by Karen Bush | Feb 27, 2022 | Sufficiency
This is not a guide to planning disaster preparation. That would take a book and I’m no expert. Rather this is a reminder to myself to take a few steps in the right direction, and an opportunity to share with you a few things I’ve learned recently.
by Karen Bush | Nov 6, 2021 | Sufficiency
Horse chestnuts to wash the laundry? Last year was an experiment. This year I’m committed. They are free, local, leave no scent, and unexpectedly, the colours and whites come out bright. Highly recommended.
by Karen Bush | Oct 20, 2021 | Gardening, Sufficiency
Posts to my blog have been scarce during the summer of 2021. I found my concerns over the drought, heat wave, forest fires and pandemic sapped a lot of my creative energy. And the abundant harvest demanded so much of my time. Ironic?
by Karen Bush | Jan 26, 2021 | Sufficiency
Are seed shortages a concern again in 2021? Maybe I should sort my inventory and place my vegetable garden order early this year. So here I am searching for seeds in mid-January.
by Karen Bush | Nov 25, 2020 | Sufficiency
Did you know you can make laundry soap from horse chestnuts? They contain saponins just like soapberries. Free, all-natural, easily available laundry soap is on the ground waiting for you.
by Karen Bush | Oct 21, 2020 | Sufficiency, Sustenance
The writer in me gratefully welcomes October. During the primary food growing season, my time is so full that I can hardly find any energy to spare. In my head I’m exploring themes and composing paragraphs, but getting any of it down on paper seems just too...
by Karen Bush | Jun 12, 2020 | Natural Health, Sufficiency
For the past two weeks, my time has been occupied with crafting face masks. During the lock-down, we didn’t seem to need them, but now that our province is beginning to open up, more outings require non-surgical face masks. They became top priority when we...
by Karen Bush | Jan 6, 2020 | Recipes, Sufficiency
Sometimes a brilliantly simple solution presents itself for a problem you didn’t realize you had. We are a mostly dairy-free household and I never buy cow’s milk, except to combat mildew on the squash vines in August (but that’s a different story). I...
by Karen Bush | Aug 26, 2019 | Sufficiency
A new phrase for me – regenerative farming. At the end of July, we participated in the Eco Living and Home Tour on Salt Spring Island, and I met a kindred spirit. Apple Turnover is the clever name for a one-and-a-half-acre homestead being regenerated by Elisa Rajthe...
by Karen Bush | Jun 5, 2019 | Foraging, Sufficiency
This time of year, if I had to depend only on what I plant, I would carry home much less food from my garden. The promise of abundance is there, but very little is ready to eat just yet. Thankfully, the wild edibles that volunteer in my plot and its periphery are...
by Karen Bush | Apr 1, 2019 | Foraging, Sufficiency
In the spring just as the tree buds are becoming leaves, it’s time to start looking for nettles to harvest. If you find a patch, it will likely be abundant. Nettles, Urtica dioica, are wonderfully good for you, high in nutrients and with many health benefits. (I...
by Karen Bush | Mar 27, 2019 | Foraging, Sufficiency
After an unnatural cold snap that would not go away, my first visit to the community garden last week was pretty bleak. Even my kale leaves had been destroyed by day after day of below freezing temperatures. It’s not what we’re used to here in the Pacific...
