One afternoon a sudden squall line sneaked up on us while we were working in the field. You know that feeling — goosebumps on the back of your neck, and you look up cautiously, expecting to see the dark stalker two strides behind. Within seconds, lightning crackled over the timber a half-mile distant and we […]
Community & Lifestyle
Posted inArts & Culture
Prairie notes 6-3-04
Most of us natural-farmer types were pleased when the USDA announced that it would develop a set of regulations — the government’s form of a blessing — for organic farming. But many small, diversified producers are now backing away from certification by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It’s not so much a problem with the […]
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Plant a row for the hungry
This summer, many vegetable gardeners will have buckets full of tomatoes, cucumbers by the armload, and zucchini coming out their ears. Many successful gardeners take for granted their ability to grow vegetables, forgetting that many people do not have access to fresh vegetables and fruits. Enter Plant a Row for the Hungry, a national program […]
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Strawberry picking time
When I was a child, my grandmother would take the family to pick strawberries every Memorial Day weekend. We would pick at least 20 quarts of berries, enough for dessert and jelly. Grandma always somehow managed to pick more berries than the rest of us combined. She would serve sliced, sweetened berries over shortcake with […]
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Prairie Notes 5-27-04
Although I’m an advocate of compost as a “complete feed” for most lawn and garden settings, some situations require the application of additional natural fertilizers. Earth-wise use of any fertilizer requires more information than the so-many-pounds-per-100-square-feet recommendation on the label. We need to know (1) the existing level of fertility in our soil and (2) […]
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A whiff of the past: Remembering the Frascos’ Italian-American store
Of the five senses, the olfactory sense is the most closely related to memory. All of us have experienced the phenomenon of being suddenly and almost magically transported back in time, in the mind’s eye, when a particular scent triggers a reaction within us and we find ourselves in that place that we subconsciously associate […]
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Prairie Notes 5-20-04
Funny how we sometimes see the value of things. I’ve never heard of someone shopping around for the cheapest doctor or the cheapest hospital — after all, when it comes to our health we want the very best, and hang the cost. But when we go to the supermarket, we want cheap! Most people would […]
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Rhubarb’s best when it’s red
My favorite spring vegetables include lettuce, spinach, asparagus, and rhubarb. One of my favorite meals is a grilled pork chop, a fresh garden salad, creamed asparagus, and a slice of warm rhubarb pie with ice cream. Rhubarb (Rheum rhabarbarum) is a cool-season perennial vegetable with thick red, pink, or green petioles (stalks) and large, extravagant […]
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When Lulubelle and Scotty ruled the airwaves
The decade of the 1930s marked the halcyon days of radio. Television was still a novelty, while radio technology had progressed to a high level of sophistication, allowing for not only both live and taped news and entertainment programming to originate from the studios but from remote locations as well. One of the most popular […]
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Earth Talk 5-20-04
Dear Earth Talk: Which are better for the environment, disposable or cloth diapers? — Barbara Fritts, White Lake, Mich. The “disposable versus cloth” debate has raged among environmentalists for years. Non-degradable disposable diapers can sit for decades, even centuries, in landfills and require thousands of tons of plastic and hundreds of thousands of trees to […]
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Earth Talk 5-13-04
Dear Earth Talk: What are some ways to maintain a “green” swimming pool? — Jim Humphey, North Andover, Mass. The primary health and environmental drawbacks to swimming pools are water waste, energy waste, and overuse of chlorine. Chlorine is very irritating to the eyes and skin, and can trigger breathing difficulties by also “stinging” the […]
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The kindest cuts
Selecting the right shrubs and trees is the key to making sure plants don’t overrun your home. But even when plants are selected properly, a plant that was supposed to grow to a certain height may exceed expectations. That’s when it’s time to prune. Proper pruning techniques are essential to ensuring healthy and attractive plants. […]
