MOTHER EARTH NEWS

MOTHER EARTH NEWS magazine is the Original Guide to Living Wisely. Launched in 1970, each bimonthly issue features practical and money-saving information on cutting energy costs; using renewable energy; organic gardening; green home building and remodeling; fun do-it-yourself projects; and conscientious, self-sufficient lifestyles

MOTHER EARTH NEWS

Dear MOTHER

Straw Bale Scales Up to Fill a Need • During Labor Day weekend of 2020, as wildfires tore across the Rogue Valley in Southern Oregon, 2,600 homes vanished in a matter of hours. The region has faced a housing shortage ever since, despite towns throughout the valley quickly working to rehouse residents. Amid a relative building frenzy, one project stands out: the Oceanspray Townhomes in Ashland, which may be the first multifamily straw bale construction project in the country.

2 Years with a Tiny Trash Can • This family implemented accessible tactics to cut back on their trash.

Solve Your Garden Problems • Address blossom end rot, bolting, and bitterness in your garden plants.

Clean Cocoons for Busy Bees • Learn about mason bees and provide a healthy habitat for these productive pollinators.

What’s Eating My Plants? • Deter unwanted visitors from gobbling up your garden.

Lemons All Year Round • With a few overwintering tips in mind, you can grow lemon trees in containers in more places than you might think.

Salt Pressing for Beginners

Georgian-Style Fermented Green Tomatoes

Build an Earthen Pizza Oven • Beginner builders can be baking in cob after a few days’ work and less than $300.

Doughin’ It Right! • Bring some pizzazz to pizza night with this versatile recipe.

Can Homemade Pizza Sauce • Enjoy fresh, homemade pizza sauce, even in the depths of winter.

DIY Hand Baler • Build your own baler so you can shape and put away hay.

What’s the Best Portable Emergency-Power System for Prolonged Outages?

Make Vibrant Clay Paints

Window Dressings for Bird Safety • Birds occasionally bump into my windows; how can I protect them from such collisions?

Insuring an Alternative Home • I want to build a nontraditional home. How should I get it insured?

Cure Sweet Potatoes • I’ve unearthed a bumper crop of sweet potatoes and have heard I need to cure them. What’s the best way to do so?

MOTHER EARTH NEWS

Photos from the Field