September 28, 2011
Central to the myth and the reality of the West is the American cowboy. His real life was a hard one and revolved around two annual roundups, spring and fall, the subsequent drives to market, and the time off in the cattle towns spending his hard earned money on food, clothing, gambling, and prostitution. As open range ranching and the long drives gave way to fenced in ranches in the 1880s, the glory days of the cowboy came to an end, and the myths about the “free living” cowboy began to emerge.
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August 4, 2011
www.permies.com Mullein (mullan, Verbascum thapsus) is a biennial plant with fuzzy leaves. Often called “cowboy toilet paper” or “the butt wipe plant”. It will grow in the worst soils, including gravel piles, rock piles, and the video will show it growing in asphalt. Mullein generally doesn’t compete with anything, so it improves the worst soils wherever it goes. Brian Kerkvliet of Inspiration Farm in Bellingham, Washington says that he might take some mullein out, but usually leaves it in. He thinks it has a lot of good roots for building the soil. Good biomass, bee food and the dried stalks help with aerating compost piles. Tulsey Latoski mentions the lore that mullein fights off evil spirits, then shares information about how mullein can be used as an ear ache medicine; As the foundation for tallow torches; roadside toilet paper. Norris Thomlinson talks about how goldfinches and downy woodpeckers like the seeds. Toby Hemenway, author of Gaia’s Garden, A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture, starts off by confessing that mullein is “the world’s greatest toilet paper”, then explains how mullein heals the worst soil problems it has a “spike root” which will break up compacted soil, bringing minerals up from deep in the soil. “Removing ‘weeds’ stops nature from healing the soil.” Mullein grows in sand, gravel and rock piles, is an early pioneer stage plant, and “once the soil actually gets better … the mullein often leaves of its own accord. It’s not something to stick …
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