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There are a number of kinds of cedar. Eastern red cedar, found from east of Colorado and into much of New England is actually a juniper, a member of the cypress family. True cedars are members of the pine family.

Junipers are tough, resilient trees that make excellent fence posts, either whole or split. You do not need to treat or debark the posts. As to how long they will last, that depends on how moist the soil conditions are and the amount of freezing and thawing the posts will endure over their lifetime. In the Midwest, Eastern red cedar fence posts have been found to last for decades.

Here is the life expectancy (in years) of some wood fence posts, from the Virginia Cooperative Extension:

Black locust, 20 to 25

Hickory, 5 to 7

Honeylocust, 3 to 7

Osage orange, 20 to 25

Red cedar, 15 to 20

Red oak, 5  

Southern pine, 3 to 7

Sweetgum, 3 to 6

White oak, 10

Yellow-poplar (Tulip tree), 3 to 7

November 13, 2008

New parents are becoming more concerned about the products that come into contact with their babies and also about the effect on the environment of disposable baby products. Glass baby bottles and cotton diapers are both free of plastics and don’t add to the overfilling of landfills.

By searching online and making a few phone calls, we found that Target carries cotton gauze-weave diapers and the plastic pants to cover them. Both Target and WalMart sell glass baby bottles. The gla…

September 9, 2008

Laurie, your very best bet for free mulch is grass clippings from a yard that has not been treated with herbicides. Not only will the clippings smother the weeds, they will enrich the soil, providing nutrients for the annuals, perennials and bushes they are protecting. Check out this article on more ways to build better soil while discouraging weeds.

If you have a sawmill close to your home, you may be able to get sawdust to use as a mulch. While not as nutrient rich as grass cli…

August 8, 2008

Danielle,

Unfortunately, getting rid of cicadas is nearly impossible. Cicadas have a very long lifespan, up to 17 years. The nymphs that hatch from cicada eggs fall from the trees where they have been laid and burrow into the soil. There they live on the sap from tree roots until they are ready to emerge 13 to 17 years later. So, the cicadas are not immigrating to your yard, but are there already, under ground, just waiting for Mother Nature’s signal to emerge and start the cycle al…

July 23, 2008

If a piece of cast iron cookware is only slightly rusted, and not pitted, or has a small amount of food stuck to it, brush it with a light wire brush or course scrubby and then pour Coca~Cola over it, then let it sit until it dries.

After it dries, spray inside and outside with Pam or rub on vegetable oil, then bake in a 350 degree Fahrenheit oven for an hour and a half. Put aluminum foil under the pan to catch the drip.

Let it completely cool before removing from the oven. The final …

June 5, 2008

Greywater — which is all household wastewater except for toilet water — can profitably be reused for irrigation. But by “re-circulate,” I assume that indoor reuse is what you are asking about, and that’s not always the best idea. In order to reuse waste water for flushing toilets, for instance, you would need a multi-stage filter, holding tank and some kind of pump. All-in-all, that’s an expensive project.

Reusing greywater for flushing toilets, while an excellent practice on a large …

June 5, 2008

Yes! In fact, it makes great compost, according to the Maryland Cooperative Extension Office.

Horses produce copious amounts of manure, which, when combined with straw or sawdust bedding, will make mountainous piles of waste each month, and if left alone, it will eventually break down and become compost. But with a few simple steps you can have usable, rich compost in just a few weeks. To learn how to do this on your farm, read “Composting Horse Manure,” produced by the Maryland Horse…

May 12, 2008

I don't know of a homemade recipe for a stove coating, but standard stove polish is an option for coating stoves. The popular brands claim to be water-based and non-toxic. I have used them and haven't noticed a smell when applied or when the stove is fired. The big advantage of stove polish is that it can be applied easily any time the stove is cold. The disadvantages, compared to paint are that it produces a sort of transparent finish and rubs off if you touch the stove. Even if you…

April 25, 2008

A scythe is a long-handled tool used for cutting grass, grains, weeds and brush. It is an ancient harvesting tool, still used in some rural agricultural areas of the world. A sickle is similar to a scythe, but has a much shorter handle and is used with one hand, while a scythe requires two hands.

Scythes are enjoying a renaissance as people look for ways to eliminate the need for fossil-fuel-powered mowers. In addition to producing excellent “mowing” results, the use of the scythe i…

April 2, 2008

We frequently use the term “homestead” and “homesteading” in articles in Mother Earth News. The term “homesteading” may be familiar, but its usage can cause some confusion as its meaning has changed over the decades. For years the word referred to a free government land program and the skills necessary for pioneer living. Today the word homesteading is more apt to refer to a lifestyle that promotes greater self sufficiency. To better understand all things homesteading, here is a ver…