Why we don't eat the best foods available to us

When I grew up we trusted the nutritional "experts" and avoided lard in favor of Proctor & Gamble's money making, 100% trans-fat cotton seed oil, Crisco. They said Crisco was a light vegetable oil that was much healthier for us than lard - we now know it causes heart disease.  Of course, corporations want us to buy their products and eschew natural foods because they made big profits selling their product. Naturally, the USDA supported  big corporations and big agriculture - they were influenced by big business through lobbyists and generous campaign contributions to pliable candidates who would further their profit making agenda. Recipes were created that used cheap, and profitable, grains and commercial products, like Crisco while people paid dearly with money and their health.The challenge today is to make people aware of nature's bounty and create new recipes and food combinations that will nourish and satisfy.  

You can find some wild food recipes at Wildman Steve Brill's site:  http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/

You might also pick up Samuel Thayer's excellent books: Nature's Garden and The Forager's harvest.

Growing your own money - A lazy man's approach

Growing food is like printing your own money.  Done well, you have more fresh nutritious food at your fingertips.  By growing my own food I save on gas (by not traveling to buy food), food and medical bills (by being healthier).  By not plowing, tilling or weeding I save money by not buying garden equipment like tractors or tillers, gas to run them and lots of time.
Gardening can be easy or hard depending on how you do it. After many years of gardening I now don't plow, till or weed - it works for me.
Reading Masanobu Fukuoka and Ruth Stout inspired me to think about changing the way I garden. I have combined their methods to suit my conditions. Because I cannot flood my fields like Masanobu or have deep rich topsoil like Ruth Stout, I have devised an alternate method for my soil type.  Similar to Lasagna gardening, my garden is layered with manure and wood ashes as a micronutrient starter, followed by a heavy layer of sand and topped with rotten hay from bales that farmers discard.  The sand acts as a a dry zone that seems to inhibit weed seeds from sprouting and keeps the soil from compacting since sand does not compact and allows the winter frost to heave the soil up.  Rain cannot pack the soil because it absorbs the force of the rain by vibrating rather than compacting.  Because the soil cannot compact  it eventually becomes loose like the soil you would would find under a porch.  The old hay provides mulch and then rots into the sand making it very loamy.   The results are a very low maintenance garden once you have done the initial work.  I do have some weeds appear but most occur in the fall and spring.  Usually chickweed and dandelions pop up in cooler weather.  I welcome them since I use them in salads and smoothies for a high nutrient boost.
When planting time arrives I either pull the weeds or use a scoop shovel to cut the roots and pile them in a compost pile.  It doesn't take much time to do this since the sand is loose.  I then make a fairly deep furrow to plant seeds in because they need to be able to reach the moisture.  Sometimes watering is necessary to insure good germination.  One summer, however, I had to water weekly because it was too dry.
Once the plants are up I start moving the mulch layer closer and closer.  About 3-6 inches of mulch seems to work for most crops, except potatoes which like a lot more.  Crops that like water should have a thinner layer of sand and a much thicker layer of mulch.  As the hay improves the soil I anticipate less a problem with water retention.  As it is, I am starting with ground that is virtually all clay so I am very pleased.  I also do small raised gardens of carrots, beets, lettuce and parsley.
The sharp edged crushed sand that I use seems to discourage slugs, wire worms and other soil pests.  As I mentioned before the lack of upper layer moisture seems to inhibit weed seeds however maintaining enough moisture is something that must be watched.  I might add that I also plant and save heirloom seeds.

Beans gone wild

Here's one of my Fortex green beans.  These are the most tender, sweetest and productive beans that I have ever grown.  I always save the largest beans for seed.  Did I mention that I don't plow, till or weed?

How to regrow green onions - not.

Google "How to regrow green onions", or "re-grow green onions", and you will get hundreds of testimonials on how well it works. This would be great if it actually produced a healthy crop but plants need minerals and micro-nutrients to actually be nutritious. 
Yes.  You can re-sprout onions in water, but the problem with re-growing green onions from scraps is that they really don't last forever if you simply put them in water alone. Eventually they stop growing, because even hardy plants like green onions need nutrients from the soil or other source.  The bulb, or whatever you are using, will totally run out of building block materials to grow.  The nutritional value and taste will wear out too.  Sun and water isn't enough, nor is internet hype.

Wild Sumac & Hemlock Teas

In mid July the bright red staghorn sumac berries will be ready for some delicious and nutritious "pink lemonade".  The staghorn sumac is much different from the poison sumac which has white single berry clusters in the fall.  Be sure to pick them before the rain washes the sticky resin off though since that is what makes tea.  Put about 4 nice sumac bobs, (the bright red berry clusters) into a container of cold water and crush them by hand.  You can also place them in a pan with a little water and mash them with a masher or bottle, then add the water.  Let sit for about twenty minutes, as you would when making sun tea.  Strain through a fine filter to remove fine hairs present, taste and maybe add a bit of sweetener if you like.  Do not boil unless you like bitter high tannin tea.
Hemlock or white pine tea is made by steeping the tips of the branches but in the spring, when the new growth needles emerge, you may want to try hemlock "sun tea" which does not contain as much of the bitter tannins that hot water tea produces. Try to collect the freshest and newest growth for your tea and don't overdo it - some say it affects the skin of their mouths.  These drinks contain a lot of vitamin C.  Also, pregnant women shouldn't drink this.

A Great Water Cure

A lady goes to the Doctor because she is feels stressed and is beginning to look horrible.  The doctor checks her over and finds nothing wrong with her so he asks her, "What's wrong?"  She replies "Well, my husband has a bad temper and he likes to yell and argue with me." The doctor is concerned and tells her, "Next time, take a drink of water and swish it in your mouth until he leaves."  So she goes home, and to her dismay he starts yelling again, so she gets her bottle of water and starts swishing until he leaves the room. She goes back two months later, much relaxed and refreshed, and exclaims to the Doctor, "It worked! But you have to tell me, what's with the water?" Doctor looks over his desk and says "It's not the water, it's keeping your mouth shut."

Jiaogulan: "immortality herb."

Jiaogulan is an herb that has many benefits:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Jiaogulan.jpg

Jiaogulan is a perennial vine belonging to the cucumber family that is native to China, Korea and Japan. Since the herb is similar to ginseng in terms of chemical composition, and grows so abundantly in southern China, jiaogulan is sometimes referred to as "southern ginseng." Residents of the Guizhou Province, who regularly drink jiaogulan tea and reputedly live to a very old age, know the plant as the "immortality herb."

Read more about this fantastic plant here: http://www.livestrong.com/article/140243-benefits-jiaogulan/

and here:

http://www.jiaogulan.com/adaptogens.htm

Homestead Food Preserving

This is a great way to vacuum pack your foods because you don't need special bags or containers - Pump and Seal food saver vacuum sealer  

Here's a video of a simpler, and cheaper, way to construct a soil block maker.

Here's yet another description of a easy-to-make soil block maker.

Seeed Starting! - Soil Block Maker

Give your seeds an early start.  Instructables has a nifty Soil Block Maker that you can make.