50+ Water-Wise Herbs for Your Landscape

Over the last few weeks, I have written extensively about how I was able to turn a badly eroding, clay hillside into a lush, water-wise garden using basic xeriscaping techniques and common herbs. In this article, I’ll show you 50+ herbs that will not only survive, but thrive with very little water.

Water-Wise Landscaping With Herbs

When we first landed on our 42-acre farm in the Ozarks, our first priority was to stabilize the eroding clay hillside and adjacent valley. Slowly, we transformed that terrifying moonscape into a flourishing, self-sustaining water-wise garden. From the first plant in the ground to the last, it was the common culinary herbs that were among the most beautiful and beneficial.

Gardening With Less Water

Jill Henderson – Show Me Oz

Humans have been cultivating food plants since the dawn of creation. And one of the most crucial aspects of growing food is the availability of water. How did our ancestors grow food in some of the most arid landscapes on earth? With the current weather extremes, this is a question mankind needs to answer right now. How do we grow food and have beautiful landscapes without using so much water?

Recycled Bucket Garden & Greenhouse Part One

I’m living proof that you can garden just about anywhere. And after our move to the Black Hills a few years ago, I didn’t just want to garden – I needed to. The previous summer I surreptitiously slipped a few herbs into the flower pots in front of our apartment building, but that just wasn’t enough. I needed to find a way to create a garden that would not permanently impact the property and would cost me little, if any, money. This is what I came up with…

The Herbal Insectary (Part Two)

by Jill Henderson Show Me Oz

In Part One of The Herbal Insectary, I explained what an insectary is and what types of food beneficial insects need and which plants attract and feed them. We also discussed ways to turn beneficial larvae, like black swallow parsley worms, from garden pest into garden ally by providing them a permanent home outside of your main garden. In this installment, I will explain how a dedicated perennial insectary is the best thing you can do for your insect allies and share a few important tips and tricks to make your insectary an even more appealing place for beneficials to call home.

The Herbal Insectary

by Jill Henderson ShowMeOz

Most gardeners grow herbs for their savory flavors and healing properties, but with a little extra planning the herb garden can become a powerful insectary that attracts thousands of butterflies, beneficial insects and pollinators right where gardeners need them most. 

The Impossible GMO Bacteria Burger and Climate Change…

When I first saw Burger King’s advertisement for the Impossible Burger, my stomach did a triple somersault. This is because I have been following the development and deployment of this Franken-food with disgust for the last couple of years and the last place I expected it to ooze to the surface was at one of the world’s leading processed fast food chains. Burger King has gone above and beyond to make this genetically modified bacteria burger sound like a super-yummy healthy alternative to meat, but when you learn the truth, your stomach will lurch, too.

Farming in a Changing Climate

If you’ve been following my blog for any length of time you already know that I am passionate about organic and sustainable agriculture. When I’m not blogging, I write articles for Acres USA, a fantastic magazine for ecological, sustainable, and organic farmers. This article, How Farmers Can Fight Climate Change, is not only interesting, but filled with valuable information for anyone who grows food in this unpredictable new world.

HOW FARMERS CAN FIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE

BY JILL HENDERSON
This article also appears in the September 2019 issue of Acres U.SA.

There is a new climate paradigm in town, and it is bringing radical changes to farm fields across the nation and around the world. On the short list of weather craziness is heavy spells of unexpected precipitation, more frequent and severe floods, fluctuating temperatures, crop-killing droughts, devastating super-storms and unpredictable “zone creep.”  Continue reading…

 

Richie Allen Show Interview on 5G

My latest interview on the Richie Allen Show discussing 5G and how to avoid its dangers. Listen to it in the second half of the broadcast (55:00) on YouTube below or Podomatic at https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/richieallen/episodes/2019-09-03T11_21_53-07_00

Proof that Cell Phone Radiation is Known to be Dangerous to Human Health

You may have heard one of my recent interviews on the dangers of electromagnetic frequencies, particularly those of the new 5G cellular network. There is a growing body of evidence that proves that the radio frequencies that have been used for 4G and LTE networks, and particularly the new spectrum of pulsed-frequency millimeter waves, can and do produce devastating effects on the body. Today, I want to share with you just one document that specifically addresses those concerns. The Naval Medical Research Institute published this research paper way back in 1971. It is a “Bibliography of reported biological phenomena (‘effects’) and clinical manifestations attributed to microwave and radio-frequency radiation”. It includes 5 pages of physical effects to the human body that will shock even the most robust EMF denier. The title says it all. You can read more about the dangers of EMFs from our own government’s researchers and download the original document as a PDF from my article, Protect Yourself from Electromagnetic Radiation

Acres USA

Today, I thought I’d share some of the writing I do for Acres USA magazine. These articles all appeared in the print version of the magazine but are now being republished in their online magazine, Eco Farming Daily, which is a great way to read some of the best articles on sustainable and ecological agriculture anywhere. Enjoy!

 

 

https://www.ecofarmingdaily.com/meet-sioux-chef/

 

 

 

https://www.ecofarmingdaily.com/women-in-agriculture-supporting-one-another/

 

 

 

https://www.ecofarmingdaily.com/the-business-of-organic-elderberry/

Take Back Your Health – Detoxing from Glyphosate

Jill Henderson – Show Me Oz

With a score of recent legal victories against the makers of Round Up (glyphosate) herbicide for its role in causing cancer, there can be no more doubt about what activists and independent researchers have been saying for the last two decades: glyphosate is deadly!  Not only is it the most-widely used herbicide in the world but one that is pervasive in our food, water, and air. Over 98% of people tested in the US had significant levels of glyphosate in their blood and urine – including pregnant women and their unborn babies. Despite both Monsanto and Bayer’s claims, glyphosate does not break down readily or quickly in the environment leaving untold millions exposed to this cancer causing herbicide. Today, we’re going to talk about how you can start to detox your environment and your body from this cancer-causing herbicide.

Gifts That Grow: Making Plantable Botanical Paper Part Four

Jill Henderson ~ Show Me Oz

If you have been following this four-part series, you’ve already got a good idea of the types of materials that you want to use to make your own plantable botanical paper. If you missed any of those posts just zip on over to Gifts That Grow: Making Plantable Botanical Paper Part One and work your way back here. For those who have been following along, get your supplies together and get ready to make paper!

Gifts That Grow: Making Plantable Botanical Paper Part Three

Jill Henderson ~ Show Me Oz

In the first two parts of this four-part series on making your own plantable botanical paper, I covered making and using molds or deckles as well as discussed in-length the various kinds of paper that can be used to make your paper with. This week, I’ll show you the different ways to bring your beautiful hand-crafted paper to life using textural elements, botanicals, and yes, seeds!

Gifts That Grow: Making Plantable Botanical Paper Part Two

Jill Henderson ~ Show Me Oz

In part one of this four-part series on making your own unique plantable botanical paper, I covered the various tools you will need to start your project and how to find, repurpose or make your own paper molds and deckles. This week I talk in detail about the materials you will need to start crafting your botanical paper including the various types of waste paper that can be recycled and how to add texture and color to your homemade work of art.

Building Symbiotic Soils

Jill Henderson ~ Show Me Oz

As an organic gardener and biological farmer, there are certain things I have come to understand over the last 30 some-odd years. Working with seeds, soil, and sun have taught me about the symbiotic relationships that all living things share in common. It’s a simple concept with a profound potential to transform, and it all starts with the soil.

Dark Money Buys Elections

An important documentary for anyone who cares about the sanctity of one-person-one-vote and Big Money corporate rigging of US elections that thwart the voice of the people. I witnessed much of this while in my one-time home state of Montana – and it’s going on in every state in America.  Check out this limited time free airing on PBS through Oct 31 at https://www.pbs.org/video/dark-money-duhigg/.  Description: “A century ago, corrupt money swamped Montana’s government, but Montanans rose up to prohibit corporate campaign contributions. Today, in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, Montana is once again fighting to preserve open and honest elections. Following an investigative reporter through a political thriller, Dark Money exposes one of the greatest threats to American democracy.

Toxic Food for the Masses Part Three – Where Does Your Food Come From?

Jill Henderson – Show Me Oz

Excerpted from our new book:
Illuminati Agenda 21

In my last post, I talked in depth about how GMO crops and the food made from them contain a genetically-modified-protein that the body cannot break down into usable glycine, which is crucial for human health. And as bad as all this is, the troubles with GMOs doesn’t actually start in the gut – they begin in the environment in which they are grown, with the farmers that grow them and perhaps, even in your very own garden.

Toxic Food for the Masses Part Two – The Gut & Fake Proteins

Jill Henderson – Show Me Oz

Excerpted from our new book:
Illuminati Agenda 21

As I pointed out in Part One of this series on toxic food, it is quite apparent that there is more than a casual association between GM foods and adverse health effects across the board. This has been demonstrated time and time again by numerous independent studies from around the world. Despite the length of time on the open market, people either are still unaware of the dangers or they simply choose to believe the lies paid for by Monsanto and company and those of the corporate chemical industry shills that have been put in charge of the FDA and USDA.  But the real evidence of this deadly collusion is in the sudden dearth of leaky guts and bewildering levels of diseases that come with them, and the brave independent researchers and educators willing to put their careers on the line for the truth.

Toxic Food for the Masses Part One – GMOs, Glyphosate, and You

Jill Henderson – Show Me Oz

Excerpted from my book, Illuminati Agenda 21

The epic health disaster caused by GMOs and the cancer-causing herbicide, glyphosate (RoundUp), continues to gain momentum even after the company was found guilty of lying about its toxic nature. In this series, I’ll talk more about the scientific research that proves the toxic and invasive nature of RoundUp and how it may be affecting your family’s long-term health.

Protect Yourself from Electromagnetic Radiation

Jill Henderson – Show Me Oz

Over the last few weeks, I’ve shared with you just some of the damaging effects that disharmonic sounds and electromagnetic frequencies can have on the human body including sleep disturbances, anger, depression, ringing in the ears, headaches, memory loss, reduced fertility, and many others.  Today, I’d like to share a few tips on how you can start taking control of the EMF’s in your environment to protect your family from destructive levels of electromagnetic radiation (EMFs) starting right now! If you want to check out the damning report by the Navy Medical Research Institute, entitled, “Reported Biological Phenomena (Effects) and Some Clinical Manifestations Attributed to Microwave and Radio-Frequency Radiation”, then read on!

Casting The World Wide Inter-Net – Part III – 5G & The Internet of Things

Excerpted from our new book: Illuminati Agenda 21: The Luciferian Plan to Destroy Creation

In Part II of this series, I covered just a few aspects of how discordant sounds and electromagnetic frequencies can and are being used as weapons against the American people by the United States government and military via cell tower radiation, wireless devices, and EMF-weaponized sound projects such as HAARP and the nano-metals in the chemtrails used in geoengineering. Yet, many people are still skeptical because they really don’t want to give up the convenience of their cell phones and the fun of their other wireless devices. But the truth is out there for anyone to see.

Casting The World Wide Inter-Net – Part II – Sound Frequency

Excerpted from our new book: Illuminati Agenda 21: The Luciferian Plan to Destroy Creation

In the first installment of this series, we learned about harmonic and discordant sounds and how they can hurt you, even if you can’t see or hear them with your eyes and ears. And just as our government and military industrial complex have known about harmonic frequencies and their correlation to life on earth, they also know that sound can be used as a weapon that kills.

Poisoning the Elixir Part III-Water is Alive

Excerpted from our new book: Illuminati Agenda 21: The Luciferian Plan to Destroy Creation

In Part I and II of this series on Water, we discovered how and why the earth’s water was being intentionally destroyed and poisoned by an elite cabal of eugenicists and industrialist polluters. And while they have tried hard to kill the living water, we’ve still got hope. Let’s be clear about this – water is not alive because it moves or stirs our souls, it is alive because it has its own memory and consciousness. Modern research on water memory didn’t really get going until Dr. Masaru Emoto, a Japanese researcher and author began working with vibrational energy, or what Emoto called “hado” in Japanese. In fact, Emoto described his work as “…the intrinsic vibratory pattern at the atomic level in all matter, the smallest unit of energy. Its basis is the energy of human consciousness”.

Poisoning the Elixir Part II – Fluoride

Excerpted from our new book: Illuminati Agenda 21: The Luciferian Plan to Destroy Creation

In Poisoning the Elixir Part I – Water, we delved into how fluoride came to be intentionally added to our drinking water as a means of disposing of industrial toxic waste and mind control. Not only is the addition of fluoride to drinking water ineffective, a massive body of evidence exists that proves that fluoride is extremely dangerous to human health, too. At the very minimum, consumption of fluoride in water has been shown to causes irreversible dental fluorosis, which now affects 32% of American children. This drug-induced condition permanently yellows, spots, and rots teeth starting at a very young age. Additionally, accumulation of fluoride in the bones and joints causes skeletal fluorosis, which is a permanent and incredibly painful condition that leads to severe arthritis, bone diseases, and bone cancer. 

Poisoning the Elixir Part I – Water

by Jill Henderson

Excerpted from our new book: Illuminati Agenda 21: The Luciferian Plan to Destroy Creation

Water has been sacred to mankind since the dawn of time as proven by the respect and even worship given to it by every religious philosophy and text in the world. The human body is made up of 75-85% water and without it, life on earth as we know it would end. We are only alive because water is alive. Yet, water all over the world – including the water we drink every single day – is being mindlessly polluted and willfully poisoned. Will this nightmare be the true downfall of mankind?

New Book Release: Illuminati Agenda 21

Illuminati Agenda 21 tells the story of the age-old battle between Good and Evil. The first part of the tale identifies the Luciferian perpetrators, tracing their origins back to ancient Sumeria, and tracking their hegemony over mankind through Babylon, Egypt, the Holy Roman Empire, and on to their modern-day lair known as The City of London. 

Part two brings the battle into recent times, where the Illuminati’s Agenda 21 is quietly unfolding in an insidious creep towards global fascism and their long-awaited goal of a New World Secular Order, which threatens to strip us of our humanity, replace us with machines, and destroy all Creation.

I hope you will take a few minutes to check out this latest book, which I co-authored with my husband, Dean Henderson – a brilliant political analyst and economist and a noted international author and speaker.  While some of my readers may find this book a bit out of the norm for me in terms of subject matter, it delves deeply into those things that I hold dear, such as alternative healing, organic gardening and farming, real food, GMOs and seed saving, as well as my reverence for nature and the spirit of being human.

All of these things and much more are portrayed both in my writing and in this new book, which uncovers what many people in these troubled times feel in their gut – that the system is broken and that the powers that be don’t seem to care all that much about our, or anyone else’s suffering so long as they stay rich and powerful…

So if you are literally sick and tired and want to find out why, step inside and find out the truth that is being hidden from us and what you can do to change the world for the better.

Check out our new book on Amazon!

Natural Beekeeping with Dr. Leo Sharashkin

Jill Henderson ~ Show Me Oz
Acres USA May 2017 issue

If you have ever dreamed of keeping bees but found the process complicated, expensive, or the potential for losing your investment to disease and pests all too real, then you have never met Dr. Leo Sharashkin, a prominent wild bee enthusiast, educator, and apiarist who practices an ancient method of catching and keeping wild bees in specially-designed horizontal hives. If you have had the good fortune to meet Dr. Leo or to hear him speak to a room full of enthusiastic beekeepers or the crowd that inevitably gathers around his Horizontal Hive booth at grower’s conferences across the country, you already know that his encyclopedic knowledge of bees is boundless and the methods he uses to keep them, truly inspiring. Whether you are a budding beekeeper or an experience apiarist, you can keep happy and productive bees with less work and money than you ever imagined possible and do it in a sustainable, eco-friendly way.  Read more…safe PDF opens automatically

River Hills Harvest Raises Elderberry Production to New Levels

Jill Henderson ~ Show Me Oz
Acres USA – April 2017 issue

In the heart of the Midwest, River Hills Harvest is riding the new wave of demand for elderberry products. At the helm of this enterprise is Terry Durham, a long time advocate of sustainable agriculture, a builder of ground-breaking organizations and an elderberry expert best known for his devotion to developing the entire elderberry market from the ground up. “There is no competition for elderberry producers and growers are desperately needed to fill the rising demand for elderberry products.”  Read more…safe PDF opens automatically.

Meat of the Matter – Peace Valley Poultry Relies on Community, Innovation

By Jill Henderson
Acres USA Magazine March 2017

In the heart of the Missouri Ozarks the little village of Peace Valley wakes to another beautiful sunrise, revealing the rolling hills and hardwood forests that Jim and JudyJo Protiva call home. It is here in this small, but tightly-knit community that a former Grand Canyon guide and a Rocky Mountain Ranger decided to settle down to raise a family and grow food in a way that honored God’s creation to the fullest. Over the next 21 years, the Protivas turned their passion for clean, healthy food into Peace Valley Poultry; perhaps the oldest pastured poultry operation in the state. Read the entire article in PDF

Eco-Alternative Farmsteading

Real people growing real food.  “It’s all about protecting the land and bringing it back to health. Not just taking what we can get from it, but giving back to the system to keep it fed.” Emily Towne, Full Plate Farm.  Read more about Full Plate Farm in this article published in the January issue of Acres USA Magazine.
Read the entire article here.

Don’t Toss Those Mums!

Jill Henderson ~ Show Me Oz ~

Every fall, big box stores and greenhouses everywhere display rack after rack of brightly blooming mums.  Ostensibly, the showy plants are used by homeowners and businesses to bring a little color to the ever-increasing drabness of fall and to pretty-up outdoor Halloween and Thanksgiving decorations.  Most people just drop the relatively inexpensive pre-potted plants into a larger, more decorative container for display and then forget them until they are deader than door nails.  That’s shame, because mums are actually hardy perennials that if given half a chance, will survive in the garden and provide you with colorful, showy blooms year after year!

Stair Building 101–Flanking Stones

Jill Henderson ~ Show Me Oz ~

When you live on the side of a hill like I do, everything is either up or down.  There’s almost no flat, straight way to get anywhere.  When we first moved here, the entire site was denuded of nearly all low-growing vegetation and the earth was eroding and sliding down the hill with each rain.  As we developed the gardens around the house, it became obvious that we were going to need some stairs to make getting up and down a little less treacherous.  Six years later, we have four nifty sets of stairs entering and leaving our garden space.  If you have ever wanted to try your hand at building stairs but were worried about the outcome, I’m here to tell you it’s lots of hard work, but also much easier than you might think.

Fall Leaves: Good for the Garden

By Jill Henderson ~ Show Me Oz ~

The clear, cool days of fall are perfect for wrapping up last-minute garden chores, such as winterizing perennial herbs, flowers and shrubs.  It’s also a good time to cultivate existing garden beds or create new beds for spring planting.  But there’s one chore in the fall that not everyone looks forward to – raking leaves.  Sometimes there are so many leaves that homeowners spend weeks trying to get rid of the deepening piles.  But instead of raking and burning, or bagging leaves for the garbage, consider putting your fall leaves to use in the garden as a protective, nutrient-rich mulch.

Controlling Squash Bugs Organically

Jill Henderson – Show Me Oz
Squash bugs. What a pain in the arse! Absolutely nothing in the natural world preys on them, their hard outer coverings resist even the most intense organic insecticides, the little buggers are masters at hiding their eggs, and they multiply faster than fleas. On top of that, they spread devastating squash plant diseases, have the uncanny ability to know when they are being stalked, and are eerily good at evasion.  If you do manage to get a hold of one, they emit a nasty, long-lasting stink that’s incredibly hard to entirely wash off.  But after a lifetime’s worth of battling this raunchy bug, I’ve learned how to live with them.  And this year, I came up with a new way to get the upper hand.

The Terrace Project: Year Five

Show Me Oz – As I was searching for something to write about this week, I came upon two articles I wrote waaay back in 2012 about the twin terraces (or twin terrors, as I used to call them) that “grace” our small backyard.  When we first moved here, the two slopes were badly eroded and washing clay and rock against the house and down into the valley. It has been quite a challenge to tame the runoff, stabilize the soil, and grow something, anything at all, on these two steep clay hills, but a lot has changed in the last four years!

Garden Time: Watch Out for Early Garden Allies!

Show Me Oz – Although ‘official’ spring has yet to arrive in Oz, the weather outside my door tells me it’s already here. As always, Dean and I are at it early and have already cultivated most of our garden and planted the first round of cold-hardy seeds. But while we’re hard at work cleaning up and organizing the yard and garden for the season to come, we are constantly on the lookout for sleepy, still-hibernating and just-hatching garden allies like frogs, toads, turtles, spiders, and all manner of beneficial insects and creatures that help us control insect pests in our organic garden!

The “Right to Farm” in the Ozarks

By Jill Henderson – Show Me Oz –

No matter how one chooses to look at it, farming can have an impact on the quality of our water.  Like a network of blood vessels, capillaries, and arteries found in the human body, the Ozarks are riddled with craggy veins that carry surface water deep down into the earth through the highly-fractured slabs of limestone beneath our feet – and sometimes, back out again.  Everything that touches the ground on the surface – including soil, rocks, debris, chemicals, manure, fertilizers and even acid rain – will eventually find its way into our creeks, rivers and springs, and ultimately our aquifers and our water wells.

Good and Bad Bugs in the Garden

This is a tobacco hornworm (similar to a tomato hornworm) that has been parasitized by a tiny, beneficial wasp known as a Braconid wasp.

The hornworm will live until the wasp eggs hatch and then the young wasp larva will eat their host alive.

If you find caterpillars like these in your garden, leave them where they are!

 

 

The hornworms generally stop feeding after being parasitized and the tiny parasitic wasps that hatch will continue to populate your garden, helping control unwanted pests.

If you’re squeamish, you might not want to watch!

Happy gardening!

2013 Fall Go Green Festival Set for October 12th-13th

– Show Me Oz –

The Fall 2013 Go Green Self Reliance Festival will be held October 12th and 13th in Thayer City Park.  Hours are from 9 am to 6 pm both days.  Admission is free, vendors are free and all are encouraged to attend.

Get Back to the Garden

By Dean Henderson – Left Hook –

Urbanization could well be the most dangerous trend on the planet. Cities are designed by the matrix, for the matrix and of the matrix.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve visited different countries and witnessed the misery and plight of the urban poor in sharp contrast to the lives of happiness and relative ease I’ve seen among the rural poor in those same developing nations.  It’s the same here in the Ozarks.

Sweet Nesting Solution for Flycatchers

By Jill Henderson – Show Me Oz  –

Excerpted in part from my book,
A Journey of Seasons

Along with the more obvious firsts of the year, I am always glad to welcome the return of our nesting pair of Eastern Phoebes (Sayornis phoebe), also known as common flycatchers.  These little brownish grey birds are easy to overlook until they begin building their mud and grass nests on porch lights, windowsills and other protrusions beneath the eaves of houses, garages, barns and other structures.  I’ve always loved having phoebe’s around to eat bugs and cheer me up, but cleaning the mess they create while building their nests can sometimes be a drag.  If you’ve had the same experience, I’ve got a sweet solution to keeping both you and your flycatchers happy.

Return to the Wild: A Deer Story

By Jill Henderson – Show Me Oz –

About this time last year, Dean and I were working on a new garden bed beside the front porch.  It had been a warm spring and the weather was perfect for working outdoors.  We were both intently hacking away at the compacted soil with our shovels and rakes when I happened to look up.  What I saw took my breath away.   Not two feet from Dean stood a doe quietly nibbling at the clover in the grass.  My heart raced.  This couldn’t be happening, could it?  She was close enough to touch.  Thinking she would bound away at the slightest breath, I stood like a statue, absorbing every little detail.  She raised her head and looked into my eyes and right then, I knew she was no ordinary deer.

Here Come the Bluebirds!

By Jill Henderson – Show Me Oz –

(Excerpted in part from A Journey of Seasons: A Year in the Ozarks High Country)

With all the cold weather we’ve had of late, it might seem a bit early to be talking about getting ready for bluebirds, but in our neck of the woods, many have already begun their search for spring nesting sites.   In the winter, bluebirds flock together in large groups of mixed adults and fledglings from last year’s broods.  But just about the beginning of March, the large groups begin to break up into smaller family groups and pairs.  So, if you would like to invite a nesting pair of bluebirds to your yard, late February and early March are the best time to put out the welcome mat.

Sustainable Solutions: Timberland or Healthy Forest?

By Jill Henderson – Show Me Oz –

Throughout the history of mankind, humans have used and manipulated the natural landscape for their own ends.  Here in the Ozarks, we are blessed with an abundance of forests that, at times seem to grow like weeds.  Because of that ill-perceived notion, good quality Ozark woodlands are becoming thinner, rarer, and spaced further and further apart.  Fortunately, many landowners are learning how to properly manage their woodlands for timber, recreation and wildlife. 

The Terrace Project: Year One (part II)

By Jill Henderson – Show Me Oz –

The first few months of addressing the severe erosion on the terraces cut into the hillside behind our house involved a lot of physical labor.  With shovel, rake and clay-covered boots, we were able to repair the worst of the damage and redirect the runoff into the adjoining swale.  But that was just the beginning.  Once the repairs had been made, we had to figure out just how we were going to stabilize the barren expanse of clay and rock hovering a mere 20’ from our back door. The first and most obvious answer to permanently stabilizing the terraces was to vegetate them. Doing so might seem elementary, but as anyone who has ever lived in an area with clay “soils” knows that getting anything at all to grow on a mountain of solid red Ozark clay and rock is easier said than done – even for a pair of skilled gardeners like Dean and I.

The Terrace Project: Year One (part I)

By Jill Henderson – Show Me Oz –

When Dean and I moved to our new place in August of 2011, we knew that we had a few landscaping challenges ahead of us.  The first was the hilly driveway, which was so washed-out I was afraid to drive on it.  The next was the vast expanse of rocky hillside on which our home was perched.  It not only had little in the way of leaf mast or groundcover, but also served as a major conduit for runoff during heavy rains.  The third challenge would be converting the small front and side yard, made up of solid red clay and weeds, into a herb and vegetable garden. But the ultimate challenge came in the form of a pair of terraces cut into the face of the hillside behind the house and the mud-fest that was the backyard.  If I thought the driveway was scary, the bare, eroding terraces were a downright nightmare.

Gardening With Wildlife: Beefing Up Your Habitat

By Jill Henderson – Show Me Oz –

(Excerpted in part from A Journey of Seasons: A Year in the Ozarks High Country)

One of the coolest things about being a country gardener is that I am constantly surrounded by wild things.  These creatures are part and parcel of a healthy ecosystem and one of the rarest and most precious gifts that one can have.  However, it goes without saying that on occasion we are forced to butt heads with the very wildlife that we cherish.  Whether it’s the birds eating the blueberries, squirrels in the peach tree or a rabbit in the cabbage patch, we sometimes have to go to war to protect our share of the harvest.  And after years of living and gardening in the backwoods I have learned that all creatures are compelled to survive, and that the best deterrent for pesky garden critters is to create a place for them to do just that.

Gardening With Wildlife: Natural Deterrents

By Jill Henderson – – Show Me Oz

We humans are not alone in our affection for the garden.  Whether we like it or not, there are many creatures that enjoy our bounty as well as we do and keeping the critters at bay is about as much work for the gardener as the growing of the garden itself.   With so much time and effort put into growing a garden, it is incredibly hard not to fly into a tizzy when evidence of foul play is found. Over the years we have had our share of wild things enjoying our garden produce and understand the feelings of loss and frustration that come from seeing something you have worked so hard for, trampled to the ground, half eaten or just plain disappeared.   In that moment of horror it is hard to be understanding, much less compassionate.  Yet, through our many years of growing organically, we have found many ways to make room for everyone.

Organic Farmers Sue Monsanto

Preemptive Action Seeks Ruling That Would Prohibit Monsanto From Suing Organic Farmers and Seed Growers If Contaminated By Roundup Ready Seed

Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association

On behalf of 60 family farmers, seed businesses and organic agricultural organizations, the Public Patent Foundation (PUBPAT) filed suit today against Monsanto Company to challenge the chemical giant’s patents on genetically modified seed.  The organic plaintiffs were forced to sue preemptively to protect themselves from being accused of patent infringement should they ever become contaminated by Monsanto’s genetically modified seed, something Monsanto has done to others in the past.

Missouri Conservation Funding Under The Gun!

Recently Scott Laurent, author of Wild Missouri, alerted me to a proposed amendment to the Missouri Constitution that threatens to destabilize the funding for the Missouri Department of Conservation.   

Just the thought of the MDC losing its funding makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up.  And I think most Missourians would agree, because they know that one of the things that makes Missouri such an incredible place to live, work and play is the beauty and diversity of its wildlands.

Farmer Wins Legal Battle with City over Raw Milk Sales

As Morningland Dairy awaits its fate over the ongoing legal battle with the FDA and the Missouri Milk Board, one Missouri couple has won their right to sell pre-ordered raw milk directly to consumers. Read this piece by Food Freedom.

 By Emily Baucum Ozarks First.com (Greene County, MO) —

It’s a big win for farmers and people who prefer to buy locally-grown food. A husband and wife who run a farm in Conway have been acquitted on charges of illegally selling raw milk inside Springfield city limits. The Bechards sell milk that’s regularly tested but not pasteurized. It’s not against the law, but Missouri requires milk sold at distribution points like grocery stores and farmers … Read More

via Food Freedom

Oil and Gas Collection: Hydraulic Fracturing, Toxic Chemicals and the Surge of Earthquake Activity in Arkansas

Fracking the Life Out of Arkansas and Beyond

by Rady Ananda – Global Research

The last four months of 2010, nearly 500 earthquakes rattled Guy, Arkansas. [1]  The entire state experienced 38 quakes in 2009. [2]  The spike in quake frequency precedes and coincides with the 100,000 dead fish on a 20-mile stretch of the Arkansas River that included Roseville Township on December 30. The next night, 5,000 red-winged blackbirds and starlings dropped dead out of the sky in Beebe. [3]  Hydraulic fracturing is the most likely culprit for all three events, as it causes earthquakes with a resultant release of toxins into the environment. [4]
Read the entire article here…

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Shaky Ground: The Missing Link in the Arkansas Bird Kill

By Jill Henderson

For a couple of days now I’ve been glued to the horrifying stories of thousands of birds raining down from the sky in Beebe, Arkansas and the massive fish kill in the Arkansas River.  And while these two mysterious events occurred within 24 hours of each other and were located a mere 125 miles apart, government agencies and mainstream media continue to insist that there is no link between them.  But the missing link to this mystery might lie right beneath our noses…

Thanksgiving Food for Thought

by Dean Henderson

I like Thanksgiving.  Though its history is rightly associated with the Native American genocide at the hands of Euro-banker mercenaries, it is also a metaphor for the kindness which the “real human beings” embody. 

Critical Action Alert: Nov. 17 Vote on the Senate Food Safety Modernization Act

From the Editor at Show Me Oz: This is a critical action alert. 

Missouri: Leaders in the Solar Revolution

By Jill Henderson – Show Me Oz –

Missouri is taking the alternative energy revolution head on, thanks to the creative energy of students at Missouri University of Science & Technology in Rolla and comparatively tiny Crowder College in Neosho, Missouri.