Waste Not

A nemesis of mine must be planned obsolescence. When something is designed to have a singular function, then break down and be thrown out, it flies in the face of the entire lifestyle of the sustainably-minded homesteader. While the earlier method is known as “cradle-to-grave” mentality, true sustainability is continually seeking a “cradle-to-cradle” methodology. Here are some examples of how that has played out on the farm this week.
1. Oh no, first frost is coming! That means covering all the crops that are still going strong and closing up the high tunnels. But what about frost-sensitive crops that are no longer producing? Crops like green beans on our farm are all finished, but there is still great nutrition in the plants themselves (they are a legume, as is clover), so we pulled them all out the morning before the frost and fed them to the pigs (who gorged quite happily). This had been the fate of the pea plants earlier in the season too.

2. When those pigs are big enough to go to the butcher, we save the organ meats (heart, liver, tongue) and the lard for the chickens, who need a higher fat and protein diet in the cold winter months. The organ meats are also high in vitamin K and riboflavin, nutrients that are available to the hens from grasses and bugs in the summer months. These little-used or often discarded parts of the pigs (and lambs) serve to keep the hens healthy and vigorous all through the chill of our long winters.

3. The sugar maple “swing tree” that blew down in last year’s summer storm is under the saw and wood splitter. As we sort through the pile, we organize wood for cooking pizzas and lower-grade elements suitable for the wood stove. The three red pines in the yard that succumbed this winter, Steve dropped safely and we’ve cut and split for campfires. Sizzling pizzas, toasty marshmallows, and warm toes will be enjoyed from the cleanup of woody rubble in the yard.

4. There’s a pile of plastic yogurt containers collecting in the basement. “Don’t throw them away!” is the admonition. In the spring, we’ll cut off the bottoms and use them as partially-submerged collars around out tomato plants in the high tunnels, to keep the chomping mouths of cutworms at bay. Yes, you can buy cutworm collars, but there’s no need when you already produce your own as a byproduct of breakfast!

5. Canning season is in full swing. Can’t keep up with all the produce but it’s not degraded yet to pig-worthiness? Can, freeze, dry, whatever it takes to preserve for the seasons to come. Right now, three big pots of Roma tomatoes are reducing on the stovetop, on their way to becoming pizza sauce for next year. All of Farmstead is adrift if the fragrant aroma of super ripe tomatoes at the moment, soon to be saved in glass jars that can be used again and again.

Some of the ways that cradle-to-cradle happens on the homestead is really quite hilarious. That bit of dowel left over from a project? Now it’s the handle on a homemade felting multi-tool. The fabric portion of the crank-up canopy that fell apart last summer? Now it’s providing shade for the water holding tank for the pigs. And that water holding tank? That used to have grape pulp in it for a winery, so it’s been repurposed too!
What creative ways have you found to reduce waste and increase your reuse cycle? We all know the old phrase: “Waste not, want not.” How might reducing waste reduce want for you? Or, even better, find ways to work together with neighbors and friends to find creative ways to make cradle-to-cradle systems. Maybe one person has chickens and another has a garden that could use the manure. When you start looking at it through the lens of creative recycling, all sorts of potential pops up. Try it, and we’ll see you down on the farm sometime.