DIY Essential Oil

Healthy Eco Lifestyle

Eucalyptus Oil

Eucalyptus oil has been used to help clear the mucus build-up in the respiratory tract and is known to help with fighting bacterial, viral, and fungus infections.

Enjoy,

David Proctor

 Urban Farmer/Rancher


How To Make Your Own Eucalyptus Oil

by Kelsey Proctor


November 7, 2024

Urban Farm Lifestyle Magazine    Published Weekly 


One of the best ways to control what’s in your products is to make them yourself.

Let me introduce eucalyptus oil; an essential oil derived from the eucalyptus leaf and used throughout history for medicinal and industrial purposes.

Koala Bear Eating Eucalyptus Leaves

Koala Bear Eating Eucalyptus Leaves

You can make eucalyptus oil yourself by boiling, then straining, the leaves and twigs of the leaf.

Essential oils have become popular because of the increased attention on homeopathic living.

If you don’t want to bother making your own, you can find eucalyptus oil at a drugstore or local health food store.

Eucalyptus oil can be used as an antiseptic for cuts, burns, and bug bites.

In fact, dilute the oil with water and spray it on as a natural bug repellant.

Eucalyptus oil is not just for medicinal purposes, place a few droplets in a diffuser to destress and improve concentration.

Eucalyptus oil is effective at improving allergies, alleviating respiratory viruses, and reducing inflammation in the lungs.

Eucalyptus Tree

Eucalyptus Tree

Eucalyptus oil is one of the active ingredients in the common topical cream Vick’s VapoRub.

However, you can make your own chest decongestant rub with natural ingredients.

You will need:
·         10 drops of eucalyptus oil
·         10 drops of peppermint oil
·         5 drops of preferred essential oil such as lemon or lavender
·         ¼ cup Beeswax
·         ¼ cup coconut oil or olive oil

Directions:
·         Melt Beeswax and coconut oil
·         Remove from heat for 5 minutes
·         Stir in essential oils
·         Cool and pour into desired containers

Continue reading below to learn more ways to utilize eucalyptus oil in your healthy home!


Check It Out!

How to Make Eucalyptus oil for Hair, Skin & Cold 4:16

Quick Tip

How to Make Eucalyptus Oil

  1. Gather two mason jars
  2. Gather eucalyptus leaves
  3. Pour the oil over the smashed eucalyptus leaves and salt mix
  4. Strain leaves from oil by pouring through a tea strainer or cheesecloth
  5. Label the eucalyptus oil
10 Uses for Eucalyptus Oil

10 Uses for Eucalyptus Oil


Bibliography:

Ellelmd. “Make Eucalyptus Oil.” WikiHow. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 November 2024.

Kimberly. Kimberly’s Cup. 28 October 2009. Web. 7 November 2024.
Mercola.com. 12 May 2016. Web. 7 November 2024.

Photo by Rachel Claire from Pexels
https://www.pexels.com/photo/tree-growing-near-colorful-canyon-4992475/

Photo by Robert Stokoe from Pexels
https://www.pexels.com/search/Eucalyptus%20Tree/

Background: Photo by Akshay Chauhan on Unsplash




Posted in Health, Homesteading, Magazine Issues, Plants, Recipes Tagged with: ,

All Hallows Eve

Healthy Eco Lifestyle

Halloween

“The name “Halloween” came from the Christian All Souls’ Day celebration, also known as “All-hallows.” With All-hallows being on November 1, the name All Hallows Eve was shortened to Halloween.”

Enjoy,

David Proctor

 Urban Farmer/Rancher

 Urban Farmer/Rancher


Halloween

by David Proctor


October 31, 2024

Urban Farm Lifestyle Magazine    Published Weekly


Halloween was one of Molly’s favorite holidays.

Lena

Lena

She enjoyed this time because of the fun time of dressing up in a costume and of course the sweets that were in volved with the efforts.

Witches Crawl In Oriental

Witches Crawl In Oriental

We used to play scary music and have several ghostly images around in the yard.

Spider

Spider

We didn’t put too much emphasis on it being a pagan holiday or all the dark sides of the celebration.

Libby and Friends

Libby and Friends

Instead, we looked at the creativity that went into the costumes and the generosity of neighbors who helped fill the little ones trick or treat bags.

I think what I remember and like the most about this holiday is that you could dress up and be whatever you wanted to be.

Many would-be policemen, astronauts, princesses, fairies maybe even mermaids.

The imagination would go from real-life characters to made-up or imagined figures such as aliens or ghosts.

This is where I saw the fun in Halloween, is being able to project yourself into something that you thought you might want to be or try being.

If you stop and think about it, isn’t this part of how we form ourselves into who we are?

What you think and imagine is what can become real if that is what you want.

I think I should have dressed up as a farmer more often, maybe the reality would have appeared.

Now the time is enjoyed with my girls and grandkids.

Libby and Friends

Libby and Friends

Libby and Buster

Libby and Buster

I hope you find this time to be fun and not taken too seriously.

Mermaid

Mermaid


Check It Out!

How to Carve Halloween Pumpkins 4:04
Oct 19, 2013
DaveHax

Quick Tip

 “As for black cats, the idea of being spooked by the felines actually has roots in the Middle Ages. Back then, many believed that witches avoided detection by turning themselves into black cats.”


Bibliography:

Bahn, Micaela. “The History of Halloween and True Facts about October 31.” The Pioneer Woman, 4 Oct. 2024, www.thepioneerwoman.com/holidays-celebrations/a40178895/history-of-halloween/.




Posted in Magazine Issues Tagged with: ,

Holistic Agriculture

Healthy Eco Lifestyle

Biodynamic 

Biodynamic viticulture (grape growing) uses organic farming methods while following Rudolf Steiner’s (1861-1925), formula of planting and harvesting by astronomical configurations.  Sort of like the Farmer’s Almanac but a little more intense.

Enjoy,

David Proctor

 Urban Farmer/Rancher


Biodynamic Viticulture

by David Proctor


October 24, 2024

Urban Farm Lifestyle Magazine    Published Weekly 


One of the key components of biodynamic farming, besides the astronomical practices, is treating the earth as a “living and receptive organism”. 
 
“The concept behind biodynamics is that everything in the universe is interconnected and gives off a resonance or ‘vibe’.

Photo by Frederic Hancke from Pexels

Photo by Frederic Hancke from Pexels

The interconnectivity of everything even includes celestial bodies like the moon, planets, and stars.

Biodynamic viticulture is the practice of balancing this resonance between vine, man, earth, and stars.

Essentially, biodynamics is a holistic view of agriculture.” (Wine Folly)

One of the strangest practices for preparing to fertilize the fields is to first get a bunch of cow horns and stuff them full of cow manure and bury them. 

After a period of time, the horns are dug up and the green manure has changed into a rich fertilizer, thanks to worms and microbes.

Horns Stuffed With Manure

Horns Stuffed With Manure

“Stop to think about why a cow horn is used, it goes back to being a symbol of abundance. 

The Vikings would drink from horns, the Chinese also believe in the concept, which is why the Rhino horn is coveted. 

In fact, we believe in the tradition of abundance when we display the cornucopia at Thanksgiving”.

Cornucopia

Cornucopia

I’m not advocating that we all start burring horns in our yard full of poop, just saying their seems to be a precedence to the practice.

Several other practices are used for controlling or enhancing the biological aspects of the vineyard and that is chamomile (a natural antiseptic) and stinging nettles (a natural cleanser) as examples.

The soils when tested, do show a greater disease suppression, a decrease in compaction, and additional organic material versus non-organic soils.

The biodynamic practice follows a calendar that has four basic parts:

  1. Fruit Days: Best days for harvesting grapes
  2. Root Days: Ideal days for pruning
  3. Flower Days: Leave the vineyard alone on these days
  4. Leaf Days: Ideal days for watering plants
Biodynamic Calendar

Biodynamic Calendar

Besides the calendar, no chemicals or manufactured additions are allowed in the wine, like commercial yeast or adjusting the acidity.

Does the wine taste different? 

According to some, it does. 

The wine is supposed to enhance or have better expressions of terroir or character.

Some say that the wine stays drinkable longer than other wines and has a more noted stronger yet clearer taste which is also more vibrant.

How do you know when you buy wine if it is biodynamic?

Biodynamic is not a defined and regulated term such as organic.

There does exist two governing bodies to certify the strict rules and regulations for certification, and they are:

  1. Demeter International (Certifies predominately North America)
  2. Biodyvin (certifies only 100 European wineries)
Demeter Certification

Demeter Certification

In that case, why not just buy organic wine? 

No reason not to, but you have to look at the process that goes into the biodynamic wine. 

Biodynamic predates “organic” by at least twenty years. 

Some say it is worth it to drink these wines, due to taste, flavor, and being in tune with the cosmos.
 
When it is all said and done, if your spirit tells you to roll with the cosmic vibe, then biodynamic is your choice.


Check It Out!

An Introduction to Biodynamic Viticulture 7:02


Quick Tip

Winemaking

Bibliography:

“Biodynamic Wine.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 31 Oct. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biodynamic_wine.

“What’s the Difference between Organic, Biodynamic, and Sustainable Wines? | Ask Dr. Vinny | Wine Spectator.” WineSpectator.com, www.winespectator.com/drvinny/show/id/41226.

“Getting Into Biodynamic Wine.” Wine Folly, Wine Folly, 16 Sept. 2015, winefolly.com/review/biodynamic-wine-guide/.




Posted in Animal Husbandry, Health, Homesteading, Magazine Issues, Plants Tagged with: , , ,

Fall Leaf Compost

Healthy Eco Lifestyle

Leaf Composting

Autumn is here and soon we will be putting our rakes and leaf blowers into action.  Once the leaves are collected DO NOT BURN OR SEND TO LANDFILL!

Enjoy,

David Proctor

  Urban Farmer/Rancher

 Urban Farmer/Rancher


Recycling Your Leaves Into Compost

by David Proctor


October 17, 2024

Urban Farm Lifestyle Magazine    Published Weekly


Autumn is here and soon we will be putting our rakes into action.

Once the leaves have been raked up what do you do with them?

When I drive around and see all the large leaf bags at the curbside waiting to be picked up to go to the landfill, I cannot help but think, “What a waste!”.

I have two thoughts when raking leaves,

  1. Why rake the leaves, to begin with?
  2. Why are you trying to get rid of them?

I have always loved being out in the fall.

I enjoy walking through the leaves and enjoying the colors against an intense blue sky as a backdrop.

But, as the leaves fall we all feel that every last one needs to be picked up and disposed of.

Compost Gold

Compost Gold

Leaves, as it turns out, are one of nature’s best compost materials or compost gold for your plants.

They are dense in nutrients that have been collected by the trees that they fell from. 

It is nature’s way of mining for nutrients deep in the earth through tree roots, which then travel up to the leaves. 

The only thing the tree does not do for us is mulch the leaves!

Do not dispose of the leaves, instead, you should try to collect as many as you can.

Even take them from your neighbor if they do not want them.

You will never have enough. 

Once these leaves are composted down, the volume will be a fraction of what they were when first collected.

I very seldom rake leaves, it just goes against my grain.

It’s frustrating that the pile of leaves gets bigger and harder to move as you rake.  

Instead, I like to mow over the leaves and let them spread over the yard as a natural ground cover.

If you do this for a few years you will have fewer dandelions and crabgrass.

Use a grass catcher to collect and then dump the mulched leaves if you would like to save them for your garden and flower plots. 

You will find that the pile is a fraction of the size of one created by raking, and they tend not to want to blow away like a pile created by raking and no mulching.

Leaf Mold For Composting

Leaf Mold For Composting

Another method is to use your leaf blower.

Instead of blowing the leaves, use the attachment that is probably still brand new (because you could not for the life of you figure out why anyone would use a perfectly good leaf blower), to instead suck the leaves up into a bag. 

When the leaf blower is used in this fashion, it has a blade that will mulch the leaves before they go in the bag.

Take these mulched leaves and put them in an area that can be contained, such as a wire mesh or a walled-off area.

This way the leaves will not be disturbed by strong winds, but are still accessible to rotate. 

This is for an open but contained composting method.

Compost Pile

Compost Pile

The leaf compost pile will need access to oxygen for the aerobic process to continue.

If you use a closed system, where oxygen is not accessible, that is called anaerobic. 

Anaerobic is a process that I will talk about in a future article.

For now, we will look at the benefits of the oxygen, or aerobic, process.

The one thing that is really good to add to the leaf pile is coffee grounds.

Coffee grounds will add nitrogen and will help the plants ward off disease.

Coffee does not appear to add acidity as one might think. 

This is probably due to most of the acids being removed during brewing.

So, save your coffee grounds for the leaf mulch.

The one thing I have not recommended for the leaf mulch pile is the kitchen scrapes.

Which we all think will be great for the mulch pile, right? 

Hold on a minute!

Those kitchen scraps are not going to add much to the mulch pile.

You are much better off using them in a different mulch pile, preferably one that uses worms to break down the mulch or compost. 

This doesn’t mean that you will not have worms in a leaf mulch pile, but if you are feeding worms for worm castings, then that is the place to put the kitchen scraps.

What goes in the front of the worm, comes out the back end, a very rich product for your plants.
 
The other counter-intuitive is to start a mulch pile in the fall.

One would think to mulch in the spring and have the warm weather help with the process. 

The problem is that the leaves are still on the trees and the spring is when you want to be spreading the mulch as a nutritious plant ground cover.

Leaves For Mulching

Leaves For Mulching

Just an inch or two is all it takes to help hold moisture for your plants and simultaneously release nutrients to feed them.

Once the mulch pile starts to break down, the temperature will rise internally and help keep the process going.

Be sure to keep the mulch pile from drying out by adding water at least once a week. 

Unless you are getting a lot of rain, then rotate with a pitchfork.

These types of mulching systems are open, where the material is on the ground in a pile.

It is easy to access for watering and rotating, but neighbors may not be too keen on the looks.

If you rotate the pile, you should not have any smells.

The next type of system is open-contained.

The containment may be a wire mesh, stacked blocks, or, something commercially obtained (which is generally plastic and has interlocking walls). 

They all will work, it just depends on what you want to invest in.

Another system is contained but unsealed.

This way oxygen can still be used in the decomposition process. 

The most commonly used product is barrels that open to add materials and can be rotated to mix content.

These barrels are normally pretty small and are not that easy to extract the materials from.

So, I generally use the open system.

I used to have a decently large yard, and the designated space to mulch was not very noticeable.

Mulching within a spot surrounded by trees helps, as well.

Composting Bin

Composting Bin

If you prefer a more manicured yard, you may want to look at the contained systems to build or purchase.

Hopefully, now you see why it is a good idea to keep those leaves instead of sending them to the landfill.

Now is the time to collect your leaf gold for your plants!


Check It Out!

Everything You Know About Composting is Wrong: Mike McGrath at TEDxPhoenixville 17:21


Quick Tip

Using Coffee Grounds:

• 10 to 20 percent of total compost volume
have been reported as optimal for compost quality and
effectiveness, while over 30 percent can be detrimental.

• Only small amounts of coffee grounds are required for
effective disease suppression. Therefore, I recommend
using no more than 20% by volume of coffee grounds in a compost pile. A diverse feedstock will ensure a diversity of microorganisms.

• Don’t assume coffee grounds will make an acidic compost; pH levels will undoubtedly change over time.

———–
Linda Chalker-Scott, Ph.D.
MasterGardener WSU editor
Extension Urban Horticulturist
and Associate Professor,
Puyallup Research and Extension Center,
Washington State University
Puyallup, Washington
www.puyallup.


Bibliography:

“Leaf Mold, Mulch and Compost | Planet Natural.” Planet Natural RSS. N.p., 04 Dec. 2012. Web. 17 Oct. 2024.

“US Composting Council Announces the 2016 International Compost Awareness Week Poster Contest – Call for Entries for Poster Design.”US Composting Council. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2024.

“CERTIFIEDCOMPOST.COM.” CERTIFIEDCOMPOST.COM. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2024.

“Register for Our E-newsletter.” Cuyahoga County Solid Waste District. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2024.
http://cuyahogaswd.org/pdf_cuyahogaswd/en US/Brochures/backyard_composting.pdf




Posted in Homesteading, Magazine Issues, Plants Tagged with: ,

Fall Beehive Prep

Healthy Eco Lifestyle

BEE Prepared

When we think of honey bees, our thoughts go to spring flowers and blooms with honey bees flying back and forth from flower to flower.  In the fall going into winter is the best time to prepare for spring and keep your bee colony healthy and thriving.

Enjoy,

David Proctor

 Urban Farmer/Rancher

 Urban Farmer/Rancher


Fall  And Winter Traditional Beehive Survival Steps

by David Proctor


October 10, 2024

Urban Farm Lifestyle Magazine    Published Weekly 


Fall Beehive Survival Steps

With your last honey extraction, put the supers or frames you extracted back on the colony and let the bees reclaim the sticky bits left behind. 

After a day or two, leaving the cleaned frames in the super, remove the whole super used for storing surplus, honey. 

This leaves the three brood boxes, where your bees will spend the next few months.

Honey & Brood Warre Hive

Honey & Brood Warre Hive

Follow these (9) steps to prepare your beehive for winter so your bee colony will be ready for spring.

Fall and Winter Management

  • Mouse guards in place
  • Enough good food
  • All medications removed
  • Colony tilted
  • Windbreak in place
  • Inner cover propped up
  • Outer cover secure with weight on top
  • Feeders removed
  • Screened bottom board cover replace inside

Mouse Guards

Be sure mouse guards are in place. 

The expandable, metal types with holes rather than a slot are by far the best. 

The wood guards have slots that may not keep out a determined mouse.

Enough Food

The bees will need about 60 pounds of honey stored for the winter. 

If the amount is insufficient, a sugar syrup mix will need to be prepared for the hive. 

Mix a thick 1:1 syrup – one part sugar to one part water. 

The thick syrup does not induce a build-up but rather storing behavior from the bees. 

Measure by the amount of sugar used.

When finished feeding, the stored food should be at the sides of the brood nest and above the brood nest.

The brood nest should be mostly in the bottom two boxes. 

Honey should be in the outer two frames, plus some in the frames next to the outside frames.

Burnley Farm Apiary

Burnley Farm Apiary

The top box should be almost all stored honey. 

You will need to monitor this during the winter. 

If the bees are moving to the top they are running out of food.

All medications removed

Since Varroa mites are being monitored all through the summer, you may not need any treatments in the fall.

The mites will be easier to spot since the colony will become smaller going into fall and winter. 

If you do need to treat, use formic acid treatment.

It will knock down adult mites and will damage the mites in cells also. 

Do not forget to check for diseases.

Colony tilted

If you haven’t already, now is the time to tilt your colony forward just a bit by raising the back about an inch.

A one-inch thick board works well. 

The colony should have this forward slant so that melting snow or winter rains don’t run into the colony and collect on the bottom board.

Windbreak in place

If your colony doesn’t have a good windbreak, you can build a temporary one to help. 

A stack of straw bales on the windward side is one way, as is a temporary fence of horticultural burlap and a few fence posts.   Inner cover propped up & outer cover secured

Turn the inner cover so the flat side is up. 

Then, between the inner cover and the edge of the top super, place a pencil or any block of material that raises the inner cover about 3/8th of an inch. 

Replace the inner cover and the cover over that one when complete. 

Add a brick to hold the cover in place for those windy winter days. 

This will help with ventilation, which lets carbon dioxide and the warm moist air from the bees escape and helps keep them warm.

Feeders removed

By late fall, at least a full month before winter arrives according to the calendar, treatments should be complete and all assistance activities should be over.


Check It Out!

Preparing a Honey Bee Hive for Fall or Winter 5:12
LDSPrepper

Feeder Types 6:54
BrushyMtnBeeFarm

Bibliography:

Flottum, Kim. The Backyard Beekeeper: An Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Keeping Bees in Your Yard and Garden. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print._10 Oct  2024.

N.p., n.d. Web.
http://health.usnews.com/health-news/health-wellness/articles/2015/06/23/why-joining-the-urban-agriculture-movement-will-make-you-healthier_10 Oct  2024.

“Seasonal Cycles of Activities in Colonies.” MAAREC Mid Atlantic Apiculture Research Extension Consortium RSS. N.p., 07 June 2010.
10 Oct  2024.

“USDA.” – Beesource Beekeeping. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Oct  2024.




Posted in Apiary, Homesteading, Magazine Issues Tagged with: ,

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