Why the Homestead Life Will Make America Great Again

I'm not here to talk politics or endorse any candidates, but I would like to discuss the state of our nation, and why I think living a more self-reliant lifestyle is what it will take to make us great again.  Whether you live in an apartment or on 20 acres, the change begins with each of us and how we live.

Our New Homestead

We have embarked on a new adventure.  My fiance, Owen, and I bought our new home on 6.8 acres.  We sold one business, closed the other, packed up and moved to a new town near Owen's favorite fishing river in our beautiful Washington State.  Our intention is to create our own modern homestead.

How to Start a Community Garden

Last year, my business had the opportunity to partner with a charity and build a community garden at our local youth center. In one day, the community came together, young and old, to build raised beds and a fence to surround the garden. Now the youth center includes gardening as an after-school activity for the kids. They feed them after school snacks and meals out of the garden, and send the extra produce home to their families.

               

Seeds of Grace (dreambigaskbold.org), the non-profit that organized and fundraised for the event, has now built nine community gardens in Washington State and Mexico. Each garden donates their produce to a specific organization to help the community. Homeless shelters, food banks, after school programs, and Meals on Wheels are a few of the recipients. 

               

I sat down with Seeds of Grace founder, Karole Johnson, to ask her how others can start building community gardens where they live. She offered several helpful suggestions based on her own experiences.

Cannabis is Powerful Medicine

After living through decades of the War on Drugs, even though laws have changed in a majority of States, there is still a stigma attached to one of the most healing herbs on the planet: cannabis. 

               

Cannabis was the most widely prescribed medicine until the early 1900's, and has never caused one single death.  Before cannabis prohibition laws were passed in 1937, the American Medical Association stated the world would be denied a potent medicine if it were illegal.  However, when the Marijuana Tax Bill was up for a vote in Congress, Representative Vinson blatantly lied by saying the AMA was behind the bill.

               

The AMA knew then what we are rediscovering now.  Cannabis is one of the safest, most powerful healing herbs on the planet.  It is known to help with a variety of ailments, including and not limited to epilepsy, glaucoma, cancer, nausea, stress, PTSD, migraines, anorexia, depression, arthritis, and chronic pain.

Reishi: The REAL Magic Mushroom

An acupuncturist once told me that if I only ever take one supplement  for the rest of my life, it should be reishi mushrooms. For thousands of years, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has hailed reishi as the "Mushroom of Immortality." We may be a few thousand years behind here in the West, but modern science is finally starting to catch up. 

Nature's Way to Defeat Stress

Stress is an inescapable part of life. It may take the form of taxes, difficulties at work, or a traffic jam. The sources are endless. A little can be good, but overwhelming stress takes a toll on our health and leads to disease. Eastern medicine has many strategies to deal with the toxic stress that knocks us out of balance.

The Human Spirit Needs Nature

Why the World Needs More Organic Gardeners

We are living at a crucial time in history.  The choices we make now will have a profound impact on our future as a species.  

Our world is polluted and toxic, but not beyond repair.  Rates of cancer, autism, obesity, Alzheimer's, dementia, depression, anxiety, and ADD/ADHD, and many more diseeases are at all time highs. Our bodies and our planet are both sick.  If we continue down our current path, the situation will only get worse.  If we all pull together and change how we do things, we have a fighting chance.

Public policy will dictate the most dramatic changes, especially concerning carbon emissions.  We can make a significant impact ourselves by making certain lifestyle changes, but we all have to do it together.  Each small act will combine with billions of other small acts to create positive change.  

It all starts in the garden.  The garden will heal us in many different ways.

Fall Organic Gardening Checklist

Our outdoor growing season is winding down, but that doesn't mean you're off the hook for gardening chores just yet. There are many things you can do right now to make the best of the remaining season and set yourself up for success next year.

The Earth Laughs in Flowers

Make FREE Fertilizers & Pesticides for Your Garden Using Common Weeds

Many people today put extra effort into eradicating weeds from their lawn.  They will even use harmful chemicals like glyphosate found in Monsanto's Round Up, which the World Health Organization has deemed "probably carcinogenic."

What most people probably don't realize is that the weeds they are trying to kill are some of the most beneficial medicines on the planet.  Dandelions, for example, are known to make an excellent liver tonic.  They are also rich in vitamins and minerals.  You can read more about these amazing health benefits in my earlier post.

The health benefits of these "weeds" are not limited to the human body.  You can use them to create plant teas and fertilizers for your garden.  Biodynamic gardening teaches the gardener how to make special preparations and plant teas for the garden using plants.  The preparations can get quite complicated, however the plant teas are so simple anyone can make them.  All you need to do is go into nature, or maybe even just your backyard, and pick some dandelions, comfrey and stinging nettles.