Archive for April, 2009

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Community Preparedness

Friday, April 10th, 2009

by Catherine Haug

During the fall of 2007, I was visiting my former home in Portland Oregon, when I found an inspiring piece in the local newspaper.  In fact, it was this article that started me thinking about a way to rejuvenate the community of Bigfork, and eventually led to my involvement with ESP.

We may never face the kind of emergency that happened in Vernonia Oregon, a small town between Portland and Astoria, but the idea of being prepared, on a community level, for ANY emergency appeals to me.  Wouldn’t it be nice to know which community members have certain expertise, should your need for that expertise arise? (more…)

Posted in Community, Community Preparedness | 1 Comment »

Composting: Kitchen & Yard Scraps

Wednesday, April 8th, 2009

by Sally Janover

When you compost, what goes around truly does come around.

There are many ways to compost.  You can find a wide variety of suggested methods for composting on line, in books, at gardening events and at nurseries.  If you’re just starting out, it could be confusing, sound complicated or seem too time consuming.  

I’ve been composting for many years, in many states, on large and on very small properties.  I’m a busy person, but one with an environmental conscience, so there’s no way I could not recycle my food scraps, fall leaves and other “mulchables” from my kitchen and my yard.   (more…)

Posted in Compost, Food-Nutrition-Health, Gardening | 1 Comment »

Composting: Yard Waste

Monday, April 6th, 2009

The following article was published by the Daily InterLake in October, 2008. David Brown is a health researcher from Kalispell; his blog is Nutrition Science Analyst.

See also his comment to the post:  “Composting Author Wanted.”

Fall Composting of Yard “Waste”

by David Brown

October is a month of opportunity for gardeners as well as those who appreciate beautiful lawns and landscaping. Trees preparing for winter remove nitrogen from their leaves and store the nutrient in buds and stems to reuse when warm weather returns. This causes leaves to change color and eventually detach and fall to the ground. (more…)

Posted in Compost, Gardening | Comments Closed

Composting: Author wanted

Saturday, April 4th, 2009

by Catherine Haug

We have received a few queries about composting:.  Shelli at Yellow Bay wanted to know if meat could be added to compost; Keith (our Brew Master) wants to know more about vermicomposting.  And the question has come up at a few gatherings.

Is there anyone in our ESP community who could write a post about composting? You don’t really have to be an expert, you just have to have experience with the topic.  And having photos to illustrate your text really helps.

The post could describe various ways to compost, what to include (or not to include), how to ensure it gets warm enough to make good compost, how to ensure it gets adequate air and moisture, benefits of adding and encouraging worms, etc.

If you are interested, send your draft to Catherine (cat(at)essentialstuff.org — email disguised), along with how you’d like your name to appear, as the author.

If you have the expertise but don’t want to write it up, lets get together.  You describe, I’ll take notes and then write it up for you.

Posted in Compost, Gardening, Home & Ranch | 4 Comments »

Cold Storage Info

Friday, April 3rd, 2009

by Catherine Haug

Updated October 16, 2009 to add a single-page Winter Storage Chart you can hang in your storage area.

Have you even wondered how to store foods long term, without electricity? Many foods can be stored long-term in a root cellar (typically 40 – 450F), but perishable foods such as milk and butter require colder storage options. Of course, in winter, the whole world is a refrigerator and you merely need to find a spot where things won’t freeze.

Refer to The EssentiaList: Refrigeration without Electricity for the full article.  Root Cellars, Cold stream, Spring House, Well House, Ice Box, and Ice House are all discussed.

See also The EssentiaList: Cold Storage of Vegetables

NEW!:  Winter Storage Chart. This is a single page chart for the most commonly stored items, that you can print out and hang in your storage area(s), and includes:

  • ideal temperature
  • ideal humidity, and
  • notes on how to store and how long each item will keep.

Posted in Energy, Home & Ranch | Comments Closed

Community Garden at St. Patrick’s (Ferndale)

Friday, April 3rd, 2009

Introduction

by Catherine Haug

St Patrick’s Episcopal Church is planning a community garden as a mission project for the Ferndale (and larger) community.  The initial plots will not be ready for planting until next year (2010), as there are many issues to be resolved first.

Please contact Catherine if you are interested in volunteering to get this project off the ground. (more…)

Posted in Community, Community Garden, Ecology, Gardening | Comments Closed

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