Life on the Farm Archives - Page 10 of 17

Treating Honeybee Stings

Honeybee stings happen. Being prepared with a quick treatment will reduce pain, itch and swelling.

But I’m allergic to honeybees!

This is something we hear all the time. There is allergic and then there’s ALLERGIC. Be sure to know the difference in a localized allergic reaction and an allergy to bee venom that causes a systemic involvement of your airway.

An allergic reaction will cause localized swelling, warmth and itching around the sting. This will last 2 or 3 days and cause relatively minor discomfort. The amount of swelling will vary from person to person, but can be treated with home remedies.

A systemic allergic reaction is quite a different matter. This type of full body involvement may cause a person’s airway to swell and impede the ability to breathe. Anyone who has this type of reaction to a bee sting must receive immediate medical treatment. Home remedies are not for you. You likely already carry an Epi-pen (a portable means of injecting epinephrine in an emergency) and for use immediately after a sting. This is a serious medical emergency and should be treated in an emergency room even after the use of an Epi-pen.

Home Remedies

Here’s what we do for the occasional bee sting.

First, don’t panic. This will alarm the other bees and you may end up being stung more than once. Walk away from the hive and remove the stinger. Your goal is to scrape the stinger out against the direction of the sting. When the bee leaves her stinger in you, there is a small bulb of venom at the end of the stinger. Place the edge of a credit card (in a pinch you could use the edge of your hive tool) between the venom bulb and the insertion point of the stinger. Scrape toward the bulb end of the stinger with a firm flick of the card. This should remove the stinger from your skin and stop the flow of venom. It is beneficial to do this as quickly as possible after being stung.

After removing the stinger, apply an ice pack to the affected area. This will help reduce swelling and offer immediate relief. We also add a smear of honey to the affected area. Honey has antiseptic properties and seems to reduce the itch. You can take an antihistamine such as Benadryl if necessary.

Remember honeybees will rarely sting while foraging away from the hive. They are focused on gathering pollen and nectar with no concern about much else. Foraging bees are not in a position to defend the hive or the queen. Unless aggravated, squeezed or stepped on, they are not likely to sting.

For more information about avoiding stings in the first place, check out this blog post on the Mother Earth News website: How To Not Get Stung

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Groundhogs in the Garden

Every garden has its pest and ours at this moment is groundhogs. If you don’t know what a groundhog is, think beaver with a short stubby furry tail. Groundhogs are a member of the rodent family.

They get the hog part of their name honestly. They are hogs when it comes to munching on tender garden plants. Imagine how disheartening it is to go to the garden early in the morning and find the sweet potato leaves gnawed to the stem. Or bean plants nibbled down to the ground.

We put up a very temporary and lightweight fencing to slow down entrance to the garden. That got us through about a month. Now the varmints are plowing right through that fence and it is time to get serious.

Many recommend shooting or trapping and relocating, but we are choosing other methods.

Cayenne

Our first line of attack is a healthy dose of cayenne pepper around their favorite munchies.

Distraction

Next we have installed whirly gigs and scarecrows to scare them away.

Barrier

But the big guns is a wire mesh fence with solid wood frames all the way around the garden. Of course they may tunnel under, but they will find their holes full of cayenne.

2019 Battle of the Groundhogs is on!

It’s Tomato Time!

What will you do with that first ripe tomato?

You know the one. The warm, juicy, full of tomato goodness one fresh from the garden. The one that holds all the promise of the season’s bounty just by changing from green to red or gold or purple or striped.

Will it be a large slicing tomato with red juice dripping down your arm from your bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich? Or maybe a medium yellow slice with the slightest dusting of sea salt nestled next to a mound of cottage cheese?

My favorite is a large plate of alternating red and yellow slices, mingled with wedges of fresh mozzarella cheese and topped with shredded fresh basil leaves. Drizzle the whole thing with a peppery olive oil, balsamic glaze, a quick twist from the pepper mill and a sprinkle of salt.

There is nothing else to say but “Yum”.

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Healthy Eating

Everyone is telling you how to choose your food these days. Diets abound, but this is a quick primer on a few of the terms involved in food choices and our take on each one.

Non GMO (Genetically Modified Organism)

Scientists have genetically modified some of our food crops to enhance production.

The genes of some plants have been altered in the lab by inserting a gene from a different plant. The most common example is corn and soybeans altered to tolerate the weed killer Roundup. But did you know that canola oil now has an altered fatty acid composition due to genetic modifications?

Organic

Organic food has a special designation and oversight. There are strict standards that must be adhered to if one is going to label a food organic. This also comes at a cost. Organic food producers must meet these regulations and pay fees to label their food organic.

Organic simply means nothing artificial has been done to the seed, plant, soil, water, or fertilizer.

Naturally Grown

This is what we do at Five Feline Farm. We use non GMO seed. There are only natural (read compost) amendments to the soil. Any pesticides are house-made from natural ingredients.

We’re ok with misshapen fruits and vegetables.

Although not organic, we think it’s pretty close.

Clean Eating

This term has come into vogue in the past few years. The most basic definition is to consume only whole foods that would have been recognized by the generation before World War II. Foods that are not processed from an unrelated substance with ingredients that can be read and pronounced by a middle schooler.

Prior to WW II and the dawn of the information age, life moved at a slower pace. Families took time to come together over a meal and share their day. People in rural areas grew a lot of their own food, “putting it up” or “putting it by” to get through the cold winter months. City folks shopped at local grocers. Large multi-line stores were non-existent.

People ate local food in that era. Perishable foods would not make the long journey across country or continents. Anything that was shipped a distance was cost prohibitive for the average consumer.

Our Plan

We are into modern retro-food.

Yes, it’s a new term we made up. Taking advantage of new cooking techniques and the occasional long distance food, most of what we eat is local. Whole foods that Grandma would know. Nothing we can’t pronounce.

We grow and preserve as much as possible here on the Farm. What we do buy gets a thorough label examination. Looking for ingredients we can pronounce or resembles a food more than a lab ingredient. The fewer ingredients the better.

We aren’t perfect in this effort. But each meal and each purchase is an opportunity to make a good decision. In the end we feel better, physically and emotionally.

Your Turn

Join us in this effort to make better food decisions. Take one meal, one food, one day. Whatever works for you.

Eat a whole food. Read labels.

Make one food choice that is closer to the way Grandma used to eat.

Shop local.

Send us a message through email, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and let us know what good food decision you made today.