre of Sun Hands Farm in Kalispell are putting mushrooms on the map. When most people think of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), vegetables typically come to mind. It’s common to buy a share to enjoy spinach, radishes and early greens in the springtime and eventually tomatoes and other summer veggies later in the season. In addition to this traditional fare, Sun Hands Farm offers a unique selection of gourmet mushrooms to their shareholders as well as market-goers and farm visitors. “Raising a crop that isn’t a standard market garden vegetable takes a considerable amount of research.” Roots In Mushrooms The funny thing is, growing mushrooms was never on Shawn’s radar, even though he grew up…

MUSHROOMS & MOUNTAINS

FRESH EGG FACTS

There are lots of good reasons for keeping backyard chickens, and getting fresh eggs is at the top of the list. Finding a fresh-laid egg in the coop is a thing of wonder. No matter how many times you collect eggs, it never seems to get old. So, what’s the scoop on this nutritional marvel? How do eggs form? How do shells get their color? Do all eggs look like grocery-store eggs? Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at eggs from the chicken to the plate. How Eggs Are Formed When a female chick hatches, she has thousands of ova (immature yolks) in her ovaries. They represent all the eggs she can ever lay—more than enough for her lifetime. As she grows, her left ovary matures and becomes the dominant, functional ovary.…

FRESH EGG FACTS

Anyone who has ever had a garden has worried about all the pests that can ruin it. Nowadays, we know we should avoid using pesticides if at all possible. Fortunately, there are many other ways to control the damage pests do to our plants. One readily available option involves wildlife. Now, I know that most people think wildlife is a threat to our beloved fruits and vegetables, but three unappreciated critters can help us protect our gardens: frogs, lizards and snakes. “…they are so efficient with their long, sticky tongue that just one frog can capture and eat as many as 100 bugs in one night.” Featuring Frogs Frogs and toads are amphibians; they’re as comfortable in the water as they are on land. Granted, toads are more adapted to a dry life…

DIY WOOD GASIFIER

“It took some trial and error to find the sweet spot where the engine would run smoothly, but once there, it ran without hesitation.” “Dave, have you seen the big stainless steel mixing bowl?” “It’s probably around here somewhere,” I muttered. Accustomed as she was to my vague answers to such questions, Becky rolled her eyes, assumed the worst and reached for another bowl to mix the pancake batter. The irony of having to run into town to buy gasoline for our sawmill has always been a sore point with me. On a good day at the mill, I burn 4 gallons of gasoline and produce over a ton of wood scraps—roughly equal in heating value to 120 gallons of gasoline! A hundred years ago, many sawmills used their wood waste to fuel…

DIY WOOD GASIFIER

Cover crops are not just for large, commercial farming operations. Even on small farms and home garden plots, this regenerative technique works wonders on soil. In the commercial agricultural realm, cover crops are planted in rotation with the main crop, either before spring planting or after harvest in the fall. Specific plants, such as Austrian peas, clovers or vetches, are grown for several reasons, among them to add nutrients to soil and improve soil structure, then are cut or tilled under before they go to seed. While this practice might seem challenging for people working with limited space, it is completely feasible. The trick is to determine which cover crop best suits your garden’s needs. Many cover crops are champions at fixing nitrogen in the soil, reducing erosion and attracting…

9 GREAT COVER CROPS TO CONSIDER

Barley: Best planted in the late summer, barley is drought tolerant and does well in poor, even alkaline, soils. Like Austrian peas, it will not survive winter and can be left in the ground until spring. Radishes: There are a number of forage or oilseed radishes (Daikon are one type) that are fantastic late-season cover crops. Not only do they provide a considerable amount of biomass, but their large roots also break up compacted soil. When they suffer winter-kill, the spaces where their roots existed improve soil filtration. Plant an edible variety if you want to enjoy a few in the fall. Hairy vetch: Besides having pretty purple flowers that beneficial insects love, hairy vetch fixes nitrogen in the soil, making it an excellent choice for a living mulch. Cut…

9 GREAT COVER CROPS TO CONSIDER

JOIN THE COMMUNITY

There are plenty of YouTube videos and websites showing wood-gas units in operation around the world. An excellent place to start is the Drive on Wood forum, hosted by wood-gas guru (and holder of the land-speed record for a wood-powered vehicle) Wayne Keith. There, you will find an extensive library of information (including the FEMA gasifier plans) and a friendly community that is welcoming to new members and committed to helping people around the world build and set up their own units. Hope to see you there!…

JOIN THE COMMUNITY

PLAYING GARDEN DEFENSE

A bear hightailed it away as I stepped across our property line in Ozark National Forest. It was February, so this bear should have been deep in hibernation, but he was wide awake and skedaddling in overdrive. For two weeks, the U.S. Forest Service fire crews had been burning thousands of acres on the mountain above our house. Evidently, the fire woke the bear, so he left for the safety of our inholding. Critters are being pushed around all over the country. The New Pioneer’s editor, Nancy Tappan, who lives in southern Oregon, has watched dozens of unwanted deer arrive the past two years as their native habitat was destroyed by wildfires a few miles away. Their food became scarce and the deer migrated any place they could find browse.…

PLAYING GARDEN DEFENSE

Cooking With Sun Power

It was 1907, in what was then Arizona Territory, where, then as now, the sun shines more than 320 days of the year. A miner, more than a little the worse for wear after spending the day guzzling whiskey, bought a dozen eggs from a traveling vendor. Heading back to his shack, he dropped one of the eggs on a rock so hot it fried the egg immediately. Perhaps realizing that he could save himself the trouble of dirtying a pan back at home, the miner cracked the rest of the eggs on the rock and made himself a large omelet. Alas, reported the local paper, the meal killed the miner, for he’d eaten not chicken eggs but those of a venomous Gila monster. That mishap aside, the expression “hot enough…

Cooking With Sun Power

Guide To The FIXER-UPPER FARMHOUSE

Not being a “skilled tradesman” has never stopped me from undertaking projects. Neither has fear or common sense. I’m supremely skilled at overestimating my ability. Shortages in skilled labor and limited finances have required me to push personal limits involving carpentry, electrical, HVAC, painting and drywalling, leaving me dirty, cut, bruised, sore, dizzy, cranky, stressed— and, once, slightly electrocuted—but generally satisfied with the work. I have established boundaries. Being wet, getting other things wet and ruining everything I touch involving water prevents me from practicing plumbing, by order of Management. Regardless of your skill set, be advised: Remodeling work on older homes often includes additional unseen difficulties. Rule Number One: Never assume a remodel will be easy or go as planned. Unlike new construction, remodeling is fraught with hidden hurdles. With…

Guide To The FIXER-UPPER FARMHOUSE

According to Master Gardener Claire Cresto, this concoction will last through several rains and repel all kinds of animals. Do not use it on maturing fruit or vegetables since it tastes as bad as it smells. • ½ cup milk• 1 egg• 2 Tbsp. baking soda• 1 Tbsp. powdered garlic• Big squirt of dish soap• 1 gallon of water Mix 1 quart of water with the rest of the ingredients, shake well, then add the rest of the water. Let it sit for a minimum of 48 hours. Apply using a watering can. The longer it sits, the more it smells and the better it works. Store it outside.…

Anyone who has ever had a garden has worried about all the pests that can ruin it. Nowadays, we know we should avoid using pesticides if at all possible. Fortunately, there are many other ways to control the damage pests do to our plants. One readily available option involves wildlife. Now, I know that most people think wildlife is a threat to our beloved fruits and vegetables, but three unappreciated critters can help us protect our gardens: frogs, lizards and snakes. “…they are so efficient with their long, sticky tongue that just one frog can capture and eat as many as 100 bugs in one night.” Featuring Frogs Frogs and toads are amphibians; they’re as comfortable in the water as they are on land. Granted, toads are more adapted to…

“I paid $5 for one ear and $20 for a four-pack of freshly decorated, right-off-the-roaster corn,” my niece, Shari, told me on the phone. At the time, I was sure that Shari had lost her mind. She continued to sing the praises of this delicious corn on the cob she’d bought from a food truck that had only been in business for two years. “People line up and wait for 30 minutes to an hour while their corn is being roasted, seasoned and decorated,” Shari said. Getting The Scoop So I called Phillip Powell of Bessemer, Alabama, a former car salesman and certified welder, who had also owned a bankruptcy business, to learn why he gave up those pursuits to go into his Aww Shucks fire-roasted, gourmet corn business. He told me, “My…

DIY WOOD GASIFIER

“It took some trial and error to find the sweet spot where the engine would run smoothly, but once there, it ran without hesitation.” “Dave, have you seen the big stainless steel mixing bowl?” “It’s probably around here somewhere,” I muttered. Accustomed as she was to my vague answers to such questions, Becky rolled her eyes, assumed the worst and reached for another bowl to mix the pancake batter. The irony of having to run into town to buy gasoline for our sawmill has always been a sore point with me. On a good day at the mill, I burn 4 gallons of gasoline and produce over a ton of wood scraps—roughly equal in heating value to 120 gallons of gasoline! A hundred years ago, many sawmills used their wood…

DIY WOOD GASIFIER

JOIN THE COMMUNITY

There are plenty of YouTube videos and websites showing wood-gas units in operation around the world. An excellent place to start is the Drive on Wood forum, hosted by wood-gas guru (and holder of the land-speed record for a wood-powered vehicle) Wayne Keith. There, you will find an extensive library of information (including the FEMA gasifier plans) and a friendly community that is welcoming to new members and committed to helping people around the world build and set up their own units. Hope to see you there!…

JOIN THE COMMUNITY

THE SWEETEST FOUR-PACK

The Powells originally offered four roasted-corn flavors. One day a customer asked to buy a four-pack: one of each flavor. So, the Powells purchased disposable aluminum pans to hold four flavors of corn. If you take a four-pack home with you and put the aluminum pan in the oven at 250 to 300°F for 10 to 15 minutes, Phillip says he believes the corn tastes even better—especially if you wait a day to heat up a four-pack. “The flavors of the fire-roasted corn have an opportunity to develop more in the corn before you eat it. Eventually, we plan to cook our corn, season and decorate the ears and have them in grocery stores.”…

THE SWEETEST FOUR-PACK

ONE OF THE WORLD’S MOST IMPORTANT CROPS

Corn or maize (Zea mays) is a cereal plant in the grass family, first domesticated in Mexico approximately 10,000 years ago. Corn had already spread as far north as southern Maine by the time Europeans settled in North America. Today, corn is grown most everywhere and is considered the world’s most important crop. The main classifications of the corn we consume as food are based primarily on kernel texture and include flint corn (hominy); flour corn (cornmeal); sweet corn (fresh, frozen and canned corn); and popcorn (snacks). Corn is fermented to make alcoholic beverages like bourbon, and corn syrup is widely used in manufactured food items. Many industrial products also utilize corn: fireworks, antibiotics, glue, insulation, paper, shoe polish, cosmetics, detergents, animal feed, insecticides, ethanol and paint. Because corn is gluten-free,…

ONE OF THE WORLD’S MOST IMPORTANT CROPS

Cooking With Sun Power

It was 1907, in what was then Arizona Territory, where, then as now, the sun shines more than 320 days of the year. A miner, more than a little the worse for wear after spending the day guzzling whiskey, bought a dozen eggs from a traveling vendor. Heading back to his shack, he dropped one of the eggs on a rock so hot it fried the egg immediately. Perhaps realizing that he could save himself the trouble of dirtying a pan back at home, the miner cracked the rest of the eggs on the rock and made himself a large omelet. Alas, reported the local paper, the meal killed the miner, for he’d eaten not chicken eggs but those of a venomous Gila monster. That mishap aside, the expression “hot…

Cooking

With

Sun Power

The Great Pantry-Hall BAKE OFF

One of the most popular areas of the fair is the pantry hall where treasured baked goods are entered in the hope of earning a blue ribbon. If a winner comes home with the best-of-show ribbon, that’s the ultimate accomplishment. As a pantry judge at our state and local fairs, I’ve judged many baked goods. A variety of issues present problems for bakers, but certain ones show up consistently. Here, we will address the most common obstacles encountered with simple yeast breads, muffins, quick breads and pies, particularly pie crusts. An excellent crust is as important as the filling! When preparing for the fair, get the little ones involved, too—make your baking a family project. From learning to break eggs properly to mixing batters and doughs, the children will have fun…

The Great Pantry-Hall BAKE OFF

GENERAL TIPS FOR BLUE-RIBBON BAKING

1. Read the entire recipe first. “Do this even before you get out the bowl.” This sound advice is from Cheryl Bullis, a Brown County, Ohio, baker and blue-ribbon winner. “My grandma taught me to bake at an early age,” Cheryl told me. 2. Use fresh flour—and the proper kind. Old flour can produce an inferior loaf of bread, so check the expiration date. The gluten/protein in old flour can’t produce elastic dough. All-purpose flour is the “go-to” flour for most recipes. Bread flour has more protein than all-purpose. 3. Bleached vs. unbleached flour. Bleaching is an aging process that softens and whitens flour. It can be done naturally or chemically. Flour bleached naturally is labeled “unbleached.” This takes time. Flour labeled “bleached” is chemically bleached, which is a much quicker process.…

GENERAL TIPS FOR BLUE-RIBBON BAKING

Guide To The FIXER-UPPER FARMHOUSE

Not being a “skilled tradesman” has never stopped me from undertaking projects. Neither has fear or common sense. I’m supremely skilled at overestimating my ability. Shortages in skilled labor and limited finances have required me to push personal limits involving carpentry, electrical, HVAC, painting and drywalling, leaving me dirty, cut, bruised, sore, dizzy, cranky, stressed— and, once, slightly electrocuted—but generally satisfied with the work. I have established boundaries. Being wet, getting other things wet and ruining everything I touch involving water prevents me from practicing plumbing, by order of Management. Regardless of your skill set, be advised: Remodeling work on older homes often includes additional unseen difficulties. Rule Number One: Never assume a remodel will be easy or go as planned. Unlike new construction, remodeling is fraught with hidden hurdles.…

Guide To The FIXER-UPPER FARMHOUSE

“I paid $5 for one ear and $20 for a four-pack of freshly decorated, right-off-the-roaster corn,” my niece, Shari, told me on the phone. At the time, I was sure that Shari had lost her mind. She continued to sing the praises of this delicious corn on the cob she’d bought from a food truck that had only been in business for two years. “People line up and wait for 30 minutes to an hour while their corn is being roasted, seasoned and decorated,” Shari said. Getting The Scoop So I called Phillip Powell of Bessemer, Alabama, a former car salesman and certified welder, who had also owned a bankruptcy business, to learn why he gave up those pursuits to go into his Aww Shucks fire-roasted, gourmet corn business. He…

KEEN KITCHEN EDGES

Anyone who loves to cook will probably tell you that the most essential tool in the kitchen is a good knife. It is impossible to prepare much of anything or use any kind of high-tech equipment without starting with a knife of some sort. So, it stands to reason that the one thing that all cooks and chefs will talk about and argue over ad infinitum is what they consider to be the “best” knife. It doesn’t necessarily have to be the coolest knife on the latest cooking blog, either. Choosing a knife that best suits your needs, style of cooking and skill level is very subjective. Here is some basic information about choosing and caring for your knives to help you decide which one is best for your kitchen. First…

KEEN KITCHEN EDGES

Quilts For A Cause

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in late February, quilters around the world have been designing quilts and quilt blocks to raise funds for the besieged nation along with sponsoring fundraising events. While each effort—like a single fabric patch—may appear small, when pieced together, these small efforts have created something spectacular: hundreds of thousands of dollars to help Ukrainians. Among the many Ukrainian-aid projects sponsored by quilters, here are three winners. STAR WITHIN A STAR Quilt and fabric designer Pat Sloan, a Northern Virginia quilter and fabric designer, has been moved by the plight of the Ukrainians. “Quilters like to help,” she explains. “Quilters are very community-driven and do a lot of charity work. They have a helping mindset.” Inspired by Maria Nelga, president of the Ukrainian Quilters Association, Sloan designed “Stars for Strength,”…

Quilts For A Cause

THE SWEETEST FOUR-PACK

The Powells originally offered four roasted-corn flavors. One day a customer asked to buy a four-pack: one of each flavor. So, the Powells purchased disposable aluminum pans to hold four flavors of corn. If you take a four-pack home with you and put the aluminum pan in the oven at 250 to 300°F for 10 to 15 minutes, Phillip says he believes the corn tastes even better—especially if you wait a day to heat up a four-pack. “The flavors of the fire-roasted corn have an opportunity to develop more in the corn before you eat it. Eventually, we plan to cook our corn, season and decorate the ears and have them in grocery stores.”…

THE SWEETEST FOUR-PACK

FORGE A TOOL RACK

Thanks to Orange, I am about to tell and show you how to make an ingeniously simple, practical, durable and inexpensive holder for long-handled tools, including forks, rakes, shovels, crooks and the like. Let me explain. Orange Judd (1822-1892)—and, yes, Orange really was his first name—was an agricultural scientist, editor and publisher who specialized in farm journals and books dispensing useful knowledge to farmers and other rural dwellers. Judd’s magazines, including American Agriculturist and Hearth and Home, were primary resources for American country folk, especially in the decades just before and after the Civil War. Among his publishing company’s many book titles was Farm Conveniences, a compilation of tools, devices and techniques contrived by “a score of practical men in all departments of farm labor.” Farm Conveniences has been republished several times and…

FORGE A TOOL RACK

ONE OF THE WORLD’S MOST IMPORTANT CROPS

Corn or maize (Zea mays) is a cereal plant in the grass family, first domesticated in Mexico approximately 10,000 years ago. Corn had already spread as far north as southern Maine by the time Europeans settled in North America. Today, corn is grown most everywhere and is considered the world’s most important crop. The main classifications of the corn we consume as food are based primarily on kernel texture and include flint corn (hominy); flour corn (cornmeal); sweet corn (fresh, frozen and canned corn); and popcorn (snacks). Corn is fermented to make alcoholic beverages like bourbon, and corn syrup is widely used in manufactured food items. Many industrial products also utilize corn: fireworks, antibiotics, glue, insulation, paper, shoe polish, cosmetics, detergents, animal feed, insecticides, ethanol and paint. Because corn is…

ONE OF THE WORLD’S MOST IMPORTANT CROPS

The Great Pantry-Hall BAKE OFF

One of the most popular areas of the fair is the pantry hall where treasured baked goods are entered in the hope of earning a blue ribbon. If a winner comes home with the best-of-show ribbon, that’s the ultimate accomplishment. As a pantry judge at our state and local fairs, I’ve judged many baked goods. A variety of issues present problems for bakers, but certain ones show up consistently. Here, we will address the most common obstacles encountered with simple yeast breads, muffins, quick breads and pies, particularly pie crusts. An excellent crust is as important as the filling! When preparing for the fair, get the little ones involved, too—make your baking a family project. From learning to break eggs properly to mixing batters and doughs, the children will have…

The Great Pantry-Hall BAKE OFF

Step 1: Pick a post with plenty of overhead room (someplace your critters don’t often congregate is best). Step 2: Hold your longest fork in front of the post so that the tips of its tines are safely above the head of the tallest critter in your barn. Mark where the butt of the handle needs to be. Step 3: Bolt the bottom shelf to the post so the shelf plate is at the mark. Make sure the plate is level. Step 4: Drill a single hole and install the top shelf so that the plate is about one foot above the lower one. Step 5: Insert that longest fork in the center of the holder. If it leans out too far, relocate the top shelf upward—that will draw the fork closer to the…

Trees are a bountiful source of life in so many ways for so many forest creatures, including us. It’s no surprise, then, that we invented the Tree of Life concept millennia ago to honor the mighty tree. The Tree of Life is symbolic in many mythologies as well as in religious and philosophical beliefs. Various trees are prevalent in folklore, culture and fiction, often signifying immortality or fertility. The Tree of Life appears in Norse religion as Yggdrasil, the world tree, a massive ash or yew tree with extensive lore surrounding it. There are accounts of Germanic and other tribes honoring sacred trees within their societies—for example, Thor’s Oak, the Druid’s sacred groves and the sacred tree at Uppsala in Sweden. Recently, I decided it was time to create my own version…

GENERAL TIPS FOR BLUE-RIBBON BAKING

1. Read the entire recipe first. “Do this even before you get out the bowl.” This sound advice is from Cheryl Bullis, a Brown County, Ohio, baker and blue-ribbon winner. “My grandma taught me to bake at an early age,” Cheryl told me. 2. Use fresh flour—and the proper kind. Old flour can produce an inferior loaf of bread, so check the expiration date. The gluten/protein in old flour can’t produce elastic dough. All-purpose flour is the “go-to” flour for most recipes. Bread flour has more protein than all-purpose. 3. Bleached vs. unbleached flour. Bleaching is an aging process that softens and whitens flour. It can be done naturally or chemically. Flour bleached naturally is labeled “unbleached.” This takes time. Flour labeled “bleached” is chemically bleached, which is a much…

GENERAL TIPS FOR BLUE-RIBBON BAKING

DIY TREE OF LIFE QUICK TIPS

• You may have to trim your branches here and there to get your subjects to fit—I had to several times. • Be sure that your Tree of Life will fit in the space you have in mind before building it. • Be creative. I made the snood on the turkey beak out of leather (I’m a leather-worker), dyed it red and then glued it on with wood glue. Gobbler snoods are part of the bird’s mating display. • Pre-drill the narrow leaf stems lest you split them. Use wood screws. I sometimes use sinew to attach leaves. • Keep it real. The two ducks I put on my tree might seem out of place in a tree, but hooded mergansers and goldeneye ducks both nest in tree cavities.…

Have you ever gotten the itch to learn a new skill by challenging yourself to a DIY project you’ve never tackled before? My wife, Becca, got that itch when we were randomly offered a free Scottish Highland hide. Our friends had their animal butchered for meat, and the hide was up for grabs. Despite a crammed schedule filled with work and house renovations, Becca seized the opportunity, and the next thing I knew, she was knee-deep in her first tanning project. I helped as I could, which honestly wasn’t much due to the aforementioned obligations. What really helped her was a tanning kit she tracked down from Wyoming-based The Tannery, Inc. The company offers kits through its website, but the cow- and buffalo-tanning kits are also available to order by phone.…

KEEN KITCHEN EDGES

Anyone who loves to cook will probably tell you that the most essential tool in the kitchen is a good knife. It is impossible to prepare much of anything or use any kind of high-tech equipment without starting with a knife of some sort. So, it stands to reason that the one thing that all cooks and chefs will talk about and argue over ad infinitum is what they consider to be the “best” knife. It doesn’t necessarily have to be the coolest knife on the latest cooking blog, either. Choosing a knife that best suits your needs, style of cooking and skill level is very subjective. Here is some basic information about choosing and caring for your knives to help you decide which one is best for your kitchen.…

KEEN KITCHEN EDGES

When my wife and I purchased our rural 43 acres, both of us were hit with a range of emotions. It was a big step financially, and it suddenly dawned on us that it was going to take time and physical effort to make our homestead dream come true. One of my first tasks as a new landowner was to clear the area and eventually the ridge site where we planned to build our house. We also intended to burn wood as a heat source. With over 40 acres of mixed hardwoods at hand, we would never have to worry about having an ample supply of useable fuel. But to do all that, certain tools were needed to get things done. Topping the list was a chainsaw. Chainsaws were not unfamiliar to…

Quilts For A Cause

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in late February, quilters around the world have been designing quilts and quilt blocks to raise funds for the besieged nation along with sponsoring fundraising events. While each effort—like a single fabric patch—may appear small, when pieced together, these small efforts have created something spectacular: hundreds of thousands of dollars to help Ukrainians. Among the many Ukrainian-aid projects sponsored by quilters, here are three winners. STAR WITHIN A STAR Quilt and fabric designer Pat Sloan, a Northern Virginia quilter and fabric designer, has been moved by the plight of the Ukrainians. “Quilters like to help,” she explains. “Quilters are very community-driven and do a lot of charity work. They have a helping mindset.” Inspired by Maria Nelga, president of the Ukrainian Quilters Association, Sloan…

Quilts For A Cause

FORGE A TOOL RACK

Thanks to Orange, I am about to tell and show you how to make an ingeniously simple, practical, durable and inexpensive holder for long-handled tools, including forks, rakes, shovels, crooks and the like. Let me explain. Orange Judd (1822-1892)—and, yes, Orange really was his first name—was an agricultural scientist, editor and publisher who specialized in farm journals and books dispensing useful knowledge to farmers and other rural dwellers. Judd’s magazines, including American Agriculturist and Hearth and Home, were primary resources for American country folk, especially in the decades just before and after the Civil War. Among his publishing company’s many book titles was Farm Conveniences, a compilation of tools, devices and techniques contrived by “a score of practical men in all departments of farm labor.” Farm Conveniences has been republished…

FORGE A TOOL RACK

DYNAMIC DUO FROM WORX

Astute readers of The New Pioneer know that we are big fans of the eco-friendly and solid products from WORX. Why? Because all of the WORX products we’ve tested work, work hard and they last. Here’s a recent duo that we put to work around the homestead. WORX 20-Volt, 20-Inch 2-in1 Hedge Trimmer: We have a few pesky but beautiful Rose Of Sharon bushes that take zero time to become Rose Of Sharon trees. Trimming them has always been a crazy affair with our plug-in trimmer that’s tie-wire-rigged with an 8-foot piece of 5/4 lumber for a handle. Those days are over! The WORX 2-in-1 Hedge Trimmer reaches up to 12 feet to groom tall hedges, shrubs and bushes. The 2-in-1 yard tool’s trimmer head easily detaches without tools from its…

DYNAMIC DUO FROM WORX

Step 1: Pick a post with plenty of overhead room (someplace your critters don’t often congregate is best). Step 2: Hold your longest fork in front of the post so that the tips of its tines are safely above the head of the tallest critter in your barn. Mark where the butt of the handle needs to be. Step 3: Bolt the bottom shelf to the post so the shelf plate is at the mark. Make sure the plate is level. Step 4: Drill a single hole and install the top shelf so that the plate is about one foot above the lower one. Step 5: Insert that longest fork in the center of the holder. If it leans out too far, relocate the top shelf upward—that will draw the…

STREAMLIGHT BEARTRAP MULTI-FUNCTION LIGHT

When you need light in a tight spot (camping tent, workshop, garage) and you need it fast, don’t stay trapped in darkness, reach for your BearTrap. Streamlight’s new high-power work light delivers up to 2,000 lumens for automotive and other inspection, identification and repair uses. Featuring both spot and flood beams, the light can rotate 270 degrees in its frame and clamps to virtually any surface or stands on its own for hands-free task illumination. It also features a magnetic base and a hanging hook for additional hands-free lighting options. The BearTrap provides six output modes, including three spot and three flood settings. Flood mode fills work areas with soft, bright light, ranging from 2,000 lumens on high with a 2.5-hour run time to 575 lumens on low, with an 8.75-hour…

STREAMLIGHT BEARTRAP MULTI-FUNCTION LIGHT

DURABLE DOG TOY

Our front lawn had been redecorated again: Shredded rubber balls were strewn about and a soccer ball oozing dirt and air sat prominently in the middle of the yard. This was the work of our 3-year-old Texas heeler, who had officially graduated from Puppy Stage 1 to Puppy Stage 2—which simply meant that her teeth and grip had grown stronger and now matched her body weight. She had become an energy machine replete with teeth and claws. That is our Sassy. Our household spending needed to focus on things like food and fences instead of constantly replacing toys for Sassy. Every time I discarded another deflated, shredded ball and/or chew toy, I muttered, “There has to be something out there she can’t destroy in two hours or less!” Even large bones,…

DURABLE DOG TOY

Trees are a bountiful source of life in so many ways for so many forest creatures, including us. It’s no surprise, then, that we invented the Tree of Life concept millennia ago to honor the mighty tree. The Tree of Life is symbolic in many mythologies as well as in religious and philosophical beliefs. Various trees are prevalent in folklore, culture and fiction, often signifying immortality or fertility. The Tree of Life appears in Norse religion as Yggdrasil, the world tree, a massive ash or yew tree with extensive lore surrounding it. There are accounts of Germanic and other tribes honoring sacred trees within their societies—for example, Thor’s Oak, the Druid’s sacred groves and the sacred tree at Uppsala in Sweden. Recently, I decided it was time to create my…

DIY TREE OF LIFE QUICK TIPS

• You may have to trim your branches here and there to get your subjects to fit—I had to several times. • Be sure that your Tree of Life will fit in the space you have in mind before building it. • Be creative. I made the snood on the turkey beak out of leather (I’m a leather-worker), dyed it red and then glued it on with wood glue. Gobbler snoods are part of the bird’s mating display. • Pre-drill the narrow leaf stems lest you split them. Use wood screws. I sometimes use sinew to attach leaves. • Keep it real. The two ducks I put on my tree might seem out of place in a tree, but hooded mergansers and goldeneye ducks both nest in tree cavities.…

When my wife and I purchased our rural 43 acres, both of us were hit with a range of emotions. It was a big step financially, and it suddenly dawned on us that it was going to take time and physical effort to make our homestead dream come true. One of my first tasks as a new landowner was to clear the area and eventually the ridge site where we planned to build our house. We also intended to burn wood as a heat source. With over 40 acres of mixed hardwoods at hand, we would never have to worry about having an ample supply of useable fuel. But to do all that, certain tools were needed to get things done. Topping the list was a chainsaw. Chainsaws were not…

DYNAMIC DUO FROM WORX

Astute readers of The New Pioneer know that we are big fans of the eco-friendly and solid products from WORX. Why? Because all of the WORX products we’ve tested work, work hard and they last. Here’s a recent duo that we put to work around the homestead. WORX 20-Volt, 20-Inch 2-in1 Hedge Trimmer: We have a few pesky but beautiful Rose Of Sharon bushes that take zero time to become Rose Of Sharon trees. Trimming them has always been a crazy affair with our plug-in trimmer that’s tie-wire-rigged with an 8-foot piece of 5/4 lumber for a handle. Those days are over! The WORX 2-in-1 Hedge Trimmer reaches up to 12 feet to groom tall hedges, shrubs and bushes. The 2-in-1 yard tool’s trimmer head easily detaches without tools from…

DYNAMIC DUO FROM WORX

STREAMLIGHT BEARTRAP MULTI-FUNCTION LIGHT

When you need light in a tight spot (camping tent, workshop, garage) and you need it fast, don’t stay trapped in darkness, reach for your BearTrap. Streamlight’s new high-power work light delivers up to 2,000 lumens for automotive and other inspection, identification and repair uses. Featuring both spot and flood beams, the light can rotate 270 degrees in its frame and clamps to virtually any surface or stands on its own for hands-free task illumination. It also features a magnetic base and a hanging hook for additional hands-free lighting options. The BearTrap provides six output modes, including three spot and three flood settings. Flood mode fills work areas with soft, bright light, ranging from 2,000 lumens on high with a 2.5-hour run time to 575 lumens on low, with an…

STREAMLIGHT BEARTRAP MULTI-FUNCTION LIGHT

DURABLE DOG TOY

Our front lawn had been redecorated again: Shredded rubber balls were strewn about and a soccer ball oozing dirt and air sat prominently in the middle of the yard. This was the work of our 3-year-old Texas heeler, who had officially graduated from Puppy Stage 1 to Puppy Stage 2—which simply meant that her teeth and grip had grown stronger and now matched her body weight. She had become an energy machine replete with teeth and claws. That is our Sassy. Our household spending needed to focus on things like food and fences instead of constantly replacing toys for Sassy. Every time I discarded another deflated, shredded ball and/or chew toy, I muttered, “There has to be something out there she can’t destroy in two hours or less!” Even large…

DURABLE DOG TOY

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