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CITY HOMESTEADING

Creating Sustainable Urban Living

by Randy Kambic

Homesteading is a broad field. “Along with planting produce, we encourage people to compost, change how they use water, learn about biochar—a long-term soil amendment that returns carbon to the earth—and employ creative economics, including bartering and food-sharing systems,” says K. Ruby Blume, of Grants Pass, Oregon, who founded the Institute of Urban Homesteading, in Oakland, California, a decade ago (iuhOakland.com). She’s also co-author of Urban Homesteading: Heirloom Skills for Sustainable Living.

Blume was recently engaged to invite speakers and coordinate presentation content for the three-day online Gardening and Homesteading Skills Summit hosted by The Shift Network. Last October, 20 leading farmers, master gardeners, homesteaders and other experts shared innovative, environmentally friendly advice for providing food and adopting eco-friendly practices.

Blume, who grows fruit and vegetables and raises chickens, sheep and bees on 22 acres, plans to launch her Fantastic Farm Store this month, and will offer spring classes at her institute, as well as at the Rogue River Community Center, in southern Oregon. “Everyone should grow their favorite vegetable from seed; think about the animal if eating meat; and take a nature field study class. These all connect us to nature and our world,” advises Blume.

Food as Medicine

David Crow, teacher, author of In Search of the Medicine Buddha and founder of Floracopeia Aromatic Treasures (Floracopeia.com), is a leader in research and development of growing herbs for medicine, working from Grass Valley, California. He extols the importance of gardens of all types—backyards, schools, neighborhoods and public spaces. “They can strengthen communities, beautify life and reduce crime,” he says. In his home state, he helped launch The Learning Garden, at Venice High School, in 2001. “It’s an eye-opener for youngsters, and they take pride in owner- ship.” People without a garden plot can place a pot inside or on a balcony or find a community garden.

“Medicinal plants don’t have to be a luxury of the wealthy. You can spend a fraction of the $30 for a drug prescription in growing most of them, and then trade for others with neighbors,” says Crow. He particularly values oregano, thyme, rosemary, lavender and basil.

To increase yields, home gardeners may consider daily drip irrigation—a system of tubes positioned just above the soil, with tiny holes spaced at regular intervals. It can conveniently work on a timer with an automatic shutoff during rain. Other benefits include water conservation and better soil structure by avoiding puddles from manual watering.

“Drip irrigation can be especially helpful during dry spells, which can run two to four weeks in many climates,” says Robert Kourik (RobertKourik.com), landscape consultant, horticultural researcher and author of Drip Irrigation for Every Landscape and Climate, and last year’s Understanding Roots. “It can be effective for virtually any fruit or vegetable, except water crops like rice and cranberries.”

Green Living

Carol Venolia, author, speaker and architect in Santa Rosa, California, (ComeHomeToNature.com) has designed homes of straw, earth and sustainably sourced and reclaimed wood throughout the West. She consults on greening schools, healing centers, camps and eco-villages, and stresses the benefits of sunlight as in her new e-book, Get Back to Nature Without Leaving Home. She says, “Sunlight’s many wavelengths, shifting directions and intensities render biological effects that keep us functioning well. Watch how it enters your home; changes occur daily and seasonally.”

It’s easy to move furniture to align with sunshine. In warmer climates, attach plant trellises or fabric awnings outside windows to filter or direct reflected light. “Add a potted plant to a window and a picture of a natural scene on a wall. Take the time to get out into woodlands,” advises Venolia.

She commends Marc Rosenbaum, of South Mountain Company, in Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, as a green building leader who “brings a soulful approach, as well as engineering, data and technology efficiencies, to a project.” Along with green building goals like zero net energy, Rosenbaum strives to create homes that are healthy, comfortable, resource-efficient, durable and adaptable by the people that inhabit them.

Along with being part of the slow food movement and do-it-yourself trends, Blume believes, “Homesteading gives people the feeling they are making a positive difference by making sustainable changes in their lifestyle and home.”

For summit recordings or transcripts and notices of upcoming events like the online annual Plant Medicine Telesummit in March, visit TheShiftNetwork.com.

 

Randy Kambic, an Estero, FL, freelance editor and writer, regularly contributes to Natural Awakenings.

Image: Ye Liew/Shutterstock.com

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Tick Talk

Spring officially sprung on March 21. We have turned our clocks ahead. We are looking forward to warm winds, sunny skies and the smell of fresh cut grass. The daffodils and tulips have recently bloomed and we are just starting with the yard work that comes with the warmer weather.  Sadly, another season has started ramping up.  Tick season.

•             The best form of protection is prevention. Educating oneself about tick activity and how our behaviors overlap with tick habitats is the first step.

•             According to the NJ DOH, in 2022 Hunterdon County led the state with a Lyme disease incidence rate of 426 cases per 100,000 people. The fact is ticks spend approximately 90% of their lives not on a host but aggressively searching for one, molting to their next stage or over-wintering. This is why a tick remediation program should be implemented on school grounds where NJ DOH deems high risk for tick exposure and subsequent attachment to human hosts.

•             Governor Murphy has signed a bill that mandates tick education in NJ public schools. See this for the details.  Tick education must now be incorporated into K-12 school curriculum. See link:

https://www.nj.gov/education/broadcasts/2023/sept/27/TicksandTick-BorneIllnessEducation.pdf

•             May is a great month to remind the public that tick activity is in full swing. In New Jersey, there are many tickborne diseases that affect residents, including Anaplasmosis, Babesiosis, Ehrlichiosis, Lyme disease, Powassan, and Spotted Fever Group Rickettsiosis.

•             For years, the focus has mainly been about protecting ourselves from Lyme disease. But other tick-borne diseases are on the rise in Central Jersey. An increase of incidence of Babesia and Anaplasma are sidelining people too. These two pathogens are scary because they effect our blood cells. Babesia affects the red blood cells and Anaplasma effects the white blood cells.

•             Ticks can be infected with more than one pathogen. When you contract Lyme it is possible to contract more than just that one disease. This is called a co-infection. It is super important to pay attention to your symptoms. See link.

https://twp.freehold.nj.us/480/Disease-Co-Infection

A good resource from the State:

https://www.nj.gov/health/cd/topics/tickborne.shtml

 

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