 Photo by MaryAnna Clemons Intimidated By Knitting? |
Hold onto your needles
Here are some great free patterns for sweaters and more we found out on the Web.
Try a search for “free sweater patterns” to see what else you can find.
Happy knitting!
 © Karen K. Acevedo In this article … Perhaps fellow Laura Ingalls Wilder fans remember the final chapter in These Happy Golden Years, where she writes in blissful, descriptive detail about the pantry her new husband, Almanzo, built for her in their first home in South Dakota. From the handy, built-in sugar drawers to empty space “for things to come,” this pantry signified the cozy core of farmhouse life and mission control for the kitchen. Today’s modern pantry can continue to serve as the heart of today’s hobby-farm kitchen with a dash of thoughtful planning. More than just cabinets stuffed with random dry goods, a well-thought-out pantry can save two of your most precious resources: time and money. Think of the pantry as your farm’s on-site convenience store, efficiently stocked with the necessary basics to keep your daily meals and food duties humming along, from ample sugar for putting up strawberry jam to ingredients for a quick dessert for the neighbors’ impromptu visits. Save time by eliminating those unplanned trips to town because you ran out of something and save fuel costs as well. A well-stocked and organized pantry also helps trim your grocery budget. By always having basic staples on hand, you can readily make homemade—and healthier—versions of pricey, processed foods like hot cocoa or even sweetened condensed milk. Despite all these glories, the pantry sometimes gets relegated to a low rank among kitchen priorities, often randomly stuffed with food until you can barely close the cabinet doors and don’t know what you have anymore. Here are some easy tips to quickly and strategically organize and elevate your pantry to the master hub of your kitchen. Identify Your Pantry’s Purpose
Between running a B&B on our farm and my love for baking, organic, unbleached white flour and sugar are two items I can never run out of. Pantry purposes may change seasonally, particularly during the summer peak when you’re constantly processing the abundant garden harvest. I freeze loads of spinach and Swiss chard, which add up to a need for a lot of olive oil for the blanching process. Every spring I visit a Greek grocery store when I’m in Chicago and buy several three-liter, metal containers of imported, extra-virgin olive oil, which aren’t available in such a bulk size—and at such a good price—in my rural Wisconsin area.
I save both money and time by being able to process a season’s worth of garden greens without running out of supplies. Buy in Bulk
Preparation Separately, mix flour, baking powder and salt. Stir in 1 cup peppermint candy. Gradually add flour/candy mixture to creamed mixture, beating until blended (dough will be stiff). Divide dough in half. On ungreased baking sheet, roll each portion into a 12- by 21⁄2-inch rectangle. Bake at 350 degrees F for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Carefully remove and place on wire rack. Cool for 15 minutes. On cutting board, cut diagonally into 1/2-inch slices. Place cut side down on ungreased baking sheets. Bake 12 to 15 minutes until firm. Cool on wax paper. For example, I order my organic, unbleached flour in a 50-pound, bulk bag. Items that are not available in bulk bags can often be ordered cheaper by the case, like boxes of tea. Buying core items in bulk helps both your pocketbook and the planet. Not only do you save money over individual units, you use a lot less packaging and contribute less to the landfill. By purchasing bulk organic ingredients, the price is reduced significantly. Local buying clubs and food co-ops tap into the buying power of a group pooling their resources to purchase bulk foods at close to wholesale prices. A buying club usually starts at about five or six people to meet minimum order requirements and works through a local natural foods distributor to place a group order. (Look for a listing of food cooperatives near you.) Another option is to ask your local grocery store to special order a bulk item or case for you, on which they may also be willing to give you a discount. Use It Up This sounds like an obvious concept, but we’ve all accidentally bought something in duplicate or were forced to throw out expired food. Despite today’s rising food costs, the average American still unfortunately throws out approximately 15 percent of food purchased annually, adding up to over $500 in wasted food. One “game” our family plays to make sure we don’t let pantry items linger too long is to “eat through” the pantry each winter. After the December holidays, we try to go cold turkey on buying food, focusing on eating both the garden bounty we canned and froze in combination with everything in the pantry. This gets us motivated to break into the more exotic impulse purchases we made that year—like grape leaves and quinoa—and forces us to think creatively with pantry ingredients, often leading to new favorite recipes. One winter we realized we had accumulated a big, plastic bag filled with red-and-white peppermint candies acquired from restaurants and leftover holiday candy canes, which resulted in one of our now-favorite cookie recipes: peppermint biscotti. Always keep in mind how much you actually use of something and buy accordingly. If a bulk bag is a great deal, but you know you won’t use 50 pounds of rice in a year, consider splitting it with a friend. I’ve learned to limit my dried herb and spice purchases. I might save money buying the one-pound bag of bay leaves, but I know I only use a handful for some of my fall soup recipes. Herbs and spices lose their flavor over time, and I’m better off buying just what I can use in one year and replacing it with fresh stock. Invest in Proper Storage
Going back to identifying your pantry’s purpose, invest in accessible, quality storage containers for the bulk items you use most often. Look for containers made from high-grade, durable materials with tight-fitting lids. With so many options available online and at retailers such as The Container Store, you can purchase the exact size you need to fit your kitchen. While some of these containers may seem pricey, investing in something that makes your kitchen routines easier will quickly prove its worth. I had some dead space under a kitchen shelf that evolved into perfect storage for my flour, sugar and dried milk when I found sturdy, plastic bins that were just the right size to slide under that shelf. Recycled glass containers work well as easy, frugal storage containers. Wide-mouth canning jars make it easy to access the ingredients as well as enable you to quickly identify what’s inside. Glass and metal containers deter mice as they’re impossible to chew through. Pack in the Nutrients “Dried fruits rank high as an economical and convenient source of flavor, nutrients and fiber, especially if you grow or buy fresh fruit in season and dehydrate it at home,” recommends Angie Tagtow, an environmental nutritionist based in Iowa and a leading advocate championing public access to fresh, affordable, sustainably raised food. “Drying your own fruit in season eliminates the added sweeteners and preservatives often added to commercially dried fruit, so all you taste is the pure food flavor.” Dried fruits such as blueberries and cranberries also offer lots of antioxidants, and can be used as a snack, added to baked items or sprinkled on top of yogurt or oatmeal. MacGyver Your Pantry This substitution approach works particularly well for ingredients you wouldn’t commonly have on hand, like fresh buttermilk. Stuck in the middle of a recipe when you realize you don’t have a can of sweetened condensed milk? Here’s an easy substitute for sweetened condensed milk that’s much less processed than the commercial variety. This can be used in recipes that call for one can of sweetened condensed milk: Ingredients:
Directions: Try this recipe for Chocolate Cobbler — it includes ingredients that allow you to substitute for self-rising flour. Add a Dash of Exotic Flavor These items probably aren’t available at your local country market; add them to your shopping list for your next trip to the big city:
Keep Organized I keep a sticky note inside my kitchen cabinet. When I notice I’m running low on something, it turns into my handy shopping list. Organization also applies to how you keep your items stored on the shelves. Grouping like items together aids in quickly finding things, such as canned goods, baking supplies, spices and rice. Think of your farmhouse pantry as the garden’s dance partner, working together with your harvest bounty to bring flavorful, healthy meals to your family’s table. Our farmhouse pantries may contain different ingredients than a century ago—chocolate chips and soy sauce didn’t cross Laura Ingalls Wilder’s shopping list—but the spirit remains the same: They serve as the mission control of our kitchen, enabling us to celebrate farm life by making every meal special.
Categories All-Terrain Farming When I moved my family to the country, I expected a tractor would be a near-term investment. With our 3-plus-acre wooded home site and a nearby 120 acres of woods, pasture and cropland, a small tractor seemed a necessity. However, I soon realized my needs as a hobby farmer were considerably different from that of the mixed livestock and crop farm where I had grown up. I needed something that was dependable and low maintenance yet didn’t require a second mortgage on the house. I also didn’t need a lot of power, as the fields and pastures were rented to a nephew. I would be doing tree farming and light maintenance. What I did want was something that could maneuver well among dense woods and easily pull, push and lift up to several hundred pounds. With the two properties separated by about 5 miles, I also needed something easy to transport, and in my southeastern corner of Minnesota, also known as “bluff country,” it needed to be able to handle rough, steep terrain. An all-terrain vehicle (ATV) seemed to be the best answer. For half the cost of a new subcompact tractor, I could get similar horsepower, more maneuverability and much higher speeds. In my work as a writer covering agriculture, I knew that most of what I wanted to do with my land could be done with a powerful four-wheeler if it had the right features. After spending hours on the Internet exploring tools and options, I found the final link in my chain of decisions: Concord Equipment offers the Groundhog, a hydraulic loader for ATVs. Most ATV loaders rely on a winch for limited vertical lift, but the Groundhog is powered by a hydraulic pump for up to 4 feet of vertical lift and a 300-pound lift capacity. Attachments include a bucket, a blade and a posthole auger. The three hydraulic cylinders give it down pressure, vital for digging, and deliver tilt control of the attachments. This was what I needed to do my farm work. The next decision: What make and model of ATV to buy. I spent hours scouring user remarks on the Internet before I ever walked into a showroom. While there are many excellent ATVs on the market, I quickly narrowed my choices to the Yamaha Grizzly and the Honda Foreman. Both had the power I needed and were rated well by users. In the end, I went with the 499cc Honda Foreman, due in large part to Honda’s reputation for dependability and on-farm use. It offers maximum-performance or maximum-torque continuously variable transmission (CVT) settings, each with high and low ranges, and electric shift program (ESP). CVT transmissions offer the best of hydrostatic and mechanical transmissions, finding the best gear ratio for each situation. The ESP, with its push-button shifting through four speeds, is sort of an automatic on steroids, giving you the feel and control of a gearshift without the hassle of clutching. This article first appeared in the March/April 2009 Hobby Farms. If you enjoyed this article and want more like it, click here to subscribe online.
Categories Nature’s NastiesBy Sue Weaver Regardless of where you dwell in this great land, some of these critters live there too. Biting bugs can be merely annoying or make country life a living hell. Can you deal with nature’s blood-sipping nasties or do they drive you to distraction? If they do, take heart—there are ploys to help you cope. Ticks Black-Legged, Western Rocky Mountain Wood, Lone Star, Brown Dog and American Dog Ticks, all of which are vectors or carriers of serious human illness such as Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, ehrlichiosis, babesiosis, tularemia, relapsing fever, Colorado tick fever and tick paralysis. Ticks spread a host of livestock disorders too. Ticks are tiny arachnids, relatives of spiders. They dine on the blood of birds, reptiles and mammals, including humans, by sinking their barbed mouthpieces into flesh. Salivary anticoagulants keep the blood flowing and a cement-like secretion glues them in place. Firmly attached, they suck until satiated. Only female ticks engorge, swelling hundreds of times their pre- meal weight.
Tick bites are virtually painless. Sensitive individuals sometimes notice when a newly attached tick injects its body fluids but most hosts remain blissfully unaware they’ve been stabbed. Since ticks neither jump nor fly, to pick up a tick you must brush against one waiting on vegetation to hitch a ride. So don’t venture into tall grass meadows, forests carpeted with leaf litter, brushy terrain or overgrown fields. Stick to wide, cleared pathways and stay in the center of trails. Don’t sit or lie on the ground or on rocky surfaces in tick country. If you do live in a tick-infested area, or find yourself in one, watch what you wear. Choose light-colored long-sleeved shirts, long pants and tall socks worn with shoes, not sandals. Tuck your shirttail into your pants and your pant cuffs into your socks. Find ticks before they attach. Pause frequently to spot check clothing. When they can’t reach skin, ticks migrate north toward your head and neck. As part of spot checks, probe your hairline and behind your ears. If they evade clothing barriers, they’ll head for tender spots like ankles and behind your knees. You’ll also find them on your tummy where your belt line halts further travel. Clothing can be treated with Permethrin-based insecticides. Permethrin is highly effective but must never be applied to human skin. Products containing N, N-Diethyl-3-Methylbenzamide, commonly known as DEET, also repel ticks, although not as effectively as Permethrin. DEET repellents can, however, be applied directly to bare skin. After tick country outings, carefully inspect yourself, your children and pets, leaving no territory unexplored. Deer-tick nymphs are barely the size of poppy seeds, so you must look close. Ask a friend or spouse to examine your back and neck.
Clothing worn in tick country should be treated to a two-cycle hot water bath or dry-spun in the dryer for at least 20 minutes; otherwise ticks may be lying in wait when you next put them on. Woods walkers sometimes blunder through an encampment of “seed ticks” (nymphs) and find thousands crawling up their clothing. To remove them quickly, loop a strip of tape around your hand, sticky side out, blot them up, then dispose of the tick-studded tape. A tick must be attached for about four hours to transmit Rocky Mountain spotted fever; 12 to 24 hours to spread Lyme disease; 24 hours to transfer babesiosis parasites; and 36 to transmit erlichiosis. If you find a potentially infected tick attached to you, your child or pet, you can possibly prevent disease if you get it off fast. Wear latex gloves or use a tissue when handling ticks. Tick pickers can catch Lyme disease or Rocky Mountain spotted fever from exposure to tick body fluids. Don’t touch a match or cigarette to the tick’s backside and don’t swab it with gasoline, cooking oil, fingernail polish remover or petroleum jelly. And because a tick’s mouthpiece is barbed, not spiraled, you needn’t “unscrew” it during removal. Folk remedies often irritate the tick and cause it to spit up additional toxins. Besides, most of them plain don’t work. To remove a tick, use unrasped needle-nose tweezers, a hemostat, or any of the many inexpensive tick removal tools to grasp its mouthpiece, not its body, and pull it slowly and steadily straight out. Don’t squeeze the tick! Dispatch the tick by dropping it in a container of alcohol, or wrapping it in tissue and flushing down the toilet. Another solution: seal the tick inside a wide strip of tape before crushing it—don’t squash it with your fingernails. Monitor the bite site, watching for secondary infection, abscess formation, or any sign of rash—and try not to scratch! If an animal is host to a great many ticks, hand picking may be the only logical solution. Armed with latex gloves and a wide-mouth container of alcohol, gently grasp the tick near its head and gently pull it out. In impromptu situations, step on the tick or crush it between two rocks. Use a fine-tooth flea or louse comb to remove unattached ticks from most any coated animal. And prevent infestation by treating horses and dogs with one of the new, long lasting spot-on insecticides containing Permethrin. Eliminate farmstead tick habitat by clipping lawns short and keeping barn and outbuilding areas weed and litter free. Discourage favorite tick hosts such as rodents, raccoons and deer by removing food sources and winter shelter. Top
Like ticks, chigger larvae wait on vegetation until a host appears. Once aboard, chiggers head for thin skinned or wrinkled anatomy such as armpits, inside elbows, behind knees, ankles and the human groin. Chiggers neither burrow beneath skin nor do they suck blood. Instead, when it reaches attractive real estate, a chigger pierces its host’s skin, then injects anticoagulant and an enzyme designed to liquefy skin cells. It sucks liquid and lymph for about four days then drops off, leaving behind a hard red welt with a tiny, hard white center. The bite itself isn’t painful nor does it itch. However, within a few hours of attachment, the chigger’s saliva causes surrounding tissues to harden, thus forming a hollow, swollen feeding tube called a stylostome. The stylostome itches intensely and the longer the chigger is attached, the deeper the stylostome and the more excruciating the itch. Chiggers are at their worst around midsummer when daytime temperatures reach 75 to 85 degrees. They’re inactive when the mercury dips below 60 degrees. They prefer damp, shady spots but you can pick up chiggers most anyplace in nature. Besides humans, chigger larvae feed on other mammals, birds, even reptiles and toads. To avoid chiggers, shun tall grass and similar chigger habitat; don’t sit or lie on the ground, and dress as though you were visiting tick territory. If exposed to chiggers, take a hot bath or shower, use lots of soap, and scrub yourself dry with a terrycloth towel. Launder contaminated clothing in hot, soapy water for at least 30 minutes. Because it’s the stylostome that itches, folk cures that call for dabbing chigger bites with nail polish, bleach, alcohol, ammonia or turpentine to kill offending chiggers simply don’t work. Nothing truly salves this itch but time. Mosquitos Like most biting flies, both sexes feed on nectar but only the female drinks blood. She can spot prey up to 110 feet away and is attracted by carbon dioxide and lactic acid emissions, body temperature, dark colors, motion and floral scents. A mosquito requires blood protein to produce eggs, which she lays in marshes, ditches, puddles, slow moving rivers and creeks, lakes and ponds, ornamental pools, stock tanks and horse troughs, buckets, barrels and junk such as cans and old tires. She prefers grass and weed-sheltered stagnant water. Most North American mosquito species dine an hour or two before, at, and for the same amount of time after dawn and dusk, although a few are strictly day or night feeders. To avoid being bitten, stay indoors during peak mosquito hours. Wear light-colored, long-sleeved, heavy-duty shirts, pants, socks and hats when venturing outside during mosquito season. Avoid short sleeves, sheer fabrics, sandals and dark colors. Repellents containing DEET work best. The New York State Department of Health suggests adult consumers choose mosquito repellents containing no more than 30 percent DEET. Childrens’ products should contain no more than 10 percent. Higher concentrations don’t work better, they simply last longer. Less effective alternatives include homemade or commercial products containing oils of citronella or eucalyptus, Avon Skin-So-Soft products, and Bounce dryer sheets wiped on exposed skin or suspended from clothing. Install mesh screens in your home, keep doors and windows closed, and use mosquito-specific space sprays labeled for household use. But don’t buy a bug zapper; mosquito traps are a better option and don’t fry beneficial light-flying moths. To best control mosquitoes, eliminate their breeding grounds. If an item holds water and you’re not using it, get rid of it. Dump and refill pet dishes, wading pools, bird baths, livestock watering buckets, horse troughs and stock tanks every two or three days. And drain ornamental pools, puddles, ditches, swamps and other organic water holders or treat them with biological larvicides. Horse and Deer Flies (Tabanids) Most tabanids prefer feeding on horses, cattle and deer. Of the two, deer flies are most likely to bite humans; necks, the backs of hands and ankles are favorite targets. Deer flies’ incessant buzzing and dive bombing canbe every bit as annoying as their painful bites. Tabanids enjoy warm, sunny days and are attracted by moving objects, warmth, and carbon dioxide emissions. They are day feeders. Permethrin-based insecticides offer short-term relief to horses and other livestock and can be applied to clothing but not human skin. Other chemical repellents seldom work. Sturdy barrier clothing and Biocontrol Network Consultants’ non-chemical Tred-Not Deer Fly Patches (DETEX 231-832-2323) are best bets for humans afoot in deer-fly country. Because tabanids are voracious but flighty feeders, often skipping from host to host to complete a meal, they spread many diseases including anthrax, bovine anaplasmosis, hog cholera, Potomac horse fever and equine infectious anemia. Under sustained tabanid attack, horses and cattle cease grazing and huddle together for protection, resulting in weight loss and reduced milk production. Standard pheromone-baited fly traps won’t attract tabanids but HorsePal Horsefly Traps (Newman Enterprises) are an innovative visual-attractant that will. Black Flies Like most biting flies, both sexes feed on nectar but the female also drinks blood. Her bite is painfully out of proportion to her size. She slashes and sucks pooled blood like the tabanids, injecting an anticoagulant that triggers mild to severe allergic reactions in most humans. The swelling and itch that follows lasts up to two weeks or more. Hordes of black flies pose a serious threat. Mega-bitten hosts sometimes die from acute toxemia or anaphylactic shock. Many black flies feed on birds, some on mammals, but a few prefer human blood. The buzzing, dive-bombing, skin-crawling antics of non-biting species coupled with the efforts of those that do, make early spring in forest and lowlands a woods walker’s worst nightmare. Most black flies are daytime feeders and they rarely venture indoors. Biting varieties target ears, hairline, wrists, ankles and feet. They can’t bite through most fabric but readily burrow under clothing and into hair. DEET repellents are only minimally effective, and nothing works very well. Wear mosquito-barrier clothing and avoid endemic areas if you can. NO-SEE-UMS Most no-see-ums feed at dawn and twilight, from early spring through midsummer. A few species are daytime biters, especially active on damp, cloudy days. Both types frequent salt marshes, sandy barrens, riverbanks and lakes. Chemicals won’t repel them. Because no-see-ums bite through clothing weave, avoid snug shirts and pants. Loose-fitting, light-colored clothing or no-see-um mesh garments work best. These tiny terrors are highly attracted to dogs and livestock, particularly their ears and lower legs. Gloss painfully chewed areas with a smear of petroleum jelly and keep animals indoors during prime feeding time. Fly masks with ears help protect horses. Ticks, chiggers and biting flies are among nature’s nastiest creations, yet most can be avoided or controlled with some strategic planning. About the Author This article first appeared in the April/May 2003 issue of Hobby Farms magazine. Pick up a copy at your local newsstand or tack and feed store. Click Here to subscribe to HF.
Categories 2007 Ag Census HighlightsThe farmers have been counted!
The USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) recently announced the results of the 2007 Census of Agriculture. Here are some highlights that may be of interest to hobby farmers:
Coming up … You can read the full report online, as well as view charts, fact sheets, maps and more at the Ag Census website. The Census of Agriculture every five years, providing the only source of consistent, comparable, and detailed agricultural data for every county in America. Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service
Categories Beginning Farming Class Set
New and aspiring farmers in central New York can get help with business planning and getting a farm started by taking a new Cornell Cooperative Extension course this March. Where: Tully Town Hall, 5833 Meeting House Rd., Tully, N.Y. What You Can Expect
Each workshop will include experiences of local farmers, logistical considerations and hands on work to help you focus your interests. The series will conclude with practical consulting sessions based on your needs and interests. This training is offered by the NY Beginning Farmer Project, which is made possible by funding from the NY Farm Viability Institute and Cornell Cooperative Extension. For more information on small farm topics visit www.smallfarms.cornell.edu  Keeping livestock on a small farm can be a very rewarding experience. Raising sheep, cattle, goats or poultry provides a sense of closeness to the earth and a true feeling of accomplishment in your farm. But on the other hand, raising livestock is hard work. Moving the animals around the property, separating individuals for veterinary care and keeping them in one area of the farm can be challenging. That is, unless you have the help of a farm dog suited for herding livestock. A herding dog can do wonders to lighten your livestock-handling load. With a herding dog at your side, you’ll be amazed at how much easier your job can be. Combine all that with the great companionship you’ll get, and it makes owning one of these amazing canines worth considering. How Herding Dogs HelpThe chores that a good herding dog can help you achieve are many, according to small farmers who are currently using canine helpers to manage their livestock. Small farms throughout the world use herding dogs to get livestock chores done quickly and efficiently, and have done so for thousands of years. “Ever had to wrestle an unwilling sheep or goat down to deworm, trim feet or shear?” asks Marie Koebke of Alamar Kennels in Van Alstyne, Texas, a breeder of Border Collies and Australian Shepherds. “Ever had your cows get out in the middle of the night, or try to get a steer into a chute that doesn’t want to be doctored or vaccinated? It isn’t easy and can be dangerous. A well-trained dog can make all these jobs go much smoother and easier. When it is time to get the livestock out of the upper pastures or move them to another pasture, a dog can save the work, time and expense of three people. A dog has more livestock sense than most humans and can anticipate the stock’s next move long before you can. The maneuverability of a dog’s four legs to your two saves many steps.” Koebke notes that daily jobs can also be made a lot easier with the help of a herding dog. “I use mine to keep the sheep off the feed pans and out of the way while feeding grain,” she says. “I also use the dogs to hold one group while I push others out of the pen, in our case llamas. We also use them to hold sheep in a corner while we catch them to deworm, trim feet, doctor or just generally look them over. Any time we move stock from one place to another, we use a dog. Loading a trailer becomes a simple task with a dog behind the stock. Moving from one pasture to another, sorting, any task now takes just me and a good dog to make it easy.” Koebke reports that she has a cousin who works on a dairy farm in a milking parlor and uses a dog to help her with her chores. “She has a Border Collie that lays at the door to keep the other cows from sneaking in for grain,” she says. “When she is done with one group, the dog takes those cows out of the parlor, goes through a couple of fences and brings eight more in and puts them in the stanchion to be milked. It only takes one girl and one dog to accomplish the milking of several hundred cows.” Herding Dog BreedsAlthough herding comes naturally to many dogs, not all breeds have the instinct to work livestock. Dogs bred specifically to herd are the ones with the strongest instinct and the most trainability for this job. Humans have been using dogs for herding for thousands of years, and consequently, a great many herding breeds have been developed over time. Some of the most common herding breeds seen working on farms today include: The American Kennel Club, the largest dog breed registry in the United States, currently recognizes 18 herding breeds, including the Collie, Shetland Sheepdog, Old English Sheepdog and Welsh Corgi breeds, to name just a few. Other non-AKC herding breeds also exist, such as the Australian Kelpie and the English Shepherd. Styles of HerdingSome of these AKC and non-AKC breeds retain more herding instinct than others, and some were bred to excel at the different styles of herding:
Driving is the style most commonly thought of when one thinks about herding dogs. Driving dogs push livestock through gates and pens, and can take animals from one part of the farm to the other without human assistance. Mustering dogs, on the other hand, retrieve livestock from far away areas of the property and return them to the farmer. Boundary herding requires that the dog provide an artificial fence line around livestock, keeping the animals from wandering out of a designated area. Boundary dogs can also move livestock to keep them gathered and in the right place. While certain dogs are bred to specialize in one type of style more than another (German Shepherds excel at boundary herding, while Border Collies are known to be excellent drivers), any herding dog can be trained to perform one or more of these herding styles. Choosing a BreedWhen it comes to choosing a herding breed, it’s important to think about what you need your dog to do, and then study each breed to determine which ones are best suited to your situation. Remember too that while your herding dog will be a working animal, he will also be a companion and family dog. “It’s a good idea to go to herding trials and talk with people who have the various breeds,” says Cathy Modica, a herding dog trainer in Escondido, Calif. “Ask about the breeds’ strong points and weak points. For example, while Border Collies predominate in the working field, they do require a fair amount of work to keep them happy. Other AKC herding breeds are equally good at doing chores. They may take a little longer to train, but they also know when to settle down and be a family member.” Many small farmers have a strong interest in Border Collies, since this is the most visible and often used breed in herding. Jimmy Walker, a herding dog trainer in Hillsboro, Texas, notes that Border Collies are popular because of their intelligence and their natural instincts to gather and herd. “Border Collies are thought by many to be the most intelligent breed of dog,” he says. “Their instincts and intelligence make it easier for one dog to work large numbers of stock. Border Collies are used to work cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, chickens, ducks and geese. Some dogs can do it all with correct training to learn which livestock need a little force and which don’t. Some Border Collies are a little more one-sided, being strong and having a tendency to bite more and therefore only work cattle. Others are softer and only work the smaller species that don’t need that kind of force.” Walker adds that Border Collies are real time savers. “Because of their natural instincts to gather, they can be taught to go out and bring stock to you,” he says. “Most small farmers need tasks to be completed as quickly as possible. Border Collies help with this because they save steps that the farmer doesn’t have to take.” Puppies vs. Adult DogsWhether or not to start with a young puppy or purchase an older dog that has already been trained is another question small farmers make when considering adding a herding dog to the family. “Some people like the idea of training and learning along with the puppy,” says Koebke. “However, the drawback is that you have at least a year before the dog is useful to you. There is also that big question as to whether or not the dog will be able to do what you need. By the time you discover that, you are two years down the road and have wasted a lot of time and money finding out that the dog can’t do what you want. If you are inexperienced, it is also possible to take a really good puppy and ruin it with one mistimed correction on stock or a bad experience at a critical point in the puppy’s development.” Koebke adds that a puppy can still be a good choice under the right circumstances. “This is not to say you shouldn’t start with a puppy,” she says. “I personally want a dog to grow up with me, learning me and my nuances and moods. You just need to exercise common sense and seek out help to start things off right.” Modica notes that whether you start with a puppy or an adult also depends on how much work needs to be done and when. “Realistically, a pup won’t be ready for real training until six months of age at the absolute earliest, and even more realistically, about 12 months. Once started in training, it will take several months before the dog can do simple chores. One thing to remember is that a pup will probably work, but there’s no guarantee that it will. It’s sort of an unknown, which is why the pup should be bought from someone who is breeding for herding. A dog that is already trained is a known entity, will cost more, but you can start working with it immediately.” Small farmers who opt for an adult dog that is already trained can expect to pay $1,000 and upward, depending on the level of training the dog has been given. Conversely, a puppy from herding lines can cost anywhere from $600 to $1,200, depending on the breed. Getting Started with Herding-dog OwnershipBefore embarking on herding-dog ownership, it’s a good idea to learn about herding training and how to work a herding dog, according to experts. “The most difficult part of herding is usually acquiring a basic knowledge of livestock, but most farmers already have this,” says Koebke. “The most important thing is knowing how a dog affects the livestock, and how the human can help or hinder the dog. I strongly recommend finding someone nearby to help you learn the basics, whether you buy a trained dog or start on your own. “It is very easy to ruin a good dog, especially a puppy, through sheer ignorance. Then, once you feel comfortable, go back occasionally to keep from developing bad habits. “A dog is only as good as his handler allows him to be. If something is not working, don’t take it out on the dog, it is usually your fault. Dogs are kind of like computers—if you input the wrong information, they output the wrong answers.” Modica recommends attending herding trials and talking to people who are breeding dogs for herding. “Most people at trials and breeders who breed for herding can help direct someone who is looking for a dog to help with chores,” she says. “I would caution that you be wary of someone who is a breeder but doesn’t have much herding experience, yet says ‘I have the perfect dog for herding in this litter.’ Way too many times, herding ability is erroneously linked to hyperactivity, or to dogs that are ‘high.’ It is unfortunate that people link this to herding. A good herding dog to help out with chores on a small farm should be stable and easy to train, not a dog that is bouncing off the walls.” If you are going to make the investment in a herding dog, it pays to get formal training so you can learn the ropes. “Find someone to help you,” says Modica. “If you start with a puppy, do not think this pup will learn by just following you or another dog. Pups left on their own develop bad habits. Keep him on a line if you take him to stock, and do not let him get into trouble with stock. If you correct him when he gets into trouble, he may think he is being corrected for working. When you are not able to be with him, kennel him or keep him confined in some way. Many a good dog has been ruined before he ever got started by having too much freedom.” If you’ll be getting a puppy, Modica recommends communicating with a trainer as soon as you get your pup so you know how to raise it. “When the dog is old enough, send him off to someone for the training. This will run you anywhere from $300 to $500 a month, and will take two to four months. For a busy farmer, this may be the best and most economical option.” In the meantime, learn as much about herding as you can, and consider taking lessons from a trainer or herding instructor. Before long, you and your herding dog will be an efficient team, and you’ll be wondering how you ever managed without him. This article first appeared in the August/September 2003 issue of Hobby Farms magazine. Have you ever gazed upon a Randall Lineback cow? Probably not. The Randall Lineback is America’s most critically endangered bovine breed.
Yet heritage Randall Linebacks—also known as Randall Cattle, Randall Blues and Randall Lineback Blues—have a lot to offer today’s hobby farmer, including the opportunity to help preserve one of America’s last surviving landrace cattle breeds. “Landrace” refers to a race of plant or animal developed in a specific locale and ideally suited for the environment where it lives. To fine-tune the definition, landrace livestock breeds are those that adapted to regional environments and to the demands of their work requirements with minimal human intervention, or that developed at the hands of humans using traditional, rather than modern, breeding techniques. Most landrace horses, cattle, sheep, pigs and goats are multi-purpose heritage breeds, and many are now extinct or endangered. Individual animals within a landrace breed are similar enough in phenotype (how they look) to be recognizable as members of a bona fide breed, yet they show considerable variation in type. This is because as landrace breeds evolved, function was more important than form. Consider the Border Collie, a landrace breed of working dogs developed in Scotland to herd sheep. Purebred Border Collies vary in size, type and coat length because they’ve been selected for practical herding ability, not to meet a set of show-ring criteria.
America has her share of landrace livestock breeds, such as Hog Island and Navajo-Churro sheep; Rocky Mountain and Spanish Colonial horses; Mulefoot hogs; and Tennessee Fainting Goats. But of the scores of landrace cattle breeds developed during her early history, only a few remain: Pineywoods and Florida Cracker cattle descended from colonial Spanish stock, and New England’s hardy Randall Lineback. In the Beginning However, shipping cattle by sea was costly (and risky), so as imported cattle interbred and multiplied in sufficient numbers to supply colonists with house cows, meat and oxen, importations largely ceased until the mid-19th century. During the interim, landrace populations developed everywhere cattle were kept. Meanwhile, specialized, purebred beef and dairy cattle were being developed in Great Britain and Europe.
The golden age of North American landrace cattle lasted until the mid-1800s, when purebred cattle were imported in sizeable numbers. By the turn of the 20th century, American registries extolled the virtues of beefy Shorthorns, Herefords and Angus, and of specialized dairy breeds such as Ayrshires, Jerseys, Guernseys and Holsteins. Farmers responded by switching to the new wundercows or upgrading their landrace herds with registered bulls. Gradually, specialized beef and dairy breeds usurped New England’s landrace cattle—the Creampots, the Columbias and Canadienne cattle from nearby Quebec—but through the efforts of one family, a single landrace breed survived. In 1912, Samuel Randall, his wife May and his 7-year-old son, Everett, took up residence on a farm near Sunderland, Vt. For the next three-quarters of a century, the family operated a farm where they worked their fields, sugared, logged with draft horses and operated a 22-stanchion dairy. Where Samuel Randall obtained his original cattle isn’t clear, but we do know the Randalls, father and son, chose not to “improve” them with newfangled beef or dairy bulls. The Randalls maintained a closed herd of tried-and-true, multipurpose landrace cattle they developed on their Sunderland farm. “Our Linebacks” the Randalls called them. They were the prototypes of today’s Randall Lineback cattle.
As continued out-crossing laid waste to other landrace cattle breeds, Samuel and Everett Randall continued breeding their cattle in genetic isolation. Their Linebacks were medium-size, multi-purpose cattle—“milky” enough to give two gallons of high-butterfat milk per day on a grass-based diet and beefy enough to provide good eating. They were docile cattle, intelligent and easy to work with when handled on a daily basis. Cows gave birth to calves without assistance and illness was rare. According to George Randall, Everett’s son and Randall Lineback Breed Association Board member, the elder Randalls selected for Lineback color as much as anything else. Then, as now, the Randalls’ Linebacks were marked with brockled (roan-like) patches of color on a white background. The amount of brockling varied; colors included black, blue or occasionally red. Color occurred on the Linebacks’ sides, muzzles, ears, eye rings and sometimes their feet. When Everett Randall died in 1985, the herd he and his father created was comprised of the last surviving landrace cattle in New England. And the herd was imperiled. Everett’s wife was unable to care for the animals, so part of the cattle went to slaughter. A portion went to other herds, including a small group to a couple in western Massachusetts who planned to help conserve them. When they lost interest, they put the remaining animals up for sale. At that point the Randall Lineback’s future was bleak. Cynthia Saves the Randalls With the help of Dr. D. Phillip Sponenberg of the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy and the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, who developed a breeding protocol for her cattle, Creech threw her heart and soul into conserving the remnants of the Randalls’ decimated herd, which she dubbed Randall cattle.
The herd grew. In 1994, Creech sold two heifers—the first she felt ready to part with—to Dianne and Phil Lang of South Kent, Conn., who already owned three Randalls and dreamed of establishing an organic dairy operation with the breed (which they have now done). Over the next few years, 11 more herds were founded with bulls and heifers from Creech’s herd. In 2000, Cynthia Creech was named The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy’s “Conservationist of the Year.” However, developed as they were for New England’s cooler climate, Creech’s Randalls suffered through Tennessee’s six-month, sweltering summers. She vowed to return the cattle to their natural environment, and in 2002 she and her herd headed north. Their first stop was Chapel Hill Farm in Berryville, Va. The herd stayed there for two years before Creech and some of the cattle moved on to South Kent, Conn., where she manages Rock Cobble Farm, now home to more than 100 head of purebred Randall Cattle. Through Cynthia Creech’s sacrifice and effort, this living piece of history survived. When asked for her take on the cattle she’s devoted her life to saving, Creech replies, “Randall cattle are one of the few breeds that retain their natural instincts and characteristics. They exemplify the innate traits of cattle raised on native New England subsistence farms. Calving ease, mothering ability, grazing efficiency, milk production and good health for many years are part of their package. Randalls have not been diminished through the single trait selection of typical modern agribusinesses. These cattle still know how to be cows in an efficient, functional and effective way. They are perfectly suited for—are in fact made to be–family cows or milk cows on small, grass-based dairy farms.” And what, we ask, can we do to help this rarest of heritage breeds survive? “The Randall breed,” she says, “needs dedicated, long-term breeders who believe that the characteristics of these cattle are to be valued and preserved just as they are. These cattle, as all heritage breeds, should not be changed to fit into an individual breeder’s mold, but rather celebrated and saved for the marvelous survivors that they are.” Randall Linebacks at Chapel Hill Farm Like Creech, he hopes responsible farmers investigate the breed because he believes that increasing their population and establishing herds in other parts of North America is of vital importance. “Randall Linebacks,” he says, explaining this view, “will be ensured survival when their numbers have reached 1,000 in at least five geographically separated herds. At that point, by definition, the Randall Linebacks will be beyond harm’s way from any individual calamity, human or otherwise. “The Gordian knot of the Randall Linebacks, and of all extremely rare breeds,” he continues, “is that no one has known what they were good for in today’s world because there were so few around. In my opinion, and in the opinion of others in the Randall Lineback Breed Association, the only way out of this dilemma is to produce enough Randall Linebacks so that two things can occur: a purpose sufficient to require a thousand breeding Randall Linebacks can be found and that enough Randall Linebacks can be produced initially to supply substantial demand.” He goes on to say, “This fall, Randall Linebacks are getting the proverbial ‘job’ so necessary to a rare breed’s survival. Randall Linebacks from Chapel Hill Farm—with menu attribution no less—will appear as special seasonal foods at 10 of Washington D.C.’s finest restaurants. The acceptance of Randall Lineback rose-veal by a chosen number of great chefs, which will grow by selection each year, is critical to the Randall Lineback’s survival. My hope is that, once a viable market has been pioneered, large and geographically separate new herds owned by others can then be created and supported by the marketplace.” Chapel Hill Farm’s rose-veal is the lean, fine-grained, tender and tasty, pink flesh of 200- to 250-pound, 8-month-old Randall Lineback steers, pasture-raised without growth hormones or medicated feed. To produce it—and to decide which calves to slaughter and which to retain for breeding stock—Chapel Hill Farm maintains extensive records on their cattle. Monitoring weight gains is only part of the picture; every Chapel Hill Randall Lineback is given a qualitative conformation rating of one to five. The best bull calves are kept for breeding; the highest-rated cows are flushed and bred to several bulls. While all of the bloodlines represented in the Chapel Hill Farm herd are preserved through ongoing breeding, the crème de la crème of the animals are used to increase the breed’s overall population at a faster rate. “Using every advanced reproductive technique,” Henderson tells us, “including embryo transfer, as well as the finest methods of traditional animal husbandry, including grazing hundreds of acres of open pasture and offering the purest limestone-spring water, we’ve bred, calved and raised more Randall Linebacks in the past two years alone than occurred in the previous 10-year history of the breed.” Henderson credits much of this success to Chapel Hill herd manager, Noah Travers, “a man who truly knows cattle” and to the Randall Linebacks themselves. “Randall Linebacks are beautiful creatures,” he tells us, smiling. “When I look upon the Randall Linebacks in my fields, I’m looking at a scene that could be three hundred years old.” Wouldn’t you appreciate that view from your back yard? There are fewer than 300 Randalls/Randall Linebacks in existence. This is the most critically endangered breed of cattle on the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy’s Watch List. Responsible conservator-breeders are badly needed. One of them could be you. About the Author: Sue Weaver is an HF contributing editor who raises a variety of livestock—some rare—on her farm in the Ozarks. This article first appeared in the January/February 2007 issue of Hobby Farms magazine. Pick up a copy at your local bookstore or tack and feed store or subscribe online>> Until recently, for many farmers and gardeners, the sight of an insect feeding on a plant conveyed a feeling of dread and panic—followed by a prompt trip to the garage for the sprayer. With all the information available today about the dangers of synthetic chemical pesticides and their effects on the environment, the “Nuke ‘em and leave” philosophy is thankfully on the wane. The practice of IPM, Integrated Pest Management, was developed to help growers deal with insects, diseases and weeds in a more reasonable manner. Gone are the days when reaching for the spray bottle was thought to be the best solution. Organic farmers and gardeners have now discovered that by wedding IPM techniques with organic principles, they can manage pests and still maintain the integrity of the soil, the population of beneficial insects, and the health and vigor of crops. Defining IPM If preventative methods fail, IPM then leads the grower to examine his or her own actions in the field. The practice of identifying and reducing the factors causing the problem in the first place is a key element.
If the grower changes some method of maintenance, a subsequent reduction in pests may result. Examples include the increase in pests that often accompanies an over-application of nitrogen fertilizer; such an application can cause excessive tender growth that is extremely appealing to pest insects. String trimmers may damage tree bark, creating an entrance for fungal and bacterial issues; allowing debris to linger in between crop rows attracts pests like slugs and earwigs. Keep the garden clean, locate plants in conditions in which they are known to thrive and employ good maintenance practices: These are easy ways to design the pest out of the garden. After the grower determines if the injury is somehow a result of human error, any necessary changes in maintenance techniques are made and the damage is closely monitored. Often this simple change is all that’s necessary to alleviate a pest problem. If further damage is noted, it then becomes essential to determine if pest levels are causing enough damage to warrant a response. For some growers, a few holes in their cabbage are no cause for concern. These farmers would rather see this minor aesthetic damage than spray their crops with anything. For other growers with a lower tolerance level, even a minor amount of damage warrants a response. No farmer wants to see their hard work destroyed by insects or diseases, so discovering your own tolerance level is important. In organic production, contrary to popular belief, you do not need to sacrifice flawless crops for the elimination of pesticides; it’s quite possible to grow perfect produce organically. And you do not need to raise your tolerance threshold, though it may make life on the organic farm a little less stressful. Most growers realize that “organic” produce is beginning to be more valuable than “flawless” produce in today’s market, so raising the tolerance threshold is an easy task. The principles of IPM state that once unacceptable damage begins and pest levels are continuing to rise, appropriate actions should be taken. Remember, IPM does allow for the use of conventional chemical pesticides, it just aims to reduce the amounts used. Here’s where organic farming takes a divergent path. Organic Pest Control Sometimes, however, despite everything an organic farmer has done to ensure strong, happy plants, pest problems occur. After examining the failure of any preventative methods, the farmer is then left to determine ways to control the pest without synthetic chemical inputs. “Good” bugs, heralded as beneficial insects, are great allies in organic production. Beneficial insects consume copious amounts of “bad” insects (they aren’t really “bad,” of course, because they do serve a purpose—as a pollinator, a decomposer or a food source for larger critters). One of the easiest ways to maintain a healthy farm is to understand this natural cycle of predator and prey, and to encourage it to prosper. Lure plenty of beneficial insects to crops that are frequently plagued with pests. Ladybugs, lacewings, hoverflies, pirate bugs, tachinid flies and parasitic wasps (don’t worry, they are very tiny and have no stinger) are just a few of the predatory insects that will make a home on the organic farm. Attracting and Keeping Good Bugs – Plant nectar sources. In many cases (but not all), it’s the larvae of beneficial insects that consume the “bad” bugs, while the adults feed on nectar. If they don’t have ample nectar, they’ll either leave to find it or they won’t lay as many eggs. Most adult beneficials prefer plants with clusters of many small flowers: Herbs like dill, parsley, fennel, oregano, cilantro, chervil and thyme, and annuals like sunflowers, cosmos, amaranth, alyssum and statice. Also, perennials like yarrow, daisies, tansy and angelica are preferred. Interplant crops with these flowers and watch them “buzz” with beneficial activity! – Create habitat. Many beneficial insects need a safe place to lay eggs. Some lay them right on the backs of the “bad” insects (parasitic wasps lay eggs on tomato hornworms and Aphidius wasps lay eggs on aphids), while others deposit eggs on nearby grasses and shrubs. Allow an area adjacent to the garden or field to be slightly unkempt. Lacewings lay their eggs along blades of grass, while praying mantids place egg cases on twigs or woody perennial stems to over-winter. – Don’t eliminate pests completely. If there are no pests at all, there will be no food source for hatching beneficials. The goal is to keep pest populations at tolerable levels while allowing enough of them to make the “good” guys want to stick around. Predator and prey population levels are in natural proportion with each other. The more prey present, the more the beneficials will reproduce. If you totally eliminate the “bad” guys, the beneficial insects will be unable to maintain a robust population. – Quit spraying. Many pesticides (most conventional, but a few organic, too) will not only kill pest insects, but beneficials as well. Read product labels carefully and be sure not to apply anything when beneficials are present. If the “good” guys are already working, they will take care of the pests quite fine on their own. Spraying will send nature’s balance off kilter and you’ll end up doing more harm than good. Watch pest levels for a few days; note the quick increase in beneficial activity followed by the rapid decrease in pest numbers. Besides utilizing the natural cycle of predator and prey, growers can rely on microscopic biological controls as well. Many pests are susceptible to specific strains of bacteria; these living bacteria can be applied to crops being consumed by that pest. One of the most common biological pesticides available for use in organic farming is Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis). It targets foliar feeding caterpillars (like cabbage loopers and gypsy moths, among others) by disrupting their gut. Bt is safe for humans and the environment when used on targeted plants; it will not affect beneficials or soil life. Another effective biological control is spinosad (Saccharopolyspora spinosa). This bacterium offers excellent management of potato beetles, fire ants, cabbage loopers, leafminers, caterpilliars and many others. Again, it has little toxicity to humans and soil life, so it’s an ideal choice for organic growing. Botanical Pest Control Options Pyrethrins are valued for combating a huge number of pests, including many types of beetles (potato, bean, blister, cucumber, asparagus and flea), loopers, caterpillars, thrips, earwigs, aphids and whiteflies. – Working as a pest repellent, garlic oil should be used as a preventative measure before pest populations begin to expand. It deters ants, aphids, cutworms, earworms, hornworms, leaf miners and others. Avoid spraying garlic oil when vegetables are in bloom—it will also repel pollinators. – Botanical essential oils are made from various plant oils, including clove, wintergreen, cinnamon, rosemary and peppermint; some forms of these pesticides control root pests like wireworms and cutworms, while others serve as foliar pesticides, eliminating aphids, potato beetles, loopers, mites, whiteflies and more. Very safe and surprisingly effective, essential oils can also be used as a fungicide to control mildews and rusts. Other Organic Control Options For insect pests, horticultural oil works by suffocating soft-bodied insects like aphids, mealybugs and certain species of scales. Insecticidal soap acts by dehydrating and suffocating pests like aphids, mites, leafhoppers, earwigs, grasshoppers and mealybugs, among others. These two products must come in direct contact with pests to be effective, so thoroughly coating all leaf and stem surfaces is a must. The elemental compound iron phosphate has been introduced recently as an organic slug and snail bait that is not dangerous to dogs, cats and other mammals. Slugs stop feeding as soon as the bait is consumed and will die within a few days. Elemental compounds used to combat fungus and disease include lime sulfur, a very effective old-time remedy for most fungal diseases including brown rot, scab, blight, peach leaf curl, powdery mildew, anthracnose, rust and black spot. It’s a liquid formulation with a limited shelf life, so pay attention to the expiration date. Another elemental fungicide is copper. Though it can be harmful to aquatic life and some plants if it’s misused, copper is quite effective against leaf curl, leaf spot, anthracnose, rust, fire blight, bacterial blights and others. Use great caution when applying copper-based fungicides. Organic Weed Control The forethought involves fighting the weeds before they arrive. Mulch by applying a 3- to 4-inch layer of organic matter on the soil surface in mid-spring before weed seeds have a chance to germinate. Straw, hay, chopped leaves, grass clippings, mushroom manure, compost and even newspaper (no shiny pages, please) or corrugated cardboard will form a protective barrier over the soil. Lay mulch between rows and around plants. Better yet, plant a living mulch. White Dutch clover, red clover, cowpeas and other cover crops can be sown around and between new transplants to help drown out weeds and replenish soil organic matter. Simply mow them down when they get high enough to compete with crops. Black plastic is another organic mulching option for market farmers, but be sure to remove it from fields at the end of the growing season. Remember, though, that corn gluten will prevent all seeds from germinating, so don’t use it where you plan to grow crops from seed in the following six to eight weeks. For established weeds, turn to fire. Flame throwers use ignited propane to torch weeds by heating plant tissue to temperatures high enough to blow out cell walls. The flame they throw can be adjusted to quite a narrow range, so you can use them between crop rows and under fence lines with a little care. Though they don’t completely kill the root of many of the tougher perennial weeds, they sure do knock them back. “Flaming” the weeds will certainly prevent them from flowering and setting seed, and it works especially great for weeds growing in driveway and sidewalk cracks. Another alternative for established weeds are the many clove oil-based organic herbicides on today’s market, most of which also include citric or acetic acid. These herbicides are non-selective, meaning they will kill any foliage they contact and, with perennial weeds, a repeat application may be necessary. They readily control plantain, dandelion, morning glory (field bind weed), chickweed, thistles and lots more. It’s All Good … Begin with prevention: Build your soil, choose naturally pest-resistant varieties, and keep your plants happy and healthy with proper maintenance techniques. Regularly observe your plants, monitor any pests and promote those beneficial insects. When problems arise, take the time to research the pest and find an appropriate organic control method; apply it judiciously and evaluate the results. Keep careful notes on what worked and what did not … and don’t be afraid to learn something new.  An Interview with Jordanne DervaesIn the bustling city of Pasadena, Calif., lives a family of urban-farm pioneers. Jules Dervaes has spent more than 20 years cultivating his 8,700-square-foot urban farm with the help of his three adult children, Anaïs, Justin and Jordanne. The Dervaes family’s example of sustainability stands out in their quiet suburban neighborhood. The front yard is a lush agricultural oasis yielding 6,000 pounds of produce annually, which is sold to local restaurants and farmers’ markets. Their farm livestock (goats, chickens, ducks and rabbits) replace the typical suburban pets and contribute to garden compost. In addition, the Dervaes family has undertaken other sustainable pursuits such as solar-power paneling, homemade biodiesel fuel and water reclamation projects. In 2001, the Dervaes family launched Path to Freedom to document their urban-homesteading progress and to encourage others to adopt a sustainable lifestyle. So far, their website has attracted urban farmers from more than 120 countries. The shift in perception toward sustainable living and urban farming emboldens Jules Dervaes in his endeavor to reduce his carbon footprint. “This is a sustainable family,” says Jules. “Our plan is to make a sustainable community.”  | ||||||||||||||||||||||
