September/October 2023

Grit

Rural American Know-How

Grit1 min read
Grit
ALLISON SARKESIAN, Lead Editor OSCAR H. WILL III, Editor at Large INGRID BUTLER • KARMIN GARRISON REBECCA MARTIN • JESSICA MITCHELL ILENE REID • KALE ROBERTS AMANDA SORELL • JEAN TELLER CARLA TILGHMAN BRENDA ESCALANTE; BEscalante@OgdenPubs.com SHELLY
Grit2 min read
Old Friends And New Beginnings
Life has a funny way of keeping us on our toes, doesn’t it? Just when we think something is set in stone, life steps in and points us in a new direction. That’s the situation I’ve found myself in recently, and it’s resulted in big changes I never saw
Grit1 min read
Reader Tips From Rural America
When canning green beans, add 25 milligrams of zinc to your jar. Your green beans will stay nice and green. If you have a problem finding 25 milligram tablets, simply add half of a 50 milligram tablet! ESTHER BEACHYHUTCHINSON, KS Make an easy bird fe
Grit2 min read
Labor Day, 1959
They set up sawhorses across the old barnyard in two long lines, planks laid across to make tables, food arranged down the center. Neighbors brought whatever chairs they could cart to line the sides. Maybe a hundred people came and went throughout th
Grit1 min read
Photos Taken By The Grit Community
Share your visual perspective! Post your photos at www.Facebook.com/GritMagazine, tag us on Instagram (@Grit1882), or email us at Letters@Grit.com. Share your best shots, and we just might select one of your photos for a future issue of the magazine.
Grit6 min read
Specialty Tools To Improve Your Homestead
Over the years of setting fence posts, fixing barns, and repairing equipment, I’ve built a little collection of specialty tools to make my life easier. The following list is of farm tools and equipment that many may not have thought of investing in.
Grit2 min read
Mail Call
I took this photo during a recent thunderstorm. ZAC GRIGGSOKLAHOMA I had a GRIT paper route in Piscataway, New Jersey, in the early 1970s. I started my route from scratch, and it taught me a work ethic that made me successful even until this day. JEF
Grit7 min read
Stock Your Pantry, Feed Your Family
While some facets of self-reliant living may be hard, depending where you live, a pantry can be successfully stocked anywhere and by anyone. It’s even possible to do it on a tight budget or with minimal space! And the beauty of having a pantry is the
Grit6 min read
Living A Zero-waste Lifestyle
In May of 2016, I quietly embarked on an experiment: shifting to a zero-waste lifestyle. I transitioned our household as best I could toward this new goal. Rather to my surprise, it worked. Going zero-waste went hand-in-glove with a number of other l
Grit9 min read
Grow Your Own Spices
Seeds used as spices to flavor foods played a prominent role in the origins of agriculture. Some have been used for over eight millennia, and the flavors we savor today are much like what pre-pottery Neolithic people used to add interest to their mea
Grit7 min read
Hunting to Put Food on the Table
I’ve been hunting most of my life. When I was growing up, I’d often walk about 1,000 feet from my house and find myself in rabbit, squirrel, and grouse habitats. As soon as school ended, I’d grab the old bolt action .410 shotgun and head out. Sometim
Grit7 min read
Everything But The Gobble
My wife, Elaine, and I relish living off the land as much as possible, as we feel this lifestyle provides exercise and healthy food from fish, game, and wild edibles. As locavores, we try to maximize the meat from every animal I kill. In my opinion,
Grit8 min read
Scrappy WOODWORKING
After I’ve spread that last coat of polyurethane onto a side table, Adirondack chair, or chicken coop door I’ve crafted, the leftover pieces of cherry and oak and redwood are often, and usually always, too precious and pricey to chuck. But they’re al
Grit7 min read
Year-Round Care for Flocks
Ask 10 shepherds how they manage their flock in each season, and you’ll probably get 10 different answers. Although the details will vary depending on the needs of each homestead, their responses will have some commonalities. Food, water, and shelter
Grit6 min read
Choosing Critters
Generations before us worked hard over the centuries to build the breeds and traits of our modern-day livestock. As homesteaders and breeders, we have an ethical responsibility to breed animals for more than just profit, and to choose livestock for t
Grit9 min readChemistry
FORGE AHEAD with Blacksmithing
I’ve been smithing for more than a decade at my business, Five Points Blacksmith Shop in Charleston, Illinois. While forging iron is physically demanding, I’ve learned that controlled movement is much more important than brute strength. Although many
Grit4 min read
COLOR BLOCK Mitten Pattern
These “Chip Off the Ol’ Color Block” mittens were made with Manos del Uruguay Maxima yarn, a hand-spun and hand-dyed merino wool whose purchase supports rural Uruguayan women. You can substitute any 100% extra-fine yarn in a medium worsted weight, bu
Grit9 min read
GRIT RECOMMENDED PRODUCTS for Wiser Living
A complete handbook filled with a host of valuable information and DIY projects. From growing vegetables, microgreens, and herbs to hydroponic gardening, troubleshooting, and more, you’ll learn how to grow fresh produce all year round, no matter wher
Grit8 min read
LET’S GO TO THE Cattle Auction
The confident hum of an auctioneer’s chant fills the Fredonia sale barn amid shouts and calls from sorters pushing cattle through the myriad pens and alleys behind the sale ring. It’s just another Tuesday afternoon in sunny Fredonia, Kansas. Nestled

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