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Bloom Where You are Planted, A Letter From The Editor’s Wife

Blooming where we are planted is what we’re doing and we are so thankful we decided to do so.

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A late summer’s weekend harvest, we were very grateful for.

For a few years my husband and I have been discussing moving and having a homestead. We relished in the dreams of owning our own land somewhere south of Rhode Island where the growing season was longer and the weather more pleasant year round. A place of our own where we might have chickens, ducks, goats and a bountiful garden that could sustain us year round. However we have been on the outskirts of the system since the beginning of our marriage and made many sacrifices from the start to be able to have one of us at home with our children no matter what the cost. So we are here in Rhode Island living with his parents and forever grateful for the roof over our heads and a place to sleep at night.

It was late in 2019 when we really took the phrase “bloom where you’re planted” to heart.


It really struck a cord with both of us. If we moved who would take over the roles we have assumed here? With his parents getting older and not in the best of health we have taken control of the more arduous tasks around the home. I had planted flower gardens that would need maintaining not to mention the snow removal in the winter to name a few. We still had some debts that needed to be repaid before we could make the move and money has always been a little more than tight around here, so we dug in our heels and said let’s build a garden. We’re going to bloom where we’re planted and that’s what we did.

Where do we start? How are we going to plant? What seeds need to be started inside? Which do we direct sow? What seeds do we even buy? Where do we get our soil and compost?
What spot in the yard is the best and how big should we make it? It felt a little overwhelming at first, with me at work and him at home starting the seeds and planning was difficult. I’m the family’s green thumb though I didn’t have experience with vegetable gardens. We ordered the bulk pack of seeds from Baker Creek and a few extras to start. We went to a local store where I knew we could get organic potting mix and pots for seed starting, purchased some grow lights from Amazon and we were on our way. It was a promising start. When our seeds arrived in the mail it was better than Christmas morning, eager to start I sorted through seeds that needed to be started early from those that could be direct sowed. It was late in February and the weather was looking promising for March which had us dreaming of what our garden would be. I started some seeds with my boys in cups and trays, properly labeled them and set them up with the grow lights. Boom we were on our way!

March came around and with it the start of the confusion that 2020 has turned into, but on we carried. While I was at work my husband built raised boxes out of pallets and placed them in the yard where we decided to put the garden! For the boxes we used the Hugelkultur method to save on soil and manure which was purchased from the same store as our seed staring supplies. We discussed in ground beds and where to place them, had the layout planned and the digging began. Meanwhile our seedlings were looking great, it was all coming together, then March came to a close and with it weather generally unheard of for this time of the year.

Living in New England there are risks of snow in March and April but what we got this year was not snow. It rained through most of April and the temperatures stayed in the low 40’s. Not ideal for planting outside. It was a little discouraging to say the least and our seedlings were yearning for fresh soil in a new bed. When we had a break in the weather we planted the more cold tolerant seedlings. I soon discovered I was a little over zealous and not mindful enough when it came to the quantity of seeds I provided to my children when preparing the seed cups. We planted a few too many seeds in each cup. That was the first mistake. The weather improved once mid to late April hit and we were able to add more to our beds. The deeper into the current world situation we got the more we thought about expanding our garden. So we did. We added two more raised beds and a second in-ground bed. By mid May we had most of our direct sow seeds planted and all we could do was wait. It was at this point that we notice the lack of growth the plants in our raised beds were achieving. Confused and frustrated we started to analyze where we went wrong. It had to be more than just poor overcrowded germination pots. Poor soil quality? Not enough manure? Too much manure? We just weren’t sure. We then stopped to consider what had been used for the Hugelkultur, pine branches from a tree that had been removed the previous year. The soil must be too acidic even for the tomatoes, nothing was growing properly. Mistake number two. So we started the boxes over, removed the soil, took the pine out, mixed in some new soil, added garden lime and filled the boxes again.

That was around the end of June, at the same time our local farmer’s market had re-opened and we were able to reconnect with our favorite farmers. The connection was truly a blessing from God. We told them about our garden and shared our struggles. We exchanged business cards and they offered to give us some excess plants they were not going to be able to get in the ground this season. When we got to their farm we were more than surprised at the number of plants they were willing to give us. It was already the 4th of July at this point and the plants they gave us were going to end up in their compost so they were more than generous. The beets, tomatoes, eggplant, pepper and cucumber plants were more than enough to fill our boxes and some empty spots in our other beds! Not only did we gain plants for our garden but we formed a relationship with the farmers that allowed us to volunteer with them as a family and for my husband to go help a few days a week. Our time was compensated in fresh veggies and a discount every Sunday at the market though the experience and community building was payment enough.

From then on out as the weather continues to improve it was like magic. Our boys loved watching the plants grow week to week and I spent my mornings before work in the garden talking to the plants and checking to make sure every thing was growing well. After struggling a bit our greens finally took off, the potato plants looked amazing, we enjoyed peas and green beans fresh off the vine nearly daily. The pumpkins we planted were a lesson in themselves! Next time we will plant them in their own bed where they cannot climb all over the boxes and fence, though the fence made a lovely trellis.

Our mistakes have been good lessons learned. Less seeds per germination cup, bunny proofing before breeding season and preparing for pests of the insect variety before you find caterpillars on your kale in the fridge. The garden as a whole has been a learning experience for us and we know there are more mistakes to come. It’s part of what makes this journey so beautiful. We started a new and smaller fall garden which is coming along though it didn’t come without mistakes. You live and you learn, blossom and grow with your garden. If your family is involved it makes the experience all the more enjoyable.

Our 8 year old has read a book all about chickens, he knows all about raising chickens and can’t wait to grow up and be a farmer. Our 4 year old absolutely loves playing in the dirt, digging the earth, looking for worms to add to the gardens and compost not to mention eating whatever he can get his hands on right off the vine. There is nothing like cultivating your land and watching your children enjoy the cultivation the land provides in return. Their homeschool curriculum is going to be based around gardening and nature moving forward which will only further their love for it. They have grown so much because of our humble garden this summer in so many ways as have my husband and I. Blooming where we are planted is what we’re doing and we are so thankful we decided to do so. It has allowed us to see the path God laid out for us more clearly and presented us with new opportunities we never thought possible.

Who knew all we had to do was reach out to a neighbor with a jar of garden fresh homemade salsa and a job offer would be soon to follow. This opportunity is allowing me to come home for good, be with the children where I belong especially since we are expecting our third in December. It has also given my husband a new career path. We are blessed to be blooming here and look forward to all the adventures that come our way. This was the first of many beautiful things to come, God has and will continue to provide.

-Jessie (CameraBear’s Wife)
@jessie_g_art_ on instagram

Farming

How to Tan Fur on Hides With a Note on Making Leather

This is an art. Learning takes time, but don’t be afraid to make mistakes. The hide is very forgiving. 

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By: Salt & Stone Bear

This article was first printed in our very first issue of The Beartaria Times Magazine, Origins, A Revealing of Legends

More and more folks are learning how to keep and butcher their own animals, so comes the need to learn how to tan hides. Tanning used to be a very common skill that has since been forgotten with modern textiles. Fabrics printed in China contain some nasty chemicals and the environmental impact is devastating. Buckskin pants were once as common as blue cotton jeans today, worn by people of all socioeconomic status. Currently, it is estimated that roughly 6 million deer are harvested annually and only a very small percentage of hides are ever used to make leather. Now add the endless numbers of sheep, goats, cow and even pig skin that could be used for a variety of applications. If you do not keep animals, not to worry, contact your local butcher and they will likely tell you to help yourself to whatever they have. It’s a favor to them as they do not have to pay to dispose of them. 

Disclaimer: there are lots of ways to tan, this is just how I do it, which would be called fat tanning or brain tanning. I do not like using chemicals, as they are unhealthy for the tanner, environment and less sustainable. 

  1. Skinning 

If you are starting with a whole animal, there are plenty of online tutorials on how to do this. Mainly you just want to make sure the hide has not been “knifed up” which will leave marks on the leather. The ultimate goal being no holes or knife marks in the skin, as it will be more difficult (but not impossible) in the tanning process. 

  1. Salting

I use pallets that have hardware cloth stapled on them so that when the hide is laid out, there are no sagging or drooping parts as there are big gaps in a pallet. You could just lay it out on a tarp, but I think the air flow under the skin is helpful. Once the hide is laid out flat on the pallet, spread a good layer, about an inch of white canning salt or sea salt (no iodine) on all parts of the hide, being careful to get all the edges. Leave for 2 weeks or up to a few months if you don’t have the time. I prefer wet salting (the salt stays damp) to dry salting as it makes a nicer finished product. But if you live in a very dry climate that dries out the salt, it will still be fine. 

  1.  Fleshing

For this step, you will need to have a fleshing beam and fleshing knife. You can purchase them from a trapping outlet online or make a beam out of a very smooth log. Flip the salt from the hide into a rubbermaid tub or barrel as it can be used again. Then give the hide a good shake in the driveway or woods (probably not your lawn as it can kill the grass) to remove excess salt. I highly recommend watching a YouTube video on how to do this. You want to hit the right angle so you don’t cut the skin. 

  1.  Apply tanning solution

Once the hide is fleshed, lay the skin back on the pallet and apply the tanning solution. I like a brain/egg solution, but you can use just brains or just eggs. Or even Spinal cord fat/fluid. One brain will do one hide, but adding an egg and a splash of water will bulk up the solution, which I find to be very helpful. For a single hide, in a designated blender, combine brain(s), one egg and a tablespoon or two of water. Rub in the solution over all parts of the skin. Then, three options- cover with plastic wrap/ fold in half on itself or sandwich together with another hide if you are doing more than one. Allow to sit overnight- one day. 

  1. Stretching & Drying

You will need to build a frame that is a little larger than the hide you are working with. 2x4s are great for this. If you are doing something very small like a squirrel or rabbit, you can use a board with tacks to achieve the same results. Some will also bend a limb into a circle for a very small hide, or if you are doing a very large hide like a moose or cow, an old trampoline frame is great. You just have to innovate with what you have available. With a very sharp knife, carefully puncture the edge, 1/2” or so in on the skin. You don’t want it too close to the edge or the twine will rip out. I really like to use butcher’s twine as it holds a good knot. Start at the 4 corners of the hide, then fill in-between. Give a good pull on the string, but not too hard, stretching the skin very flat. Tie to the frame. You can go back and re-tighten the strings that become loose as you go along. Allow to dry. A dehumidifier is really great in helping this process along, especially for large hides. 

  1. Scrape

Once the hide is completely dry to the touch, you can start scraping off the tanning solution and the layer of skin. You will need a scraping tool from a trapping outlet or you can sometimes find tools to do this at antique shops. Just nothing too sharp, more blunt. Scrape with good force, but not too hard. The skin will turn a beautiful white as you do this. It takes time. I like to give a good push on the hide with my hand as I scrape to aid in softening and stretching those skin fibers. You will know you are done when the leather is very soft. Cut the strings and remove from the frame. 

  1. Smoking

This is where tannins from wood and bark seal and finish the hide. Cut an old pillowcase in half long ways or some kind of fabric and pin on the bottom/ very edge of your hide. Then fold the hide in half long ways and use the existing holes and butcher’s twine to temporarily sew it together. Make a loop at the top to hang. Go back and pin together the fabric at the bottom to essentially make a stove pipe. Collect rotten wood and bark that is wet from the forest then make a fire with dry wood until it gets down to coals. Add rotten/ wet wood and bark. Attach the fabric side to your stove pipe with a rubber band and smoke for 2-4 hours. You want to be VERY careful with this part. Do not leave unattended as you only want smoke NO fire. If it breaks out into a fire, it can scorch or burn your hide. Ruining all your hard work. You want cold-warm smoke only. Periodically check the color of the skin inside, you want a nice deep amber color. Take it down, bring inside and allow it to sit for a day to more thoroughly absorb the tannins. 

Then rub in a finishing sealer. Lard is really perfect or a homemade mix of Lard, tallow and a little beeswax. 

  1. Finishing touches 

At this point, you can carefully hand wash the finished hide with soap and cool water, but do not soak for too long. Try to be as speedy as possible. A designated washer is great for this stage. Run it on the spin cycle only to get the water out or shake out very well and dry. 

With a razor blade, cut off the edges, about where your puncture holes are. Brush out the fleece or fur. Then celebrate haha. 

If you want to make leather without fur, dry scraping can be done at the point the hide is stretched on the frame. You can use a razor blade to carefully remove the fur, then scrape and apply tanning solution/ plastic wrap, similarly to how you did the other side. Scrape it down again. Smoke both sides in the same fashion. 

This is an art. Learning takes time, but don’t be afraid to make mistakes. The hide is very forgiving. 

If you have questions, feel free to reach me on the Beartaria Times app – Salt and Stone Bear or Instagram @salt_and.stone 

Happy Tanning! 

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Farming

Micro Greens – Macro Benefits

Having good nutrition is important, sure, but that’s just scratching the surface of the benefits growing your own greens offers.

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By: BalanceBear (aka @johnny.greenleaf)

This article was first printed in our very first issue of The Beartaria Times Magazine, Origins, A Revealing of Legends

Microgreens, as the name suggests, are small by nature, but the benefits they offer are quite the opposite of their size.

What are microgreens and what exactly do they have to offer? Microgreens are vegetable greens harvested just after the cotyledon leaves have developed (7-10 days after germination for most varieties). The benefits? Well, they are countless. We’ll get to many of them, but a few of the biggest advantages of growing microgreens over traditional vegetables are their space efficiency, time to harvest, & ease of getting started. Just because you don’t have a yard, doesn’t mean you can’t grow your own food. With as little as a shelf in an apartment, and a few supplies, you can start sewing seeds and reaping the benefits of these nutrient dense greens in no-time. I was introduced to the world of microgreens this past year by the legendary Urban Farmer, Curtis Stone, and in just a matter of 8 months they have already had a profoundly positive impact on my life, and my community.

Now how could something so small offer so much? It’s been theorized that the reason microgreens are so nutrient dense compared to the leaves of their mature vegetable counterparts is because they are harvested shortly after germination, when all of the nutrients they need to grow are there. Regardless if that theory holds true as to the why, nutrient tests have shown that microgreens contain 4-40 times more concentrated levels of various nutrients than leaves in the mature plants, depending on the variety & specific nutrient (i.e. red cabbage microgreens contain 40 times more vitamin E than mature red cabbage). Buying microgreens from a store can be significantly more expensive than normal mature vegetables, but growing them yourself, especially when you consider the time from planting to harvest, is much more affordable. Furthermore, when you buy anything from a grocery store, the vitality of the food has already been severely diminished due to the fact that it takes so much time for the product to be packaged and shipped off to the store. From the moment a fruit or vegetable is harvested, the nutrients begin to break down. This vitality can actually be measured. Realistically, the freshest produce you can get from a store is 4-7 days post harvest. The total time it takes to get from planting microgreen seeds to harvesting the greens is 10-14 days total (for most varieties), which is right up there with the nutrient density when it comes to the best benefits microgreens have to offer. When you compare that to typical times like 2-3 months for a mature plant to bear fruit, it’s quite astonishing that the microgreens pack such a dense nutrient punch, and when you grow them yourself, you can eat them living, which means you don’t lose out on any nutrients like you do when you get already deteriorated greens from a store. 

Having good nutrition is important, sure, but that’s just scratching the surface of the benefits growing your own greens offers. One of the biggest benefits I have personally experienced since becoming an urban farmer, is the community connection that has come from it. I believe that food and community are two of the biggest sources of energy in this realm, and when you grow your own food, and further when you exchange it within your community, the energy boost is multiplied. Picture a closed-loop energy cycle; that’s what you get to experience when you buy, sell, or trade locally within your community. First, you get an energy boost from growing your own food, you then experience an additional energy boost when you exchange your food to someone in your community, because you see the joy it brings them, and you know that it will nourish them. They receive that same energy boost when you buy or trade for their food, and thus the communities’ overall energy goes up by a multiple factor, and the energy loop remains closed. When people in your community buy food from a corporation, especially one that’s not local, energy gets siphoned off into the ether, rather than being kept in your community where it can continue to cycle & recharge.

I’m speaking from experience here, as I have felt a tremendous difference since buying, selling, & trading with local bears at our Southern California Bartertaria Meetups, as well as exchanging my greens for fruit from my neighbors’ trees.

Even if you live in an apartment in a city like I currently do, microgreens can be a great starting point for you to tap into that energy cycle. Furthermore, if you’ve never grown food at all, consider these greens as a great micro-step to start the journey that is gardening/farming.

I won’t go too much into detail about the equipment you need to get started, as there are plenty of great resources online and on YouTube for that (seek and ye shall find), but I will tell you the basics of what you need to get started, and a few good online resources to look in to if you want more details. You will need some kind of tray or container to put the growing medium in (I use 10×20 trays from Bootstrap Farmer), seeds (I get mine from TrueLeaf Market), a growing medium (I use an organic potting soil from ProMix), and lights (I use 4’ Sunblaster Fluorescents) if you want to grow indoor, otherwise you can obviously use sunlight if you have space and want to grow them outside. That’s basically it. Anything else will just upgrade your operation. A few of the best online resources which helped me along my journey, from setup, to growing, all the way through harvesting are: Curtis Stone’s From The Field TV, Donny Greens on YouTube, and OnTheGrow who have great experiments on YouTube & an ebook.

So, whether you just want to add some nutrient dense greens to your smoothies, juices, salads, or dishes as a garnish, have some sunflowers to snack on, take a micro-step towards learning to grow food, or go big & contribute to the energy cycle of your local community, the macro benefits of microgreens are there for you.

“To a man’s heart it brings gladness to eat the figs from his own trees, and the grapes of his own vines”, and to your heart gladness can come from eating the microgreens of your own stem.

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Farming

Using Hay to Import Fertility and Feed the Pastures

A recent study I read indicated that pastures responded better to feeding hay directly on the field verses hauling manure and compost from the barn.

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By: Mohawk Farmer Bear

When we took over the farm in 2015, the fields were constantly being cropped and hayed. Modern agriculture focuses on production at the expense of soil health and fertility. While we have good soils here, it’s obvious that fertility is low, and the pastures are nowhere near as productive as they have the potential to be. This winter, rather than feeding the cows down by the barn as usual, I focused on rotating them around the pastures and feeding the hay directly on the pasture. By the time grazing starts in May, I will have fed 200 round bales of hay or 50 to 60 tons of hay onto the pastures. That’s a lot of manure, organic matter from wasted hay, and fertility to spread on 50 acres. A recent study I read indicated that pastures responded better to feeding hay directly on the field versus hauling manure and compost from the barn. More fertility is captured with winter bale feeding on pastures. So, this summer, I’ll get to see it. Either way, 50 tons of hay (5 tons to the acre) should have a huge impact on the pastures. More fertility means more grass, which means more beef.

Unrolled hay bale. It spreads the fertility around the pasture and gives all the cows access to the dinner table. 

In early February, you can see where the cows have been without snow. I covered this part of the farm well. 

The farthest and highest point on the farm. Typically the hardest to get manure spread on, but I fed a ton of hay up there this winter. It’s a pretty good hill, so even with heavy baleage, I start at the top and push the bale down the hill to get it unrolled.

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