Aimee Hall

Welcome Crystal and congratulations on the publishing of your new book! I hope it reaches millions and gets them to change their grass yards into productive, Earth restorative fruits and vegetables. =)

I love all the recipes and may give some of them a try! I have made some small changes to a recipe I found from Wellness Mama She does it in parts and I think that is great, but I usually just do it in tablespoons and it is a rough estimate. I do leave out the optional DE just because it was a bit too abrasive on my gums, I think I probably brush too hard.... The recipe has some distinct similarities to some posted here. I do like that it is simple as that works for me.

Like the previous person noted, the coconut oil alone can leave it a bit too stiff to spread in winter. To fix this, during the colder months I add a tiny bit of vegetable glycerine or a liquid oil. I tried olive oil and was not super fond of the taste, sweet almond oil did work well for me. I was also planning on trying walnut at some point.

5T Calcium Carbonate
4T melted coconut oil
3T Xylitol
2T Baking soda
1/2tsp finely ground sea salt
Essential oil mix (I like peppermint and use between 20-40 drops for this amount.)

(If it is cold, use about 3T coconut oil and 1T liquid vegetable/nut/seed oil of choice. This may take more liquid oil in a colder environment than the 6b I am accustomed to.)

I do feel I have much better oral health since going away from commercial brands. Thank you for sharing everyone and good luck in your quest for the perfect oral care!

Basket/container weaving is fascinating and unknown to me so I would most love to learn about that.

Taking plant fibres into useful things such as twine and the like would be second on my list. Thanks R and everyone contributing!

I would love to see this kickstarter and I would be be able to donate on the $15 level. I do think you guys should keep in mind that a lot of folk may still be financially unstable right now due to the virus, so support may still be somewhat less in July. However, it is a fantastic project and as much as I would truly love to see more behind the scenes, I have to figure out how to pay my bills first. I just worry many people are in the same boat right now.

As far as a title goes, I agree that adding Montana in will be helpful. As much as greywater is what caught my eye, I agree that it is not going to catch as many people as the thought of being able to use the greenhouse year round for growing edibles will. Will you be adding into the documentary how the greywater is being treated and piped through the greenhouse and beyond? Will greywater plant selection be included as well? Adding these things are fairly vital for anyone who is really wanting to use this for greywater treatment. While, those who are interested in growing edibles can simply ignore those parts.

Tiny home is a good buzzword but really since that is already established has little to do with this project. Though I think that a lot of people want to learn, especially right now. So, my suggestion would be something along the lines of "Documentary: Passive greenhouse treats greywater in Montana" for something strictly informational, it does not have the witty touches the other titles did though.

I wish you guys the very best of luck in this project. You are awesome!

Thank you Leo! That does sound exactly like what I am looking for. =)

Welcome Leo!

This is a subject that fascinates and terrifies me. I am allergic to bees, they used to make me keep an epi-pen (spelling?) when I was a child after an incident when I was about a year old, however I quit bothering in my adult life as bees and wasps rarely are a problem. Then last year, I got stung not just once but twice! One time was my own fault, I grabbed something that had a wasp on it where I couldn't see. The other, actually chased me down and I have absolutely no idea why, I saw it coming toward me from about 20 yards away and altered my path and knew I was in trouble when it veered as well but being out in the open like I was, there was no escaping. That second one almost did me in too! Even after going to the hospital I had to cut the sleeves of several shirts my arm stayed swollen to about twice its normal size.

And yet, despite that I still really want to keep bees. I just figured I would keep them without stealing the honey, the bees love my farm in Missouri anyhow. Now I am in Australia though and will have to learn all about the bees native here. Does your book cover the types of native bees found around the world and their different needs?

Thank you for adding to the rich and diverse permies community!

John Suavecito wrote:This lady has done alternate day fasting for years. She looks and sounds great.  

I also make anti-viral herb glycerites and dried herbs and decoctions in the winter.  It helps longevity.

John S
PDX OR

Do you happen to have more information on this John? I am a few weeks in on my trying intermittent fasting instead of pure fasting and I have not gained any weight, or lost any weight which I am alright with. I do not find it to be difficult to do at all, and so far it does not seem to induce the endless nagging that fasting does from those around me. So in my book it is an all around win. Thanks for the updates and useful information in this thread!

I think your ideas have a lot of merit. I am just going to share my personal experience though. I own a farm in Missouri but I am now working in Australia. I never intended to have to rent out my farm so it is a bit different. I now have my second set of renters in the home and thus far my experiences are this:

1. Finding people to rent the farm has been difficult, resulting in stretches of several months with the home/land being empty.
2. It is exceptionally time consuming.
3. It has cost me significantly more to have renters in my home than it would have been to leave the property vacant. At this point my only reason for keeping renter is to prevent someone from squatting on my property in my absence.
4. The damages to my home have been extensive but just low enough that it is not worth going after the previous tenants who caused the damages due to the legal fees involved.

This does not mean that it will not work for you. I just suggest you very carefully look over every angle, research going rental rates, etc. My home was never meant to be a rental, and I can honestly say that I am worried about the damages my food forest and established perennial vegetable beds will incur far more than what happens to the house/out buildings themselves. Good luck though and well done on being debt free and having accrued good savings!!!

I have carefully read this thread from the beginning. You have done a most excellent job of staying on top of it Julia!

I do wonder what happened with Timothy's experiment into vitamin A poisoning as I am curious. I have also read about the Gerson Miracle Diet and that is supposed to help cure cancer and it involves very copious amounts of vitamin A.

I have a decent amount of experience fasting, but not with IF. I started with many health problems, the main things being that I have a hormonal disease known as polycystic ovarian syndrome (P.C.O.S. or sometimes P.S.O.S.) which went undetected for a long time as I started having severe pains at 11 years old and no one thought to check for that, they told me it was all in my head, and my left leg was irreversibly damaged when I was hit by a car at 18. With these two issues at their peak, I got to where I was wearing a size 28W in US jean sizes, though I have never been one to ever stand wearing my pants tightly. I like breathing too much.... I have lost nearly half my body weight, but still have very far to go. Having tried nearly every reasonable diet there is, as well as healthy eating. My metabolism is so small that even working many hours every day on my farm and only eating the food I have raised with my own hands, I would still gain weight without periodic long fasts. So far, fasting is the only way I have found to really lose weight.

Though I meet with SO much resistance and outrage from family and friends when I go on long fasts. I have done mine with doctor supervision at first, then more on my own. I was always hungry during the fasts but after the 4th or 5th day it becomes easier for me because I know it is dangerous for me to throw anything new at my digestive system. As an example, even if I am tempted to have my coffee with a bit of whole milk I know better because if I haven't had any dairy for 4-5 days it would be dangerous to introduce it too quickly.

I have a food addiction as well, and sometimes that pushes me off track on my longer fasts before my initial goal for that fast. I find that on the vegetable juice fasts (which I feel is important, while I think fresh pressed fruit juices make an excellent treat and can bring a lot of vitamins and minerals into our diet, I think they should not be a major diet component because that is a bunch of sugar to be having!) or bone broth fasts I feel much healthier and more vigorous, I get better weight loss results on just water and because I still have a lot of weight to drop, the convenience of just water sometimes works better. (Like if travelling, or under heavy workloads because water takes practically no time to prepare and can almost always be found at zero cost, I just keep a water bottle with a filter on it with me.)

Since you have not exceeded 2 days, and because of the mentally demanding aspect of your job, it may be best to do one of your 2 day fasts on say Thursday through Friday and then extend it through the weekend and see how you feel on Monday. (This is assuming a Mon-Fri work week) though the fasts are harder for you on the weekend, it may be best to get through what many of us experience as the worst part of it on the weekend so you would be clear headed for work.

For my part, this thread has motivated me to try intermittent fasting. I would love an option less severe than going months at a time without eating, especially if I find something that helps me maintain my current weight loss easier. I have managed to keep over 200lbs off this way but it has been an ongoing challenge for nearly 20 years now.... and even after so long, I am not to where I want to be with my health. I focus on my weight because I like metrics and because the lower my weight goes the less hormonal imbalance I experience and less weight on my injured leg helps it significantly. However, how your clothes are fitting is a most excellent metric.

Finally, I just wanted to say that you guys have been extremely motivational and persistent in your endeavours towards better health! I think everyone is different and we need to do what works for us as individuals. And it is hard to find that without individuals brave enough like you guys to document what is working well for them and checking with others to see what is working for them as well. Thank you so much and stay safe all! =)

That is great news Tim!

Thanks everyone for all your helpful hints and suggestions, I do much the same taking near pencil size cuttings but it is great to see the other ideas. Come Spring, I am definitely going to try ground layering a few of the lower branches of my rabbiteye blueberries! Happy growing my friends!