Fall 2009 MLT Newsletter

MLT Board of Directors:

Rita Bober
Norm Bober
Ken Dahlberg, Chairperson
Maynard Kaufman
Ron Klein
Suzanne Klein
Michael Kruk
Jim Laatsch
Lisa Phillips, Treasurer
Michael Phillips
Thom Phillips, Managing Director
Jan Ryan, Secretary
Jon Towne, Newsletter Editor
Dennis Wilcox

MLT has made a few changes on its web site, www.michiganlandtrust.org including the ability to accept memberships and donations via PayPal. Credit card payments are easily done. A small fee is charged MLT by PayPal. Go to the membership page for instructions.

The following is an update from Dennis about the “Clove Loan” Garlic Project:

MLT Garlic Harvest Loans
As a community, MLT supporters planted 200lbs. of the increasingly popular herb garlic on Jon and Bobbi's land ( The old MLT Farm) in the fall of 2009 in order to begin cultivating a lending fund to enhance the production capabilities of small SW Michigan growers.

These “clove loans” are designed to provide assistance to small-scale measurable organic farmers and processors in Kalamazoo and Van Buren counties who have demonstrated competence in producing for local markets but need funding for special projects. First year loans are for amounts between $500 and $1,500 at 2% simple interest and are to be repaid in one year. Thus the fund grows each year to help more and more operations. Loan applications will be available from MLT starting September 1, 2010 with awards being announced in January of 2011. Contact us at GarlicProject@MichiganLandTrust.org for more information.

Jon adds to this that: Back in April a group of us spent 3 hrs rototilling, hoeing and weeding the garlic patch. Other than some brown tips (waterlogged soil), its coming along!

In other news: A second “MLT Community Potluck and Speakers Series” program was held on March 9, 2010 in Lawrence (again). The video: “Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil.” was shown and followed by a panel discussion led by: Dr. Ken Dahlberg (MLT), and Dr. Tom Kostrzewa (from WMU). While the audience was smaller than the first event in this series it resulted in lively and insightful discussion.

It is called by many names – coneflower, Prairie flower, pale purple coneflower, snakeroot, rudbeckia, black sampson – but it is mostly known by its botanical name – Echinacea. And this plant is not only beautiful but has great medicine for us. It is native to the United States and at one time, it grew in large numbers in prairies, open meadows, and sunny woodland clearings. But because of loss of habitat as a result of large-scale farming and unethical harvesting in the wild, today we mostly see Echinacea growing in people’s yards. Echinacea angustifolia and E. purpurea are most known for their medicinal properties.

A long-lived perennial, Echinacea is 6 to 40 inches tall, depending on growing conditions and species. The cone-shaped flowers are 2 to 5 inches in diameter and range from pale purple pink to deep purple with the petals drooping downward as the plant matures. It is in the sunflower family. The leaves are lanceolate to almost oval with Echinacea purpurea leaves being toothed although most of the other species are not.

Echinacea is most affective as an immune system tonic that was widely used by Native Americans. We have seen recent scientific verification and marketing campaigns that have turned Echinacea into an herbal wonder-drug. Therefore, it is often misused. What it is best known for is that it provides a needed auto-immune boost at the beginning of a bacterial or viral infection. It works best to ward off a cold or flu when given before the infection is established in the body. It really is used for all inflammatory conditions including laryngitis and tonsillitis. It cannot be a supplement to use “just in case”, or as a substitute for a depressed immune system. It is best to use it only for a limited time; using it all the time will reduce its effectiveness.

This valuable herb is also useful in healing infected skin wounds and provides pain relief and eliminates disagreeable odors of pus formation and fetid discharges from infected wounds. It also relieves non-venomous bites and stings and as an antidote for microbial infections. Studies in Germany where Echinacea has been used since the 1930’s have shown its usefulness also for certain cancers, various viral diseases and helping in the treatment of AIDS.

So you see what a great herb this would be to have around. It is best used as a tea or tincture. But do you know how much that costs at a natural/health food store? More money than you will want to spend. So it is a good idea to learn how to grow and harvest Echinacea from your own garden. Collect the flowers, leaves, and roots for medicine. The root is best collected in the fall of its third year. Fresh herb parts make the best medicine but you can also dry the flowers, leaves, and roots to use them for tea. Here is how to make a tincture:

Collect flowers, leaves, and root of a third year plant. Wash off the plant and especially wash the root. Cut up in small pieces and place in a pint jar that can be tightly closed. Cover with brandy (I like B&J Brandy) or vodka to at least 1 inch above the herb. (The alcohol will extract the medicine as well as act as a preservative.) Stir with a knife to make sure there are not any air bubbles in the jar. Cover with a tight lid and make a note on the jar as to its content and date made. Keep the jar on your kitchen counter and shake it everyday for 6 weeks. After 6 weeks, decant the herb (remove the plant parts using cheese cloth, place herb parts on your compose pile) and put the tincture in dark colored jars. Use 10-30 drops of the tincture for acute conditions every 2 hours and for chronic conditions, three times a day. Tinctures can be safely kept and used for a number of years.

Here is a medicinal plant that would be handy to have growing in your garden or yard and it is very beautiful as well. Hope you have some near you. (Please note: I am not a medical doctor, so I cannot tell you what to take for specific medical conditions. I can only educate you about what I have learned.)

The New Holistic Herbal. David Hoffman, Element Books, Inc., Rockport, MA, 1992.

The Way of Herbs. Michael Tierra, C.A., N.D., Simon & Schuster, Inc., New York, NY, 1980, 1983.

In the past, this newsletter has frequently included the minutes of the most recent MLT directors meeting. Jan Ryan, secretary, provided these minutes from the last meeting at Dennis and Genevieve's new “off the grid” house. Many of you know, Dennis and Genevieve operate “Blue Dog Greens” a Bangor area CSA (community supported agriculture). Their produce is available at the People's Food Coop. Look for them at the Kalamazoo Farmer's Market.

Present: Michael Kruk, Jon Towne, Dennis Wilcox, Barbara Dahlberg, Ken Dahlberg, Norm Bober, Rita Bober, Thom Phillips, Jim Laatch, Maynard Kaufman, Lisa Phillips, Jan Ryan.

Treasurer’s Report: Lisa shared copies of the Treasurer’s report to date showing a beginning balance of $13,472.55, deposits of $507.30 minus disbursements of $1455.82 for an ending balance of $12,524.03. There is $500 outstanding from a check issued to Fair Food Matters that has not been cashed. Norm will check on this. The report was approved pending clarification of the outstanding funds.

Membership: There was some discussion of graduated fees for membership dues but Jon indicated that this is already in place on our website.

Garlic Project: Dennis distributed a report from the Garlic Harvest Micro Loans Committee outlining accomplishments and what still needs to be done. The board commended Dennis on this effort. Discussion on getting the word out included targeting the Eatlocalswmichigan listserv, Kalamazoo and Van Buren Co. Extension and the Michigan Environmental Council quarterly report. The “clove” loans will be accepted during September/October, reviewed in November/December and awarded in January. Dennis will email a copy of the application to the Board for review. Help is needed to weed rye growing in the garlic field (this was scheduled for April 24).

Potluck/Speaker Events: First re-skilling workshop scheduled for sometime in June. Still open for topics with possibilities including cheese making, composting, organic pest control, weatherization, rain barrels, butchering chickens (some skepticism). Email Rita with other possible topics.

Rita explained there was lots of publicity for the March potluck and speaker event but only about 20 people attended. Ken submitted a suggestion prior to the meeting that the potluck (social) gatherings be separated from larger educational forums. Ken will check on using People’s church in Kalamazoo at one of their early Sunday morning Forums. Maynard suggested we might collaborate with Tillers on re-skilling. Rita said her plate is full right now with organizing the June program. There was also mention of utilizing Richard Heinberg who will be speaking at the Harvest Festival and the Portage library.

MLT Brochure: Maynard submitted suggestions for changes to the brochure which included adding a fee schedule for dues and our tag line and correcting some errors. Ken will make changes in the text. Jon and Ken will work on changes to the graphics and send out a draft of the revised brochure to the board.

Ken and Maynard reported on discussions with Chris Bedford about making a DVD on the early roots of organic farming in Michigan. The cost would be $2000-$4000. Possible focuses would be the School of Homesteading, MOFFA, MLT and Michigan Organic Growers. A question was raised about whether there are other possibilities for production like WMU student interns. Ken and Maynard will continue to explore this. Thom suggested it relate to current issues and be educational as well as historical.

Report from the Chair: Ken distributed copies of the report that included information about discussion with the Kalamazoo Co. Treasurer regarding the new land bank. It will deal only with property containing houses, not vacant land.

(editor's note: this meeting will be at Jon and Bobbi's near Bangor and will be combined with the “Clove Loan” garlic harvest. Look for details on the “events page” at the MLT website.)

Here are a couple of items of interest from the Chair's report: Ken signed MLT on to a number of letters. One was organized by the MI Environmental Council urging Congress to pay special attention to PTB (persistent, toxic, and bioaccumulative) chemicals and their impacts on the Great Lakes as they seek to strengthen the Toxic Substance Control Act.

He also signed on to several letters originated by the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance. One involved the National Animal Identification System. Another, a Wisconsin case involving an Amish farmer selling raw milk.

Most recently, there has been a letter on Senate Bill 510 - dealing with food safety - which has a number of potentially disastrous ‘one size fits all’ (read: all large scale corporate growers) provisions. FARFA, along with a number of other organizations, has been seeking exemptions for smaller growers from onerous tracking and documenting requirements that make no sense for them. Also of concern are provisions giving the FDA authority over production practices - an area where it has no experience or expertise. Senator Stabenow has been very helpful in supporting many of these proposed amendments - which will be taken up in the next week or two.

It seems to me that corporate ag is now taking the growth of alternative approaches seriously by all sorts of greenwashing attempts as well as legislative push back at the federal and state levels and that it is important to fight these with a range of responses - but responses that stress that we have great opportunities to improve our institutions and lives if we broaden our values and rethink and restructure our institutions.

Building Community Self-Reliance

When: June 12, 2010 – from 1-5 p.m. Where: 27621 C.R. 352, Lawton, Michigan

For more information contact Rita or Norm at 269-624-5501 or visit the MLT website: www.michiganlandtrust.org or http://transitionvba.ning.com (Transition Van Buren-Allegan MI) A $5 donation is suggested. Join us for the day to learn new skills, problem-solving, sharing our ideas and concerns and enjoying supportive neighbors.

- Planting for the Future: home-scale permaculture/forest gardening/native plants – panel –P.J. Chmiel/Norm Bober/Tom Small (Wild Ones)

MLT NEWSLETTER

Spring 2010

Building Community Self-Reliance